How To Live Under The Stars Again

Chapter 1

"you might just be his

only cure to happiness"

August 1st 2016

The doctor exited Oliver's room, a hardened expression on his face: his glasses on the bridge of his crooked nose. He looked down on his clipboard briefly before placing it by his thigh.

"So, what happened? Is my Oliver alright?" Oliver's mother pleads. She stood up, along with his father. I followed closely behind too. We've been waiting for almost three whole hours, anticipating and worrying about what was going on in that room. Now, the doctor would break the news, the news which worried us the most.

She tapped her foot on the ground repeatedly, and Oliver's father's hand was on his chin. We were all distressed.

Doctor Waters looked at both of his parents, a sincere yet saddened look on his soft face, "Mr and Mrs Collins, you'll want to spend as much time with your son as possible, his time is coming, and we've tried everything we possibly could. It has already spread to most parts of his body, and more importantly his brain. He only has a few months left. If you have any—"

My heart was hammering in my chest. I could almost feel my heart beat echoing in my ears. The tears were already building up in my eyes, and my lips began to tremble with fear.

"If you've tried everything, then why isn't he going to be alive?!" I yelled without forethought at the doctor.

His mother touches my shoulder gently, "Valerie—"

"No!" I yanked her hands off my shoulder impulsively, "You're not doing enough! Oliver is going to die and it's all because of you!" I prodded my finger on the doctor's chest, he stepped back.

"I understand the pain you're going through miss, but right now—"

"You do not know what it is like." I croaked, my voice was raw and harsh, "You do not know how it feels to know the one you thought you'd live with forever is going to die!" I screamed in distress, "It's like a knife piercing through your heart, running in your veins and each movement is like stepping on shattered glass." My voice breaking, the hot tears streaming down my red cheeks.

"We were going to graduate, travel the world, have babies and grow old together and live happily ever after, but no, he has to die in a fucking hospital bed at 17!" I cried, gritting my teeth as the tears kept flowing. "You haven't tried hard enough, you need to try harder!" I shouted, slamming my fists on the doctor's chest weakly, my hands shaking uncontrollably.

"You haven't tried hard enough," I hiccupped, "not hard enough." I cried, my eyes dripping with tears. My walls that once held me up came crumbling down, collapsing. I broke down on the floor just like that wall, my eyes burning with so much anger and sorrow. I ignored everyone around me, I couldn't speak, nor comprehend the fact that Oliver was going to leave. Not to another city, or another country, and not for a few years or months, but forever.

I couldn't stop the burning tears from streaming down my cheeks and onto my shirt. My face was getting hotter and hotter as I brought my knees tightly against my chest clutching them with anger. Everything around me was now fuzzy, and I couldn't focus on anything but the fact that my stargazer was going to die.

***

"Valerie, honey," Oliver's mum sat down beside me, tears running down her cheeks too. I sniffled and from the corner of my eye, I could see the doctor had already disappeared. "Oliver wants to see you."