Soul Song

Chapter 10

Allie is going in for her final round of testing this week and the singing competition is coming up. I've noticed that Allie still seems to be a bit off though, still really tired and short of breath sometimes, but I'm hoping that'll go away the longer we wait after the surgery.

The night before the competition, Hunter called Keaton and he was absolutely freaking out. Keaton didn't know what to do with him so he just called me.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Hunter is going nuts. Competition is tomorrow morning, he's a nervous wreck."

"Okaaay... and?"

"Well, I don't know what to do with him. You and Allie are normally the ones to deal with this stuff."

"Well just keep telling him he'll be fine. He's gonna keep arguing back that he's gonna lose and stuff, but just keep countering back, eventually he'll get tired of it all and give in. Granted, it might take a awhile with him, he'll argue back for an hour or so."

"Wait, so if I just get tired of dealing with him, do I just give up?"

"Look, he already believes you, he just wants to make an argument, so yeah, you get tired, just go to bed, he'll be fine."

"So if he texts me after that, what do I do?"

"Just ignore it, he'll be fine. He'll either say 'hi' fifty times and then give up, or he'll just give up."

"Ok. You sure that'll work?"

"Probably. Goodnight, good luck."

"Wait, what do you mean by probably?"

At that point, I just hang up. I'm tired and I figured it was a good time to try that method of ignoring them until they give up.

Hunter just took off to the competition and Allie took off to the doctor, and the rest of us are kind of hanging out, waiting to hear back from either Hunter or Allie, depending on who finishes first. We are all anxious for the results of both the testing and the competition. I'm pretty much just going to spend the day watching my phone like a hawk, and I figure the other four will be too. I think John actually went with Allie and her mom, so he's just waiting to hear from Hunter. I just really hope Allie gets some good news for a change. Wait, my phone is vibrating.

"Hello?"

"Hey. is Hunter done yet, or did I beat him?"

"Still haven't heard from him yet. So I'm assuming you're done?"

"Yeah. when Hunter gets home, I need us all to meet at my place. I have some... interesting news."

"Good, or bad?"

"It's not great, but I guess it could be worse. I'll tell you later.

Once we all got over to Allie's, thee first thing she does is ask Hunter about the competition. I think she's more worried about that than she is herself.

"I lost. It should have been you."

"Geez, don't start doing that. I yelled at you enough, I think you had the right to take my place."

"I know but, if I knew this was going to happen, I would have acted differently. You should have had this last shot in the competition. Especially since this is happening."

"Look, I don't want you guys to treat me any differently. Even though I know things aren't like normal, I don't want you guys to treat me any differently because it's just going to make it worse. It'll just make me feel worse about all this and besides, I don't want to hold you guys back. If you try to hold back for me, it's just going to make me feel like it's my fault you guys aren't still getting to do everything just because of me."

We're all quiet for what seemed like an eternity, when Jackson speaks.

"So, how long did they give you?"

"Jackson, come on man, how bad could things get, and your asking her how long she's going to live?"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I just want to know how long we have left with her. The effects have already started so how much time has she got left is all I want to know."

"I've got about a year left. I'll get probably until about April of next year. If I'm lucky, I may see graduation."

As soon as she says it, it's like she's sealed the deal. A year seems so short, I only wish we could have her longer. I can't help it, I begin to cry. I look around at the guys and see them trying to hold it together, but even for them it's hard.

Time goes by, and she gets worse and worse. Lately she's been having to write things down rather than speak. Her voice only lasts a few minutes a day. Now the guys and i are waiting for her at Olive Garden. It's always been her favorite restaurant, and we figure this could be one of the last times we'll get to do this with her.

I feel my phone vibrate and pick it up. It's from Allie's dad.

"Hello?"

"Are you with the guys?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You need to come to the hospital. Now."