hospital beds {remington leith short story}

nine

I wake up to the sound of muffled sobs, little sniffles, and whimpers. My eyes are too tired to open, it must be the middle of the night, and so I'm forced to continue lying in rest. When the meek, quiet cries turn to wails, however, I recognize their source immediately. Remington is sobbing like I have never heard before. I force my eyes open, and find him hovering over my bed, fingertips tracing my cheekbones.

"Baby?" I question, grabbing his hand. "What's wrong? Why are you crying?" He shakes his head at this, seemingly unable to find the words. "Come on, babe. I love you." The last statement comes out more as a question.

"You are so," He swallows, voice wrecked and broken. "So fucking beautiful." I repeat my I love you and squeeze his hand, unsure what else to do. "And you're so strong....but of course you know that. You just...wake up every day and you fight the world and you don't hesitate. I love you so much."

"Tell me why you're crying." I speak softly, raising my other hand to cup his cheek. I'm aware of the pull it causes on my IV, but in this moment that is not important.

"Because," He sniffles. "I'm gonna miss you so much."

"What are you talking about?" I tighten on his hand even more. "Baby, I'm right here." Remington shakes his head.

"When you die....I'm gonna miss you." He barely chokes out the words through sobs.

My heart shatters instantly. I feel my stomach drop at his words. Tears fill my own eyes and I sigh, leaning up to capture his lips in a pure love-driven kiss. There are no words for a moment like this. Sometimes, the best I can do is try and show him how much I love him.

"I'll miss you, too." I finally say when we pull apart. "But you'll be okay. I'll be okay."

"Really?" His tone is not sarcastic, moreso still sad and hurt.

"Love can defeat anything if you try hard enough." I bring both my hands to his face now, cupping his cheeks in my hands. My thumbs stroke his jaw. "Love's beating cancer. We're in love even with me being sick. Love can defy distance, illness, and I believe death." I lean up to kiss Remington's cheek. My lips linger there a second longer than I would normally allow, and what is left of my heart swims happily in my chest. "We've got this," I mutter before entrapping his lips with my own.

We find ourselves a mess of kisses as I dry his tears. Exhaustion is quickly catching up with me, but I continue playing with Remington's hair as he lays with me, head on my chest and arms around my torso. I rack my fingers through his hair, playing with the ends of each strand. I am so in love with this boy.

As my hands rake through his hair, my ring shimmers in the light. It's absolutely beautiful, and it's made even better when I remember this is a symbol of my endowment to Remington, the love of my life.

The band is thin and gold. The yellow hues are something beautiful. The metal is so beautiful, reflections are visible wrapping around my finger. A gem rests atop the band, diamond. It's small, nothing too fancy, but I appreciate the minimalism of it. All sides of the diamond shine in the light of my room, the light that never stops. I am in love with my ring and all it represents.

When I glance down once more, Remington has fallen asleep on my stomach. Carefully, I move his head off my GJ tube to insure the both of us are comfortable. I run my fingers through his hair one last time, before looking to the ceiling and falling asleep.

***a/n: sorry for the short chapter guys. i've been touring the beautiful land of costa rica for the last week, so i wanted to get a chapter out (i wrote this in its entirety from an airplane). i hope you're all enjoying....comments are both welcomed and appreciated :)***