hospital beds {remington leith short story}

epilogue

Kayla Coleman died three days after her happiest day in the arms of the love of her life. She only spent four days on the Hospice floor before she submitted to the void that had been hovering over her for years. 

She died on oxygen, as her lungs were the first to fail. Kayla opted for a nasal cannula, so she could still steal kisses from her love. Remington didn't sleep, he held her nonstop and played with her skin, making sure she knew she was so, so loved.

One day before she died, Kayla fell unconscious. Remington sobbed as he held her close, speaking to her and singing Hospital Beds in between rambles. He discussed their past, reminding her of their best times. He told her about how much he loved and adored her every other minute as he stroked the top of her head and cried. Kayla couldn't hear him, but the doctor's wouldn't tell Remington that. This was his own personal way of getting closure.  

When Kayla departed this Earth, it was as Remington sang to her. She hadn't been able to hear since losing consciousness, but Remington still held onto hope that somewhere deep within her brain she could hear him. But her mind was empty, and Kayla heard nothing but silence. With Remington choking out a "No, I can't tell you, how to say goodbye,"  between sobs, Kayla took her last shallow breath and flatlined.

Her last words before falling under was that she loved him. She loved the boy who made her every day worth living. Kayla would have liked a long life with him...but her body didn't allow. In her last waking moments, Kayla was simply grateful she never forgot the love of her life. She knew she wouldn't....the doctors were wrong. The doctors were wrong about many things; she got two and a half more years than they anticipated. 

Remington took off sobbing, twisting his wedding ring around his finger wildly. He knew he'd never love again. There would be no other Kayla Coleman, and without another Kayla Coleman, his heard would forever long for his missing girl. Knowing he'd never be able to fill the missing pieces of his heart, Remington vowed to never take his band off. He knew there would never be a person able of replacing his Kayla. 

In the hallway of the Hospice ward, Remington sobbed so hard it brought him to his knees. He choked on his own tears as he cursed everything....the skies, the world, the cancer, himself. Kayla's dad was the one to pull Remington to his feet, enveloping him in a bone-crushing hug. Remington couldn't do anything but sob, hyperventilating as his body went limp in Mr. Coleman's arms. 

Kayla Coleman was the absolute love of Remington Leith's life. She was the center of his whole world, his universe, and everything he did. She was the Juliet to his Romeo. Personally, Remington thought their love was better than anything that could ever be written. There were no words to describe how Remington and Kayla loved each other.

Remington was broken in ways he didn't know a human could break. He hurt in the depths of his soul and every muscle in his body ached. It was hard, but Remington knew Kayla was in a better place. She wasn't hurting, she wasn't sick, she didn't have cancer. Remington was glad in a way....because his baby was out of pain. That's all he wanted...and now his girlfriend was free. 

Kayla and Remington loved each other more than the world would ever know. 

  And when Remington wrote that line....when he sang the words "No, I can't tell you how to say goodbye,", he didn't know how hard saying goodbye would be.

**a/n: this is it. this is the end of remington and kayla's story. i hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as i enjoyed writing it. hospital beds is one of my favorite thing i've written. with the end of this book will come the birth of another. i hope you've enjoyed this journey. i love you all and thank you for the endless support. 

~ryan xx**