16:58

Chapter Fifty-Three

"Hey. You seen Malik and Cooper?" I ask my aunt. I'm standing in the doorway of her office.

"Mmm, I think they're messing around in one of the empty offices," she tells me. She looks up. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

I grin sheepishly as I walk into her office and sit down. Colton and I got to her house at five in the morning. I think she heard us come in but left shortly after.

"Uh..." I trail off.

She grins. "I heard you with a boy."

"It's a long story," I tell her. "You remember Colton?"

"Of course," she says. "Are you together?"

I grin. "Yeah," I tell her but then my smile is slipping away. "We are."

I can't tell her yet about his cancer. I think I have to ask Colton or wait until he tells his mom. I don't know when or if he's going to. So I can't tell Auntie anything yet. And I probably shouldn't have told Cooper and Malik but they're doctors. I need their help right now.

Colton is taking me on a date and picking me up in two hours. I don't think he realizes that I'm here to find out for sure what's going on. Cooper was able to get his files from the one hospital where he was seen after he collapsed.

My stomach feels uneasy whenever I think about stuff like that. Collapsing and vomiting makes sense given what's going on, but what if it happens again and he doesn't wake up? I'm so fucking terrified that he has less than four months and we're on borrowed time. But maybe today will give me a little bit of peace.

I wish this wasn't real.

"You seem happier," Auntie tells me. "You're glowing."

"He makes me really happy," I tell her softly as I look around. "Really happy."

She smiles. "That's so good, kiddo. How long are you guys gonna stay with me?" Auntie says. "I'm assuming you're staying with me so your dad and his mom don't find out?"

I nod. "Yeah. A few days. I'm not sure what our plan is."

"Well, you can stay as long as you need to with me," she says. I stand up.

"Thank you."

She grins and blushes. "Can you, uh, send Malik in here after you're done?"

I shake my head, grinning. "Yeah."

I walk out of her office and my stomach feels so uneasy that I feel like I might be sick. Doing what I'm about to do makes everything too real. And it's going to tell me how long we really have. It could be four days, four months or four years. And maybe Colton was wrong. Maybe there is a way to help him. Maybe he just needs surgery and chemo.

I get one of the conference rooms and knock on the door. I open it and I see Malik and Cooper grinning when they see me.

"Hey!" I say. They both stand up and hug me.

"It's good to see you," Malik tells me.

Cooper grins. "You look happy. And you have the 'I'm having really good sex' glow."

I shake my head. "Shut up."

"I'm right. I know it," Cooper says.

I shrug. "Yeah. But everything feels amazing with him. It's like everything is so much more vibrant."

"Aww, that's sweet," Malik says as we sit down.

"I'm happy for you," Cooper says. He frowns as he looks at Malik. "Damn, I'm the only one not getting laid."