Shape of You (+18)

Chapter Thirty-Three

▬▬▬▬ Marley's POV ▬▬▬▬

One more day. Just one more day at the hospital and then Grams will be discharged.

One more day and then I'd be completely responsible for her care.

One more day until I had to take her home.

And one day closer to her death.

I shouldn't think like that. I tried not to, but the mind could be a morbid place, and mine was far from rainbows and sunshine at the moment.

"Oh, would you stop frowning?" Grams chastised, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You've been moping around for the past three days. Yes, I'm dying, I know that. I don't need your face constantly reminding me of the fact."

"I'm sorry."

"I know, honey. And I know this isn't what we wanted, but it's life. We don't decide what cards we're dealt, we can only control how we play them."

Nodding my head, I crawled into the bed next to her, not taking up much space at all, and sighed as she pulled my head to her chest and began stroking my hair.

"You've been sleeping here a lot, Marley. Surely your bed at home is more comfortable than the chairs here."

"I'm most comfortable next to you," I replied, savoring how it felt to be cradled by her. To be wrapped in arms that held me for twenty-four years.

"Mmm," she hummed against the top of my head. "Your birthday's in two weeks."

"Yup." And you better be there.

"What do you want for it?"

"Something I can't have."

Her arms tightened around me, knowing exactly what I meant.

***

Days passed and I was grateful for the friends I had. At a time like this, it was easy for me to forget the other people in my life when I was literally watching the most important person to me gradually fade away. It was easy to get lost in the pain and feel the gaping hole she'd leave the moment she was gone. Emma and Ryan were like little doses of sunlight, at least one of them dropping by every other day to check in on us.

After the initial shock of Grams' condition wore off, I called them, filled them in on everything, and of course, they knew how much this woman meant to me. I could see it in their eyes when they looked at me. They wished things were different, and their own hearts were hurting.

Joel was the surprising factor, however. After the first night at the hospital, I hadn't expected him to continue being as present as he was then. He called me every single night, always asking how I was, first. Then he'd ask about Grams. And he'd always end with seeing if there was anything we needed. Every time he called, my heart would be in constant flutter-mode, and I found myself smiling before I went to sleep.

Something I highly doubted I'd be doing if he didn't call.

But, that wasn't all he did. In the past week, hospital time included, he brought us lunch as often as he could. When I confronted him on it, insisting he didn't have to, he shrugged and said, 'If I didn't want to, darling, I wouldn't.' He then pointed out that if he didn't, I probably wouldn't eat like I should, and this was his way of ensuring I had at least one full meal a day.

He was sweet. Caring. More caring than I anticipated. I mean, of course, I'd seen him with his daughter. I knew how affectionate, how endearing he could be. I just...I hadn't expected him to be this way with me. Not to this degree. He was different. More present. More...committed?