I picked up the necklace and brushed my fingers over it before putting in on. I resisted the urge to go see him and even withstood responding. Without changing, I collapsed on my bed. Closing my eyes, I drifted off, tracing the Legos with my fingers and thinking about the day they had been used to build our Lego house.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
Ever since my party, I had done even more moping than before. I tried to focus on homework, but sometimes I found myself rereading the same line five times without even absorbing a single word because my mind had wandered off, thinking about Kyle. He hadn’t tried to see me again. He hadn’t even tried to call or text. He was doing what I had asked and staying away. Liz had even given up on telling me that I should get over it and talk to him.
Huffing, I gave up on reading the boring history text. I wasn’t getting anything done right now. I couldn’t wait to be caught up with schoolwork. I was so sick of doing it every waking moment. It wouldn’t be long before I started summer school to get back on track before the new school year. I really wanted to finish the other stuff before then so I could have a break.
Both of my parents were working, so I was home alone. Since I wasn’t in school, that happened a lot. I wandered out into the living room, glancing at the family pictures. I stopped at the bookcase that held a slew of photo albums. Mom loved taking pictures, especially when I had been younger. She documented almost everything, and as much as it drove me crazy at times, I knew it was a good thing, especially once I’d gotten sick.
I pulled one off the shelf and settled onto the couch to relive some of the memories. This album started with my third birthday, my toothy grin and blond hair underneath a birthday hat visible behind a pink cake. The next page showed me on a bright red tricycle, beaming at the camera with Dad beside me. That also brought back a memory of falling off, resulting in a nasty scraped knee. Dad hadn’t wasted time as he scooped me up and ran inside to make it all better. On my request, he had even kissed it since I’d been convinced that Daddy kissing my booboo would make it all better because he had magical healing powers.
I smiled at the memory and continued to flip through the pages until one image stopped me cold. It was of me in a cute pink dress, sitting on our porch next to a boy with brown eyes and messy hair in blue shorts and a white shirt. It was Kyle; it had to be. It looked like the same boy from the childhood picture of Kyle I had seen at his house.
My mind reeled. If that was Kyle, that meant we’d met before. I didn’t remember it, but I was younger than he was. He must have been around six or seven. Did he remember me, or was it just a coincidence that we had taken a picture together as kids and met again when we were older?
Without thinking about it, I pulled the picture out of the album and left the house without even putting shoes on. I went right to Kyle’s door and pounded on it without stopping.
“I’m coming!” he yelled, exasperated, but I didn’t stop. He swung the door open with a scowl and froze when he saw me, jaw hanging open.
I pushed past him and went to where I knew the picture of him and his father sat. I compared my picture with his, and sure enough, it was the same kid in both images. Kyle was in my picture, in my photo album. I wasn’t crazy. He looked at me with a bewildered expression.
“What is this?” I said, shoving the photo at him.
He took it apprehensively, looking at me with wide eyes.
“What is she doing here?” Leah strolled in, snarling.
Kyle’s eyes snapped to hers with a glare. He pulled out his wallet from his back pocket and took out some cash.
“Leah, here. Go shopping or something.” Kyle’s voice was demanding as he handed her the money. I watched him curiously.
She pouted. “How am I supposed to get there?”
“The car keys are on the counter. Have a blast,” he said dryly.
“Fine!” She scowled, swiping the keys and leaving, the echo of her heels still ringing after the door shut behind her.
“Sorry,” he said softly, some of the tension seeping out of him now that she was gone. I knew he was apologizing about Leah.
He slid his hand through his hair before looking at the picture I had given him. I saw the realization hit him, and I found myself glaring at him.
“We already knew each other?” I asked, crossing my arms. I knew he remembered.
“Not exactly…” he trailed off.
“Not exactly?” I arched an eyebrow at him. “This picture says we did,” I added angrily. Why had he kept this from me?
“I saw you from my yard occasionally. That was the only day I actually interacted with you. I wandered over across the street when you were outside with your mom. We played a little bit in your yard, and your mom must have taken this picture at some point. I forgot the picture was taken. Shortly after that, my parents divorced and I didn’t come around much, but I did see you on occasion. I knew you didn’t remember. You were younger than me, and I didn’t think it was a big deal,” he explained, some words rushing together. I could tell he wanted me to believe that he hadn’t been trying to keep it a secret. I wasn’t sure why I’d gotten so worked up over it. It just seemed like it mattered that we’d met before when I thought the day when I’d sat in front of his house on the sidewalk was the first time.
“Is that why you talked to me that day in front of your house?” I asked calmly.
He sighed, watching me carefully. “I had wanted to talk to you for a while, but I didn’t know how to. Plus I knew I would be leaving before long, so I didn’t. When I saw you outside that day, I took the opportunity. I was back for the foreseeable future, and I didn’t really know anyone and you looked so sad, so I went for it.” He shrugged and smiled at me sheepishly, his eyes open and honest.
I relaxed a little, now kind of embarrassed about my reaction. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have barged in here like that. I just found the photo and it surprised me. You probably wish you didn’t talk to me that day now…” I apologized, my cheeks a little warm.
He frowned and stepped toward me, taking my hand. “I will never wish that, Taylor. That moment in front of my house when I looked into your sad eyes for the first time. That was it for me. I knew I would do anything to make you smile, to lessen your pain, and even take it away if possible. It probably sounds crazy. I’m not sure that I understand it myself, but I felt like I became connected to you at that moment, and that connection has only grown since that day. These past few weeks had been torture, not being able to be with you, but I endured it, wanting to give you what you needed.” His words were soft and smooth and straight from his heart, his eyes looking deep inside me. He looked down a little and smiled, seeing the necklace he had given me. “You’re wearing it.” He sounded almost surprised as he touched it.
I hadn’t spoken yet; his confession had taken all words away. How could I deny the connection we had? He knew it was there, and so did I. Even though I had made the choice, the past few weeks had been downright miserable for me also. I was hurting myself, and most of all, I was hurting him—the one person who did not deserve to be hurt after everything he had done for me. Everything had changed the day we met in front of his house. It was time I stopped fighting it.
“I love you,” I told him, feeling like it was the only response worthy of what he had just told me. I had been holding on to the words, terrified to part with them, but I knew I’d needed to tell him. He had opened up his heart to me and told me exactly how he felt, and I could tell it hadn’t been easy for him either.
“What did you just say?” he exclaimed with a combination of shock and happiness across his face as he pulled me to him suddenly, making me involuntarily squeak, which seemed to tug a smile from him.
“Umm—that I love you,” I said, short of breath all of a sudden.
The biggest smile I had ever seen on him spread across his face before his lips were on mine desperately. His hands went to my face and then found my hair, getting tangled in it. Warmth and a full swarm of butterflies we
nt through me.
“I love you too, Taylor,” he said between kisses. “More than I ever expected,” he added, breathing deeply. His eyes were bright and alive as he kissed me passionately again and again, making up for all the kisses we had missed out on. I didn’t want to miss out on any more of these beautiful kisses or any more time with him, so I decided to let my worry about Leah go.
I don’t know what the future will bring or how long I have to live. The cancer could come back tomorrow and I could die within a year, or I could live a long life. I don’t have the luxury to take my life for granted anymore, so that means I need to stop wasting whatever time I have with Kyle. I can’t stop from dying when that time comes, just like I can’t stop the rain from falling, but I can live today with what makes me happy. That is what I plan to do with Kyle every day until then because he is it for me.
BE AWARE
September is childhood cancer awareness month in the United States.
Gold is the childhood cancer awareness ribbon color.
Cancers that develop in children are almost always different than the ones that develop in adults.
Childhood cancer as a whole only receives about 4% of federal funding for cancer research.
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in children.
The most common types of cancers in children are:
Leukemia
Brain and other central nervous system tumors
Neuroblastoma
Wilms tumor
Lymphoma
Rhabdomyosarcoma
Retinoblastoma
Bone Cancer
Leukemias account for about thirty-one percent of all cancers in children.
Cancers in adolescents (15-19) can be different from cancers in younger children, but they are not unique to the age group.
About five-thousand adolescents are diagnosed with cancer in the United States each year.
About six-hundred adolescents die from cancer in the United States each year, making it the fourth leading cause of death for the age group.
The most common types of cancer in adolescents are:
Lymphomas
Leukemias
Thyroid Cancer
Brain and Spinal cord tumors
Testicular cancer
Bone Tumors
Soft tissue tumors
Melanoma
Ovarian cancer
Find out more at www.cancer.org
(American Cancer Society, Inc.)
Bibliography
American Cancer Society, Inc. American Cancer Society. 2014. 25 03 2014
Find out Kyle’s story in
Before The Rain
Kyle Thorne was a stranger, harboring secrets every waking moment, haunted by them every time his guard was down. He moved in with his dad in the hope of escaping his dark past. That proved to be difficult when a piece of that past showed up at his front door, jeopardizing his new beginning and his relationship with Taylor—the one person who made him want to expose all of his secrets.
CHRISTIE COTE
resides in Vermont with her Husband and their dog. When she isn’t reading, writing, or dreaming up her next story, she can be found shooting targets with her bow, drawing or baking.
Rain is her first book.
Christie writes Young Adult Realistic Fiction, Fiction, and New Adult novels.
Find out more at CHRISTIECOTE.COM.
Table of Contents
Bibliography
Rain Page 16