101 Prompts Challenge
The Day After Tomorrow
Ship: Jori
The day she found out you held her hand as she cried on the cold, white tile for hours, you didn't know what to do so you sat awkwardly, cross legged and stiff with your free hand on her shoulder. You watched the mascara trail down her flushed skin like raindrops on a window, dark ink drawing over her face, patterns on the reddened skin, black tears and dark emotions becoming tears and becoming real. Her dark blue, chipped polish nails dig into your hand as she hurt, as she broke inside, as her biggest fear became true. You brush her hair out of your face, your thumb brushing over her cheek as you wipe away the inky tears and stained ink blots on her cheek like a letter telling a lover you're not coming home. You dabbed her face with a washcloth to cool her down. You didn't leave her side because she begged you to stay.
Her first day of chemo you waited in the waiting room, sat next to her mother on a stiff, plastic blue chair, watching the elder version of your friend break into tears as she stroked a picture of the seven year old girl in the hospital bed who looked identical to the girl in the room down the hall who was biting her bottom lip as the nurse administrated the injection into her vein. She hadn't wanted either of you there, she wanted to do it on her own, but that night, as she realised how much she struggled to do the slightest things, she called you. Made you come over at quarter to tomorrow because she needed someone to calm her down as she felt nauseous and fatigued. You didn't leave her side because she needed you.
The day her hair started to fall out you took her into the bathroom at school, took her hands and promised her everything was going to be okay. You parcelled the fallen strands of her hair in tissue and put them in her bag. You braided her hair gently as to not pull any other weak strands and told her she looked beautiful, you wouldn't let her leave until she believed it. You made her look in the mirror and see how pretty she was, you made her see that even without the colourful extensions and thinning hair she was still one of the most beautiful girls in the world. You wiped her eyes and helped her re-apply the mascara and eyeliner she wore and then you cut a lock of your own hair. You got in trouble and it was obvious but you didn't care, you had done it for her, it had made her smile and it was worth it. You got back into class and suffered through the weird looks but you didn't leave her side because you were each other's shield and sword. You made each other stronger.
When she was taken into hospital because her body rejected the chemo you sat at her bedside, watching her sleep as she lay entangled in wires, her skin as pale and colourless as ever, her hair tied back, her bones protruding, a cold sweat breaking out on her skin as she shivered in her sleep, under the layers of blankets the nurses had wrapped around her. She was so small, vulnerable, broken. The machines beeped in your ear as you laid your head against the back of the chair, never taking your eyes off her. You didn't leave her side because you wanted to be there when she woke up.
The day the doctors had frowned and told her she didn't have much time left you sat across from her on the bed as she told you she wasn't staying, that day you helped her and the nurses pack her things and go back home, you pushed her in the wheelchair that she sat in reluctantly with a scowl on her face and her arms crossed until you were out of the hospital and in the car. You sat with her in the back seat, her breathing heavy and her head on your shoulder, the effort of simply getting up and moving too much for her. Your arm was around her shoulder as she slept on the car journey home, you grabbed her bags as her father lifted her like a child and lay her on her bed, you helped her mother tuck her in the purple satin sheets, you unpacked her bag into the drawers in her room and stayed watching over her as her mother made her something to eat in hopes that she would eat when she woke. You didn't leave her side because you had to make sure she'd wake up.
The night she died you woke with a start, your arms wrapped around her because she had begged you to hold her after you felt her skin become ice cold, after you heard her breathing change. After she became scared because she knew. You knew too but you hadn't let it show, you had held her as she continued to drift in and out of consciousness. You had fallen asleep after she did, you were tired and as you placed two fingers on her neck, moving your head over her lips to hear any form of short, shallow breaths you sighed. Glad that she had been asleep, glad that it had been peaceful after everything she'd been through, glad that she wasn't in pain anymore. Glad that she'd fallen asleep with a smile after you had given her a hug and whispered in her ear. You were glad that she didn't have to suffer but you missed her. You stroked her cheek and got out of the bed, your eyes not leaving her body. You took your phone and called her mother although she was only in the next room. You didn't leave her because you didn't want to.
You had stayed because you had always known. There was a chance that the day after tomorrow she'd be gone, and you wanted her to have someone. You wanted her to be at peace. You wanted her to realise that she was a brilliant person, you wanted her to know she would always be remembered. You wanted her to know that there would be someone to look after her parents, her brother, you wanted her to know that after the rocky beginning of your friendship, you loved her and always would.