I didn't know how long I was staying in his arms, but he nudges me gently and when I look up, our surroundings shift until he and I were standing in the middle of the hospital.
Denny looks down at me, cupping my cheek. "We need to see what condition you're in, baby."
"I don't – I don't want to," I mumble.
"I'm right here. I'm not leaving. I promise."
Denny removes his arms from me, but he takes my hand almost instantly and laces our fingers together. The walk to my hospital room seems to take forever, but I stop him when I notice the small group of people in the waiting room.
More specifically, my mother. She's in hysterics, crying into her already used tissue as more of my family members try to console her. In this moment, I realize I was being selfish for wanting to stay here with Denny.
I feel tears sting my eyes as it slowly leaks down my cheeks. Denny glances at me and hesitantly wraps his arm around my waist, releasing my hand from his grasp.
"Talk to me," he whispers.
"How could I even think about staying? I'm going to break my mother's heart, Denny."
He sighs, leaning in to kiss my temple. Though, I look away from the waiting room (and most specifically, my mother) and stare up at him. I yearn for Denny to decide for me, but that was simply because I wanted to hear him say that he needed me just as badly as I needed him.
"I can't help you decide what to do, Maisie… You have to figure it out for yourself. Can you live in a world without me or not?"
"I don't – I couldn't do it for the past six months, Denny."
"Then can you do it for the rest of your life?" he asks softly.
I bite my lower lip. I already had the answer for that, but instead, I turn to bury my face against his chest. He's quick to wrap his arms around me and settle for the silence before leading me further to my hospital room.
Once there, Denny leads me inside and I feel my breath catch in my throat. I'm hooked up to various machines and there was a bandage wrapped around my head as well as a tube down my throat.
I glance over at Denny who has tears in his eyes. I reach down and squeeze his hand, biting the inside of my cheek.
"Denny?"
"That's you…" he mumbles. "You're hurt…"
"Denny…" I repeat, trying to get his attention.
"I caused this… I did this to you," he steps forward, pulling his hand away from my grasp. I could see a few tears falling from his eyes, staining his cheeks and I bite my lower lip, eager to simply wipe them away.
"Denny, baby… I'm right here."
"You're right here because of me, Maisie!" Denny yells, raising his voice unintentionally. I flinch at the sudden increase in volume and hesitantly, I walk over to him, wrapping my arms around him from behind.
"I'm right here…"
His body begins to shake and I realize that he's crying. I shut my eyes and turn him around to face me. I cup his cheeks immediately, brushing his tears away as I feel the prickly sensation of his stubble against my fingertips.
"I don't want to hurt you anymore," he hiccups.
"You never did."
"I left you…"
"Denny, stop. You didn't choose to die, dammit!" At the raise of my voice, my heart rate picks up, notifying the nurses to calm me down somehow by the beeping of the machine.
Denny notices and instantly leads me out of the room. When his arms wrap around me, I immediately calm down, burying my face against his neck. "I don't want you to go, but I can't keep you here."
"What am I supposed to do then, Denny?"
"Do you want to leave or do you want to stay?"
"Did you have a choice?" I ask.
He shakes his head. "I wish I did because I would have chosen you over and over every single time, baby…"
"I can't think about leaving you, Denny. I have spent eight years with you and… We had plans. We had a future. We were –"
"Supposed to have kids," he finishes.
I nod, "We were supposed to grow old together."
Denny sighs heavily, resting his forehead against my own. I didn't know what to do. I thought this decision would have come easy, but seeing my mother in tears made it even more difficult for me.
"I love you, Maisie."
"I love you too, Denny…"
Instead of bringing me back to my hospital room, Denny leads me to the roof just in time to watch the sunset. We both sit at the ledge, allowing our legs to dangle off it. His arm wraps around my waist, pulling him close to his side.
The comfortable silence consumes Denny and I. I rest my head against his shoulder, watching the sun begin to dip below the horizon. Moments like this made me cherish my time with him even more. I didn't know what alternate dimension I was in, but I was just glad that Denny was by my side.
"Did you like my letters though?" he asks after a few moments of silence.
"I did…" I look up at him, tearing my gaze away from the beautiful pink hue that painted the sky. "I imagined you every time I read them… I thought I felt you near me, you know? There were nights where I could feel you…"
"I never wanted this life for you, for us," he begins. "But I fell in love with you. Eight years isn't enough time for you and I to spend together. Holding you like this, right now, makes me wish that this moment could last forever."
"It could," I whisper softly.
"Can it, though?"
"If I decide to stay… I'll be with you. We can live our forever."
"It's not the question if we can or can't, but if you want to… If you decide to stay… Are you, Maisie? Going to stay?"
"I don't know, Denny. I thought this decision would be easier than I thought, but seeing my mother like that… I'd be selfish to stay. Right?"
He sighs in defeat, "I understand."
"But that doesn't mean I'm going to leave either."
"You don't have much time, Maisie…"
I look up at him and shake my head, grasping his shirt in my grasp. "Kiss me."
"What?"
"Kiss me, Duquette."
Despite the sudden change of subject, Denny obliges and leans in to press his lips against my own. I immediately melt into him. His soft lips contrasting with the rough stubble makes me whimper against his lips, causing his tongue to dart out and flick at the roof of my mouth.
I part my lips even further, allowing this brief make-out session to continue. Besides, it had been a long time coming anyway. His hand rests on my thigh, gripping it tightly and after a few more moments, Denny pulls away to catch his breath.
I lick my swollen lips, staring into his eyes with a small smile. "You still are such a good damn kisser," I blush.
Denny chuckles, looking into my eyes. "Just like you."
I hold onto him and turn my attention back to the sky, biting my lower lip. Suddenly, I stand up and pull Denny with me.
"Can you take me to the Space Needle?" I ask.
"The Space Needle? Right now? Really?"
"Please?"
Denny smiles, arching a brow teasingly. "Mm, what do I get out of it?"
"A heated make-out session," I wink.
"Ooh, I'm in. Let's go."
He takes my hand and leads me away from the rooftop. I smile at him, my mind racing at various thoughts that begin to scatter in my brain.
Going to the Space Needle will provide me a better understanding of what to decide.
