The surgeon, Dr

The surgeon, Dr. Manton I learned, came in and closed the door behind him.

I looked up at him with anticipation in my eyes.

"Well, it was definitely worse than I thought. His gut was twisted over two hundred degrees and he lost a great deal of blood flow."

He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. He finally looked up again and looked straight at me.

"He didn't make it out of surgery. I'm sorry."

He was looking at me with distress and sympathy in his eyes.

My heart sank and the air was knocked out of my lungs. I couldn't breath. I couldn't think. My body wasn't functioning. I couldn't except that Dawson was dead. He's dead. And I was never going to see him again.

I started choking back tears but instead of acting strong, I just let them come out. I had just lost my best friend. The horse that had taught me life lessons was now gone. I would walk in the barn the next morning and he wouldn't be looking over his stall door at me. Whenever my world came crashing down, I wouldn't have him to turn to anymore. He was gone. Forever. And I was devastated.

I started crying into Adam's chest and he just held me tight, not letting go of me.

He knew right now I needed someone here for me and to comfort me, and he wasn't going to let me go.

Dad looked over at Dr. Manton with distress and sorrow in his eyes.

"When can we take him home?" he asked.

"Tonight if you want. I would recommend the morning though since it's so late." He said kindly.

"I'll come pick him up tomorrow. That way I will have a place dug for him and I can take him straight there."

I could tell by his voice that Dad was just as upset about this as I was.

"I'm not coming and I'm not going to watch you bury his body," I said through sobs.

"It's okay honey. I'll do it and you can stay inside."

He turned back to the doctor.

"Thank you Dr. Manton for your help. We'll be leaving now."

"Thank you Mr. Cheek. I'm very sorry."

I cried the whole was home that night, arriving home at two in the morning. Adam helped me up to my room and put me under the covers.

He started to walk out when I reached out to him.

"Adam, please don't go. Will you stay with me tonight?" I asked desperately.

He stopped and turned.

"I'll do whatever you want me to," he said walking over to me.

He sat beside me, stroking my face, while I lay there, exhausted from crying.

I looked up at him.

"Why Adam. Why did God do this to me." I said quietly and hurt.

He just looked at me with sadness in his eyes.

"I'm not going to lie to you Livi. I honestly don't know. But what I do know is that Dawson loved you and even though he's gone physically on earth, the bond that you had with him will always be here. And I know right now you're hurting more than imaginable but with time, it will heal. The memories won't fade but the pain will. You just have to give it time."

I just looked at him. I couldn't believe he had said something that extraordinary.

"Wow Adam," I said quietly.

He leaned down and kissed my lips gently.

"Now, go to sleep," he said gently. "You're exhausted."

Before I could argue with him, I had already closed my eyes and that's all it took. I fell asleep instantly, drifting away.

I woke the next morning, and saw Adam sitting in a chair beside my bed.

"Good morning," he said with a small smile.

"You stayed," I said eager and sat up.

"Of course I did. I told you I wouldn't leave," he said with a sweet smile.

I smiled at him, looking into his eyes. And then it hit me. Why I'd been so tired. It was because I was at the clinic all night, with Dawson. And he didn't make it through.

I didn't start to cry. I couldn't cry anymore. Instead, I looked up at Adam.

"Dad is out burying Dawson isn't he?" I asked sadly.

He just looked into my eyes, pain in his.

"Yes." He answered gradually.

He knew how much pain I had went through last night and he didn't want to say anything that would put me in that much pain again.

"Are you okay?" he asked slowly.

"Yeah…I'm just really tired." I said quietly.

"Your dad went out and took care of the stable this morning."

I looked at him a little confused.

"What time is it?"

"It's nine. I wanted to let you sleep," he said a little concerned. "And your dad wanted me to stay here with you."

"Thanks," I said getting out of bed. "I'll be right back. I'm going to go clean up."

"I'll wait here," he said with a smile.

I went into the bathroom and looked at my reflection in the mirror. It was horrific. My hair looked like a messy haystack and my eyes were red and puffy.

I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face. Then I started to try to untangle my chaotic hair.

A couple of minutes later I walked back into my room looking semi-decent.

Adam was sitting on my bed now, and I went to sit in his lap like a child.

He wrapped his arms around me; hugging me tightly and not letting me go.

I sat there, trying to organize my confused thoughts. I tried to figure out what I needed to do next. When I found an answer, I looked up at Adam.

"I've decided to withdraw Flint from the show in Chicago," I said determined.

He just looked at me confused.

"Why is that?"

"I don't know. Its just…there's so much going on right now here. And, there will be other shows."

He looked down on me and smiled.

"If that's what you want, then it's fine with me," he said stroking my face.

"And I have an idea," he continued.

Now it was my turn to be confused.

"And what's that?"

"We skip school on Monday and spend the whole day together. What do you say?"

I just looked up at him with a smile.

"That sounds perfect."