Hi guys! I'm glad you're all enjoying the 2nd part. I know, sad. But things will get better. :) Thanks for all the reviews and the great comments! Enjoy-
PART II- Chapter 2.
Syd's POVThe next morning, Weiss cooked me pancakes and eggs before class. I had to say, living with Weiss had its benefits since he actually was a pretty good cook. I kept thinking about how Francie and Weiss should have a little Iron Chef cook off cause they were both great chefs.
Turning on my computer to check my e-mail, I perked up in excitement to see one from Vaughn.
Hey beautiful-
It's 5am in the morning and I can't sleep a wink, which isn't a big surprise to you. I need my girl next to me. Plus, I was making sure my mom was ok. She had another chemo session yesterday. It was her 5th one so she only has 3 more to go. The good thing is that they said the tumor is shrinking, but she's getting even more sick and weak.
Yesterday, she couldn't even walk into the house when I brought her in. She keeps trying to be upbeat and have a good attitude, but you can tell it's starting to get to her. Ever since she's been sick, Donovan has been sleeping by her bedside like he knows something is wrong. He won't leave her by herself. I told you Donny was special. Remember when we went to my neighbor's house to pick from the bunch of bulldog puppies? You wanted the one at the end because he had the most brown spots. But I knew the little puppy in the middle was special.
But anyways, I hope you're doing well. There's a three-day weekend coming up in a couple of weeks. You think you can come home so I can stop being miserable without you? I miss you so much Syd. You have no idea.
I know you have to get to class so I'll let you go. Have a great day!
I love you-
Vaughn
A big smile appeared on my face from just getting an e-mail from him. Somehow he always had this way of putting cute things in his e-mails to make me happy.
Francie and I lucked out this semester because we were able to get into the same Business class. But, it also made it harder since we'd sit in the back of class and gossip about whatever was going on.
Francie also had a crush on the TA, which I declined to tell Eric since he was still holding out for her. I really was feeling for that poor Weiss. We both figured Francie would come around soon and just go out with him already.
I really did miss living with Francie. I missed going to her room in the middle of the night to tell her my random thoughts and her always being around to help me solve my problems. Living with Weiss was fun, but I really needed my best girlfriend around.
Her new roommate Emily, also known as the best friend stealer, turned out to be a pretty nice person. I took back all the mean things I assumed about her and actually grew to like her from the first couple of weeks we hung out.
After all of our classes were done for the day, Fran and I decided to go shopping since she thought I needed to be cheered up.
"Ok Syd, what do you think of this skirt?" She asked, holding up a dark khaki skirt as we filed through the racks at The Gap.
"It's cute. You should get that blue top with it." I answered.
I still didn't feel like picking out any clothes or spending any money. The whole time Francie was in the dressing room, I stared off into space thinking about Vaughn. If he were at the Gap with me, right about now he would've come out in a new button down shirt looking all gorgeous and asking me if I liked it.
The moment he told me about his mom's cancer was permanently imprinted in my mind as I looked back on one of the saddest days of our lives.
FLASHBACK"Sydney! Michael's here!" My dad yelled from the bottom of the stairs.
Bouncing down the stairs in my shorts and tank top, I saw Vaughn standing in the middle of my living room.
"Hey sweetie!" I greeted him.
Immediately I knew something was wrong with him because his face was serious and his eyes looked tired. His forehead was covered in wrinkles and his hands were balled up in tight fists.
"C'mon Vaughn. Let's go to my room." I suggested while taking his hand and leading him up the stairs.
Whatever he wanted to talk to me about, I didn't want to disturb my dad and thought it was best if we did it in private.
Vaughn took a set on my bed and looked down at his hands as I shut my bedroom door. Taking a seat next to him, I rubbed my hand up and down his back hoping it would urge him to talk.
"Vaughn? Talk to me. What's going on?" I asked concerned.
"My mom… My mom… she has cancer." He choked out, unable to hold back his tears.
"Did she find out today? How bad is it?"
"She has breast cancer and the doctor's said she's in the second stage. She's going to have to go through chemotherapy starting next week." He explained.
"I'm so sorry Vaughn. I'm so so sorry." I told him, wrapping my arms around him and letting him cry.
Never in my life had I ever seen Vaughn cry the way he did. Gripping tightly to my body, he dug his head into my shoulder and wept loudly. It nearly broke my heart to see him like this. He looked so broken and devastated. All I could do was sit there and hold him in my arms.
"She's going to get through this Vaughn. Your mom is one of the strongest people I know." I told him as I hoped it would make him feel better.
After the tears had stopped and he was able to talk again, Vaughn sat next to me, gripping my hand like he never wanted to let go. In that moment, I could see how scared he was. I saw something different in his green eyes and for the first time, I could see fear.
"I… ummm.. I'm going to need to stay with my mom when school starts again in the fall. I'm probably going to have to take a semester or two off until she's ok again. I can't leave her here." He told me sadly.
A big knot formed in the top of my throat and I could feel it becoming tight. I didn't want to let Vaughn know how much that distressed me because he didn't need that right now. Instead, I supported his decision.
"That's good Vaughn. She's going to need you." I told him.
"I'm so sorry Syd. I know we planned on living together and everything…"
Before he could continue, I cut him off.
"Don't do that Vaughn. You need to take care of your mom. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
"I don't even know how I'm going to handle this…" He whispered.
"You won't have to do it alone. I'm going to be here with you."
"But, what happens when you have to go back to San Francisco? I'm going to need you Syd."
"I know, sweetie." Planting a kiss on his temple, I ran my hands along his forehead to smooth out the concerned wrinkles.
"She doesn't deserve this. I mean, why? Out of all the people in the world?"
I got off my bed to stand in front of him.
"Vaughn, look at me. We can't control something like this. We can't take it away or deny that it's happening. All we can do is hope and pray for your mom. And she's going to beat this, you hear me?"
Nodding his head, he stood up and pulled me into a tight hug.
"Thanks Syd.." He whispered into my ear.
END FLASHBACK
The slamming of the dressing door woke me from my walk down memory lane. Francie emerged holding all four jackets in her hand and one skirt.
"Ok, so you know how Sarah Jessica Parker dances around in all those Gap commercials and makes those jackets cute? Well, she's a liar cause these jackets are so not cute." She told me while she handed the clothes back to the salesperson.
"Guess you didn't like them, huh Fran?" I asked.
"No. They didn't look too great on me. C'mon, I'm tired of shopping. Let's go pick up Weiss and order a pizza."
Grabbing my hand to help me up, we made our way out of the mall. I was glad we were leaving since I wasn't in the shopping kind of mood. It was nice to get some alone time in with Francie though.
We swung by my new called home to pick up Weiss and the pizza. It was always nice having him around since he could always put a smile on my face no matter how I was. Part of me thought that Weiss missed Vaughn just as much as I did.
Sometimes at night, I would catch him staring at the other control of the X-box thinking about how much he missed his best friend. He tried to play it off like he didn't miss Vaughn. But, Francie and I both knew differently.
As soon as we walked in to the apartment, Weiss immediately took off his shoes and made his way to the couch.
"Can you guys bring me over a piece?" He shouted as he searched for the remote control.
Placing a couple of pieces on a plate, I trudged over to Weiss and handed to him.
"You are the best, Syd." He thanked me.
"No problem. Now scoot over. What are we watching tonight?" I answered.
The three of us had made it a habit to spend at least one night a week together with pizza and a movie. Somehow Emily was always out of the apartment and Weiss was the only one yet to meet her.
"When am I gonna meet your new roomie, Francie?" He questioned, looking around.
"How about right now?" A feminine voice answered behind us.
Weiss swiveled his head around and jumped off of the couch.
"Hi! I'm Eric. 19. Single. It's nice to meet you." He greeted.
"I'm Emily. It's nice to meet you too. Francie and Sydney talk a lot about you."
"Oh really? Cause you've been just a mystery to me. Are you going to join us?" He asked.
His tone was indeed flirty and the way he was eying Emily, I knew Weiss was developing a new crush. After all, Emily was cute. She was a short blonde, had a ballet dancer's body, and light blue eyes. We all knew Weiss' taste and she definitely fit the bill.
"Nope. I'm just running off to go meet one of my friends at the movies." She explained.
"Oh, must not keep your boyfriend waiting."
"I don't have a boyfriend. I'm meeting my friend Carla. I'll see you guys later."
And with that, she was out the door. Weiss came back to the couch with a sly little grin on his face.
"What the hell was that Eric? Can you get anymore obvious?" Francie told him in disgust with a hint of jealousy in her voice.
"What the hell was what? I was just being friendly. You didn't tell me your roommate was that cute."
"Whatever." Francie mumbled. "She's not that cute."
Meanwhile, I sat back on the couch laughing because I knew exactly what was going on. Francie didn't expect Weiss to be all gooey eyed over Emily and she was feeling slightly jealous that she wasn't the one Weiss was crushing over.
Vaughn's POVI spent the whole day restless not knowing what to do. The 7-mile run I had in the morning didn't even drain any of anxiousness nor did it tire me out. My mom was able to move around a bit and the sickness was subsiding. It was good news for us since she could finally eat and get some strength back.
As much as I missed Syd, I really did miss having Weiss around as well. Especially when that dumb foreign game show called Most Extreme Elimination Challenge came on late at night. We'd watch that show and laugh until our stomachs hurt and tears were coming out of our eyes.
I made Donovan my new best friend. And, as sad as the sounds, he made pretty good company. Sure, he wouldn't talk back or anything, but he was good for hugs and wet kisses.
Walking over to my computer, I flipped it on and found two new e-mails from Syd. One of them was her response to my previous e-mail and the other was an online greeting card. On the greeting card, a little rabbit jumped across a screen with a carrot in his mouth. Then it said, "You'll always be my honey bunny." –Love, Syd.
She always had the cutest little ways of making me laugh with ridiculous greeting cards like that. Softly clicking on the mouse, I opened up her second e-mail with much anticipation.
Hi Vaughn-I'm just over Fran's place and the three of us, Francie, Weiss, and I are watching Die Hard 3. Of course you know who picked that. I wish you were here. You totally missed Weiss getting all flustered over Francie's new roommate. Someone has a crush on Emily. You should've seen the look on Francie's face. She looked so pissed.
School isn't that much fun so you're not missing anything. Midterms are already coming up. Can you believe that? I haven't had much time for studying but I plan on getting in some hours this weekend.
How's your mom doing? Sorry to hear she's feeling sick. That poor thing. The chemo treatment must take a hell of a lot out of her. When she's awake, tell her I said hello and give her a big hug for me.
This bed is too big up here for me. I keep rolling onto your side of the bed at night and expecting to bump into you. But you're not here and it's making me just as miserable. I put on an extra blanket just because the bed seems that cold.
I'll see if I can come home that weekend, but I don't know Vaughn. The schoolwork is killing me and I don't know if I can make it down. I want you to know that I'm missing you just as much. We'll be together soon, I promise.
I love you sweetie-
Syd
I was pretty bummed out to see that she was skeptical about coming down to LA for the holiday weekend. I so badly wanted to buy a plane ticket up there, but I couldn't leave my mom alone. She needed me.
Needing to hear Syd's voice, I picked up my cell phone and dialed her number.
"Hello?" Her beautiful voice answered from the other line.
"Hey…"
"Hi sweetie! It's good to hear from you. I was going to call you earlier, but I didn't want to disturb your mom with the phone ringing in case she was sleeping or something." She told me.
"Oh it's ok. So are you still at Francie's place?" I asked, looking down at my shirt and pulling on a lose string.
"Yep. We're still here. Hey guys, say hi to Vaughn! HEY VAUGHN!" Two other voices greeted me in the background.
"Aww, I miss you guys."
"I know we all miss you too. Especially me. I must think about you a hundred times a day."
"Multiply that number by a thousand and that's how many times I think about you." I told her as I imagined the big smile on her face.
"God, Vaughn. This is absolute torture. I never thought about how hard this would be. I can't stand being away from you."
"I know Syd. I feel the same way. But, we're going to get through it and in no time we'll be back to living together. You just gotta have faith."
"Yeah… and I'll always wait for you." She sighed into the phone.
"Listen babe, I was just calling you to see what you were doing and I know you're watching a movie so I'll let you go. Call me tonight before you go to bed?"
"Always." She responded. "I love you Vaughn."
"Love you too, Syd."
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