Return
Adalie woke up the next day and immediately turned on her computer. There were no new messages. Did he get her message? Maybe she was too mean and he felt like he shouldn't answer to appease her. What was she doing? She couldn't do this, she has moved on. Would she forgive him and be with him again if asked for it? She shook her head, she needed coffee and a shower.
She thought of him all day. She thought of their memories together. She thought of him while eating breakfast. She thought of him while cleaning her apartment. She thought of him while shopping for groceries. She thought of him as she picked out her clothes for her date with Justin. She couldn't stop thinking about him and it was unfair. She has given him everything but he won't even let her be in peace. She was so frustrated with him and herself. Despite her frustration, she thought of him until her date with Justin on Friday.
As she predicted, she rushed to get ready in an hour. When Justin arrived, she was out of breath and just got her shoes on. Justin smiled at her and offered his arm to her. She accepted and left the apartment.
"You look beautiful Adalie." Justin told her sincerely. She smiled and nudged him.
"Thanks, you don't look too bad yourself." He gave a small laugh and opened the car door for her. She grinned and went in; Justin was a gentleman. They went to the movies first and he did the yawn into arm around shoulders trick which made Adalie's pulse go up and her body warm. When the movie ended the walked to the restaurant hand in hand while talking about the movie. Dinner was perfect. He was attentive, funny and pretty much the perfect date. When she got home, she gave him a peck on the lips good night. When she closed the door she heard him celebrate, which made her giddy. She was glowing by the time she got into bed. She thought nothing of Jacob that night and it was perfect. Adalie decided it was best that he didn't respond and that it was a sign that she should move on fully.
Justin and Adalie went out almost every night after their first date. They have become officially together after two weeks of dating and Adalie was content and happy. She didn't think about Jacob as much and Justin always distracted her from the small bouts of pain that comes every now and then when she thought of Jacob. She passed her exams and he was the first person she thought of telling. They celebrated it together quietly. Tomorrow night would be the first time she'll meet his family as his girlfriend and she was nervous. He was coming over tonight to calm her down and tell her something. She was nervous about that too.
When he came, he looked awful. He looked pale, nervous, sweaty and frightened. She ushered him in and they got comfortable at the couch. He looked at her and sighed.
"I haven't told you everything about me. I didn't know we would get so serious so fast." Justin began. Adalie's chest tightened and she scooted away from her boyfriend. He held on to her arm before she could run away.
"Adalie, it's not like that. My feelings for you are real and they'll never change. I love you." He told her. It was the first time either of them have said it, and her eyes widened and she panicked. She liked him a lot but love in two weeks? She just sat frozen, looking at him. He smiled a little at her reaction but it got serious again.
"You are the best thing that has happened to me, you know? Except, I haven't been fair to you. I should have told you everything in the beginning and now it's been too long. I'm sorry, if you want to break up after this I'll understand." He told her. She looked at him in confusion. Was he married? Is she a mistress? What was going on?
"Justin, you're killing me here. What's going on?" She asked him. He took her hand but looked away from her. A tear rolled down his face and he quickly wiped it away with the other hand.
"I'm dying." He confessed. Adalie's heart dropped and her mind went frantic. She took her hands away and made him face her.
"What? What do you mean you're dying? Justin…" She asked him, tearing up. His eyes were red and shiny with tears. This made her erupt into tears.
"I don't understand. Why? How?" She sobbed at him. He held her into his arms and cried with her. When he calmed down he answered her.
"I have cancer. It has metastasized and it's the reason I'm here. I have dual citizenship between America and Canada and I'm fully Canadian too. I was getting treatments here and the doctors told me that I only have 3 months to live at most, which usually means I only have about a month." He explained. Adalie hugged him harder as she cried harder. This wasn't fair. He was an amazing man, why him?
"When did they tell you that?" Adalie asked him. He gulped and tears fell freely down his face.
"Last week." He told her hoarsely. Adalie reeled at the information. They only had three weeks left for each other. She didn't care if she didn't fully feel this way, she wanted him to hear it.
"I love you Justin. We'll get through this and you'll get better. It's you and me, okay?" She told him. She felt a little guilty saying words she wasn't completely honest in feeling. Justin nodded his head and they held onto each other. They fell asleep on the couch and woke up the next morning.
He observed her face as she woke up. When she saw him she smiled, but the even last night came crashing down and she grimaced. He realized what happened and gave her a hug.
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have kept my sickness from you. It's not fair that you invested yourself in someone who was going to be gone so soon. I won't be able to give you a happy family, a home or anything but a broken heart. I'm sorry that I was so selfish." Justin apologized. Adalie got up to make breakfast and Justin followed.
"I won't say I'm not mad, because I am angry that you hid this from me, but what am I to do? I already fell for you and it might be hard but I still want to spend all the time you have left with you." Adalie told him. He smiled at her back.
"Coffee?" She asked him.
"Yes please." He answered. They spent the rest of the morning cuddling and going over his family tree. His family welcomed her. It was his parents, his twin brother Tyler, and his older sister Angela. They spent the entire time laughing, telling stories and eating. It was nice. Justin and Adalie spent the whole time practically attached to the hip and the family noticed. The smiled their appreciation and Adalie got the gist of it. She didn't care if she didn't fully love him, she cared deeply for him and liked him a lot. In a few months she knew she would have been in love. She spent the next week with Justin and his family but his family wanted to spend some alone time with him and she respected that and went back to her apartment for the first time in a week. When she got there, she opened the door and her heart dropped again.
Quick Author's note: How are you liking the story so far? I might be able to finish it by the weekend. Tell me what you like or don't like about it please, so I can make some improvements. Thank you guys.