Father had been unable to find the thief, despite Larry's helpful assistance. So after nearly two weeks of fretting about my mum's jewelry and father's inability to figure who the thief was, father gave up and went back to focus solely on his work.

Father was a lawyer. He was highly respected for his win to lose case ratio. Having nearly represented all the famous celebrities, his name was a to-go for any rich person fighting a lawsuit.

However, if only he was half as good a father as he was a lawyer.

The shocking pain in my chest exploded again and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to go away. I'd been having pains in the chest for as long as I could remember. But the thought of it developing into something more severe had never crossed my mind.

I sat in the clinic, awaiting my test results. The clinic was situated far from the city, near the countryside. Since I didn't want my parents to know about my recent visits to the clinic for all sorts of tests, I had chosen to visit one I'd never visited before. It wasn't very small, but it was of course not as big and luxurious as the private hospitals I usually visited.

"Holland Evans, Doctor Ned will see you now to explain the results of your tests." A tall female nurse said to me.

I knocked lightly and walked into the room, I was terrified of what I was going to have to hear.

"Hello, Miss Evans." Doctor Ned said softly, a small smile graced his features.

I replied with a customary nod, fear knotted my stomach I could barely breathe.

"Before I explain the results to you, how are you feeling today?"

"Not so good, I have not been sleeping too well lately, I have been feeling discomfort all over my body, especially my back and chest," I said cautiously.

"Hm, those really are some of the symptoms..." He muttered.

I licked my dry lips as I waited for the bomb to drop.

"The scans are not good. Do you remember the transesophageal echocardiogram test I did? The one where I had to insert a probe down your throat?"

I winced. The thought of it already had me quivering. I nodded.

"Holland, you have thoracic aortic aneurysm."

"Huh?"

"An aortic aneurysm is a weakened area in the wall of one of the largest blood vessels in your heart. It is so large that I'm afraid even surgery might not be able to work. I can only give you medication to subside the pain and symptoms you feel. And also some medication to lower your blood pressure. At maximum, according to your results and the estimated speed the aneurysm is growing, you only have two to three more months to live. I understand that this is a big blow to you but I would like to advise you to still remain positive, because sometimes..."

I tuned the rest out.

I was dying? Dying? A word so foreign plagued my mind. Why me? I was only eighteen, I had a future, I had so many more things I wanted to accomplish. This was only the beginning of adulthood. I choked on my saliva, resulting in another one of my infamous coughing fits.

"...go out, have fun, live. Don't be afraid, be brave. Go rock climb, go and abseil, go skydiving. Do all these when you still can. Don't regret life." He said patting my arm gently, like a father would. Like a father should.

I nodded, stumbling out of the room, almost tripping over a little toddler sitting outside. His mother was too busy on the phone to bother about the child. I glared at her.

In that exact moment, I hated hospitals, clinics, everything.

I made my way teary eyed to the counter when suddenly, I lost my footing and slipped.

My arms flailed about as I desperately tried to grab onto something. I squeezed my eyes shut when my effort was futile and anticipated the impact.

However, all I felt then was the strong grip of my knight in shining armor.

Stunned, I did not move in the arms of my savior. My eyes were still tightly shut.

"Miss?"

I opened my eyes to a pair of beautiful grey eyes.

Where had I seen those eyes before?

The handsome nurse smiled kindly at me before winking.

"Thank you," I stuttered before gathering myself up and paying for the medication. I was careful enough to remember to use cash just in case my mother stumbled across my transaction receipt.

I walked out the double doors toward the parking spots. I unlocked my car from a distance and sighed before making my way to my car.

Sudden realization hit me. Those eyes, could they belong to the thie-

"Thief!" A shrill voice rang out. My head jerked toward the sound and a blur mass of black came rushing toward me. As he got closer, I noticed the same black hoodie and black mask he had on. His gaze landed on me and his eyes widened in recognition.

What an incredible tiny world.

Suddenly, his black mask snapped and slipped off. I gasped at the fact that I could finally see his whole face. He ducked down to grab his mask off the floor. I opened my mouth to scream.

However, before I could comprehend anything else, the boy reached out to grab my hand, leaving me no choice but to follow after him. Using my free hand, I repeatedly thumped his arm. A purse that presumably belonged to a lady hung from his free hand. I recognized it as a limited edition branded purse with less than twenty in the whole world. It could fetch up to tens of thousands.

"The car. Drive the fucking car!" He yelled as he stopped beside my car. He looked scary when he was pissed. I hurriedly got in and started the ignition.

"Where?" I stammered out.

"Just go straight and then turn into the road on the right."

I stepped on the accelerator and the car moved forward. I kept glancing back at the boy. He looked about my age, which startled me even more.

"Don't go to the authorities." He spoke up, after what felt like a million years.

"Why should I listen to you?"

"Look, I don't have anything to offer you. I have nothing, really."

"Except all the stolen goods," I snorted, raising my eyebrows.

"Yes. But I've sold them all, if that's what you're asking. Including your belongings."

"So you have cash then."

"Yes. But I'm guessing that's not what you need."

"It isn't."

"Therefore I'm unable to return your belongings."

"My mother's," I corrected.

"And yours."

My head spun. What had he stolen from me? Then it clicked, my missing watch.

"You asshole."

"Thank you. I'm really sorry for that though."

"Are you?"

He does not bother putting the mask back on his face.

Suddenly, Doctor Ned's words rang in my head.

Live, go on adventures. Live.

"Answer this question and I'll consider not pursuing the matter."

"It depends."

"What do you do everyday? Like, how do you live?"

"I live by the day, freely, I guess."

"You're a thief, have you ever been caught?"

"Has your dad figured out who I am?"

"Touché," I smiled slightly. Never had I ever in a million years thought I'd one day be having a half decent conversation with a thief.

"I need your help just as much as you need mine."

"Do I?"

"This car has hidden cameras all over. Your face can easily be downloaded into any nearby computer or electronic device at the click of a button. It's new technology, but would you like to have the honors of trying it out?"

"You're heartless."

"Yes, soon."

"What do you mean by that? Whatever, but what do you want from me that I could possibly give?" He added with an eye roll.

"Your adventures. I want you to take me on them. I want you to help me live. I want to have fun."

"Fun? Stealing things and doing illegal shit is far from fun."

"I want to experience taking risks and living with adrenaline pumping through my veins."

"Now you sound like you're trying to write an english essay. Anyway, you're daddy's little princess, ask your daddy to take you on them."

"No. Me and you. Do we have a deal?"

"Don't you have any other friends you could risk going to jail with?"

"The thing about being rich is that no one really is your friend."

"Oh damn."

"So do we have a deal?"

"No."

"What's so hard about taking me with you? It's what you do anyway!"

"You'll just be a liability." He scowled.

"No, I won't. Do we have a deal?"

He opened the car door, jumped out, did a fancy front roll and landed gracefully on his feet a few feet away from my car. He disappeared around the bend without so much as another word.

I sighed.

Never trust a thief.

‼️‼️
HI LOVELIES!!

I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH. I AM NOT A DOCTOR. THIS IS JUST A WORK OF FICTION. YES, THE DISEASE NAMED IS REAL BUT EVERYTHING ELSE IS COMPLETE FICTION. I HAVE NO IDEA WHETHER THERE IS EVEN A POSSIBILITY THAT HOLLAND HAS SUCH A LARGE ANEURYSM WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO FEEL THE PAIN LONG BEFORE. ETC ETC.

IN THIS STORY THERE IS NO CURE AND OPERATIONS CARRIED OUT WILL PROVE FUTILE.

SO PLEASE ENJOY THIS BOOK WITH AN OPEN MIND, REMEMBER THAT EVERYTHING IS FICTITIOUS (except the name of the disease).