Dear Diary,

I woke up to find a nurse crouching beside me. She was feeling my pulse and she asked if I was okay. I nodded to her and stood up. She helped to steady me and escorted me back into the waiting room, where Byron and Krista were. Krista was still sleeping on Byron's shoulder, but Byron was awake, and smiled when he saw me. I walked over and sat on the other side of him sadly, leaning against him as well. He put his arm around me and rubbed my back.

That's when James came into the waiting room. He saw me and walked quickly over, pulling me by by arm, away from Byron and off to the side. He asked who Byron and Krista were and why they were here. After I told them, he sighed and shook his head. He said I was hopeless and Malachi shouldn't have any feelings for me. If he didn't, none of this would've happened. I couldn't defend myself, so I bowed my head and took it. He was right, it was my fault Malachi was in the hospital.

I was taking a verbal beating from James about Malachi, but Byron walked over and stepped between us. He said that James had done enough to make me feel bad and that he should lay off before he gets himself into trouble. I put my hand on Byron's shoulder, shaking my head at him when he looked back to me, but James just stalked off. I knew he was upset about Malachi. Considering he helped Malachi rescue me, I knew he cared. He was just blinded by his love for his brother.

A bit later, Krista, Byron and I were sitting together, chatting dolefully about random things to keep ourselves busy. That's when a nurse came up to us. She asked us why we were here, so Byron explained that we were here for Malachi, although as far as we knew, only kin was allowed to see him. The nurse sighed, motioning us to follow her. I thought she was taking us to him, but she simply took us around the corner to talk to us in private. She said Malachi has three cancerous tumors in his brain.

I almost broke down right then and there.

She told us that the doctor had found them yesterday when he was brought in for injuries, which weren't major. That was a relief to hear, but she said when the doctor examined closer, he found that there's nothing they can do to cure him of the tumors. It's too late.

She said Malachi doesn't have more than a year to live.

That's when I broke.

I started to noticeably shake, and tears started spilling out of my eyes. Krista pulled me into a hug and I started sobbing into her shoulder. The nurse finished explaining some things to Byron, then said we were welcome to visit him today. He would be discharged this evening. I clung to Krista as the nurse walked away, Byron sighing and wrapping us both in his strong arms, sandwiching me in between them. After a few moments, I couldn't breathe again, pushing them both away for a moment to catch my breath. Byron and Krista seemed to exchange a look before Krista led me off to the bathroom, grabbing her bag from the waiting room on the way. Byron headed off the other way.

The bathroom was deserted, which made Krista smile. She said it was perfect, then had me sit on the counter. I wiped away my tears, confused. I think she was trying to calm me down by distracting me. She smiled and pulled some makeup from her bag. I reminded her that I don't like to wear makeup, so she thought for a moment before smiling. She suggested that I apply it to her, like back in high school. She hadn't done her makeup since yesterday afternoon anyways. I laughed a bit and shakily started on her makeup.

By the end, we were laughing so hard that we couldn't breathe. We'd told one another our wildest stories since after graduation. The other women that came into the bathroom shot us weird looks, which only made us laugh more.

I was happy for the time being.

Anyways, we found Byron and he took us to a cafe just down the street. Memories and feelings for Malachi flooded back into me slowly as we ate. I wasn't really hungry, but ate anyways. Now, I'm in the bathroom here writing this all down and trying not to cry again.

I'll write after I visit Malachi, I suppose.

Love,

Cratey R.