It's been a few days since I temporarily moved in with Wendy and Jen.

   I checked my phone constantly, but unfortunately, Rebecca hasn't called or texted.

I sat on the deck, smoking a cigarette, when I heard my phone go off.

   I nearly jumped out of my chair to answer it. "Rebecca?!"

"No, it's mom?"

I felt my heart sink. "Oh... hey, mom."

"How're you feeling?"

"I don't know..."

"I take it no word from Rebecca yet?"

"Yep..." I said, slightly rolling my eyes.

"If she truly loves you, she'll call."

"That's what I'm worried about, mom. Maybe she doesn't love me anymore, people do fall out of love, you know? Look at you and da-" She cut me off.

"Let me stop you right there, your father and I are not a good example of a healthy relationship. I'm surprised it's lasted this long." She said with a chuckle, which made me smile slightly.

"But, the point is, when you guys are together, you can feel the love in the air. I've never seen a better, more perfect match then you two."

"Yeah, but-"

"No buts. She proposed to you didn't she?"

"Yeah, but still-"

"Then she'll call. I can almost guarantee you she will. Because she does love you, sweetie."

I smiled. "Thanks, mom."

"No problem, honey. I love you and keep me updated."

"Will do, mom, love you to."

We said our goodbyes and hung up the phone.

   Even though life kinda sucked right now, mom always knew what to say.

   I smiled to myself as I lit another cigarette.

   Then, my phone rang again and I picked it up. "What'd you forget, mom?"

"Skylar..."

I dropped my cigarette and sat up.

"Rebecca?" I asked in almost a whisper.

"Can we talk?" She asked with a sniffle.

"Uh, yeah, of course. I'll have Wendy drive me home."

"Don't worry about it. I'll be there soon." She said.

"Ok... I love you, Rebecca." I replied sadly.

"I love you more." Came her reply.

My lips grew into a grin so wide my mouth hurt. I hung up the phone and ran back inside.

"She's coming!" I yelled through the house.

"Jesus, Skylar! We're right here." Wendy said.

I looked at the couch next to me, Wendy and Jens heads were turned to me.

   I cracked an embarrassed smile. "Sorry."

Jen chuckled. "Who's coming?"

"Rebecca! Duh!" I shouted again, making a beeline for the spare bedroom.

"Inside voice!" Wendy called after me.

I quickly showered and changed.

I rubbed the charm bracelet Rebecca gave me for my birthday a couple years back and smiled to myself. I always wore it. Just like Rebecca always wore the locket I got for her. Even though things weren't going great right now, they never left our side.

After what felt like hours, there was a knock at the door. I sprinted from the kitchen, but Wendy beat me there.

"Oh, hey, Reb-"

I pushed her out of the way and pulled Rebecca in for a deep, passionate kiss.

   She ran her hands through my hair and I ran mine up and down her back.

"PDA!" Wendy shouted from next to us.

We giggled as we pulled apart. "I've missed you so much it's not even funny."

Rebecca smiled. "I know what you mean."

We stared into each other's eyes for a minute before Wendy cleared her throat.

"Right, you came to talk." I said, taking Rebecca's hand in mine and leading her to the table.

We sat across from each other.

   Wendy started to lead Jen out of the room, but Rebecca stopped them.

"I wanna talk to you guys to." She said.

They exchanged glances and took the two remaining seats at the kitchen table.

"I just wanna start by saying I'm sorry for being an ass lately."

Wendy started to talk, but Rebecca raised her hand, stopping her.

"And I'm especially sorry for treating you the way I have been, Skylar. You don't deserve it. You've just been trying to help and I've been pushing you away."

I grabbed her hand from across the table and smiled. "I forgive you."

She returned my smile before starting up again. "Now, I'm sure you guys are wondering what's been going on?"

We all anxiously nodded our heads.

She let out a slight chuckle before clearing her throat.

"My dad has cancer..." She said, looking down at her hands.

Wendy, Jen and I exchanged sad glances.

"Rebecca, I'm so sorry." I said. Wendy and Jen nodded their agreement.

"How long does he have?" Jen asked.

Wendy and I shot her a glare.

   "I'm sorry." She said, throwing her hands up.

Rebecca smiled slightly and took my hand in hers. "It's ok, guys... six weeks at the least."

"What about at the most?" Wendy asked.

"A few months..." She replied, looking at our intertwined hands.

I rubbed the back of her hand with my thumb. "I don't know what to say, Rebecca... I mean, that blows, big time."

"I know... and it's ok. You being here for me is enough." She said, looking into my eyes, smiling.

I returned her smile and leaned in for a quick kiss.

   After a few minutes of silence, Wendy chimed in. "I guess this means you're moving out."

We all chuckled a little to ourselves.

"Yeah, I guess so." I replied.

It fell silent again for a couple more minutes, until Rebecca spoke up this time.

"I don't know about you guys... but, I could use a beer."

We all looked in her direction, stunned looks on our faces.

"What? I'm twenty-one." She said.

We all laughed as we got up and grabbed our jackets, walking out to our cars before breaking off into couples.

"Try and keep up!" I shouted to Wendy and Jen as I sped out of their driveway...

We walked through the front doors of Twist, Rebecca and I hand in hand.

   Blake greeted us with a smile. "Well, look who's back."

We returned her smile.

"What'll it be kids?" Blake asked.

"Four beers please." Rebecca said, taking the seat next to me at the bar.

Blake looked between the four of us, a shocked smile on her face.

"Well, can I see an I.D. young lady?" She asked with a chuckle.

Rebecca rolled her eyes and smiled. "Just give us the beers."

"Well, look who finally joined the big kids." Blake said, placing four beers in front of us.

Rebecca struggled to get the cap off.

   I leaned over and popped it off for her.

"Thank you." She said, planting a quick peck on my nose.

We all looked on as Rebecca started to take a sip. "A little privacy, please." She said.

We all laughed as she took a sip, her gleeful smile quickly turned into a disgusted frown as she spit the beer back into the bottle.

That got us all laughing again.

"Jesus Christ, you guys are sick." She said, wiping her mouth.

"How about something a little fruitier?" Blake asked.

She nodded and Blake began whipping up a red colored drink. She slid it to Rebecca, who hesitated before taking a sip.

"Better?" Blake asked.

Rebecca nodded before taking another sip. "What is this?"

"An Alabama Slammer."

"I like it." Rebecca replied.

We fell into normal conversation as the day ran on around us...

Even though she was laughing, I could tell Rebecca was broken inside. She just got her real dad back and now he only has months to live, if we're lucky.

But, no matter what happened. I'd be there for her. Anytime, anywhere...