Author's note:

So, this is where this story's breakout starts. The remaining eight chapters. The song above is one of my favorites. I've listened to it all the time when I was writing a next few chapters. It perfectly represents the sadness and the pain because of the loss of a loved one. 

I also have to warn you that the next two chapters are very sad so if anyone feels triggered by them, you can always contact me and talk to me about it. 

Otherwise, I want you to enjoy it (it's gonna get very bumpy).

-

Naples, Florida, the date night, 2018

„Hey, you're cheating!" Aline yelled as she was trying to pull the cards out of Diego's hand. The whole gang gathered in Brian's Shop after its closing and they decided to hang out for a little, before going to the beach. Diego was playing cards with Aline while Brian, David, and Marina were talking about David's troubled car.

„You should go to Coastland. It's in Shirley Street. My dad is their customer and they're really great," Marina said.

David just sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

„If we're talking about the body, MAACO is always a better option, trust me," Brian objected. Marina stuck her tongue in his direction, making David smile and feel a little bit better.

„When I get home, I'll check on them. Thanks for the advice," he replied.

Soon, they started to get ready to go to the beach but they were interrupted by Nikki, bursting through the door. All five of them immediately turned toward the entrance.

„Hey," Diego greeted her cheerfully. „It's still pretty early. You're done so fast?"

Nikki just looked at him, swallowing a big lump, forming in her throat. She directed all her strength to stop the tears but her face was showing something wasn't right. Brian was immediately alarmed. He stood right in front of her.

„Nikki?" he called her name with concern. „Is everything all right? Where's Dan?"

The woman looked up into his eyes. Soft, sympathetic eyes. At that moment, she knew she wouldn't be able to restrain. She hugged her friend around the waist, sticking her head in his t-shirt and let the tears fall.

Brian was shocked, just like the remaining four friends in the store. Marina approached her, putting a hand on her shoulder but she didn't separate from him. Brian felt her body shaking from crying. His t-shirt was getting more wetter.

„You're scaring us. Where's Dan? Why haven't you two came together? What happened?" Marina was asking question after question until Brian hadn't looked at her disapprovingly.

„She can't talk. Leave her alone," he muttered, before leading Nikki to the stock room. She lowered her head, her cheeks being wet from the tears who just continued to fall down. Brian closed the door and sat her down on one of the chairs. Nikki put palms on her face, not allowing him to look at her eyes, which were probably all red and puffy. He was really worried so he took the bottle of water from the fridge he was holding there and handed to over to Nikki. That finally forced her to take a deep breath and raise her head.

Brian sat down opposite her. Nikki looked away from him but not for too long because he stretched out his hand, slowly turning her head toward himself again. At the first look in her eyes, Brian wished to hit someone. He became angrier, wanting to know what made her so upset that she came here in such a state.

„Take a break, drink some water and then tell me what happened, okay?"

She nodded, following his instructions while he was just watching her worriedly. He knew...he simply knew this was somehow related to Daniel. The other man screwed up again, he was sure of it.

„You can call the others too," Nikki said after a few sips of water in a shaky and strained voice. As she didn't want to look up into his eyes, he went to his other friends.

Nikki soon heard some whispering and silent entry of the rest of them who gathered around her, scared of what she was going to tell them.

„What the hell happened?" Marina asked once more.

Nikki swallowed hard.

„Everything was great, right up until Ronnie and Luis appeared," she started hard, looking straight to their tense faces when they realized where this story would go. „I tried to convince him not to provoke but he didn't want to stop. He was constantly mentioning Sofia and how Dan never really loved her. He said a lot of bad things to him...called him a liar. Daniel attacked him and they nearly got into a fight but fortunately, the waiter asked us to leave. Then he just drove me back to the hotel. I knew he would pull back again but..." Nikki paused for a moment to stop the new wave of tears, threatening to fall in remembrance of Daniel's way of leaving. She took a new deep breath. „He told me he made a mistake, that he shouldn't give me false hope and that...he has a girlfriend."

There were several surprised gasps heard and Nikki could no longer speak. Her hand was trying to wipe the tears but they were just pouring down.

„I didn't...I didn't know what to tell him. Whatever I said it wouldn't change his attitude. I can't believe how fucking stupid I am. Again!"

Brian crouched to her, hugging her, as Marina covered her mouth with a palm, closing her eyes. Daniel once again, in a great style, crushed her hopes that something would change. She also approached her crying friend, sympathetically taking her hand in her own.

„Do you know where did he go?" she asked quietly. The other woman just shook her head.

„Wow...this is one of the jerkiest moves, even for Dan," David said. Aline and Diego were completely silent, not believing what she just told them.

Marina directed her gaze at Brian, who was still hugging inconsolable Nikki.

„Find him!" she almost commanded him, as he moved away from Nikki. He just stared at her.

„Where do you want me to look for him? And more importantly...why? Because the only thing I have to say to him...or show him is my fist in his face. The jerk doesn't deserve anything else," he replied.

Marina started screaming at Brian and his choice of words. Soon, everything escalated into a big fight. Aline pushed herself between them, separating them.

„Enough!" she shouted. „Nikki is upset and the last thing she needs it to listen to you two fighting like an old married couple. Enough!"

„I've told you this would happen and look...Nikki is the one hurting again," Brian hissed angrily, gesturing toward a said woman.

„You're blaming me for this?" Marina asked. „If you were so sure, you could tell her. I told you to tell her."

Before he had a chance to say something back, Nikki meddled in.

„Tell me what?" she asked.

Brian shook his head, laughing sarcastically.

„And you knew about everything too, just like me. You could've told her."

„Tell me what?!" Nikki asked once again, this time more firmly.

Brian took her hands in his own, leading her back to the chair. Then, he explained everything that happened the day after her surfing accident and Daniel's panic attack when he saw Sofia's picture. At his confession, Nikki's eyes first went wide and then all her sadness was replaced with anger. She got up from the chair.

„And none of you told me? Nobody remembered to mention it?"

Others remained silent.

„I can't believe this. If I had known, I would never consider going out with him. I thought he was fine. He seemed to be fine and it looked like he cares."

„I'm sorry Nikki. I haven't told you anything because I didn't want to crush your hopes and...I was somehow hoping I'm not right," Brian replied, standing next to her.

She rubbed her temple tiredly, accidentally brushing against her stitches. They were no longer so painful.

„Will you take me home?" she asked Brian, feeling so defeated. „I can't think or do anything but crying."

He nodded, then took her out of the stock room and asked Diego to lock up the store. Nikki was practically in hibernation. She was just following her friend, who led her to his car.

-

While controlling a small motorboat, Daniel struggled to breathe properly. He lowered his gaze to the water surface, seeing the waves crashing against the boat's body in regular intervals. They were calming him down. In his free hand, he was tightly clutching the chain with a ring on it. Ronnie's words were racing through his head.

„You never loved Sofia! You never loved Sofia!"

„That's a fucking lie!" he shouted loudly, trying to breathe normally. The air was somehow hard, hot. Too hot for him.

In the distance, almost in the dark, he could see the contours of the place he was heading to. Sanibel Island. Sanibel was the only place where Daniel hoped to find peace. He had to do something to calm down because he was sure that otherwise, his heart would pop out of its chest.

Immediately after leaving Nikki in front of the hotel, he headed home to change and pick up the keys of the house on the Sanibel and then headed to the island. He couldn't spend a second of his time in Naples anymore. He was constantly asking the God and heavens why Sofia had to get that damn illness? Why couldn't it be different?

„This is our place. This is where I saw you in my dream. I just have to get to Sanibel and everything will be fine," he mumbled to himself, holding back angry tears. „Damn Ronnie! I hate him!"

Although it was already very dark, Daniel could see the bottom beneath the sea surface. The boat slammed into the shore strongly, standing motionless in the sand. The tall man immediately jumped out of the boat, looking around. The beach was completely empty. In the distance, he could only see the gleam of sunshine. The sun almost set down. Twilight was turning into the night. Daniel squeezed his eyes and pressed his lips in a line while firmly clutching the ring in his hand.

„Here I am!" he shouted, spreading his hands toward the sea. „You've wanted me to come and here I am! Now what?"

As his chest was heaving, Daniel staggered to the sea, getting to the knee-deep water. He was waiting for the answer...at least something but all that he could hear was a slight murmur of the waves which were merging with the sandy shore. They were making him even more frustrated. He was furious.

„You know what? Go to hell, Sofia! Go to hell," he shouted. „If you won't come back, why the hell don't you let me go? Why do you always remind me of yourself?"

The man fell down to his knees and let his hands and shirt get soaked with salted water. The salinity of the sea was mixing with the salt tears, falling down his cheeks. His fists were hitting the surface furiously, as he was screaming at himself. Sofia apparently didn't want to answer.

„I can't do this by myself anymore," he uttered after his angry outburst, lowering his head tiredly. „Please, just let me go. Release me from this pain, because I can't do it by myself."

Daniel leaned over, his hands sticking at the wet sand of the sea bottom, so he wouldn't completely sink under the surface but he somewhat choked on water and started uncontrollable coughing.

„I hate this, Sofia! Why did you leave me? It shouldn't be like this. You should be here...you should."

He was clenching his fists hard in anger, despair, and frustration. He wasn't trying to stop the tears. Nobody could see him here anyway. No one but Sofia but he wasn't afraid to be emotional in front of her. He once again hit the surface with his clenched fist. The other hand was still holding the ring.

„I like her...Nikki," he said, wanting for Sofia to know this. „I really like her but I can't be with her. I can't move on and get away from you. Every time I try, you're just pulling me back in. Come back, Sofia...please. I can't do this alone. I just can't," he hissed through his tears, gazing at the dull, dark surface of the sea, remembering what Sofia had told him in the dream. She was in the sea and wind. „I know you hear me and I know you're here. Help me. If you don't want to let me go then at least help me...I'm begging you. Ronnie's lying. You know it...I've loved you more than anything, Sofia. I wish I could do something to get you back. Anything. Tell me what to do? Help me...please."

At that moment, everything just went blank.

-

Daniel was standing in front of Sofia's hospital room, with his back leaning against the wall. He was typing fast on his phone. Her parents went to the cafeteria and Sofia was currently sleeping so he had enough time to go out and take a break.

Every few seconds, he looked around himself. Brian and Marina were supposed to come. Although Daniel and his friends were spending a lot of time with Sofia in the hospital, in the last few days these visits became even more frequent. They almost weren't separating from her bed and the reason was Sofia's very bad condition. The biggest problem was the inability to find a proper bone marrow donor. A little less than a month ago, dr. Rios suggested stopping with her chemotherapy. The treatment was more harmful than useful to Sofia's already distressed body. The message was clear. From the first moment, Daniel knew what that meant. But no matter how hard he was trying to prepare himself for the inevitable, he knew that his girlfriend's death would hit him hard.

He bent his head, pulling the engagement ring out of his pocket. He was playing with it for a few moments, acknowledging the fact that Sofia would never wear it. Then, he heard two well-known voices coming from the distance. Daniel quickly put the ring back in his pocket, not wanting his friends to see it.

The other couple was already in front of him. Marina hugged him tightly, while Brian just gave him a weak smile, trying to find any way of support.

„How is she?" the Latina asked.

Daniel lowered his gaze to the floor, closing his tired eyes.

„She can't get up and has breathing problems, so she has to wear a mask. Last night she couldn't sleep because of the pain," he replied. „Rios thinks it'll happen tonight...if not before."

Marina swallowed hard and Brian patted his shoulder. It was obvious Daniel wasn't sleeping either. There were a large black bags under his eyes.

„Can we go in?" the other man asked, pointing to the door of Sofia's room.

„I suppose," Daniel replied. „She's currently sleeping but we won't be so noisy. And by the way...get ready. She's in a particularly good mood today. I'm listening to her making bad jokes about her illness for all day."

Brian and Marina exchanged glances, as he caught her hand. Daniel slowly opened the door, making sure not to wake up Sofia. As they entered, the small figure in the hospital bed stretched out, opening her eyes. Sofia smiled gently. The other couple noticed how bad she looked today, compared to the last time they saw her. Her skin was completely pale and there was no longer a well-known spark in her eyes. The hair loss wasn't new. It was obvious the last hours of her life were slowly ticking, breaking everyone's hearts. Everyone's, except Sofia's.

„You're here again," she stated in a strained voice, taking shallow breaths. „Why aren't you on the beach or...somewhere?

Marina smiled warmly, sitting right up to her so she could put the mask back on her face. Sofia protested, moving her head away.

„I wanted to spend time with you," the other girl replied, giving up on her tries. Daniel shook his head, disapproving Sofia's behavior when it comes to that mask.

She shrugged, slowly relaxing her exhausted body.

„I have to warn you," she started. „I'm not the best company today."

Marina's eyes glistened with accumulated tears. Yet, the Latina somehow forced herself to smile, trying to stay strong for her best friend. Sofia's gaze was wandering all over the room, looking for Daniel. He immediately approached the other side of her bed.

„Why don't all three of you go somewhere?" she asked, still struggling with breathing but stubbornly refusing any help. „You can come back tomorrow when I'll...I'll be better. Then we can talk."

Marina swallowed a huge lump in her throat, putting her palms on Sofia's upper arms. At the same time, she was being careful so she wouldn't create new bruises on her skin. Daniel moved away, sitting in the chair, right up to her bed and putting his hands over his mouth. There was a total silence while Sofia's eyes were scanning all three faces. The sick girl caught Marina hand and then called Brian to get closer.

„Pal...you have to promise me you'll keep Marina safe," she uttered, her words making the Latina let out the first sob. „I know how she can be...I know she's always saying how she doesn't need anyone but...you have to promise me."

Brian rubbed his sweaty hands, nodding his head.

„I promise!" he said.

„Great!" she replied, facing the crying Marina. „And you...stop always analyzing everything and looking for explanations. ...Sometimes things just happen...let yourself to be spontaneous and happy...because I want it for you. From the bottom of my heart."

Sofia lightly pulled her best friend in her embrace, in the same time stretching out her hand toward Brian. This was her way of saying goodbye to her two dearest friends.

„You'll be okay. Both of you. ...Marina, don't forget our deal. You know what you have to do."

Marina nodded, as Daniel was just looking at them in confusion but, to speak the truth, he had no strength for new questions and explanations. Brian helped his girlfriend to get up.

„I think we need some air," he said, moving to the exit. Daniel showed the seats, placed outside of the room, saying they can take a break. After they left the room, his eyes fell back to the Sofia, still laying in bed tiredly, without a mask on her face.

„Why don't you put a mask on your face? It'll be easier for you to breathe."

She shook her head stubbornly, patting the place next to her. The tall man pleased her, sitting down. Sofia slowly raised the upper part of her body so Daniel could hug her, as she leaned against his chest. For a few moments, both of them were silent and then she looked up at his face.

„I won't say goodbye!" he immediately stated stubbornly. „I don't want to."

Sofia smiled.

„Then we won't call it like that," she replied. „Promise me."

Daniel swallowed a few tears, looking down at his girlfriend's tired face.

„When I die...and it's going to happen soon, I don't want you to be sad forever. You're an extraordinary person and I have no words to describe how happy I've been with you for all these years. Promise me you won't get lost in the pain and sadness because world truly deserves to see your personality," as she was talking, Sofia put her palm on his cheek, catching a few fallen tears. Daniel squeezed his burning eyes shut, hugging her more tightly. She hugged him back as much as she could.

„I think..." he said hard. „I don't think I can promise you that. I can't be happy without you."

She moved away a little so she could pull his face closer and give him a kiss.

„You can," she replied. „I know you and you're much stronger than you think, Daniel. I know now everything looks awful and...bad but it won't stay that way forever."

Daniel admired the courage of his girlfriend. Sofia calmly accepted her destiny. He wasn't able to stop the tears, as the fact that tomorrow he would no longer have a girlfriend slowly crept into his heart. He moved Sofia away from himself, looking into her eyes.

„This sounded like a goodbye," he said hard.

She just sighed.

„Promise me!"

Daniel was looking at her and then he finally nodded.

„I promise you!"

His answer made her smile.

„Why don't you go look for Brian and Marina. Take some time with them...you know, take a break. I'm really tired and I can no longer breathe without a mask. ...I want to...rest for ten minutes."

Daniel helped her to put a mask and then lowered her head back on the pillow. Sofia sighed pleasantly, closing her eyes. The man kissed her forehead and then slowly emerged from the room, wiping the remained traces of tears.    

-

Author's note:

Here you guys have it. The pain, sadness, and despair all in one chapter. This was one of the hardest things for me to do...to represent all these emotions well, so you guys actually could feel them. To sympathize with both, Daniel and Sofia. So...my questions for you are going this way.

Have I managed to do it well? Have I managed to show to you how painful this loss was for him? I'm looking forward to reading your answers.

As always, if you liked it, please vote for it or leave a comment (answer to my questions).

Next update: Tuesday!

Stay true to yourself and have a nice day!