"Caden, it's been almost a week since I had the biopsy done. Don't you think they should have the results by now?" asks Lilly anxiously before taking a bite of her food.

Caden wraps his arm around her. "Calm down, Lil. They said that it could take up to a week or more. I'm sure you'll get the results soon. Just try not to worry."

"That's a lot easier said than done. I can't help, but be nervous. I mean, what if I do have cancer? What if I'm dying? What if...."

Caden interrupts her. "No, Lilly, don't think that way. You're going to be fine. Just calm down, okay? I got you. You're not alone. Whatever the results are, we'll deal with it together."

Lilly finally composes herself. "Okay. You're right. I'm sorry for freaking out again. I'll try to keep calm."

He pulls her close and kisses the top of her head. "It's okay, Lilly. You don't have to apologize. I completely understand. I feel the same way, but worrying will only make things worse."

***

After school, Caden decides to take Lilly home to watch movies so she can be more comfortable and ice her ribs. When they get to her house, Caden tells her to sit on the couch and pick out a movie while he grabs the ice pack for her. A few minutes later, he returns from the kitchen, carrying two glasses of sweet tea and an ice pack. He gives one of the glasses to Lilly, then gently places the ice pack on her side, causing her to wince in pain.
   "Sorry, Lil. I was trying to be gentle," Caden says, sitting beside her.

   "It's okay." Lilly grimaces as she shifts to sit more comfortably. "I'm just still really sore."

   Caden wraps his arm around her neck. "I know, Lil. I'm sorry. I wish there was more I could do."

She smiles. "It's okay, Caden. Let's just enjoy our movie."

"Okay. What movie did you pick?"

Lilly grins. "A Disney movie."

Caden chuckles. "A Disney movie?"

Lilly nods. "Yeah. Is that okay? You're not too grown up to watch a Disney movie are you?"

Caden smiles. "Of course not. You can never be too old to watch Disney movies. I love Disney movies. Which one did you pick?"

"One of my absolute favorite princess movies, which is also my comfort movie," Lilly replies with a giggle.

"Well? What is it?"

She grins. "Tangled," she coos.

Caden shakes his head and smiles. "I should've known."

Lilly blushes. "What? I love that movie; especially the lantern scene. It's just so...magical."

Caden chuckles again. "Okay, Princess. Hit play."

Lilly plays the movie and snuggles into Caden. A bit later, when the lantern scene begins, she starts singing along with Rapunzel. Caden smiles over at her, watching her eyes light up with awe as she sings every lyric beautifully. Soon, he starts singing along with Flynn, causing Lilly to whip around, locking eyes with him. Completely wowed by his soft and soothing voice, she can't help but smile.
Then, as Flynn and Rapunzel lock hands and start singing to each other in the movie, Caden and Lilly copy them. As the song comes to an end, their lips crash together in a soft embrace. Lilly smiles. "Thanks, Caden."

"For what, Lil?"

She pauses the movie and replies, "For making my dream come true." Caden gives her a somewhat confused look, so she explains, "I've always dreamed of reenacting that scene with the guy of my dreams." She nervously giggles. "I just never thought it would happen."

   "Aww, Lil. You should have told me sooner. I'd do anything to make your dreams come true, Princess."

   Just before their lips meet for another sweet kiss, Lilly's phone rings. She answers it, "Hello.... Yes.... Okay. I'll see you tomorrow. Thank you. Bye. Bye." She hangs up.

   Caden looks at her kind of concerned by her expression. "Who was it, Lil?"

   "That was the umm...hospital. My results are in. I have an appointment to go by there tomorrow at two-thirty for them to tell me."

   Caden smiles. "Well, that's great. See? I told you that they would probably have them pretty soon."

   "Yeah," she says nervously.

   Caden lifts her head with his fingertips. "What's the matter, Lil?" he asks, looking into her eyes.

   She shakes her head. "Nothing. I'm just nervous."

   "Don't be, Lilly. It's going to be okay."

   "I can't help it, Caden. I'm terrified of what they're going to tell me tomorrow. So,...would you come with me and try to keep me calm?" she asks anxiously.

   Caden smiles. "Of course, I would be there for you, Lilly; but shouldn't your family be with you?"

   Lilly nods. "Yeah, I was going to have them come with me anyway, but I really want you to be there with me too. So,...will you?"

"Of course, I'll be there for you," Caden replies, softly kissing her forehead.

***

Lilly is sitting in the waiting room, bouncing her knee nervously as her brother paces back and forth. Her parents are on one side of her, talking, while Caden is on her other side trying to calm her nerves. He rests his hand on her jittery knee. "Lil, relax. It's going to be okay," he whispers softly.

Before Lilly can say anything, she's called back to the doctor's office. She takes in a deep breath, her heart pounding like a drum in her chest. "This is it," she mutters, grabbing Caden's hand and holding it tight. As she walks through those doors, toward the office, she feels as though she's a soldier walking into a war with Caden and her family as her brigade.

Within minutes, they arrive at a small office. Lilly sits in front of the desk, her mom on her right and Caden on her left with Mr. Andrews and Mike standing behind her. A few seconds later, the doctor walks in and closes the door. He shakes everyone's hand and greets them before sitting behind the desk. "Okay." He inhales a deep breath. "I'm very sorry to tell you this, but unfortunately, your biopsy results did come back positive."

Fearing she already knows the answer, she asks, "Positive? What does that mean?"

The doctor gives a sympathetic look and explains, "It means that you do have cancer. I'm very sorry."

Lilly's heart drops, her eyes filling with tears. "Cancer?" her voice breaks.

"Well, is there any way you can remove it?" asks Mike, utterly shocked.

The doctor shakes his head. "No. Unfortunately, where the tumor is, it is inoperable." He looks at Lilly. "Also, I'm afraid that it may cause you to go blind."

Mr. Andrews interrupts, "Go blind? How?"

The doctor holds up an image of Lilly's brain scan and points to her tumor. "You see this right here is the tumor," then he points under the tumor, "and this is Lilly's optic nerve. The tumor is sitting right on top of that nerve, which could cause blurred vision, dizziness, blackouts, and eventually, blindness."

"Is there any treatment for it, like chemotherapy or something?" asks Caden, not wanting to lose hope.

"Unfortunately, no. I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Eventually, she will be blind and...."

Lilly finishes his sentence, "I'm going to die."

The doctor nods sympathetically. "Yes. I'm very sorry that I don't have better news."

"How long?" is all she can say.

"Well, all patients are different. However, I would say you have a year at the most."

Everyone becomes so devastated they can't even say anything. Lilly sits there, completely numb and unaware of what else the doctor is saying. Caden is trying to fight back tears and remain strong for Lilly even though his heart has just been shattered into a million fragments. In hopes of comforting her, he squeezes her hand, not letting go.

***

Their ride home was very quiet and emotional. No one ever said anything, although you could hear everyone's hearts breaking.
   After they got home, Lilly ran up to her room and closed the door. Meanwhile, her parents and Mike went into the living room. Caden wanted to follow Lilly upstairs; but decided it would be best to give her a minute to herself. So, he walked into the living room and sat beside Mike. There wasn't much verbal conversation. However, there was much said emotionally.

   A few minutes after that, Caden runs upstairs to find Lilly sprawled across her bed, crying like a newborn. He immediately walks over to her and sits on the bed, pulling her into his lap. "I'm here, Lil," his voice cracks as unshed tears sting his eyes. "I'm right here." He gently kisses the top of her head, tears streaming down his face. "You're going to be okay. I have hope."
   Hour by hour passed by after that. However, Lilly never stopped crying; and Caden never left her. Instead, he stayed with her until she fell asleep that night.
Before he left, he kissed her goodnight and whispered, "I love you, Lilly Andrews and I always will."

   When Caden gets home, he finds Jake sitting on the couch, waiting for him. Jake waves at him. "Hey, little brother."

   "Hey, Jake," Caden mumbles sadly, walking over to him.

   Jake looks at his brother's sad, tear-stained face. He can tell that something is wrong, so he asks, "What's wrong?" Caden shakes his head, not wanting to accept the cold, depressing reality of Lilly's condition. Jake persists, "Something is. What is it?"

Caden looks up at him with tears in his eyes. "Lilly," his voice breaks as the tears fall.

"Oh no. Her biopsy results came back, didn't they?"

Caden nods. "Yeah."

"How bad is it?"

Caden falls to pieces. "She's...she's...she's dying, Jake." He collapses into his brother's arms, dropping to his knees and sobbing, "She's dying, and there's nothing I can do. There's nothing anyone can do...." He breaks down into more sobs. "Why? Why is it that everyone I love dies of stupid cancer?"

"I don't know, little brother. I don't know."

"It's not fair, Jake. Lilly is literally the sweetest and kindest girl in the world. She doesn't deserve this."

"I know."

"What am I going to do, Jake? She's my light at the end of the tunnel. She's my princess. Heck, she's the love of my freaking life. I can't lose her."

"I don't know what to tell you, little brother. All I can say is pray and hope for a miracle."

"Why? Praying doesn't help. It's useless."

Jake wants to tell him that he's wrong about that, but he doesn't want to aggravate him right now. Instead, he ignores what he said and tells him, "Just be with her, little brother. Spend as much time with her as you can. And...make sure she knows how much you love her."

Caden nods and bursts into more tears. His heart is shattered. He can't imagine life without Lilly.

Jake holds his sobbing brother in his arms. He tries to comfort him, but Caden is still heartbroken.
Eventually, an hour later, Caden has finally calmed down enough to go to bed. He goes up to his room and falls onto the bed, lying awake thinking about Lilly and what might happen. Unfortunately, his thoughts about her cause him to think about his dad and grandpa, which makes him even more depressed. So, he ends up crying himself to sleep, his emotions about his "princess" and his lost family members swirling around in his mind.