I wake up with a bright flash of light in my eyes. "Ouch.." I croak out, my mouth and throat felt like sandpaper. Thankfully, someone hands me a glass of water. I don't know who it was because my eyes were still trying to adjust to everything. The first thing I see is Kathy by my side with a sad smile on her face. The next thing I notice is her bloodshot eyes like she's been crying for hours.

"Kathy..." I reach out to comfort her only to notice an IV tube sticking out of my inner arm. But none of that matters as I see more tears well up in her beautiful sad eyes.

"Kathy, are you okay?" I ask worryingly. She takes my hand and places a small kiss on the back of it. That's when I knew something was wrong. That's when I take in my surroundings.

"What am I doing in a hospital?" I ask with a confused frown. All I can remember was me fainting in the school's parking lot, so why was mom still crying into dad's chest. Dad's eyes were red as he stared out at nothing in particular. Mr. and Mrs. Allen were holding a sleeping Seth and Emma. Tommy stood with Lizzy next to me.

They all looked at me with sad faces. "Should I be crying too?" I ask with a nervous chuckle, hoping it'll lighten the mood. It doesn't.

I opened my mouth to speak, but just then, a doctor stepped in with a nurse. She introduces herself as Dr. Kent. When I asked lovely Dr. Kent what the fuck was going on, she told me exactly what the fuck was going on.

And it broke my heart. Not for myself, but for everyone I love that was in this room.

"Lucas, how long have you been hiding these headaches of yours?" Dr. Kent asks but my laughter drowns out her words.

All I could answer her with was a laugh.

I laughed like she had just told me the funniest thing I've ever heard. Because that's what this was. Ridiculous.

"Lucas." Dad scolded but his voice was weak and numb.

"Lucas! Stop! Just stop laughing! Because this isn't fucking funny" Kathy snaps, panting. "It's not funny." Her voice breaks near the end.

I stop laughing I stare at her in shock. She's never lashed out like that before. I've never seen her this upset. Not even when her favorite book accidentally got burned in a cooking accident by yours truly.

"Kathy..."I trail off as tears began to blur my vision of her shaking her head at me.

"The doctor tells you that you have cancer, and you laugh like it's some joke?!" She cries, loud. Mr. and Mrs. Allen take the little ones out of the room, and I hear Seth say in a tired voice,

"But I wanna stay with uncle Luca." That's when it hits me hard.

I have cancer.
Brain cancer. Stage 3.

I look at rest of my family, "I'm so sorry." I whispered. Dad broke down and left the room, mom followed after him. Lizzy cried into Tommy's shoulder as tears rolled down his cheeks.

I look over at Kathy, "Come here." I hold out my arms and she cries into my neck. I mutter against her hair, fighting back my own tears before I asked the doctor to fill me in. A year or less. That's how much time I have left.

Age 20

Kathy spent every day at the hospital with me after we found out I had cancer.

It broke my heart as I watched her look at me with such sadness. But with the help of chemo and regular doctor appointments I force myself to be better.

Better enough to watch my big sister get married to the love of her life. Better enough to see my nephew turn 4 this year. Better enough to dance with my girlfriend/best friend at my sister's wedding. I force myself to look healthy for them, but on the inside, I was slowly fading away.

So one day I asked mom to help me write something. She cried when she agreed to help me.

I knew my time was running out. So I asked her to help me write a book for my bookworm.

And that on the day that I died, the last memory I had was when I marched my way towards a redhead girl in a white sundress, hiding behind a book. The day I fell in love with the silent reader.