Cami

Camille woke up to Nate drawing open the blinds of their hotel room. The floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the ocean and he scrambled back over to watch the sunrise with her from their bed. She drank in his familiar warmth as he settled under the covers, pulling her into his arms.

“This is perfect,” he whispered, kissing her behind her ear.

Camille’s toes curled whenever Nate did that. Last night after she’d told him she wanted to fight for them, he’d carried her up to their hotel room and made love to her again. In the night they’d spent together, he’d perhaps kissed every inch of her body, but the delicate skin behind her ear was strangely her favorite.

“You are perfect,” she said, pulling him closer. She turned to face him, snuggling into his chest.

“How are you feeling?” he asked for about the tenth time.

“Perfect.”

Nate peeled himself away so Camille had to look into his eyes. They glowed like honey, crinkling as he grinned. He hadn’t stopped smiling since she told him she’d changed her mind and wanted to fight her cancer.

“You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“And you’re still sure about everything you said last night?”

“More sure than ever.”

Nate was practically giddy. “So, what do we do first?”

“Well, I guess we go home and tell my parents. Then I go back to my oncologist to see where I’m at and what my options are.”

“Do you want to call now?” Nate asked excitedly.

Camille blushed. “I sorta already did.”

“What do you mean?”

“I made an appointment the day before prom.”

Nate stared at her, blinking in shock.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you right away. But it wasn’t something I wanted to say over the phone and you were running around making all of this happen,” she said gesturing to the hotel room. “Plus, I don’t want to get your hopes up.”

“Too late,” he said pulling her into his arms. “And don’t be sorry. I don’t care how or when you told me, only that the ticking time bomb has stopped.”

“Paused,” she corrected. “I’m not going to get better, Nate. This is about fighting to hold on for as long as I can.”

The sentence was sobering and Nate sat up, pulling Camille into his lap. “Cami, I only want you to do this if it’s what you want.”

“It is, Nate. More than anything. I just don’t want to give you unrealistic expectations.”

“Cami, you gave me hope. And that’s enough.”

Nate

The drive home to New Orleans was exhilarating. A huge weight had been lifted off Nate’s chest. He held Camille’s hand with renewed life. He couldn’t believe she’d changed her mind. When they’d talked earlier that morning, a tiny kernel of doubt that maybe she’d change her mind again had crept up, but he’d slammed it down easily. It was nothing compared to the demons he’d been battling over the past few months. Now he felt free and he couldn’t rein in his excitement.

“We can do anything we want. We can even go to Paris for real now.”

Camille giggled.

“Don’t laugh. I’m serious. We need to make outrageous plans. We need something to look forward to.”

“How about spending more time with my amazing boyfriend?”

“No, think bigger!” Nate yelled over the sound of the road rushing by.

“Well, Paris is pretty big.”

“That’s the spirit. Let’s do it. Let’s go to Paris. It’ll be our graduation present to each other.”

“Nate. Be real. We can’t just go to Paris.”

“Why not? Cami, there’s a great big world out there and I want to see it with you. We have time now. And we can’t waste it. I want to fill every wall in your room, hell every wall in your house, with all the things we want to do together.”

Camille frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

“I was just thinking, do you think you’ll still be allowed to stay in my guest house?”

“Cami, I’m pretty sure you have a get-out-of-jail-free cancer card for the rest of your life. Your parents are going to be so happy you decided to fight for more time they’re not gonna care about anything else.”

“Huh.” She looked thoughtful for a moment. Then a bright grin slid across her face. “Maybe we really can go to Paris.”

Cami

Nate was right. Camille’s parents would let her get away with just about anything at this point. They’d been in tears when she and Nate came home and she told them she’d decided to go back to her doctor to work on a treatment plan that would give her as much time as possible. They didn’t even shoot down Nate’s crazy suggestion that they could go to Paris for real now.

Guilt gnawed at Camille as she heard the relief and joy in her parents’ voice. She hadn’t realized how much her decision was hurting them. It made her chest ache. Of course she knew they didn’t want to lose her. They were her parents—no parent ever wanted to lose a child. But despite Camille’s change of heart, she knew her parents would still outlive her. And when that time came, she’d hoped they would feel relief. That when she was gone a burden would be lifted from them.

But now, as she let her parents hold her, sobbing with joy, she realized how wrong she’d been. She may have bought more time, but she couldn’t go back and fix her past mistakes. And no matter how many days she cheated from her disease, she would never be ready to say goodbye.