It was 2:47 PM when I got the phone call from Regina.

"I have to take this," I informed Kylie. "It's Bryce."

"Tell your boyfriend to wait," Steven said, listlessly.

I ignored him, stepping out of the room and placing my phone to my ear. "Regina, is everything okay?"

I was met by a few moments of silence.

"It's over Sophie."

Her voice was thick, indicating that she'd been crying.

"What's over?" I asked. "Regina, what's going on?"

"Bryce had a reaction to the trial medication this morning. They're sending him home."

It was as though the world slowed around me. I could feel my heart painfully beating in my chest, my throat constricting.

"What kind of reaction?"

No, that wasn't the right question.

"Is Bryce okay?"

That wasn't the right question either.

There were so many questions. It was as though my head was spinning faster than the world around me, and I suddenly felt too nauseous to speak.

"I'm just going to come over."

"Okay," Regina whispered.

I hung up, my phone slipping out of my hands and colliding with the floor below me.

What happens now?

I don't know how long I stood there, my body numb, until I realized that I needed to recollect myself.

I slowly bent over and picked up my now shattered phone, turning and heading back into the multi-purpose room.

"Well that was some conversation," Steven stated.

"Sophie, what's wrong?" Kylie asked, rising to her feet.

"I have to go," I said, my voice sounding foreign even to me.

Steven's eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "Is Bryce okay?"

I just grabbed my purse, leaving the room without a second glance.

I felt like I was outside of my own body, like I was watching the scene unfold before me.

Bryce had a reaction to the medication.

Bryce was no longer receiving the trial medication.

Bryce's tumor was growing at an unprecedented rate.

What happens now?

I pulled up in front of Bryce's house, heading inside.

Regina was crying, but she tried to muster up a smile for me.

I just felt hollow inside, vacant of emotions.

"Where is he?" I asked.

"In his room." Regina laid a hand on my arm. "Try to support him through this. It's been hard on all of us."

All of us.

How does she think that I feel?

Bryce is the boy that I love.

I can remember the first day that I met him, every emotion that I felt. I can remember the pain that I felt when he admitted to having a drug problem, the happiness that surrounded me when he told me that he loved me for the first time.

I remember every detail of loving Bryce Harrison. And I'm not ready to say goodbye.

So I just went back to his bedroom, resting my hand on his doorknob.

I didn't hear a sound from behind the door. There were no tears, there was no Hairspray, not even the sound of Dawson's breathing.

Just silence.

I pressed open the door to reveal Bryce lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling.

He didn't even glance my way as he heard the door open.

I climbed up onto his bed, lying down next to him.

"I'm pretty drugged," Bryce informed me. "I honestly can't even feel my body right now."

"Why did they medicate you so much?" I asked him, trailing my fingers up and down his forearm.

"You don't know then."

"I guess not."

"I had a bad reaction to the trial drug this morning."

"I heard that much."

"Remember I told you that my body hurt? Joint stiffness and muscle pain."

"Yeah. I gave you the best massage yesterday."

"Well they call it Fibromyalgia. And it honest to God feels like my limbs are going to fall off."

"So what can they do for it?"

"Absolutely nothing. Except drug the hell out of me."

He finally turned to look at me, his face blank. "So the trial drug didn't work and it took away my happiness. I guess that's the end of it then."

"So that's how you want to go down in the history books."

"It's not like I've got much of a choice."

"You have a choice in everything that you do in life Bryce."

"I don't get a choice in whether I live or die."

And I don't know what it was about that particular sentence, but suddenly the weight of the situation hit me like a ton of bricks to the face.

I pulled away from him, turning my back as the tears began to fall.

"Sophie?"

I couldn't face him.

"Hey Soph, look at me. I'm sorry, okay? Babe, I was just talking. I was being an ass."

My shoulders were shaking, my abdomen convulsing as the tears cascaded down my face.

"I'll do anything to make this better," Bryce pleaded. "Sophie please don't cry."

And then I flung myself onto his abdomen, Bryce letting out a hiss of pain.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed.

"No, stay," he said, as I went to recoil. "I'm okay, just stay."

And so I sobbed into his t-shirt, as Bryce rubbed his hand up and down my back.

"I'll fight for as long as you need me to," Bryce promised. "I'm not going anywhere anytime soon, okay?"

"I can't lose you."

"I'm here for as long as you need me," Bryce soothed, his voice soft. "I'm not leaving."

~*~

Kayla and Josh flew in the next day.

I called out sick to the summer camp, going over to spend time with the Harrison family.

Bryce had relocated out to the couch. He was supported by pillows, clearly not as medicated as he was the day before. And clearly he was suffering because of it.

"I have the photos from the wedding," Kayla informed us.

"Ooh, let me see," I said, as she handed over the photo album she put together.

"Want to look through them with me?" I asked Bryce.

His head was dipped back, his eyes half-shut.

"Tell me all about them," he said, quietly.

Regina rubbed his hand, kissing the back of it with a look of sympathy.

But none of us can really understand the pain that Bryce was currently in.

The wedding pictures were gorgeous. Kayla looked stunning in her dress, and Josh looked crisp in his tuxedo.

And of course, my boyfriend looked more than handsome with his boyish smile that reached all the way up to his ice blue eyes.

"I just bought this beautiful piece for our wedding picture," Kayla was saying. "It'll look perfect above the mantle in the new house."

Josh glanced over at her, and her eyes immediately widened.

"You guys are moving?" Bryce asked.

"Uh, well yeah," Kayla said, softly. "I told you that we were looking."

"But you said that you weren't finding anything," Bryce reminded her. "What made you decide to seal the deal?"

"A number of things," Josh said, dismissively. "We're getting older now, and we wanted to settle into a house instead of living like college kids in an apartment."

"But you're in New York," Bryce's dad commented. "Tons of people live out their lives in apartments."

"Well not us," Kayla said, with a tight smile.

"What are you guys hiding?" Bryce questioned.

"I need a drink," Josh muttered, heading into the kitchen.

"I just told you-" Kayla started.

"But what are you hiding?"

Kayla exchanged glances with her mom, who looked just as hesitant as she did.

"Both of you," Bryce added.

He looked more alert than ever, his eyes glancing between the two of them as he awaited a response.

Josh popped the top on his beer, taking a swig.

"Um, well I guess our main motivation is that I'm pregnant."

I almost fell off of the couch, catching myself on the coffee table at the last moment.

Bryce just stared at her, his expression blank.

"Surprise," Kayla added, quietly.

~*~

"Where's Bryce?" I asked, meeting Regina in the kitchen.

"He hasn't been out of bed since we he heard the news," she said, with a wry smile.

I'd had to return to the summer camp today, but I'd only worked the morning, taking the afternoon to come back to visit Bryce.

And it wasn't a surprise to me that he'd refused to see anyone since the announcement of Kayla's pregnancy.

"I'll be back," I informed her, before heading back towards Bryce's room.

He was awake, watching TV with Dawson at his feet.

I climbed onto his bed, pecking his cheek.

He didn't acknowledge me.

"Hey there," I said, stretching out next to him.

"Hey."

Dawson looked up at me, sleepily, before placing his head back down on his paws.

"Has Dawson been out today?"

"No," Bryce said, with a sigh. "He won't leave."

To prove it to me, Bryce nudged Dawson with his foot, but Dawson just ignored him.

"He doesn't like to see you upset."

"Well he's going to have to get over it if he wants to pee."

I chuckled, staring up at his ceiling. "So is this how you're going to spend your days then?"

He didn't answer me.

"Wallowing here in self-pity," I added. "Because the Bryce Harrison I know is better than that."

Silence stretched between us, and I stole a look at Bryce.

He was staring up at the ceiling.

I let him think, stretching my foot out to pet Dawson.

"When you look at me," Bryce said, causing my eyes to snap over to him, "do you see me or the cancer?"

I wrinkled my eyebrows in confusion. "What?"

"When you look at me," he repeated, "do you feel sorry for me?"

He's got to be joking.

"Do you see me, Bryce Harrison," he continued, "or do you see the cancer?"

I stood up with a sigh, placing my hands on my hips.

I walked over to his closet, massaging my temples as I tried to formulate a coherent thought.

"I didn't mean to make you mad," he muttered.

I walked over next to him, and then surprised him by straddling him.

He winced and then looked into my eyes, shock written across his face.

"I do not feel sorry for you Bryce Harrison," I informed him, before crashing my lips onto his.

He kissed me back, hungrily, and I let the kiss deepen a bit before pulling away and dropping back onto the bed next to him.

He looked over at me.

"I am in love with you," I corrected. "Cancer or no cancer, I am in love with you, Bryce Harrison."

He sighed, staring back up at the ceiling.

"And the Bryce Harrison I know doesn't sit here and wallow," I added.

"He's also taken a huge hit to his dignity," Bryce added.

"Well here's another one Mr. Harrison, it's not attractive to have a brooding boyfriend."

He chuckled, looking back over at me.

"So get your lazy butt up and let's take Dawson to the dog park."

He sighed, looking down at Dawson, who was half-asleep.

"Come on," I said, hopping up off of his bed.

He sat up with another sigh, patting Dawson on the back.

"You're lucky someone loves you," Bryce informed Dawson, with a laugh.

"Where's the wheelchair?" I asked.

Since Bryce's diagnosis, he's been unable to walk. And the hospital assigned him a wheelchair. But I hadn't seen it around here lately, meaning that Bryce had stored it somewhere.

"I made my mom put it in the back room."

I rolled my eyes.

Bryce swung his legs over the side of his bed with a slight groan.

I went into the back room and brought back the wheelchair, and came back to Bryce holding out a daisy towards me.

"What's this?" I asked, with a laugh.

"Well I've got to be good for something," he said, as I took the daisy from him. "I convinced Josh to steal it from the neighbor's yard to give to you."

I leaned over and kissed him.

"Not quite as romantic as I used to be, but I still got it," he said, with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes.

Bryce slid down off the bed as I turned his wheelchair around for him. He held onto my hands as he sat down, his eyes closed.

I knew this was probably shredding his dignity.

"And we should probably bring Dawson," I said, smiling at Bryce.

Bryce managed a half-smile.

I tapped Dawson twice on the butt, and he hopped down off the bed, looking up at Bryce with sleepy eyes.

Bryce was usually the one to race him out to the garage.

"Not today buddy," Bryce said, reaching over and scratching Dawson behind the ears.

I pushed Bryce's wheelchair out to the living room, and I thought Regina was going to fall off the couch in shock.

"We're going to the dog park," I informed her.

Kayla stared at the two of us with wide eyes.

"Okay," Regina agreed.

"Where are the golf cart keys?" Bryce asked.

Their elderly neighbor, once she'd heard about Bryce's condition, had offered him her old, beaten up, out-of-date golf cart to use so that he could still get around. She claimed that she couldn't use it anymore, her eyesight too bad. But I think that she was just trying to be a good Samaritan.

"Kitchen counter," Regina said, and Kayla was already halfway to the kitchen to grab them.

Kayla handed Bryce the golf cart keys while I grabbed Dawson's leash.

"We'll be back within the hour," I said, before heading out to the garage with Bryce and Dawson.

"Can I drive?" Bryce asked, as we reached the golf cart.

"If you want," I said, offering him my hand so he could stand.

He shook his head. "I can do it."

"Okay," I agreed, although I wasn't totally sold on the idea.

He braced his hands on either side of the wheelchair, pushing himself upright. He took two shuffling steps towards the golf cart before lowering himself into the driver's seat.

My once athletic, baseball-champion of a boyfriend was now unable to hold himself upright, and I had to look away to keep him from seeing the tears in my eyes.

"You saw the cancer," he said, after I put the wheelchair in the back and took a seat next to him.

I looked into his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

Those were not the eyes of cancer. Those were the eyes of Bryce Harrison.

"I did," I agreed, cupping my fingers under his chin. "But never again."

And then I kissed him, much more tenderly than earlier.

As Bryce went to deepen the kiss, we were suddenly broken apart by Dawson's bark.

We both looked at each other, bursting into laughter.

"I suppose we should get going," I said, reaching down to scratch Dawson behind the ears.

"The master has spoken," Bryce agreed, laughing as the golf cart roared to life.

That was the first real smile I'd seen on his face in over a week.

And this is the chapter where everyone hates me for the rest of their lives. Let the pitchforks commence.

Yes this ending has been planned since the start of the book. No I am not Satan. Yes I did cry while writing this. No I will not change it. And yes, I do still love you all.

Teaser: Clayton's back in town so the bromance has it's final chance. It's the last chapter the final chapter. So I guess you can say 2 chapters left.