There she was, standing right in front of me. Her long brown hair was flowing in the wind as she was looking out at the ocean. The white dress she was wearing was swaying in the wind. She was breathtaking. She turned around, a smile forming on her lips as she moved closer to me. I tried to step forward, but I was frozen in my spot. I looked down, and when I looked back up, she was gone.

"Bryson, wake the fuck up!" Emmy yelled, shaking me.

"What the hell, Em? I was in the middle of a fantastic dream," I pouted. She threw a pillow at me and laughed.

"About Riley?" I shrugged my shoulders. It was none of her damn business. Although, that was the first dream I had ever had about Riley.

"Does it matter?" She shrugged her shoulders and walked out of my room. Finally, some peace and quiet.

~~~~

"Dude, you missed the rager!" Matt said, walking down the hall beside me.

"There was a rager last night? It was Monday." Matt shrugged his shoulders. "I'm surprised you're here if you raged last night."

"My mom is gonna kill me if I skip anymore school. She's sick of having to come down here and talk to the principle." It was true; Matt was notorious for skipping school. We were only allowed so many 'sick days' before it started counting against our grades, but it was a whole different story if you came to one class and decided to ditch the rest.

"If you keep it up, I'll be surprised if you're allowed to graduate." He chuckled as we stopped at his locker.

"I'll be surprised if I graduate." The realization hit me in that moment. Graduation was only a short month away, and that month would go quick. I instantly started thinking about Riley, and how she still had a year left in this shit hole. Was it too late to do something about how I felt?

~~~~

"Are you going to eat that?" Matt asked as he stared at my pizza.

"No, you can have it." He had grabbed my slice of pizza before I could even finish my sentence. I was too busy thinking about Riley and what the future might bring. Obviously I couldn't talk to my boys about that. I was known for just sleeping around with girls. I wasn't the type to have a serious relationship, even when I was with Tamara.

"You alright? You've barely said anything this whole time." I shrugged my shoulders.

"No offense, Matt, but you're the last person I would talk to about my personal problems." He smirked, knowing I was right. We had just never had the same relationship since I found out he slept with Ashley, my previous girlfriend. Ever since then, I was against relationships. You really couldn't trust anyone but yourself.

"Nah, dude, it's understandable." I chuckled and he just shook his head. "Just know that I'm always here for you. I know we had our shit in the past, but I still want to be your friend." Fuck, this was the first time he's said anything like this to me. After I found out he slept Ashley, we just kind of let the past be. It always lingered in the back of my mind when we hung out, but we had never talked about it.

"That means a lot. It really does." He smiled and the bell rang. We both got up, emptying the remains of our lunch in the trash.

"I'll catch you later," Matt said before heading in the opposite direction. I gave him a quick nod and headed towards my class.

~~~~

"Em, are you home?" I yelled through the house as I waked in.

"In my room," she yelled back. I dropped my bag in the living room and headed up the stairs. He door was cracked opened, but I knocked anyway. "Since when do you knock?" Emmy asked with a laugh.

"Just figured I'd be respectful." She smiled and patted the bed beside me.

"I think Riley's wearing off on you. Anyway, what's up?" I took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. It was weird talking about my feelings.

"Actually, it's about Riley." Emmys posture straightened up and she looked serious. "Am I wasting my time?" Her eyebrows furrowed into a confused look.

"What do you mean?"

"Is it too late to do something about how I feel? I mean, graduation is a month away. That will fly, and then we'll have the summer, but she'll still have another year left." Emmy sat silent, hopefully thinking of a way to help me

"I think that's something that you have to decide." I hated when she did that. She was going to leave it completely up to me, and I didn't have the slightest idea.

"That's why I'm coming to you, Em. I don't know."

"Okay, well, do you want to be more than friends?" I don't know; did I? "If you do, you have to consider where you're going to college, and how far away you're going to be. Are you willing to do long distance, or would you rather just have fun in college. If you do long distance, can you trust her? Can she trust you?" Emmys questions hit hard. I wasn't sure if I could even trust myself.

"All I know is how I feel about her." A smile tugged at Emmys lips.

"I think you can handle the rest. Maybe you should talk to her. Spend more time with her, and figure out if you guys could have a future together." Could we? It wouldn't be a high school fling anymore. I'm sure Riley didn't just want a short relationship or even just a fling. She was probably looking for something more, something real.

"Thanks, Em. I'll figure it out." She smiled and I headed out to my room. I laid back on my bed and pulled out my phone.

what're you doing?

I sat impatiently on my bed, waiting for Riley to text me back. After what felt like hours, but was only a few minutes, she texted back.

homework :( you?

can I come over?

sure!

Was I making the biggest mistake of my life?

~~~~

I stood on Riley's front step, waiting for her to answer. So much was going through my mind. I had no idea if I was making the right choice or not, but I wouldn't know if I didn't try. I heard the lock being undone and Riley was standing before me. I shot her a smile and she motioned for me to come in.

"What's up?" She asked as we walked up the stairs to her room.

"I needed to talk to you." I could see her body stiffen, and I knew I had chosen the wrong choice of words. Fuck, I can't do a damn thing right.

"What about?" She asked as she opened the door to her room, plopping down on her bed.

"I like you, a lot. I've been debating for the last few hours whether this was something we should pursue, and I felt selfish making the choice on my own." She chuckled and I could feel my cheeks burning.

"I like you a lot too, Bryson. I'm up for anything." I let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding. She smiled, placing her hand over mine.

"I want to be more than friends, but I didn't know how you felt because of me graduating next month." She shifted uncomfortably on her bed.

"I guess we just have to see where it takes us, right?" She chuckled lightly. I nodded, grabbing her hand in mine.

"As long as you're happy." I could see the blush rising to her cheeks. I smiled at her as she leaned her head on my shoulder.

"So what does this mean?" She asked, looking up at me.

"Well, Riley, do you want to be my girlfriend?" She giggled and nodded. I laughed as she turned a deeper shade of red. I placed a kiss on her forehead. "I probably should get going. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled and walked me down to the door. I waved and hopped into my car.

All I could do was smile on the way home. Things were finally falling into place, and it felt like a weight had been lifted off my shoulders. I knew that the college thing was going to be hard, but like Riley said, we'll have to see where it takes us. The house was fully lit up when I pulled into the driveway. Everybody must be home. I shut my car off and unlocked the door. Everyone was sitting in the living room eating ice cream.

"You guys couldn't wait for me?" I pouted. My mother laughed, shaking her head.

"There's ice cream in the freezer, dear. Help yourself, and come join us." You always obeyed my mom. If she told you to do something, you better be doing it. My mom seemed like a sweet, caring person on the outside, but if you did her wrong, you would regret it. I grabbed a bowl out of the cabinet and dished some ice cream in. It wasn't very often we had a family night like this. I could hear whispers as I made my way to the living room.

"How do you think he'll take it?"

"I don't know, but we need to tell him."

"Tell me what?" I asked as I sat on the couch next to Emmy. My mother let out a sigh, and I knew that wasn't a good sign. No one said anything, and I was becoming frustrated. "What's going on?" I asked, looking over at Emmy. I could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Honey, I have cancer." It felt like someone knocked the wind out of me. I could barely breath, and I could feel my chest tightening.

"W-when did y-you find out?" I stuttered, finding it hard to form sentences.

"Yesterday. I hadn't been feeling very well lately, so I went to the doctor. They ran some tests, and they called me." I was holding back the tears that were threatening to escape. "I start chemotherapy next week, and hopefully it will get rid of it." I looked down at my feet, knowing if I made eye contact with my mother I would start crying. "Bryson? Say something."

"I need air," I said and walked out the front door. I sat on the steps, taking deep breaths to calm myself down. It wasn't working. My mother has cancer. It kept repaying in my head. That one sentence. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't turn around to see who it was. I could feel the small arms of my sister wrap around my shoulders. She placed a kiss on my cheek and sat down beside me.

"Bryson-"

"She has cancer," I cut her off. I could no longer controls the tears that formed in my eyes. One after another fell down my cheek, and I didn't care.

"I know; it's going to be hard, but we'll get through it." I leaned my head on Emmys shoulder.

"But what if chemo doesn't work? How long will she have?" I could feel Emmys body shaking, and I knew she was doing all she could to keep herself from loosing it.

"I don't know. That's something we'll have to wait to find out." I wrapped my arms around her. She shouldn't have to be strong for all of us. I know that we need to be strong for mom, but she's my sister, and I need to be strong from her. A sob escaped her lips as she finally let herself cry.

"We'll get through this, no matter what the outcome is. We will always have each other."

-------------------------------------------------------

What a bomb! Poor Bryson, he was finally happy, getting the girl he wants, and then he finds out this... What did you guys think?

Picture attached is of the girl I chose to play Riley. I honestly have no idea who she is, but I found her picture on Pinterest and just loved how gorgeous she was. If anyone knows who she is, let me know so I can give credit where it's due!

I'm sorry it took so long to update, but on a good note, I got a new phone (yes, I update on my phone for you guys) that doesn't start to lag after 1,000 words! Hooray for longer chapters!

Teaser: Bryson starts to take a turn for the worse, and Riley doesn't know what's going on.