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Chapter
17: You Must Love Me
“You’re dying?” Darren asked in a low, shaky voice. “But you can’t be.
I just found you. This isn’t supposed to happen!”
“Well, it is,” Faith answered. “I’ve got six months left.”
“Six months! That’s not fair!” he replied.
“It is fair. That’s longer than most of my friends had before they ended up
six feet under,” she said.
“You found out about Spaz?”
“Yeah, Mor told me a few days ago. Two down, one going, and one left,” Faith
tried to crack a joke.
“That’s not funny,” Darren retorted.
“I know it isn’t, but I have to keep my spirits up, don’t I?” she
replied.
“At least be a little more tasteful when it comes to jokes.”
“Don’t worry, I will be.”
“Could I ask you something?”
“Shoot.”
“Could I move in with you up until…?” Darren asked in a low voice.
“Sure, why not? Mor’s already moving in with me, why not add you too? The
more, the merrier. She can take care of me and you can take care of Hope, or
vice versa,” Faith said.
* * *
Faith was released from the hospital the next afternoon and soon returned home
in a cab that she had called for from the hospital. Arriving at her apartment,
she stepped inside with Hope in her arms and found Morgan and Darren messing
around in the kitchen trying to make dinner. She gasped at the nature of the
horrible mess as anger filled her mind.
“Guys! What the hell did you do in my kitchen?” Faith shrieked, startling
them both.
“Well, we were trying to make dinner, but without food in the house, I needed
to head to the market and get some. This mess would have been cleared out before
you got home if it wasn’t for that,” Darren replied as he stirred a pot on
the stove.
“So, now you’re blaming me?” she joked.
“No! Why in God’s name would I blame you? It’s not your fault you don’t
have any food,” he counteracted.
“Okay…” her voice trailed off as she started for her room.
“Stay out of the kitchen until we tell you to come in,” Darren called as she
walked out.
Just as Faith walked into the living room, she looked up to see a huge
assortment of brightly colored boxes all wrapped with ribbons and bows. She
gasped, realizing what Morgan and Darren had done. She was speechless as they
walked into the room, knowing their little plan had worked.
“Oh, my God!” Faith managed to whisper.
“Surprise,” Darren replied as he came up behind her, wrapping his arms
around her waist and kissing her neck softly.
“Guys! You shouldn’t have,” she nearly cried.
“Hey, it was nothing. Besides, we had some help. Did you really think we could
raise the funds for all this stuff by ourselves?” Morgan replied as she took
Hope out of Faith’s arms so she could unwrap everything.
“Who helped you with the money?” Faith asked as she walked over to the couch
and began picking up boxes.
“Leo, Ben, Lee, Karl, Angi, and Daniel,” Darren answered as he sat down
beside her to help unwrap everything.
“Daniel?” she questioned, surprised. Even Morgan looked up at him now.
“You talked to Daniel?”
“Yeah,” he said. “It’s not like we’ve stopped being friends after the
band split. I still talk to him now and then.”
“And you actually told him about the baby?”
“Well, I couldn’t keep it a secret from him and everyone else forever. They
would have told him eventually. Better now than later.”
“Wow, that still surprises me. I’m just hoping that none of this leaks to
the press or anything. If my parents found out that I had a baby, they would
kick me out of the family. They would disown me,” Faith explained as she
stared down at the little unwrapped box in her hands.
“If they ever did that, I would always be here. I’d take care of you no
matter what,” Darren said as he put his arm around her shoulders and pulled
her in for a hug.
“Don’t go all sentimental on me now. Let’s open presents!” Morgan
happily cut in as she grabbed a box and started tearing open the wrapping.
* * *
Faith sat alone that night up on the roof of the apartment building watching the
stars shine up above the city lights. She had her camera up there with her just
in case she thought of something good to say. Lying back on her blanket, she
simply stared up, not a thought going through her mind. This was her time to
unwind and take her mind off of everything that was going on in her life. It was
her only escape from reality. She closed her eyes for a few moments to take a
deep breath and opened them to find Darren staring down at her.
Faith shot up, her heart racing, and said, “You’re not supposed to be up
here.”
“Oh, sorry,” Darren replied, feeling a little embarrassed that he had walked
in on Faith’s time alone. “I’ll leave.”
“Don’t, you’ve already found my secret hiding place. Just stay here and
don’t tell Morgan! I’d kill you if you did,” Faith warned him as she
scooted over and made a spot for him on the blanket.
“I won’t tell her,” he said, sitting down beside her. “You can trust
me.”
“How did you find me?” she asked.
“Well, I got bored downstairs watching TV and decided to take a little walk.
That’s how I found the door to the roof. Sorry if I’m intruding.”
“Don’t be. You would have found me up here one of these days.”
They both stopped talking and looked up, their eyes locking on a shooting star
as it glided across the sky and disappeared below the horizon.
“Make a wish,” Darren whispered as he closed his eyes. Faith followed and
made one then looked over at him with a smile. “What did you wish for?”
“Something I knew I’d never get,” she replied.
“More time?”
“No. Something else.”
“What then?”
“I can’t tell you. It’s too stupid,” Faith said as she stood up and
started walking around nervously.
“Yeah, you can. I promise I won’t think it was stupid,” Darren replied.
“You tell me first.”
“All right. I wished for more time with you. Just a year or two longer than
they’re expecting. I want you to be around to hear our daughter say her first
words. That’s all I want.”
Faith could feel her eyes well up with tears when she heard him say that. She
was finally beginning to realize that it wasn’t fair. They had just found each
other after nine months of searching. How could she be gone in only six?
“Faith?” Darren asked.
“Huh?” she replied, looking up at him in the pale moonlight as a tear
splashed onto the cement beside her foot.
“What was your wish?” he questioned, not seeing the teardrop.
Faith was silent for a long time. “I wished I could get married before I
died,” she finally answered. “But there’s no way I could do that. It’s
crazy. Who would I get married to? Certainly not you. That would be totally
wrong, especially after all the things that have happened between us.”
Darren sat there staring at her, the thoughts racing through his mind. He knew
he wanted to prove her wrong. He knew he wanted to just propose to her that
moment. But there was something in his mind telling him to wait for the right
moment. She was only saying this to keep him from getting hurt, as she usually
did. He knew her intentions were good, but this was something that he too
wanted.
Darren kept his mouth shut, only stared as she continued to walk on the rooftop.
He stood up feeling a chill run down his spine and thought that she might also
be cold. Walking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her and put his chin
on her shoulder.
“I promised you I wouldn’t think it was stupid,” he said. “I think
it’s a good wish. I can see where you’re coming from with it.”
“I still think it’s a bit much to wish for considering how little time I
have left,” Faith replied.
“No, it’s not. I’d wish for the same thing if I were you,” Darren tried
to reason.
“Come on, let’s go back inside. I’m freezing,” she said, wiggling out of
his grasp and heading for the door. Faith was uncomfortable with the situation.
Her only way of dealing with it was to run, but it seemed as if running never
solved her problems, it only made the bigger.
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