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As soon as the cab stopped in front of the hospital, I burst out from the car and sprinted to the front desk. I told the nurse there who I was and fortunately, the nurse who was there was the one who called me. Nurse Robin gave me an encouraging pat before she led me to the morgue. Every step was so heavy for me and I kept my head hung low with my eyes stared onto the linoleum floor. When we were in front of the grey door, I took a deep breath as she opened it for me. The inside was dark and cold because of the lockers were they kept the corpses.

“I’m really sorry, miss Turner.”, nurse Robin said to me with her eyes scanning the lockers, searching for my mom’s name. It was the third from the bottom. “Are you ready?”

I couldn’t even answer her question. Never have I ever thought I would see my mom again in here, in this kind of situation. Yesterday, I was imagining I would be hugging my mom and petting Blizzard at the airport, not getting my mom’s corpse from the hospital’s morgue. Nurse Robin opened the locker and pulled out… my mom. My tears quickly exploded when I saw my mom lying lifelessly.

When I leaned down and just embraced her in my arms, her body was cold and frozen because she was being froze inside of the locker and well, because of her condition. I cried hysterically and repeatedly kissed her cheek without caring what nurse Robin would think. “I’m sorry, mom, I’m sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t visit you while I had the chance. I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you when I was younger. I’m sorry I didn’t get the chance to say I love you directly. Mom, I love you and I just want you to come back.”, I rambled, but it was obvious there was no way of getting her back to live.

Because I was so overwhelmed by sadness, I didn’t notice someone or a couple of people were already behind me. I recognized Amy’s brunette locks on my right and Feranix’s dark straight hair on my left. They slung their arms on my shoulders and just squeezed me in the middle. I kept crying with my face an inch away from my mom’s ear. She didn’t smell or I grossed out; she was my mom and she just left me alone.

“Miss Turner, we’ll keep your mother here until you’re done arranging the funeral. I suggest you to go home and take a rest. This had been a hard day for you.”, Nurse Robin suggested with a smile. Amy and Feranix helped me up and led me out of the morgue where David and Eric waited for us. My vision was still blurry because of the tears but I was sure there was someone else, hiding behind the boys.

I narrowed my eyes to get a better look and David and Eric knew I was struggling, so they stepped out of the way and revealed who it was. Cameron stood there with his hands tucked in his pocket. “Dare…”, he trailed off in his soothing velvet voice that got into my brain. I shook off Amy and Feranix’s arm and just stumbled into his arms, which he had open right in time.
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We all squeezed into a cab and I gave the address that would bring us to my mom’s house. I kept crying in Cameron’s arms and I practically ruined his shirt with my tears. The cab was filled with my sobs and my hiccups because no one said anything. When we got to the house, David paid the cabbie and Cameron helped me out. Our fingers laced with each other as we walked to the front door.

I unlocked it and turned all the lights on. It was empty and quiet and lifeless, making my heart sunk more. “You guys could settle in the living room or the guest room, your choice.”, I said to the others who were just got into the foyer.

They knew I needed my time alone and just let me wandered to my mom’s room. It was so tidy and I could see her packed suitcases placed neatly in the corner. The room smelled like her and our pictures in frames were scattered all over. A picture of mom and I in Disneyland when I was only 5 years old hung above the bed. It was our first out-from-the-state trip to California. The picture was too much so I just plopped on the bed and cried again until the pillow under me was soaked.

The view outside the window went dark and I knew it was already midnight from the clock on the bedside table. I guessed none of my friends would be up by this time but then; the door cracked open a bit. My spine stiffened. I could feel the bed creaked and the space behind me sunk as someone got onto the bed. Suddenly, a pair of arms snaked around my waist and pulled me closer to him. His warm breath tickled my neck and I instantly knew who he was. I always remembered.

We stayed in silent as I kept on crying and sobbing and he kept on stroking my hair gently, hoping it would sooth me and calm me down. “It was my fault.”, I started in whispers. “I didn’t get the chance to say goodbye.”

“It wasn’t anybody’s fault.”, Cameron whispered right into my ear, giving me a wash of calmness. “It was her time to go.”

“I could’ve been here earlier. I could’ve visited her when she wanted me to. I could’ve said good bye.”

“Everything’s in its path, Dare. You can’t change it.”

“There was one… one thing she wanted me to do.”, I said really quiet that I even doubt he could hear me. My mom’s words played back in my mind. She wanted me to come back to Cameron. She wanted us to be together. I turned around and greeted by his face. Our faces were only inches apart. The moonlight streamed into the room through the window, becoming the only lighting source. His ocean eyes were so bright and captivating because they got lit up by the moonlight. Suddenly, Parker rushed into my mind. “She wanted me to…”

Cameron waited. His eyes kept staring at mine, which was too intense for me to handle. I closed my eyes and moved an inch, closing the space between us until the tip of our lips touched.