“I met her at a bar.”Allison’s eyes grew wide in shock. “A—A bar?” she repeated, unsure if she heard it right.Since when did Matthew like coming to bars?Were there a lot of things that she didn’t know about him, after all?“Yeah, I used to drink a lot back then, when you…” Matthew’s voice trailed off before he could finish his sentence, and the atmosphere between them suddenly shifted into a heavy kind of awkwardness. “Well, yeah. At that time, I would usually take Bryce with me so he could drive me home. I stopped drinking there after a few months though with the decision that I’d bury myself in work instead. But five years later, I came back to that same bar to drink away my stress, and then I saw her.”Allison swallowed heavily, but she forced herself to listen. After all, she hadn’t seen Matthew in a long time, and there were probably a lot of things that happened to him during this period.She wanted to catch up to him.She wanted to be a part of his life again.For about two
Matthew left it at that since it was time for Allison to go to sleep. When she closed her eyes, he was about to leave for a moment when she suddenly spoke, her voice resounding in the otherwise silent room. “Do you love her more than you loved me back then?” Matthew froze in his spot. Allison waited for his response with a heavy, anxious heart. She knew that she was starting to tread on dangerous territory with this one, but she couldn’t help it. Every day, every night, she dreaded him leaving her. She had left him once, and that made her harbor such deep regrets in her heart which she carried with her for years. If he was the one who left her this time, it would make her break down in an instant. Hearing Matthew talk about Lily and how they first met made her heart ache. Their love story seemed like it was arranged by fate, while hers and his story began in a mundane manner. After Matthew had asked her to become his private tutor, both he and Allison benefited greatly from the
Allison didn’t know if it was because of what she said to Matthew, but she could tell that something had changed between them. It was subtle, but noticeable.He had become… more indulgent. More reassuring.Like she would break if he ever said the wrong thing.And every small move she did made him panic.Allison didn’t know what to think of that.Had she made him too conscious and careful that he was beginning to tread on eggshells around her?But she didn’t want him to feel forced around her. That wasn’t her intention at all.Yet, at the same time, it felt like this was the only way she could keep him with her all the time, no matter how wrong that truly sounded.“Are you okay?” he asked in concern. “Are you thirsty? Are you hungry? Do you have any cravings?”“I’m fine, Matt,” Allison assured.“But… you look paler than usual,” he said hesitantly.“I’m just a little tired. The chemo is draining me a lot.”“I thought you were getting better.”“Not really… Well, I don’t know.” She gave a
As Matthew observed Allison’s condition each day, he felt like something was a little off.It didn’t seem like she was getting better or worse, but it was as though her state turned stagnant with no improvement whatsoever.He was starting to become worried.The doctor mentioned to him that Allison wasn’t responding much to the treatment, though they managed to reduce a good number of leukemia cells from her body. She was out of danger, but they were all still observing and working hard to figure out a proper solution.The doctor even mentioned that they might try another treatment on Allison after a few weeks of rest from the chemo. After all, her body needed time to produce new healthy cells. But before that, they had to reduce as many leukemia cells as possible so that the rest would be eliminated through consolidation therapy.Basically, the possibility of remission was there, but at this point, it was uncertain.Every day, Matthew began to dread. He hadn’t been so worried in the b
When Matthew went back into their room, he felt a little lost. He sat by Allison's bedside, staring at her sleeping face. This kind of appearance was the norm for him nowadays since she was often so tired that she slept whenever she could. He couldn't even count how many times he hounded the doctors, the nurses, and practically the entire healthcare team, on the best healthy diet for Allison as well as anything he could do to make her feel comfortable. He kept getting anxious at Allison's pale complexion and the tired lines on her face. It was as though she was growing weaker and weaker each day instead of her health improving.Probably the only thing that made him feel better was the upcoming few weeks when Allison could finally get some rest from the chemo. By that time, the leukemia should be in remission, but there should also be some traces left. That was why the consolidation therapy was there after induction chemotherapy to ensure that the leukemia didn't relapse.But this seco
Allison continued to explore the rest of the house with a small smile on her face, already looking so much better compared to her weakened state back when she was at the hospital. It was as though being at home — well, technically, it was Matthew’s home, but this was where she was going to be staying in the meantime — lifted her mood considerably and made her feel alive. Allison walked slowly towards the backyard, feeling awed at the sight of the gardens. It looked well-maintained and beautiful, with a variety of flowers and shrubs all over the surroundings. The sun shone on them so brightly that they looked a little ethereal. She could even spot a few cherry blossom trees by the side which stood out among the rest, a few of their petals dancing gracefully along with the wind. Unfortunately, even though she wanted to go and touch the flowers, she wasn’t allowed to do any gardening or any kind of thing that would make dirt, pollen, and other things stick on her skin since she was stil
Life was starting to get peaceful for Allison.After weeks of battling at the hospital, struggling to eat and sleep, crying silently from the pain, enduring blood transfusions and weakness in her limbs, Allison felt like she was in a much brighter world now.Matthew had set up a room for her that had a balcony overlooking the entire garden. There was a comfortable chair there where she would sit down and enjoy the breathtaking view. She felt like she was connected to the world at last, outside of the hospital’s walls.These past few days, Matthew had been wonderful. She felt a little embarrassed now that she was living at his house, but he was really accommodating towards her and he always made sure to make her as comfortable as possible. They would go out on short walks in the garden every early morning, and at night, she would go out into the balcony and look at the stars.When Matthew came to visit her room, he saw her staring wistfully up at the sky, hands gripping the coat draped
Matthew bought her a telescope in the end, and after that, both of them would look at the stars every night before Allison went to bed, hoping to see a shooting star. Even though they failed to see one every time, it didn’t matter since they enjoyed this simple time together so much.“Do you want to do something new?” Matthew asked her one day.“Something new?” Allison repeated, sounding puzzled.“Yeah. I mean, it feels like we’re doing the same things every day. We should put some variety into it.”“It’s fine, I do enjoy these things.” Allison thought about it for a moment. “Though I do admit that it feels repetitive sometimes.”Matthew nodded. “Let’s add some more activities so you can have fun. What do you think about a movie night?”“Sounds good.”“There’s a game console here, too. You can play games if you want.”“Oh?”“I… I do play games sometimes,” Matthew admitted sheepishly. “Lily doesn’t, but she likes to watch me play instead.”Allison laughed. “Remember when we used to pla