“Now?”
“Yeah.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I glare at the phone. I swear if she invites me face to face I’m going to punch her.
On the drive over, I start to worry. Maybe something happened to Marcus. He wouldn’t let his girlfriend invite me to their engagement.
I rush up the stairs, not sure what’s waiting for me. When I knock on the door, I try to prepare myself for whatever Mia wants to talk about.
The door opens, and a stunning woman smiles at me. Damn, I can see why he fell for her.
“Hi, Willow. I’m Mia,” she says, giving me space to walk inside.
I only want to hear if Marcus is okay so I can leave.
“Hi, Mia. Is Marcus okay?”
She takes a deep breath which makes a cold shiver crawl down my spine.
No. Something happened to Marcus.
“Willow, when you see him, you might be a little shocked.”
Oh, my God. It’s bad. I can see it on her face.
I want to block my ears from whatever she’s about to say, but all I can do is stand and listen.
“He’s very sick, and if you need a minute to prepare yourself, I’ll understand. He’s lost a lot of weight, and he’s exhausted, but he can’t wait to see you.”
If he’s here, it can’t be that bad. Right?
“He’s in his bedroom. Do you want to see him?”
I nod, not sure what to expect. When Mia takes my hand, my heart drops to my feet.
It must be bad if she’s offering me support just to see him.
A million things race through my mind as we walk to his room. It smells different.
Shit, it feels different.
I walk into his room, and my eyes immediately go to his bed.
Oh, my God.
What happened to him? It’s only been two months. He’s a skeleton.
“Hey, babe,” he whispers. “Surprise.”
I force my feet to move forward so I can sit next to him before my legs give way.
He’s so pale.
I take in his frail state, and without hearing the words, I know what it means.
The man I love is dying.