Lisa and Tom say a quick goodbye and leave my apartment, though Rory lingers for a little while.
“I’m sorry about all that,” he says. “They mean well.”
“Don’t be. They are fantastic, Rory,” I say.
Rory smiles and plants the customary peck on my lips before leaving. It feels familiar already, like we’ve known each other for years, and this is how we part ways.
I don’t like it. Not one bit.
Rory was meant to be temporary. A tiny blip in my life, when everything was said and done. But somehow, he has already cared for me in my sickbed, met my parents, introduced me to his, and told me about his biological mother and his heart defect, which couldn’t have been easy for him.
He thinks this thing between us is serious.
It can’t be. Not unless I know I’m in the clear. If death weren’t staring down at me, I know I’d let this happen, but everything is so much more complicated because of my stupid, stupid cancer.
Rory beamed when he introduced his parents to me. He was so proud for us to meet. He was not scared like I was when I was forced to introduce him to mine. My life is much too complicated to let this happen. His feelings for me are growing, and I can’t break his heart.
I need to nip this in the bud.