WestFiction- "In the Arms of an Angel" by Xtine

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In the Arms of an Angel> chapters 32

Gaby stared at Mark blissfully, her eyes shining with so much life. They spent the entire day horsing around Hazelwoods, chucking leaves at each other, playing tag and hide and seek. She had never had so much fun in her entire life than today. After the exhausting playing around, Mark took her near the lake, spread down a blue plaid blanket and placed the basketful of food that his mum, Marie, prepared.

“Here,” he said, smiling down at her, handing her a fleshy whole-wheat tuna sandwich.

She took it appreciatively, smiling and blushing when their fingers touched. Stop it, she scolded herself. It's not like the first time they’ve held each other hands. Nor was it her first time to hold a guy’s hand. But this time it felt different somehow. She doesn't know how but it sure felt so much better, so good.

She took a bite of her sandwich. It was delicious and the taste was delightful. She chewed them slowly, savoring every morsel, wishing it was Life---wishing Life was that delicious.

“Did you have fun?” Mark asked from behind, his lips brushing against her sensitive right ear.

“Hmm,” she tilted her head to the left, exposing more of her neck. “I did. This is the best day ever,” she commented like a child. She looked ahead, the sun was about to set and the clouds were bleeding with orange-yellow-reddish colors. It was amazing how the color of the sky changes and mixes with the rays of the sun. The mountains were starting to disappear into mere silhouettes, their tips kissing the sky.

Mark planted a soft kiss on her neck, making her shiver. “Like that?” he inquired, chuckling. He felt so light-headed, so intoxicated by her and he couldn't stop touching her. It didn't matter to him if it was just a mere contact with her hand or her ear or her arm. It just didn't matter. He was in love and he's never felt so good in his life.

“Have you ever been with a girl here before?” she asked, her hands atop Mark's that were wrapped around her waist.

He paused a while. Should he tell her? What if she gets jealous or throws a fit or something? He opted to tell her the truth. “I have,” he said silently, “quite a few actually.”

She patted his hands. “I see.”

“Are you mad? Or jealous?”

She let out a breathy laugh. “Why should I? That was in the past. I'm here with you now, right?”

He let out a sigh of relief. Thank God. “Right.”

They continued to stand there, lavishing the view, patiently waiting for the sun to go down and for the moon to peak through the horizon.

Gaby shook her head when she felt sharp pains shot right up to the back of her neck spreading through her entire brain. She blinked several times, trying to clear her vision. She can't get headaches now. She just can't. Her head began to swirl, the sun and the clouds becoming one big kaleidoscope, blinding her, making her head pound. She pressed her back on Mark's body, finding comfort in his warmth. “Fuck this headache,” she cursed angrily.

“Gaby, I better take you home,” Mark suggested, his voice filled with worry. He took her by the elbow and started to walk.

“I don't want to. I'm having so much fun,” she protested, treading helplessly in staggered steps beside him.

He steadied his hold on her waist as he looked down at the beauty beside him. Her eyes were brimming with fear and her face was etched with pain. Mark was torn inside, feeling absolutely disabled as he watched her painfully muster strength to resist him, fight the headache and walk out of the enchanted forest. “Gaby,” he whispered, pausing for a while to plant a soft kiss on her sweaty forehead. “I don't want this day to end, believe me. But right now, I want you to rest. There will be more days we can do this. Ok?”

“Oh, okay,” she acquiesced, letting him lead her out of the enchanted forest. Do we really, Mark? Do we really have a lot more days just like this? she wondered in painful silence as she groped for Mark’s hand and stepped out of the woods.

Anya was sitting infront of the porch, a mug of coffee sitting atop the glass table. She managed to run away from Shane. And thank God he hasn’t followed her back here. She was so tired of everything. She was tired of seeing Gaby slowly fade away; she was tired of being in love with Shane; she was tired, plain and simple.

“Hey, An,” Mark greeted, walking the three steps to the porch. Gaby was right beside him, a crunched forehead and a faint smile on her lips.

“Hey, you guys. Did you have fun?” she asked, moving to the right to make room for Gaby.

“Oh yeah,” Gaby replied, rubbing her temples. “But my stupid tumors decided to take a dive around my stupid brain so I got a headache. And my man, here, I just love saying that, decided it was time to go home.”

“Well, I didn't want to tire you out so much,” Mark explained, a wry smile playing on his lips.

“Good choice, Mark! You do know how to take care of my cousin,” Anya smiled, liking the way the two look together. She sighed inwardly. How she wished she had that kind of thing. How she wanted Shane so much, to sit beside him and hold him so close. STOP IT, she screamed inside. STOP IT!

“I don't need to be taken care of!” Gaby spat, stomping her left foot for emphasis. “How many times do I have to tell you that?”

“Stop it,” Mark begged. “Don’t get mad just because we want to take care of you. Stop being pigheaded and just let us care for you.” His face was turning very red, his nostrils flaring. It wasn't a flush of anger but of worry, of fear. He got scared when Gaby started shaking her head awhile back that for a minute he couldn't utter any words. All he knew was that he wasn't taking any chances.

Gaby bowed her head, her upper teeth clamping her lower lip, and she started clenching and unclenching her hands. “Sorry,” she muttered. She didn't mean to sound so harsh; she just wanted to make her message come across.

He went to her and raised her face to his. “Aww, don't be. It’s ok. We're just worried. It's ok for us to be worried.”

“I know.” she agreed, slightly turning her face to the left to kiss Mark's palm. “It’s just that I feel like if I let you guys worry about me, I'm succumbing to my own death, letting my adversary take over me.”

Anya lightly placed her hand on Gaby`s knee. “No, letting us worry, letting your fear show doesn't mean you're a coward, that you're surrendering to the inevitable. It just means you're brave enough to let other people know how you can't do it alone and how you need them. It’s ok, Gaby. It's ok.”

“You're right, you two. I can't do this on my own,” she replied after several minutes of silence. When the words escaped her lips, she felt a heavy weight come off her shoulders and neck. A whole load of crap was taken off her back and she felt free---free from her tumor, free from the fear that she'll die any minute, free from the clutches of Death. And when she stared ahead, she saw hope flickering in the moon’s radiance and the twinkle of the stars. She had hope. She didn't know how she got it again but she has it and she's going to hold on to it until she dies.

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