Life

Story for a contest on another site. About two best friends who both have cancer.

Life

     Almost everyone thought the man and the boy were father and son. They looked similar, both with brown hair and green eyes. Some people even said they had dimples when they smiled. But they both knew better, knew that it was impossible to be related.

     Jacoby was only fifteen years old. He always had a smile on his face, and his heart open to all. His life was filled with so many bad things, but Jacoby was always looking up, always looking at the good in things. He had many friends, and was involved in as many things as he was allowed. He even had a girlfriend. But there was always a black cloud looming over him. Always one thing trying to bring him down from his high on life. Jacoby was diagnosed with brain cancer a little over five years ago.

     Derik was only twenty years old. He was always quiet and kept to himself. He had only two friends, one of which he shared everything with, and he was involved in nothing. He has never had a girlfriend, though he has liked many girls. Though Derik was only twenty, he looked much older, for he was diagnosed with cancer when he was only three, and all the years of chemo and worrying had taken it’s toll.

The two boys had been best friends for five years. They had met when they were undergoing treatment, and had instantly connected. Jacoby had shown Derik a reason for living, talking him out of suicide, and Derik had given Jacoby someone to relate to about his sickness. Though they were five years apart in age, everyone thought then father and son.

     They had done many things together, and they were always together on the weekends. Jacoby even introduced Derik as his older brother in public. The two had been attached, been best friends. Then one day, Jacoby got a phone call that changed everyone’s lives.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~

 

 

     It had been a bright and sunny spring day. The birds were chirping, and the trees were bloomed with flowers. It was Saturday, which meant that today was the day Jacoby and Derik were to meet and have a day filled with fun and excitement. Every Saturday, Derik would take Jacoby somewhere and they would spend the whole day together, doing whatever they felt like.

     Today Derik was going to take Jacoby to the beach. It was there favorite place to go, where they could just get away from the real world and all of it’s bad things. Where they could forget about their illness and just be truly happy.

     Jacoby was sitting at the window looking outside, waiting for Derik’s car to pull up. He looked over at the oven clock. It read 2:00. Derik was over two hours late. Where could he have been. He couldn’t have forgotten about me. He never forgets about me. Jacoby tried to reassure himself, but the painful feeling in his gut was telling him otherwise.

     “Mom, you haven’t talked to Derik have you? He’s really late picking me up, and I’m really worried.” He shouted to his mother, Lisa, in the other room. His mom walked into the room, worry written on her face.

     “He didn’t call you? Usually if he’s going to be late, he calls. Maybe you should call him.” She smiled and walked back into the other room. Jacoby watched her turn and leave, then walked over to the table where his cell phone lay.

     He picked up his cell phone, and pushed the contact button and scrolled through his contacts until he found Derik’s. His thumb moved to the call button, but as he went to push the button, a message popped up on the screen. It was an incoming call from Janice, Derik’s mom. Jacoby hesitated, his stomach clenching, churning. Calming himself, he answered the call.

     “Hello?” He asked, then listened to the hysterical voice on the other line. Janice was sobbing, and Jacoby could barley make out what she was saying. What he heard startled him though, and his stomach knotted harder, and he almost lost it right there. “Ok, I’ll be there in a minute.” And then he hung up the phone.

     He ran to the other room where his mother was. She turned to look at him, and saw the tears in his eyes, saw that his whole body was tense. Before she could even question what was wrong Jacoby began speaking again. “Mom, we have to go to the hospital now. Derik is sick, and they think that this is it. They think this is his last day, and he is asking for me.”

     Without saying anything Lisa grabbed the keys and they rushed to the car. Tears were already running down both of their faces. No words were exchanged the whole ride to the hospital. Lisa let Jacoby out at the entrance while she went to find a parking spot, and Jacoby ran to the check in desk asking the lady there where Derik’s room was.

     When Jacoby made it to Derik’s room, he saw the doctors and nurses through the window. They were poking him with needles, injecting him with medicine that would do nothing but help the pain. It would only make death easier and less painful.

     Jacoby looked at Derik. His pale skin was ghostly white, a sure sign that death was close. His once vibrant green eyes were now partally glazed, almost colorless. His brown hair was wet from sweat and was sticking to his forehead. This didn’t look like Derik at all.

     Jacoby felt a sob escape his throat. He was loosing his best friend, the only person in this world that truly understood him. The one who knew best what he was going through. He couldn’t live without him, didn’t know how to live without him.

     Derik’s parents walked up from the left, and Jacoby hugged them. They cried for a few minutes together, then a doctor came out. He told Jacoby that Derik was asking for him, and Jacoby walked into his room without another word.

     He walked over to Derik’s bedside, tears pouring down his face. Derik brought his hand up and shakily placed it on Jacoby’s shoulder. He was also crying. “This is it Jake.” His voice was surprisingly strong, and even Derik himself wasn’t sure how he even managed to talk. He was so weak and tired.

     Jacoby shook his head. “No Derik, don’t do this. You have to stay with me. I don’t know how to live without you. You’re my best friend, my brother. You’re the only person I can talk to about everything.”

Derik’s hand squeezed Jacoby’s shoulder lightly. “You will be fine Jake. I will be watching over you, protecting you. I will always be with you, even though you cant see, or hear, or touch me, I will always be with you, no matter what. I promise. But I need you to promise me something too.”

     Jacoby nodded his head. He would do anything to help, anything for his best friend. He smiled down at Derik, allowing a sob to break free. This was a side of Jacoby that only Derik and his parents knew.

     “Jacoby, you have to promise me. Promise me that when I’m gone, you will move on. You will not let my death bring you down, and that you will keep fighting this. You cant be like me and let this win. You have to fight it. You have to fight it until they can find a cure and help you. Don’t you ever give up ok?” He ended out of breath, gasping for air.

     “I promise Derik. I promise that I will fight this as long as my body allows. But you still have time to fight Derik. You have to fight too.” Jacoby pleaded with his friend. Derik, shook his head weakly.

     “My time on this earth is over Jake. I can hear him calling to me. I can hear God telling me that everything is going to be ok.” His eyes closed for a second, and he took a deep breath, seeming to relax. Jacoby began sobbing again, he knew his friends time was near, possibly even minutes away, and he wasn’t ready to handle it. “I’m going to go to sleep now Jake. When I wake up, I will be in heaven with God. Please take care of yourself Jake. Please fight this, and if you should loose this battle, know that I will be up there waiting for you. I hope I am waiting for a long time. Live your life to it’s fullest. I didn’t do that, and that is my only regret. We should have done more together, and I regret not doing so. And Jake, I’m sorry I missed our day together today.”

     “Don’t be sorry. I knew something was wrong, I had a bad feeling the moment I woke up today. And you cant regret all of that stuff.” Jacoby sobbed again as he thought of his next words. “Go to sleep now Derik. Go see God and escape this world, escape sickness. I love you brother.”

     “I love you to Jacoby, my little brother.” And then his eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep. There were no goodbyes between the two. Only love, friendship, and a bond stronger than family.

     Within the hour, Derik passed. Both his parents and Jacoby with him as his sleeping form took it’s final breath. And as the heart monitor flatlined, the never-ending sound filling his ears, Jacoby heard a voice in his head. The voice told him that his friend was with him now, and that one day, he would be too. At that moment, Jacoby smiled, because God had spoken to him, and he knew that Derik had passed on, and his soul was safe.

     The next few weeks were hard, but Jacoby went on, remembering his promise to his friend. He didn’t let his friends death get him down. And eventually things got easier.

 

 

~~~~~~~

 

 

     Jacoby stayed close to Derik’s parents, always keeping them posted on his condition. He lived up to his promise and lived life to his fullest, doing things everyone told him he couldn’t do. He fought the cancer to the best of his ability. There were many times that he wanted to give up, wanted to let the cancer win, but he always kept his promise close to his heart, and that gave him the strength to go on.

     Five years after Derik’s death, Jacoby joined him in heaven. He had fought long and hard, but the cancer was to much for his body, and he was to weak to fight anymore. His passing was peaceful. He simply fell asleep like Derik, and never woke up again.

     Now Jacoby and Derik could be together again. Best friends, brothers, family, reunited in the most peaceful place in existence. Heaven.

Author's Note

This was a story for a contest on another site. I caught the contest a day before it ended, so this is an extremly quick written story, and will probably be written longer later. I am really proud of this story though. For some reason, even though I wrote it, it really speaks to me. It's almost like I don't even remember writing it and I am reading someone elses writing. I think My style is beggening to change, and I like it.

Please tell me what you think.

Thanks for reading.

Reviews

[Jayme]

What a beautiful story I read with tears in my eyes :)

[shygurl]

..sniff... you made me cry.. I was trying to read it with tear in my eyes that it took me longer to read it...sniff... I love, love, love this story. I hope you won the contest with this story.

[MiidniightSoul]

This was such a beautiful story. So touching and full of emotions. Keep up the good work ^^