“Mom, what’s going on?” he asked when she walked back over.
“We’re closing down for the day.”
“Where is Lila? We shouldn’t have to shut down just because she didn’t want to show up.” He hadn’t heard from her since they returned the day before. The drive home had started off fun, but the closer they got, the quieter she became. By the time they pulled up in front of his house, she wasn’t speaking. She barely said goodbye before running home. He’d texted her several times, but she didn’t respond. She was avoiding him. He just didn’t know why.
“Gavin—”
“No.” He held up a hand and moved to take the customer’s money. It didn’t make sense. They’d spent the perfect day together. Everything was finally as he had always wanted it. For her to hide from him… “I can’t believe her. This isn’t okay.”
“Gavin—”
“We’ll be fine without her though.” He wasn’t sure if the words were for his mother or himself, but he pointed to the crowd. “See, last customer for a few.”
“Gavin!” His mom’s loud, serious tone caught him off guard. She stepped closer and put a hand on his arm. “Lila is in the hospital. It’s not good; we need to go.”
The rest of her words faded. The world tilted beneath him, and he grabbed the counter to steady himself. Through the fog, he distantly heard his mother telling everyone they needed to leave because of a family emergency. They all made their way out, and she quickly put all the ice cream in the freezer and covered the toppings. She locked the front door before guiding him out the back to her car.
Her words turned and twisted in his head as they drove to the hospital. They grew into dark, gnarled knots within him. Cancer. Tumor.
He couldn’t catch his breath or stop the tears from rolling down his cheek. No. Gavin slammed his hands on the dashboard. “No!”
His mom pulled into a parking spot outside the local hospital, cut the engine, then turned to draw him into a hug. He couldn’t remember the last time his mom held him while he cried. But she hugged him close, rubbing the back of his head while he sobbed against her shoulder.
After a few moments of silence, she said, “Come on, sweetheart. Let’s go in.”
Gavin nodded. He took a deep breath and pushed his door open. The sunset turned the sky a dozen shades of pink and orange. Its beauty and peacefulness contrasted with the storm building within him.
Their footsteps echoed through the sterile, luminescent halls as Gavin and his mother made their way to Lila’s room.
“Gavin, Susie,” Mrs. Weston said, spotting them. She walked from the opposite end of the hall toward the same door with two coffee cups in hand. “Thank you for coming, but you didn’t need to close the Scoop down to be here.”
Gavin’s mom told her they did need to, but he could barely hear their words. He stared at the glowing light of a TV reflecting off the partially open door.
“You can go in. She’s awake,” Mrs. Weston said softly.
He met her eyes and nodded. When he still didn’t move, she led the way. His mother placed a hand on his shoulder with a sad smile before they followed.
“Susie,” Mr. Weston said, standing from a short blue chair next to the bed. He gave her a one-armed hug while grabbing a coffee from his wife. Then, he noticed Gavin, whose eyes stayed on the petite figure sitting in the bed, and indicated his vacant seat. “Why don’t we give you two some privacy?”
Gavin stood still as their parents left him and Lila staring at each other. The wires and hoses connected to her made his knees weak. The world shattered around him.
“Are you just going to stand there all night?” Her quiet, teasing tone snapped him back, and he let out a breath that sounded somewhere between a laugh and a sob.
He walked closer and sat on the edge of her bed, ignoring the open chair. He hesitated before reaching for her.
“It’s okay,” she said. “You won’t hurt me.”
He wrapped her up in a hug, holding her close. “Are you in pain?”
“No, not really,” she said. “Not anymore.”
“Lila.” He leaned back to see her face. “Why didn’t you tell me? I wouldn’t have—”
“That’s why,” she cut him off with a sigh. “I didn’t want you to treat me differently. I wanted to check off everything on my list and just not think about it for a little while.”
Gavin placed a palm on her cheek. She covered his hand with her own, leaning forward to brush her lips across his. When she laid back against her pillow with a smile, his heart fluttered.
“The headache I had yesterday didn’t go away. I kept telling myself it was a normal hangover, but it just got worse. Last night, I started running a fever and had to come in to be monitored.”
He nodded, unsure of what to say. “I’m so sorry. Running around yesterday, and then with the rain… did I make this worse?”
“No.” She slid over in the bed to make room for him. After he sat beside her, she whispered, “It’s operable. I’m having surgery in a week.”
“That’s why you needed to finish the list in two weeks,” he said, putting an arm behind her head as she leaned into him. “Is this why you’re not going to Bennu anymore?”
“Not really. I will always love music, but it’s not what I want to do with my life.”
“You don’t want to sing?”
“I do but not professionally.” She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I just… I don’t want to leave Summersville, and I would have to for any big music career.”
Gavin thought about that as he kicked off his shoes and pulled the blanket over his lap. For years, Lila only spoke of escaping their small town. She’d wanted to live in a big city as a
