Kathy looked down at the blood on her hand. Damn, another nosebleed. She picked up a towel and held it against her nose. Things were getting worse and time was running short. She sat back in the chair, waiting for the blood flow to stop and the pounding in her head to settle to a dull thump.
She had always been an adventurous and wild girl, but at the age of sixteen she was diagnosed with a cancer that just refused to be beaten, now, at twenty-one, there was nothing more that could be done. Still, she was alive and intended to make the most of every moment she had left to her. There was a knock on the door and she called out that it was open. He mother entered with a tray of food and a look on her face that showed just how hard she was trying to hide her sadness.
"Hon, Terry called again. You really should call him back." Her mother's voice was soft, as always, and Kathy sighed heavily.
"I know Mum, I have been putting him off far to long. I'll call him after dinner." Her mother's smile was a welcome sight. It would be worth calling him just to see her do that again, none of them had much to smile about these days. Her mother left her to her dinner, and her thoughts.
As Kathy ate her steak and vegetables, she thought about Terry. For most of her life he'd been the boy next door until he turned nineteen and moved in to flat with a few of his mates. They'd been to kindergarten together, and walked to school every day of their growing years. He was her best friend, her bud, but she had been avoiding him since her illness had become such a hopeless cause. She knew her reasoning wasn't logical, or fair to him, but she couldn't stand to see the pain in his eyes when he looked at her.
She picked up her plate, her dinner unfinished, and headed out to the kitchen. The telephone hung on the wall, an inanimate plastic object, and yet she found she had to make a real effort to pick up the receiver and hit the button marked "Terry" Why was she so shaken by calling him?
"Hi there, it's your money, start talking."
She started to giggle. One day he would answer the phone like a normal person and she would be stunned.
"Then I guess I want a refund." She should not have waited so long; he already had her smiling. He always had the uncanny knack of being able to make smile no matter what the situation or trouble.
"Kat. Baby. Thank god. I was beginning to think you had been sucked into a parallel dimension and become the unwilling sex slave of mutant frog people. How are you gorgeous?" It was all she could do not to drop the phone laughing. What an imagination he had.
"You have been watching far to much television. It's warped your fragile little mind." She giggled at the long running joke they had between them, it had been the cause of many sessions of laughter that had left her with her sides aching and her face streaked with happy tears. "And I am fine thank you for asking. How are you?"
"Lonely, and bored, how about I collect your cute little self in about fifteen minuets and we go catch a movie?" He had never been one for giving her much notice, but what the hell; it wasn't like she had anything else to do tonight.
"Make it ten and you've got a deal." She could hear him laughing as she set down the receiver and hurried to her room to change. Her mother was delighted that she had decided to go out, and even more so that it was Terry she was going with. Since Kathy's Dad died three years earlier of a similar cancer, Kathy and her Mum had become very close, they were all each other had and Kathy felt a certain measure of guilt that she was going to be joining her father and leaving her mother completely alone. It was that thought that hurt her more than the thought of her own death. Her mother was a strong woman, but no one liked to be alone. Kathy had made arrangements without her mother knowing that when the end finally came, her Aunt Sara would come and see that her mum was coping, and if the need arose, take her in. She had done her best to prepare her over the last few years, but some things were beyond preparation.
She saw the car lights in the drive and she hugged her mother close, kissing her cheek and telling her not to wait up. Kathy darted for the door before she started to cry, something she tried never to do in front of her mum. Terry was already out of the car and headed toward the house to collect her when she met him half way. He welcomed her with a broad smile and warm hug.
"Baby you look just great."
She actually blushed a little but was thankful he couldn't see in the darkness of the driveway. He opened the car door for her, helping her in. He'd always been a gentleman as far as she was concerned; it was something she truly loved about him.
There was very little to chose from when it came to movies, the better one having already started and not due to screen again for some hours, so they bought a monster bucket of popcorn and settled in to watch X men for tenth time. Terry took her hand and led her to the couples seats, pulling her down beside him and snuggling her in close. She loved being so close to him, the smell of his cologne, the feel of his shirt, his shoulder length hair against her cheek. He had the kind of thick wavy dark hair most women would kill for. He wrapped his arm around her, pulling her even closer, like it was the most natural of things to do, and in a way, it was.
Well into the movie, Terry made some stupid remark about the Toad Man's tongue being so long and how he was probably very popular with the ladies. Kathy just laughed.
"I bet he's not half as good with his tongue as you are." She didn't even realize what she had said until she'd said it, almost wishing she hadn't until he laughed wickedly.
"Lets find out shall we?" He turned her face to meet his and reached out with his tongue to touch her lips. A shudder raced through her body at the intimacy of his touch, and her lips yearned for more. She wanted his kisses, needed them, even if they were in jest; she would take them all. His lips met hers in an explosion of passion, his tongue seeking her out in a tender dance, teasing her sensitive pallet and exploring the back of her top teeth. She shucked gently, taking his tongue deeper into her mouth as her own taste buds danced between their lips. His fingers found her hair, cradling her head gentle as he tipped her head back, kissing her even harder. Mouth to mouth, the melted into one another, neither one wanting to break a tenderness that had been all to long in surfacing.
It wasn't until the lights came back on that they realized the movie was over and they were alone in the theatre. A little embarrassed, and felling a little silly, they giggled, Kathy remarking that he was definitely better with his tongue than the toad guy, and he didn't have warts either. Laughing and walking with their arms about each other, they left the theatre and headed to a familiar club and the company of many of their friends.
The club, "The Beach Hut" was fairly crowded by the time they arrived and Terry pushed his way to the bar, holding her close and using his body like a shield so she would not be bumped or knocked. He ordered two drinks, handing one to her and looking around in the crowd for anyone they knew. Out of no where, Phoebe appeared, wrapping her arms around Terry's neck and kissing him hard. Terry seemed to be enjoying the kiss. Sweet, blond, big breasted, cute little Phoebe was everyone's darling, and suddenly Kathy felt very much like a spare wheel. Who was she kidding? Everyone knew how hot Phoebe was for Terry. Kathy knew she could not compete, and she didn't have the strength or time to try. She set her unfinished drink on the bar and eased back into the crowed, vanishing from Terry's view and out the front door.
As she hailed a cab, the image Phoebe wrapped around Terry, smothering the lips she herself had adored only half an hour before made her heart ache. The thought that she might be sharing his bed this night made her feel physically ill and she had to fight to push the unwelcome invasion from her mind, she would think of the kiss in the movie theatre and nothing else, that alone would make her smile. He didn't know that she loved him, that he was the object of her greatest desire, and now, he would never know.
Halfway home she changed her mind. She had no desire to be back in her room, alone and waiting for that final moment to seek her out and steel her away. She gave the driver directions to a place she loved to go when she needed to be alone. When she needed time and space to think. The driver pulled up at the remote lookout and asked her if she wanted him to wait, or come back for her, but she gave him a tip, and said that she would be fine, send him on his way.
She leaned heavily against the rail, her head spinning as she looked out over the ocean. There was a storm coming, she could see the clouds rolling in, covering the moon, lighting laced its way across the sky, and thunder rumbled in the distance. Closing her eyes, she lifted her face to the breeze, feeling it increase in intensity as the storm grew ever nearer, picking up her loose hair and whipping it around her face. She opened her heart and whispered into the wind
