Dee opens his mouth to speak but is cut off by the kiss on his cheek and he blinks a few times in surprise. “— Don’t worry about it, mhuirnín. “
“What does that mean?”
Dee opens his mouth to speak but is cut off by the kiss on his cheek and he blinks a few times in surprise. “— Don’t worry about it, mhuirnín. “
“What does that mean?”
As they round the corner he stops, “…Alright. Well— ” he wasn’t sure what to say, ” Guess I’ll see you ‘round. ”
Shae looks around and wrings her hands. “Yeah…” She glances up at him, stands on her toes, and plants a kiss on his cheek. She immediately looks away, abashed. “Sorry. I panicked.”
Brave?
“…Thanks. ” he nods before lightly nudging her back with a hand to try and get her to continue walking, ” C’mon, let’s go. “
Shae’s hands find their way into her coat pockets as she walks, slightly ahead of him. “My place is just around this corner.”
” I don’t want people treatin’ me different. Letting some damn time limit decide how they act ‘round me. ” Things just started to calm down again. ” I just want everythin’ to go back to normal. “
She nods. It’s understandable. And admirable. Shae knows she couldn’t act this way if their positions had been exchanged. “All right. I’ll…try.” She crosses her arms and chews the inside of her cheek. Her brows raise once. “You’re brave, you know.”
” What do you want me to say? That I don’t want to die?—I don’t. But there ain’t nothing can be done. I’ve accepted it. I’ve made peace with it. ” he lets out a raspy sigh and looks away from her, ” This is why I didn’t want to tell no one. That fuckin’ look. “
She glances away, chagrined. “I’m sorry. I won’t…I won’t say anything to them. I promise.”
” Don’t patronize me Shae. ” his tone is low, almost a growl.
She throws her hands in the air in exasperation. “I’m not trying to. Shit, I just…I can’t handle this stuff. Death is… I don’t want you to die.”
” You got somethin’ in your ears? I watched this kill my father. ” he takes a step back, ” …and the fuck kinda question is that? “
“What do you mean what kind of question is that? You smoke like a fuckin’ chimney, you won’t go to a doctor, you won’t tell anyone,” she takes a breath, her tirade bringing those annoying tears back into her eyes. “I’m drawing a pretty fuckin’ logical conclusion here."
He stops and looks back at her, ” I watched this kill my father Shae. I know what the fuck it is. I don’t need ta be wastin’ my time and credits with some fancy doctor tellin’ me I am gunna die. I know I am gunna die. ”
“And you don’t wanna find out for sure? What if it’s not what you think it is? Do you want to die or something?”
” Haven’t gone ta the doctor, I don’t need to. Why bother when I already know what what they are gunna say? “
She stops mid-stride. “So you’re telling me you diagnosed yourself with a terminal illness without any input of a medical professional?”
That’s not exactly why I think it’s best that I stay…
” You keep makin’ it sound like I’m dyin’ tomorrow or somethin’. I still got some fight in me. ” he tries his best to smile.
She doesn’t match his hopeful expression. “Did they say how long?”