He had been lying in bed for about 3 hours now but he is still wide awake. The thing that had been scaring him and his friend was over, and there’s nothing to worry now.

For now, the voice in his head whispers.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

Twisting and turning under the sheets, his minds still kept coming back to the moments leading up to the what the doctor told his friend.

“I’ve been having pain in my lower stomach for a few months now and my period’s very irregular.”

“We found a tumor in your scans and we’re not sure if it’s life-threatening or not. We need to do a biopsy to be able to identify that.”

“They said might take a few weeks before the results come. They’ll schedule me for another blood test in a week.”

“We have some news for you. If you can come in on Friday at 3 in the afternoon so we can discuss about it.”

He was there with her through all those times because she asked him to, because there was nobody else who wasn’t busy she said, and every time he heard those sentences, anxiety hit him like a ton of bricks. Of course he had to put up a front, but deep down, he was extremely concerned.

Especially when she was told about the tumor in her body. He masked his face during their conversation but when that day ended, he curled in his sofa and cried until her fell asleep.

In that moment, he felt scared of losing her. All those years, he never really thought about anyone in his life leaving. Not her. Not this way. He realized that he never really showed his support. He was by her side, yes, but he acted more like a chaperone than anything else. He never held her hands or hugged her when she broke down in tears, expressing her own worries.

He sat up against his pillows, thoughts pouring in. “Why didn’t I support her better?” he whispered to himself.

Without thinking more, he got out of bed and started to change his pajame bottoms to jeans then proceeded to his living room where he put on a pair of shoes and took his car keys.

Then he went out into the night

---

She thought she was dreaming when she heard distant knocks but when she opened her eyes in the dark, she realized there was someone outside her apartment. Reaching out for her phone, she checked the time.

12:50am.

Drowsiness began to disappear as fear took over. Who on earth would be knocking on her door at this time of the night?

She slowly got out of bed, afraid that the person outside would hear her (although she’s in the opposite side of the apartment and pretty impossible for anyone to hear her shuffling about inside).

She went to her hallway, a few meters away from the door, and stood there. The knocks were intermittent; there would be several in a row, then quiet, then another set came. It went on for a couple more rounds before she decided to look through the peephole.

And she was surprised to see her friend outside.

It had only been a few hours since they parted ways from the entrance of her apartment building after he accompanied her to her doctor earlier. What was he doing here?

She unlocked her door and swung it open, her eyes meeting his.

“Hey,” he breathed out. He was wearing an old shirt that he now uses for sleeping (she and other co-workers had slept over his house a bunch of times before) and his hair is a tousled. As if he had just gotten out of bed and didn’t have the time to fix it.

“Come in,” she said, stepping back. “What are you-“

She never had a chance to finish her question. Arms wrapped around her tightly and she felt him bury his head in the crook of her neck. Confused, she reached out behind him and pushed the door close with her fingers and reluctantly placed her own arms around him.

It was silent for some time, then she heard a sniffle.

“I thought I was losing you,” he mumbled against her shoulder.

Her heart skipped a beat. He came here because he was worried?

His side of the embrace started to loosen and they untangled themselves, although he ran his hand down her arm and held her hand, his other one wiping at the tears on his cheeks. “Sorry for crying on your shoulder,” he laughed. “Pretty stupid.”

“Don’t be,” she said, letting go of his hand and cupping his cheeks with his. “Did I make you worry too much?”

He nodded, a couple more tears streaming down his cheeks. Her heart sank. She wiped them off with her thumbs.

“I’m so sorry. I never intended to,” she reassured him, her own eyes starting to water.

“I know. It’s just that-“

He paused, looking like he doesn’t know what to say. After a moment, he too a deep breath and continued.

“I’m so sorry for not supporting you enough.” His hands rose up and held her wrists, like he was scared of letting go. “I feel like I didn’t do anything while you were showing distress.”

Her eyes searched through his and all she saw was how genuine he was.

This boy, she thought. She took a step forward and stood on her tiptoes, leaning over to him and kissing his cheek. She heard him sob softly, and she wrapped her arms around his neck, while his went around her waist, one snaking up across her upper back.

“You being there was enough for me,” she whispered in his ear.

---