As much as her friends didn't want Cadence to cut them off again, they seemed to understand, and she said her goodbyes. She leaned over and felt Aaron’s forehead. He still felt warm, but not as clammy. His breathing seemed fairly shallow, however, which concerned her. She kissed his forehead, and he stirred just a little bit. "Aaron?" she whispered into his ear. She got no response, however, and she scooted back into the chair, left in her own solitary thoughts with only the sounds of the insects outside to keep her company.
Eventually, their cries brought her outside. The heavens were ablaze in a spectacular composition of twinkling lights, an assurance that she was not alone after all, and despite all the loss she had gone through in the past year, her prayers were not for naught; perhaps she just needed to be more convincing. She fell to her knees there in the open field in front of the house beneath a myriad of constellations and prayed, begging God to heal him, to bring him back to her. Otherwise... she had no idea how she would go on.
After a few hours, she went back inside to check on him and saw that he had shifted his position. Immediately, she sat down on the edge of the bed. "Aaron?" she asked quietly. "Can you hear me?"
It took a long moment, but his eyelids began to flutter, and then he opened his eyes. She gasped. "Hi," she said smiling. "How are you feeling?"
He swallowed hard and she grabbed the glass of water she had sitting nearby. With a lot of effort, she was able to get a few sips down him before he finally said, "Not good."
"But you're getting better," she assured him, running her fingers through his hair.
He smiled weakly. "You're so beautiful. I tried to resist you, but I couldn't."
She leaned forward and kissed him gently. "Good. I'm glad you didn't," she whispered. "Is there anything I can get you?"
"You," he replied quietly.
"I'm right here," she assured him.
He moved his head slightly to the side to indicate he wanted her in the bed with him.
"Oh, no, I can't. I'll fall asleep again," she explained.
"Cadence, I want to hold you."
"But, what if you need me?"
"I need you now."
She understood. Slipping her shoes off, she pulled off her shirt, and took off her jeans before pulling back the blanket and pressing her body against his. He felt warmer than usual, but at the feel of her, he sighed, and she was hopeful the skin-to-skin contact would have a positive effect. Within a few moments, he smiled at her one last time before fading away again.
Surprisingly, she didn't fall asleep. She spent the rest of the night wrapped in his arms, listening to him breath. He stirred a few more times but never opened his eyes, and when the sun came up, she was thankful he had made it through the night.
And then, something changed.
The sky was still full of pink and orange streaks when she realized his breathing was becoming irregular. It began to grow more shallow, as well. She tried rousing him, changing his position, and removing the blanket and herself in case he was just too hot, all the while pleading with him to stay with her, but nothing seemed to be helping. At around 6:00 AM, he took one labored, shallow breath, and then there was silence.
Cadence waited, sitting on the edge of the chair, leaning in and listening intently. A minute passed, then two. "Aaron?" she said, holding back her tears. Still nothing. "Aaron, come on, don't do this to me," she begged. She checked his pulse and pressed her head against his chest. There was absolutely no sign of life. "Aaron!" she screamed, no longer able to fight the tears. "You can't do this to me! Come back!" she begged. She had taken a CPR class in high school, so she tried going through the sequence of breathing and chest compressions until her fists were sore and she was hyperventilating. Eventually, she collapsed on his chest in despair, sobbing uncontrollably.
She had no idea how much time had passed, but eventually she pulled herself off of him. She almost couldn't bear to look at him. Even now, completely still and silenced, he was certainly the most beautiful person she had ever seen. She ran her hand across his cheek and down his jaw. His eyes were closed, and she would leave them that way, even though she longed to see his eyes one last time. They wouldn't be the same anyway. She kissed his lips, noting how cold they felt, kissed his forehead, and then pulled the blankets up to his chin. "I love you, Aaron McReynolds," she said quietly.
Cadence pulled on her shirt and jeans, and then walked outside. Within seconds, she was convulsing again, the burden of her loss far too much for one person to bear. And then her grief turned to anger. "How could You do this to me?" she screamed at the sky. "Is this some sick joke? Some twisted experiment? First Drew and then Jack.... It wasn't enough that You just took my best friend, now You take my... my... soul mate! My... everything!" She fell to her knees, pounding the ground with her fists. "Why? Why would You do this, God? Why!" There were no answers, no justification, no reason. Just an overwhelming, deafening silence.
She had lain on the grass in front of the little cottage, buckled over, sobbing for hours when she finally fell asleep. It was a restless sleep, one that could only qualify as such because she was not fully conscious. However, the feeling of something gently pulling or stroking her hair began to bring her back to reality. She fought it. Even a restless sleep was better than the reality she would soon be forced to claim as her own. Despite her insistence in remaining incoherent, she began to lose her grip and tumble backward into the real world, the sound of her name bringing her spiraling back.
