All Chapters of Goodbye, Mr. Reynolds: I Have Nine Months to Live: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

ALICEThe first morning back at Wayne’s house felt strangely peaceful. I woke up before my alarm, not because of a coughing fit or because a nurse needed to check my vitals, but because sunlight had found its way through the curtains and landed across my face. For a few seconds, I simply lay there, staring at the ceiling and trying to remember where I was. Then I remembered. I wasn’t in the hospital anymore. I didn’t have to wait for someone to tell me when I could get out of bed, when I could eat, or when I could take a shower. I could finally move around my own space without feeling like I was being watched. I smiled to myself and slowly sat up, remembering the nurse’s warning not to jump out of bed too quickly. I counted to ten before placing my feet on the floor, waited for the familiar dizziness to pass, and then stood.My eyes immediately went to the little bag of medication sitting on the bedside table. It was the least exciting part of being home, but it was also the most impo

ALICELife at Wayne’s house had slowly begun to feel normal, and I wasn’t sure when exactly that happened. Maybe it was the morning I stopped waking up and wondering whether I was still in the hospital. Maybe it was when I started leaving my bedroom without thinking twice about whether someone would tell me to get back into bed. Or perhaps it was when I began arguing with Wayne about things as ridiculous as whether I was allowed to cook. Whatever it was, I liked it. I liked having mornings that belonged to me again, days that weren’t measured by hospital schedules and nights that ended with me falling asleep because I was tired rather than because I had spent hours worrying about my health.The first thing I did every morning was take my medication. I had become almost annoyingly disciplined about it, setting alarms on my phone and keeping the bottles in one place so I wouldn’t forget anything. The first few days, Wayne had reminded me more than once, but eventually he stopped because

ALICEI woke up earlier than I needed to the next morning, and the first thing I saw was the camera sitting on the bedside table. I smiled before I even remembered why it was there. For a few seconds, I simply stared at it, feeling that strange little excitement I hadn’t felt in a long time. I reached for it and turned it on, scrolling through the pictures I had taken the previous day. There were only a handful, but I liked every single one of them. They weren’t perfect. Some were blurry, some were badly framed, and the picture of Wayne had caught him looking annoyed, but somehow that made them even better. They were real. They were mine. I placed the camera back down and slowly got out of bed, counting to ten before standing like the nurse had taught me.After getting ready, I chose the dress I had laid out the night before. It was loose and comfortable, falling softly around my body without pressing against my stomach. I brushed my hair and left it down, then looked at myself in the

WAYNEWayne had always been good at keeping things to himself. It was one of the reasons people found him difficult to read. He could sit in a room filled with people and reveal almost nothing about what was happening inside his head, listening more than he spoke and remembering details other people forgot. He had learned a long time ago that not every thought needed to become a confession and not every feeling needed a name. Some things were easier when they remained unspoken. Alice had known him for years, but even she didn’t know everything about him. She knew the version that joked with her, irritated her, helped her when she needed it and occasionally argued with her over things neither of them would remember the following day. She didn’t know the man who sometimes stood outside her bedroom door at night after hearing her cough, waiting until he was certain she had settled again before walking away.That morning, he woke earlier than usual and stayed in bed for several minutes, s

CharlesThree weeksCharles stared at the date on the corner of his computer screen for longer than he cared to admit.Almost a month had passed since Alice left.He leaned back in his chair, his jaw tightening as he glanced toward the stack of documents waiting for his signature. For the past four weeks, he had told himself the same thing over and over again.She would come back.Alice always came back.Even when they argued, even when she was upset, even when she refused to speak to him for a few hours, she eventually returned. She had always been the one who softened first, the one who came looking for him, the one who somehow found a way to make peace even when Charles knew he was the one who had caused the problem.But this time was different.It was the longest Alice had ever stayed away from him.And, for the first time, Charles couldn’t convince himself that she was simply being stubborn.He picked up his phone.The last message he had sent her was still there.He had stared a