Chapter 121: Chapter 121

Her eyes drop from mine and she bites her lips hard, my heart tightens in my chest as I wait for her answer. "Yes, Rory, I love you, but I need to learn to love you more." her hand comes up to touch my face and I can't help leaning more into her touch, because it feels like a healing touch and for the first time in a long time she kisses me first and I can feel so much love, want and need.

She pulls away with glittering eyes and my eyes lingers on her lips, her full, red lips and I can't lie because I want more.

"Taylor, right now I feel like the luckiest man on earth. You are my heaven."

"You are my heaven too, Rory John Gate," she says, sitting down and taking my hand in hers. She smiles happily and there isn't a more perfect picture than watching Taylor smile.

We spend the next hours catching up and talking and living in the moment. There was a lot of opening up on both our sides and the events of the last four years we let the other person know.

"You are beautiful," I say all of a sudden.

She blushes and rolls her eyes, "You told me that before, don't you remember?"

"Of course, I do, but I will keep telling you that until my final hours."

She places her lips on the back of my hand and kisses it, "Mycole came to me," she slowly begins to say, "he told me things. Rory, I'm scared you might not make it."

I don't get what she means because I am dying and it's not something someone has to see, it's so obvious. "I know," I reply, bringing her hand up to my lips and placing a frantic kiss on it.

She shakes her head, "No, you don't get it, Mycole sees things and they happen."

My brow furrow instinctively, "Like a seer?"

She nods, "Before our relationships five years ago, he saw that you were going to hurt me terribly and so he warned me to stay away from you." she tells me to my surprise.

"But you couldn't because you loved me."

"Exactly. And you did hurt me," her hand tightens around mine, as she says this, "and then he saw me having a baby with Keenan and I had Reign."

"And now he saw me die?" I ask with a hollow voice.

She silently nods, squeezing my hand harder in her hand, her eyes briefly closing "At exactly 8:20 a.m. I'm scared, I don't want to lose you."

A tear rolls down to the corner of my face at this, I don't want to leave her, but she is scared as well. She believes what Mycole says and maybe she should because I too can see it coming and I can't stop it.

"What do you want?"

Her eyes light up at my question and they lock in mine when she says, "I want you to live." she answers and just then the door opens and Phoebe Keenan, Dad, Mom and Phoebe who is holding a sleeping Reign enters.

I stare at them in confusion, "What's wrong?" I ask, my voice going raw and weary.

"We found a donor." Keenan reply with a smile and I see Taylor's face grew pale almost immediately.

"That's good news," I tell them just as the doctor walks in along with some other doctor and move to the side of my bed.

"Mr Gate, the donor has been found and the surgery has been set to start from 1:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m."

I glance at the wall clock and it's 1:04 am.

I turn to Taylor, "I'll be back, I -"

She kisses my lips deeply and desperately, silencing every word I had to say from my mouth, before pulling away. She steps back and wipes the tears off her face.

"Thank you, Keenan, please promise you will take care of Reign like you always have and Taylor." I lift my hand and he takes it and wraps his arms around mine.

He taps my shoulder before whispering in my ears, "I won't, you will live and do that yourself buddy." he assures on a serious note.

Taylor's POV

I watch as the doctor roll Rory's bed into the operating room and the door is shut. I wrap my arms around my cold body and silently pace around.

"You need more than aimlessly pacing around, Taylor, I think you should do something useful," Keenan quietly told me bringing me into the awareness that I'm not alone.

"Like what?" I asked with a slightly raised brow.

Keenan told me he took Reign home after she told him she needed to complete her homework and have dinner, while they were out many hours ago and he had taken her home and left her at the care of Rachel and when he called home at past nine, Rachel told him that she was already asleep. I am again grateful to Keenan for thinking ahead of time and saving me from much stress.

"Like praying," he casually suggests.

I scoff and turn to Keenan with a serious look, "I haven't prayed in four years, why would I start now?"

He shrugs, "I don't know, you've been pacing around these past four hours aimlessly, so you tell me."

My eyes drop from him. "I can't, God knows this is all my fault so he won't even listen." I shake my head slowly. "besides I'm just going to argue with him and that would just be pointless. "

He smirks, "It's not pointless and I think he likes that. I'll take you."

The first church we see is just a few miles from the hospital and Keenan parks the car and gets down, but before he can come over and open the door for me, I help myself out.

"You have changed," he admits with a startled look.

I laugh at that, "Good change or bad change?"

"Definitely good, I like the presence around you now," he confesses.

"Me too," I say, walking to the door, but he beats me to it and opens the door for me. "I might spend a long time in there. Aren't you coming in?" I ask.

He grins but shakes his head. "No, I love my hearing to be the way they are, intact and as it is, you've got scores to settle."

I playfully smack his hand and mouth a 'thank you' to him before going in.

I walk into the church and although small, its wall is magnificent. There's no one in the hall which is expected as it is 5:30 in the morning. I make my way to the long chair in the middle of the auditorium and sit down.

After spending another 30 minutes thinking of the right words I begin to speak, "Um... I don't know what to say," I awkwardly admit, feeling a little embarrassed. "I haven't prayed in a long time so this is really weird and awkward. I know you know everything that has happened, this is all Keenan's idea, but I want you to know that I was wrong for everything and for every move I've made. I forgot that vengeance wasn't mine to take and I'm sorry for everything I did to hurt the people around me that love and care about me the most. But don't take Rory, he doesn't have to die because of my stubbornness. I know whatever Mycole sees always come to pass, but please, don't let this happen. Don't punish him for my mistakes, punish me instead. He is innocent and I don't want him to die, I love him so much and I won't be able to live without him-"

I hear doorsteps from behind and quickly I get up to my feet and turn around to see a man in a black priestly gown. He looks to be in his late sixties, with much grey hair on his head. He looks at me in concern and I stare at him in fear. "What are you doing?" he asks carefully as he walks closer and I move back.

"I was praying for someone."

He smiles warmly at me in reassurance, "Don't be scared, My name is Lionel, I am a priest, and I live in the church and I heard you praying when I was doing my morning prayer. What wrong with your friend then?"

I feel a little relief wash over me, "He's more than my friend." I reply honestly, not even understanding why I referred to Rory as someone.

"Oh, your boyfriend then?"

I still want to say more than that too, but I just nod, "His heart has been affected and he might die, and I don't want him to die, my friend ask me to come to pray for him."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Here let me pray with you then," he gives me his hand and I take it into mine, "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you child."

"Amen."

"When you said you were going to be long, I didn't think you meant this long." Keenan folds his arms over his chest and gives a naughty look. "So tell me, did you confess your naughtiest, dirtiest secrets to God?"

I gasp and my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, "Shut up okay? This was all your idea and I didn't do any of sort, I just didn't know how to start." I tell him as I walk over to the car, "I saw a priest who was willing to pray with me..."

"Good thing I didn't follow you then."

We enter the car and drove off to the hospital.

"What time is it?" I ask as my wristwatch says 7:59 a.m.

"It's 8 a.m." he replies after glancing at his own wristwatch.

How long was I in the church? No wonder Keenan said I took too long.

We make our way into the hospital twelve-minute later and I happily hurry up to the ward that Rory was rolled into hours ago. I approach quickly only to stop on my track when I suddenly hear the alarming voice of the doctor shouting, "Cold blue!"

My heart tightens in her chest and begins to beat rapidly when the doctor makes his sudden announcement.

"Again clear."

"Clear." I grab onto my chest wanting to stop the cry from leaving my lips. I hear him sigh deeply in frustration, "Okay, guys, let call it. Time of death 8:20 a.m." the Doctor say and everything becomes blurry before my eyes and all sound finally fade.