PENNY (5 page)

"Hey, Forrest." She presented him with a smile. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be with your friends."

"Changed my mind." He bolted the door. "Thought we could spend some time together." He removed his shoes before climbing in bed with her. "Did I catch you at a bad time?"

"No. Just watching some TV." She laid back, resting her head on his chest. "Forrest, I was thinking..." She paused briefly. "Won't you get tempted? I mean..." She sat up, folding her legs Indian style. "I'm sure you and Charlotte were very intimate." He knew where the conversation was going.

"Penny, I don't even think about that. You shouldn't either."

"But you will eventually. How will that work since I can't...give you that. I'll be a virgin for the rest of my life."

"You worry too much. That's the last thing on my list. Making sure you survive this is what's important. I want you to live to be an old woman. I want us to grow old together." He held her hand in his. "I'm gonna marry you some day, Iris. I'm gonna make you my wife. And we're gonna adopt kids. As many as you want." Her eyes formed with tears.

"You sure that's what you want?"

"Positive." He leaned over, kissing her on the lips. "Now stop worrying."

The days turned into weeks. And the weeks turned into months. Before Iris knew it, it was already winter. She hated winter because it was the flu season. It was easy for her to contract a cold and it was hard for her to fight it
off
.

She covered her mouth with a tissue, coughing dramatically. She felt sick. She had a runny nose; her throat was sore from coughing; and she had the chills.

She had to stay indoors until she'd gotten better. So Forrest made sure to keep her company.

He entered her bedroom with a cup of tea. "Your mom made this. She said to drink all of it." He sat the cup on the nightstand, making himself comfortable in bed with her. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap." She covered her mouth, coughing some more. "You shouldn't be here. You could get sick, too."

"I'm not going anywhere." He kissed her on the forehead. "Not until you're better." She rested her head on his chest, taking in some of his warmth.

"I feel so cold." He held her in his arms.

"Here." He covered her with the blanket. "Hold me." He instructed.

She covered her mouth, coughing once again. "Forrest...I don't feel so good."

"Don't move. I got it." He leaned over the bed for the pale she had as precaution in case she puked. "Here." She quickly grabbed it, shoving her head in it just seconds away from regurgitating.

She felt horrible. It didn't feel like she was getting better at all. "You done?" She nodded meekly. He took the pale, sitting it back on the floor. "Crap." She slowly fell back on the bed. "I'm so tired."

"Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake."

It took Iris over a week to recover. And Forrest made sure to visit every day.

Another six months flew by. They were already halfway through the year.

Chapter seven

June 23, 2010

"Happy birthday, Penny." Forrest sat a big cupcake sitting in a transparent container in front of her. "You're twenty this year."

"I am."

"Any special wishes?" She shook her head no.

"Just to live to see another year." He took a seat on the bed.

"I changed my list. Graduating isn't the first thing I want to accomplish anymore." He reached out to touch her hair. "I want to get married first." She chuckled softly.

"You don't know what you're saying."

"I'm positive. I don't see why not. We both love each other. We know each other well. What's the point of waiting? May never know what can happen."

"So you're considering it because of my situation? Forrest..."

"That and because I want to. I wanna marry you, Iris. I don't wanna wait anymore." What was he trying to say?

"Are you suggesting we get married now? I mean..."

"Yes." He stood to his feet. "I left you something in the cupcake. Think about it." He leaned over to kiss her. "I gotta go. Class in a few." She watched him head towards the door.

"Forrest, what did you leave in the cupcake?"

"You'll see." He opened the door, departing the room. Iris didn't wait long to dig her fingers in the cupcake in search for whatever it was he hid in there. She came across a metal object. She quickly brushed away the crumbs, coming across a shiny diamond ring.

"Oh, my god." She mumbled.

An engagement ring. At first, she thought he was joking. But she knew this was far from a prank.

The first thing she did was call him up on the phone. But it went directly to voicemail. This only meant he had turned his phone
off
. Most likely because he was going to be in class and didn't want to be disturbed.

"Forrest, call me when you get this message." She ended the call, never taking her eyes
off
the ring.

"Iris?" She quickly hid the ring under her pillow. Her mother peered inside the room. "Hey, you hungry? I ordered pizza."

"Um...not really. I'll eat later." Peggy observed her interestingly.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Just tired. I'm gonna take a nap."

"Okay." She shut the door, leaving her alone.

The following day (June 24, 2010)

Forrest stood on the porch, watching the door fly open. Iris stood there for the first time in weeks. She'd been bed ridden after catching a minor cold. So this was a good sign. "Forrest..." She flashed him a smile.

"Hey." She stepped aside, allowing him to enter. "I wasn't expecting you to answer."

"Had no choice. My parents are out. Church." She shut the door, turning to face him. She couldn't wait to mention the ring. "So, I found what you were hiding in the cupcake."

"That's great. What do you think?" She approached him.

"My answer is yes. But only if you're sure about this." He wrapped his arms around her, leaning in to engage in a deep kiss.

"I've never been so sure." He breathed between her lips.

"I'm just...I'm having such a hard time believing all of this." She was practically in tears. "I was beginning to give up on life."

"You should've trusted me." A tear escaped her eye, rolling down her cheek. "I guess you didn't know me all that well."

"I didn't. I was afraid of losing you. I didn't think you would wanna be my friend anymore." He leaned back in to kiss her. "I wish I could
off
er more."

"You're all I need." She wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest.

"Guess what?" She released him, walking over to the sofa. "
I
f
i
nished my list." She handed him a notebook. "All one hundred things I would like to accomplish before I die. Took longer than I expected."

"Wow." He took a seat on the sofa, opening the notebook to th
e
f
i
rst page. "Ahaha. Number one is to graduate college. Looks like we both think alike." He continued down the list, halting at number sixteen. "Fly on a helicopter?" He looked up at her. "That's an interesting request." She took a seat on his lap as he continued. Number thirty caught his eye. "Lose my virginity."

"I know that will never happen."

"If you feel that way, why write it on the list?" She shrugged her shoulders.

"Wishful thinking, I guess. It's just...I've read where people have sex with HIV but there are risks to their partner. I couldn't risk your life. I know there are contraceptives out there. But they aren't always one hundred percent guarantee. Some people still end up pregnant after using condoms..."

"Shouldn't it be my choice? And besides, I can always put on two condoms just to be on the safe side." She laughed faintly. "Just saying." He put his gaze back on the list. "Ha-ha. Number fifty-five, horse back riding on a ranch. Why not the city? Why a ranch? Aha."

"You'll find a horse quicker on a ranch than in the city. And plus it seems more realistic, I guess."

"This one..." His smile slowly faded when he read number sixty. "Find a cure for AIDS." He looked up to meet her gaze. "That's what I want more than anything. A cure." She noticed how glossy his eyes became. "Iris, I'm so sorry you have to go through this. I know you're scared. But you don't have to be. You won't die alone. I promise." He got through the whole list and couldn't help but shed a tear. "This is beautiful. For you to be so optimistic with this disease. I have a lot to learn from you."

"I've learned from you. If it wasn't for you, I would've stopped trying to live a long time ago. I'm fighting it for you. Because I don't want
you
to be alone." He leaned in, gradually locking lips with hers.

"I love you, Iris."

"I love you, too." She climbed in his lap, once again locking lips with his. His hands were on her thighs at first, but then they were on her butt. It was as if they had a mind of their own.

He tried not to lose control whenever they kissed. It had been over a year since he'd made love. So you can imagine how hard it was for him. It got more d
iffi
cult with each passing day.

As she pulled away, she could feel his teeth sink in the bottom of her lip. He never bit her during a kiss. This was th
e
f
i
rst. And this freaked her out.

She pushed him away; her heart pounding from out of her chest. She sat there in horror with her hand over her mouth. "What are you doing?" He chuckled softly.

"Kissing you, obviously." He leaned back in, but only to be met with her hand.

"You bit me."

"Not hard. Just to spice it up a bit." He watched her climb
off
him.

"You can't do that, Forrest. Jesus, are you stupid or something? What if you pierced my skin?"

"Iris, I know what I'm doing. It's nothing new. Trust me."

"Maybe it was okay for you to bite Charlotte. But you can't do that to me. It's too risky. It's like you don't care." He stood to his feet.

"Maybe I don't. Maybe I wanna die with you." She wasn't for sure if he was mocking her and it pissed her
off
. So much to the point where she had to express herself.

He blinked the second he felt her hand swap him across the face. "That's not funny." He stood there holding his burning cheek.

"Iris...I was just joking."

"Get out." He peered in her shimmering eyes. He had no idea she would react this way. "You apparently think it's a joke. Dying is NOT something to laugh about. You think I wanna die? Why the hell do you think I'm fighting? I wanna live. And for you to stand there and joke about it is just childish."

"Who said I was joking? Iris, I don't wanna live without you. I would rather die."

"Leave, Forrest. Go!" She snapped while pointing to the door. He stood there for a moment, gazing deeply into her eyes. He felt bad. His intentions weren't to upset her. He honestly forgot for a moment what she was going through. The disease that was eating away at her slowly.

"Okay." He walked pass her and towards the front door. After hearing the door shut, she took a seat on the sofa.

Her eyes were leaking at this point. A part of her felt bad for reacting that way. But she had to remind him of her situation. One mistake could change everything. She couldn't allow him to be careless.