NovelEnglish"Lance, hey, calm down. | swear, | haven't lied to you." Hudson's voice was
gentle. "This isn't what | wanted either, but...it's just how things are. Maybe | was always living on borrowed
time."
"I mean, honestly, I've had a good run. Meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me. Getting to
really know you? Even better."
"Lance, you've got to promisesomething, okay? Even if I'm gone, you have to take care of yourself. And
besides, I'm not dead yet, am I?"
He tried to grin, even though it didn't look easy. "I'm right here in front of you. If there's anything you wantto
do, just say it. I'll do it—whatever it is, | promise."
Hudson gave Lance a crooked smile.
"And hey, when I'm gone, will you bringsflowers every week? You know flowers are my favorites. It'd
mean a lot if you could leave sflowers forevery Sunday."
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"But if you meet someone new, someone you really love, then you don't have to bring flowers anymore, alright?"
Lance clamped his hands over his ears, shaking his head, refusing to listen.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear it! If you die, I'm not bringing you any flowers. Not a single one!"
"And if you do die, I'm telling you right now, I'll go out and find someone else right away. The kind of guy you
absolutely can't stand. I'll date him just to spite you."
"So you'd better not die! Otherwise, I'll do all the stuff you hate, just to make you mad enough to climb out of
your grave!"
Lance yelled, his voice raw and angry. He glared at Hudson, refusing to accept what was happening.
"You always said you hated it when | went out drinking, right? Well, watch this, I'm heading out to the bar, and
I'm meeting up with those jerks you can't stand. | won't even chtonight. | hope it drives you nuts!"
He spun around and stormed out.
Calliope frowned. She'd expected a strong reaction from Lance, but not quite this much. He just couldn't process
it yet. He hadn't even stopped to think about how Hudson felt.
She glanced over at Hudson.
But Hudson looked weirdly calm. He managed a small smile at Calliope. "Don't worry about him. He just needs
stto let it sink in."
"What about you? I'm worried about you," Calliope admitted softly.
She knew that, out of everyone, Hudson was the one hurting the most. It wasn't like he'd chosen this illness.
Nobody would choose to die if they had a choice.
Lance could say "don't die" all he wanted, but it didn't change reality.
"If | could control it, I'd stay," Hudson said, smiling a little. "But | knew he'd react like this. Still, you were right.
It's better he knows, sooner rather than later."
"Callie, thank you. Seriously. | know all this has been hard on you. And, listen, if you feel like you need to get
back home, don't worry about me. | know you're busy, and you've already done more than enough."
Hudson looked at Calliope with genuine gratitude. He felt bad for taking up so much of her time.
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Calliope sighed, her expression softening. "I'm sorry. Guess my medical skills just aren't good enough."
She'd thought about consulting more specialists, but deep down, she knew there wasn't much hope left for
Hudson's condition.
"It's not your fault. You're amazing-you've done everything you could."
Hudson gave her a reassuring smile.
"It's late. You should get srest."
"What about Lance?" Calliope asked, still worried.
"He'll be alright. He just needs to be alone for a bit. Once he's had tto think, he'll caround."
Calliope nodded. She knew Hudson was right. Lance needed tto process everything. She didn't ask any more
questions.
That night Calliope tried to sleep, though she barely rested at all. Her thoughts kept circling back to
Hudson. She still wished, more than anything, that she could find a way to save him.
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