The Last 30 Days [Inactive]

"I call it toothpaste." Isabelle teased. She pushed him away lightly with her hand on his chest and helped herself to a pancake. Her appetite was noticeably different from last week. She would have tried to eat more than just the one little circle, but now it was an effort just to get that same one down. Along with the single flapjack, she helped herself to a glass of orange juice.


She set her plate down on the table in the dining room and took a small sip of her orange juice. Instantly, she stuck out her tongue and groaned.


"Toothpaste and orange juice." She whined. "They don't mix."
 
Blake laughed, trying to imitate her facial expression for a few seconds before taking a pancake and following her to the table. He ate it plain, rolled up and clutched in his hand. "I'll drink the juice," he joked, leaning back against the wall behind Isabelle. The packing was mostly done so he took his time to eat, even occasionally reaching his hand out to twirl a strand of Isabelle's hair.
 
"No, I really like orange juice." She choked. The taste was unpleasant, that was saying it lightly. Isabelle chugged the disgusting taste of minted orange juice and leaned back in her chair when she was done.


Blake was twirling her hair. She leaned her head back even more to stare upside down at him. It was still up in the air if she would cut it before her surgery. She certainly didn't want to have an odd bald spot to hide.


"Soft, I know." She joked, twirling a strand of her own hair.
 
Blake nodded in agreement, dropping the strand he had been holding between his fingers. "Softest I've ever felt," he added, shoving the last bite of his pancake into his mouth. He chewed while bobbing his head and then swallowed loudly and said , "Are you planning on cutting it?"
 
"I think so." Isabelle said sadly. "It's either cut it, or have a bald spot on the back of my head for a few months. Besides, I haven't had my hair short for a long time."


Under the table, she played with her feet for a minute. Should I cut it? I don't know. I don't want to look silly. She bit her lip and her eyebrows knitted together in thought.


"I'll give it another week." She decided. "Now we get to go to the ocean, right? Why are we still sitting around, come on, let's go!" Isabelle suddenly smiled and bolted out of her chair, in a rush to get out the door.
 
Blake was about to say something on the subject of hair cutting when Isabelle ran out, leaving him alone, mouth agape and one hand held up with his index finger pointed out. He dropped his hand and it slapped against his jeans. He'd mention some facts later.


Walking out of the dining room, Blake checked off a mental list of things they needed and had packed. So far everything was in the bags, and then he remembered the book on the table and ran back to get it. "Are you all ready? Everything packed?" he asked, shoving the paperback in his bag.
 
"Yes." Isabelle nodded. She pulled her sunglasses from a case in her bag and placed them on her face. Nothing would ruin this, she told herself, she'd take every precaution just short of the cane she'd been given. Her balance was still off, and Blake knew it, but she hated using it.


In her hands she held a bag filled with clothes for the weekend, a swimsuit, and various other supplies.


"Sorry, I cut you off." She apologized with a dorky grin on her face.
 
Blake gathered all their bags and dropped them near the door while saying, "Yes, you did. I was going to say that unless you shaved your head bald, you'd sill have a bald spot. It would be easier to hide the spot with long hair." Whether or not Isabelle had thought of that or not didn't matter, maybe pointing it out would change her mind.


While Isabelle wasn't looking Blake grabbed her cane and shoved it in the nearest bag that it would fit in. He was fairly certain that she hadn't saw him, but if she had he wouldn't leave it behind just in case she needed it.
 
"I suppose so." Isabelle pondered. The idea hadn't come to her, she figured that cutting it shorter would make it less noticeable when the hair grew out. Blake's rationale made more sense, not surprisingly.


She didn't see him hide her cane, had she, she probably would've huffed. Isabelle picked up what she could carry and attempted to open the door. It worked eventually, and she headed to the truck to put everything inside before hopping in.
 
Blake brought the rest of the bags out to the shining clean truck and climbed in as well. He had a map and a GPS but he didn't touch either one of them as he backed out of the driveway, after all, he thought, what's the point of a road trip if you don't get lost at least once?


"Any specific plans for what you wanna do at the beach?" he asked as innocently as possible, all though if you paid close attention to the tone of his voice or the boyish grin on his face he was also asking if she had brought any lace with her.
 
Isabelle blushed and dodged his hidden question. He looked much too happy for asking about beach plans, Isabelle's mind went elsewhere, towards trying to hide herself half naked wherever they stayed.


"Well, I want to see the sun rise." Isabelle said quietly. "It's on my list, so, if we can do it." She shrugged and didn't continue on the topic. "I'd just camp out on the beach if I could, but I don't think you can do that. It'd be so cool to sleep under the stars."
 
Blake headed down the road towards the highway. His truck wasn't the loudest thing ever but it certainly wasn't silent either. From inside the cabin you could hear the muted roar of the engine. He always kept it as clean as possible, inside and out and even though he'd had it for a few years it still seemed to have the new car smell.


"I think we could sleep on the beach." He had already planned on just backing up the truck to the sand and either sleep in the truck bed or in the small tent they packed.
 
"You think so?" Isabelle asked, the eagerness in her voice was plainly obvious, she didn't even try to hide it. "I'd love that."


She leaned back against the headrest, glasses still on. Even if she knew it was still early in the morning, it appeared to be nearing the evening. Isabelle toggled back and forth between the dark view, and the sun in front of her. It wasn't too bright, so she risked taking the glasses off so she could see.


"Is there something you wanted to do?" Isabelle asked, biting her lip. He asked first, so she thought it would be fair to return the question.
 
Blake shrugged, drumming his fingers on the truck's steering wheel. He pursed his lips and pondered the question, coming up with nearly nothing. "Other than spend lots of time with you, nope." He really wasn't the one to make plans like this, let alone think ahead to what he wanted to do. Before meeting Isabelle he would have been content with just reading all day.
 
"The feeling is mutual, I promise." Isabelle laughed. She put her hands in her lap. Today she decided to wear the blue dress they'd found when they went out. It was warm enough where her legs could be bare without it bothering her too much. Mainly, she wanted to be able to run into the water as soon as they arrived.


"Thanks for taking me." Isabelle turned her head, still rested on the headrest. "Really."


Who else would try to help her? Lots of people, was the honest answer. There was a whole foundation dedicated to kids dying of cancer, so who wouldn't help her try to get the last items of her bucket list down? It still brought a smile to her face to think that someone, who'd she hadn't known for more than a few days at that point, had already given her so much.
 
He grinned and reached over to grab one of her hands, 'accidentally' moving her dress up an inch while doing so. "What do you want for lunch?" he asked, rubbing his thumb into the back of her hand. "I packed sandwichs and other stuff in the cooler, but we can also stop somewhere and get something."
 
Isabelle flinched and clamped her legs together. "Sandwich is fine." She squeaked, her face and legs growing red.


She pushed his hand away and tapped it with her hand. Nervously, she smiled at him before staring out the window.
 
An hour into their journey they were driving down the highway, the ocean still out of sight. Blake thought it was somewhere to Isabelle's right but he wasn't 100% sure- he still didn't hadn't checked the map or GPS. From memory he turned off the highway and they ended up in a little dried up town. They drove down the road until coming to a stop at a dead end. Blake frowned, staring at the forest trees ahead of them.
 
"Blake, that's not the ocean." Isabelle pointed out, somewhat sarcastically. The row of trees, while pretty on their own, was not what they were looking for.


"So, where are we?" She asked, simultaneously reaching for the map Blake had brought. Even so, she wasn't sure where they were.
 
Blake sat in silence staring at the trees and although this is what he figured would happen he was kind of disappointed in his own memory and sense of direction. "Were in a small town," he said monotonously, breaking out of his trance to do a U-turn. He headed back the way they came, going past the highway exit thinking he had just turned the wrong way.
 
"Okay." Isabelle smiled. The scenic view wasn't bad at all. She put the map over her lap as a makeshift cover, hoping Blake hadn't noticed her blushing face.


After driving for some time, the light was too much and she had to put her sunglasses back on. The motions of the car and the winding road lulled Isabelle into a dizzy state. She closed her eyes and rested her head against the cold window, hoping for more sleep.
 
Blake glanced over and upon noticing her glasses and slightly sick face he said, "We can stop and take a break, if your head gets too bad." The last thing he wanted was the trip to be ruined by Isabelle's illness. Earlier she had been excited and now her excitement was muted. Blake turned on the radio to a classical music station, hoping the soft sounds would lull his girlfriend into sleep.
 
"It's okay." She half lied. It was only the car making her feel sick. Stopping would only put it off, and make it last longer in the long run.


The soft tones of a classical symphony silently filled the air in the car. Isabelle focused on the notes, and she thought back to the day Blake had played for her. Just as Blake had hoped, it lulled her to a state just close to sleep. Her eyes were shut beneath the glasses, and her face relaxed some. She didn't notice when her glasses slipped down on her nose, and the map on her legs fell to the side.
 
At first Blake didn't notice the sleeping girl next to him but when he did a smile appeared on his face. She looked so peaceful and beautiful, Blake just wanted to hug her close and kiss her cheek, he loved her so much in that moment. But that would wake her and so he just pushed her glasses back up and pulled her dress down to cover more of her legs.


By now Blake figured they were on the right track, he could just see the outline of the ocean to his right. There were a few signs for camping but none for an actual beach.
 
For once, peace was in her dreams. Isabelle didn't dream of a failing operation or Blake telling her off, she had a good dream. When she woke up, she'd say she didn't remember, but that wasn't true. It was a simple dream, she was walking, and her hair was shorter than usual, but Blake was there with her. Hand in hand, they were only walking over a white empty space, but she knew she was alive, there was a feeling that let her know nothing was wrong.


When she opened her eyes again, the ocean was on the horizon as a sliver of blue. Isabelle jumped to attention and resisted pressing her face against the window. She smiled wide, this was her first time seeing the ocean.
 
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