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I let out a relieved sigh. “It’s Beck.”
“Oh. Ummm… Okay.” A buzzer noise sounded, and the outside door unlocked. Nora waited on the second floor with her apartment door half open.
I smiled.
She didn’t.
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I hate when people drop in, too. But you haven’t been returning my calls.”
Nora sighed. “I’ve been busy.”
She didn’t move from the doorway when I got to the top of the stairs.
“Can I come in?”
She hesitated, but eventually nodded.
I only made it two steps into her apartment before I froze. Her kitchen was littered with cardboard boxes. “What’s all this?”
She looked down. “I’m packing. I pushed up my moving date.”
“To when?”
Nora wouldn’t look at me, so I knew the answer was going to stab me in the heart.
“Monday.”
“Monday? As in three days from now?”
She nodded.
It felt like I couldn’t breathe. “Were you even going to tell me?”
“Of course I was.”
“When?”
Nora kept looking down.
I was so angry and hurt, it was difficult to rein it in. I cupped her cheeks, forcing her head up until our eyes met. “When, Nora? When were you going to tell me? After you were gone? Were you going to send me a fucking postcard?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I don’t know. I hadn’t figured it out yet.”
“Why? Why are you leaving so soon?”
“That was always the plan. You knew that from the beginning.”
“But why leave early?”
“Because it’s time.” Tears rolled down her face, leaving streaks. “I promised my dad I’d come at the end.”
“But it doesn’t have to be the end, Nora. I spoke to doctors, and you have a chance. At least go on the list.”
Nora stepped back. My hands fell from her cheeks.
“You should go, Beck.”
“No.”
