TOUCHED BY A STAR (M/M)

0.01

~OLIVIA~

I have to hold onto hope.

The hope that everything turns out right.

A hope I'm beginning to doubt massively whenever I lay my eyes on her. My closest friend's cheerful appearance which has always stuck to her like a second skin for all these years has turned into that of melancholy. She no longer has the twinkle in her eyes, and her skin has a frail appearance akin to a newborn baby.

Lupus…

That is what she had been diagnosed with a few years back. Obviously, Lupus-affected women can safely get pregnant with the majority of them delivering healthy babies. However, they are known to be carrying a potentially hazardous pregnancy with a high risk of miscarriage. Even with this, Dian has always been one beacon of light, bringing happiness to whoever is lucky enough to cross her path. That's until now.

Losing one's anchor to life can indeed be the final straw and Dian's anchor has always been her husband, Lucas. Lucas was involved in an accident that sent him into the cruel clutches of death an hour ago. Dian lost her entire reason to live in seconds just as Richard and I lost our childhood friend. Her already deteriorating heart stopped the moment she received a call from Fernando about the accident. Heart attacks have been her companion since age ten but this time, things got worse. I left Zendaya, Carl, and Daniel with their nanny and rushed here. Richard has been informed but my partner is caught up in a crucial business deal and will be unable to make it till evening. Since then, my phone hasn't stopped buzzing with texts from him.

A light squeeze from Dian brings me back to reality. I drag my eyes to meet her bloodshot and swollen ones. She offers me a compelled grin. One I noticed to have succeeded after many failed attempts. Her face morphs into a mask of pain and I unconsciously let go of her hand, realizing I had been too emotional, and squeezed it tighter. It takes every willpower in me to ignore the countless needles and the beeping from various machines that serve as the only means of keeping her alive.

"Sorry, Dian...Just can't stop thinking of the good times" My voice is barely above a whisper, from holding back too many tears for a while now. It doesn't take long for my walls to crack and let a dam flow from my eyes.

"Silly me!" Wiping the tears, I force a warm smile. Or so I thought it was as the corners of my lips ache from the pretense so I just succumb and let go.

Strange. I've never been the one to let go.

" I'll let you talk however long you want when you get well. So please get well soon" I object pleadingly when she attempts to discard the breathing tube.

Another harsh silence falls upon us once again. My feet start protesting for a rest but a look at her once again drives away the pleasures of rest. My eyes roam her body, taking in each detail of her face. Every nook and cranny as I've been doing for more than twenty years. Dian has always been a beauty with a face like a pretty doll and delicate pale skin. With beautiful eyes and a welcoming aura, she manages to draw people's attention. The freckles all around her nose add a lot to her younger look...something I've envied yet loved. Fernando walks into the suite with a nurse on his tail. We exchange pleasantries before he checks on Dian.

I follow his every move and that of the nurse who keeps jotting things down in the files she holds. An ugly crease forms on Fernando's pleasant face as he whispers something to his nurse before dismissing her.

"Olivia?"

My gaze flicks from Dian's to Fernando's.

"Yes?"

He gestures with his eyes to the other side.

"What's wrong?" Dropping the formality, I question him the moment we are a reasonable feet away from where Dian rests in a drowsing state.

"The possibility of Dian making it is very low"

"Can't you do anything about it? You're one of the best doctors in this country, Fernando. There must be something you could do about it." I raise my voice a bit harshly, trying to ignore the lump in my throat. He should know I've never been a patient one.

"Lucas' death hit her hard, affecting quite a good proportion of her brain and her heart. Her heartbeat is unstable and..." He pauses, suddenly distressed.

"And?"

Clenching my hands, I urge him to continue.

"She's a week pregnant"

"But..I mean she has had three miscarriages. I thought I told you to get rid of her womb years back for her own mental health sake." I whisper-yell the last part.

He furrows his brows.

"You know I can't do that. I already told you. I can lose my license and she's also my friend " He bites back, looking up to meet my eyes.

What's wrong with all these people not following every simple rule I give them?

"The baby's_"

"What's wrong with my child?"

Fernando is cut off by Dian's questions.

Taken aback by her question, we share a troubled look before approaching her bedside with a clicking of my 4-inch heel and the beeping of the various monitors echoing through the four walls of this extravagant hospital suite. Fernando and I try to stop her from taking off the tubes, but it's too late. Dian sits up on the bed, ignoring her probably aching back. She touches her bandaged forehead and winces.

"I heard right, right? Am I really pregnant? I'm not going to make it. Correct, Fernando?" She states more than asks, her voice sour and her eyes, brimming with fresh tears amidst her winces.

Silence.

For the first time in an hour, Dian puts on a smile. A familiar one that resembles when she and Lucas got married in their small province. One that resembles whenever she informed Richard and I about all her pregnancies that failed in the end. A smile that is hard to come by.

"Is it going to survive this time?" The question I wanted to badly ask slips from her pale chapped lips, as we both give the doctor our utmost attention.

"Likely" His eyes switch between us, he replies.

"Likely?"

I am puzzled.

"Dian, everything will be okay" I encourage her, but she shakes her head.

"No Olivia...I'm... I'm aware I'm not going to survive. You don't have to cover it up" In a soft tone, she retorts with warmth in her eyes.

"No, don't say that".

"I heard everything!" She yells, turning me mute.

"How can it survive? I don't want this to be my fourth miscarriage. Lucas won't be happy if I bring another child with me" Smiling, unstoppable tears fall on her shaky hands, which are clasped together on her lap. I put my hands on hers, ignoring how hot her skin feels underneath mine. My heart hurts for her. And I'm clueless of what to do.

"An embryo implant is the only solution at the moment. We'll have to take the embryo out and place it into a healthy uterus..."

"Then what are waiting for? Let's get on with it," Dian says with frantic eyes, griping Fernando's hands as if possessed. He gently caresses hers.

"We'll need someone willing to take it right away." Looking her in the eyes, he briefs.

Dian turns to look at me, taking my hands in hers.

"Dian, you can carry my child and take care of it, right?"

Even her eyes trembled, reluctantly accepting her fate. How can I deny her? At least I can do this for her and Lucas. I can have a part of them with me - inside me- even when they are both gone. Although it hurts to think of not seeing Dian again, not hearing her voice, and having her beside me, tolerating to my rants. This child will be all I have of her.

So, I nod, letting the tears fall down my cheek, unashamedly.

She pulls me in for a breathtaking hug.

"Promise me you'll love them as yours. Please Promise me" She whispers through

ragged breaths.

"I give you my word, Dian. I'll love them as my flesh and blood. More than you can

ever think of." I caress her blonde waves. Her hold on me loosens and I instantly wonder how I would hold up in her absence. In their absence.

"Can we do it right now?"

"Yes..I'll get everything ready."