Dawn
The idea started on a night I couldn't sleep.
Earl had been quiet lately not distant, just worn thin. I could hear it in his voice notes, see it in the way his smiles came slower, like they took effort now. Long distance had taught me how to read the smallest changes in him.
And something in me snapped into clarity.
I didn't want to just say I was there for him anymore.
I wanted to be there.
The next morning, I checked the calendar. Semester break. Just long enough to go somewhere far and come back without wrecking everything. My hands shook a little as I searched flights to Singapore, heart pounding like I was doing something reckless.
It felt reckless.
It also felt necessary.
The hardest part was figuring out how to do it without Earl finding out. He noticed everything. If I slipped even once, the surprise would be gone.
That's when I thought of his mom.
I found her number in an old group chat from before Earl left. I stared at it for a full minute before typing anything.
-Hi, Mrs. MacCartney. This is Dawn. I hope it's okay that I'm messaging you.-
Three dots appeared almost immediately.
-Of course. Is Earl okay?-
That nearly broke me.
I reassured her quickly, then explained everything... how worried I was, how tired he sounded, how much I wanted to surprise him if she thought it was a good idea.
Her reply came slower this time.
-I think it would mean the world to him.-
We planned everything in pieces. Dates. Times. Where I'd stay. How to keep it from slipping during our calls. She became my accomplice, updating me quietly about his schedule, warning me when he was having especially hard days.
Keeping the secret from Earl was torture.
That night, when I didn't call, I had to fight the urge to message him. The guilt sat heavy in my chest, but I held onto the image of his face when he'd see me.
The flight felt endless.
I barely slept, my mind running through worst-case scenarios... what if I messed up, what if he was upset, what if the surprise overwhelmed him?
By the time I landed, I was exhausted and wired at the same time.
Mrs. MacCartney met me at the airport, smiling the kind of smile that said she already considered me family. On the drive to the apartment, she told me about Earl's treatments, his good days and bad ones, the way he tried to hide how scared he was.
My chest ached the entire time.
When we reached the apartment, she told me to wait in the living room.
"He's in his room," she said quietly. "I'll get him."
I stood there, hands shoved into my pockets, heart pounding so hard I was sure Earl would hear it before he even saw me.
Then he walked in.
He looked thinner. Tired. But still unmistakably Earl.
When he froze, staring at me like I wasn't real, every mile I'd traveled felt worth it.
"Hey," I said softly.
The moment his face crumpled, I moved without thinking.
He was in my arms a second later, shaking, crying into my shoulder like he'd been holding everything together with sheer will and it had finally run out.
I held him tighter, one hand pressed firmly between his shoulders, the other cradling the back of his head.
"I've got you," I murmured. "I'm right here."
He clutched my jacket like a lifeline, sobs hitching through him. I didn't try to stop the tears. I just stayed steady, present, rocking us slightly until his breathing started to slow.
When he finally pulled back, eyes red and glassy, I brushed his tears away with my thumbs.
"You're not alone," I told him quietly. "Not in this. Not ever."
He nodded, leaning his forehead against mine, exhaustion written all over him.
I held him until his grip loosened, until his breathing evened out, until the storm inside him settled into something calmer.
Being there... actually there felt like the most important thing I'd ever done.
And as long as I could hold him like this, I knew he'd be okay.
We both would.