Live Like You Were Dying

He was terrified. To put it plainly, Heath had never been this scared in his life. He had just gotten back from a doctor's appointment and he had heard the worst news.

As he paced the length of the hallway, his thoughts raced. All of the things he had done in his life lead to this, right? This just had to be karma.

He jumped at the sound of his phone, blasting Hollywood Undead's "City".

He snagged it off of the table and answered it, "Nova?"

His sister-in-law and him had NEVER been close. They were usually trying to kill each other, but for once, he needed her advice.

"What, Heath? Did you get arrested again?" Always a pleasure to talk to.

His voice was shaky, his hands sweaty. "N-no... I got a problem, Nova."

Nova now sounded worried. "Heath, what's going on?"

He leaned against the wall, his head spinning. "Nova... When did you find out you were... Um..." He put his head in his hand as he slid down the wall. "Nova, I went to the doctor..."

Nova spoke quietly, "Heath? Are you asking about me going super-nova?"

"...Yeah..." His voice shook with emotion, "Yes... Nicolette..."

"So what's the diagnosis?"

Heath laughed, tears now escaping his eyes. "Cancer. Of all things."

Nova was silent for a long time. Minutes, even. Finally, she sighed sadly, "How long do you have?"

"Nova, that-"

"How. Long?"

His silence rivaled hers. "A year. If I'm lucky."

"Regret partying now?"

He laughed, tears sliding down his cheeks. Typical of Nova, bitch him out for bad choices. "Yeah, but I don't regret meeting my girl that way." He started feeling sick, thinking about Kaycee. Then in turn, Jasmine, Haley, and even Chance. He felt sobs suddenly coming in waves. "N-Nova, p-please. W-what do I d-do?"

Nova's voice was suddenly stern and rather angry, "Pull yourself together, stupid." She huffed and sounded like she was shifting in her seat, "Heath, I can't tell you how to live your life. But what I can tell you is that you need to get everything in order." Her voice softened with a smile in it, "You have to live what time you have left to the fullest. Like everyday is a gift."

Heath now listened intently, hung up on every word.

"When I realized my powers were killing me, I sat down and read the bible. I smiled at everyone, hoping to make their day. Hell, I had to realize that I might have to spend eternity thinking about how I spent my last days, so I went up to Craig, kissed him and told him that I loved him."

Heath blushed. Nova had never been so open about her and Craig. "What did you do about your dad?" He remembered overhearing that he had beat her and tried to kill her repeatedly.

"My dad? ... Truth be told, I called him up and met with him. We had lunch together and I told him I forgave him."

Heath sat in shock silently. "Just like that...?"

She smiled, "Yep. I had been holding a grudge for so long, it blinded me from the fact that despite his shortcomings, no matter what he did to me, he was still my dad."

He stared at the picture on the wall across from him. It was Jasmine's senior picture, and his chest tightened. "Nova, I have to do something..."

His response was met with a soft laugh, "I know. I'll talk to you later, Heath."

He nodded, "Bye, Nova. Thanks." They hung up and Heath nervously dialed another number. As it rang, he stood up, shaking.

"Hello?"

Heath took a deep breath. "Hey, Jasmine. Can I talk to Chance?"