Promise Me You'll Try
By:  Jaimie

I know it's on your heart
That a love like ours shall never fall apart
You're so afraid of the rain
So I'll take your hand
And I'll love you in the best way that I can
And I only expect the same

Don't promise me forever
Don't promise me the sun and sky
Don't pretend to know you'll never make me cry
Just hold me now
And promise me you'll try

Sylvia’s hands trembled as she turned the key and stepped into her apartment. Everything seemed so familiar and yet, so many thing had changed since she walked out of the door earlier that morning. Her yearly check up with Dr. Michaels didn’t go as she had planned.

~*~*~ Flashback~*~*~

Dr. Michaels walked into the room holding Sylvia’s chart in her hand, reading over it carefully. As soon as she finished what she was reading, she looked up and smiled down at her as she lay down on the examining table. “How are you Sylvia?”

“I’m doing well thank you.” she tried to smile, but she knew the examination that was coming up was a very uncomfortable one. Luckily she only had to get one once a year.

“How’s Chris? That’s your boyfriend that’s in that group NSYNC isn’t it?” she asked as she put on her rubber examining gloves.

“Yeah, that’s him. He’s doing very well. They just finished touring, so he’ll be home for the next few months. I couldn’t be happier to have him home.”

“That’s nice. You’re my daughter’s favorite person since you got her that autographed picture.” Dr. Michaels laughed as she began giving her the breast examination. Her eye brows creased in concern as she checked her left breast. “Sylvia, have you been giving yourself breast examinations?”

Sylvia blushed slightly, "No I haven't. I know that's bad, but I rarely think about stuff like that."

"You really should get in the habit of giving yourself examinations. I don't want to alarm you, but I feel a lump in your left breast. It may be nothing at all, but I have to run some tests to make sure."

Sylvia's didn't hear anything of what the doctor said after the word lump came out of her mouth. Fear like nothing she had ever felt before took over her body. She began to tremble as she lay on the table, and this time it wasn't because of the chill in the air. After the rest of the initial examination, Dr. Michaels ordered extensive tests to determine if the lump in her breast was something to be alarmed about. Several hours later, she slowly drove home, wondering what was going to happen to her.

~*~*~End Flashback~*~*~

Sylvia was brought from her thoughts when she heard her front door close. Sudden, Chris appeared in the kitchen wearing a goofy grin on his handsome face.

“Hey baby.” he kissed her softly before pulling her into a warm hug. As he held her close, Sylvia allowed herself to cry for the first time since she left the doctors office. Chris pulled away slightly, concern etched I his features. “Sylvi, what’s wrong?”

“Just hold me for a while please.” she begged, as Chris immediately pulled her back into his embrace. Sylvia had never worried or wondered about how long she was going to be on this earth, but today she was given a harsh dose of reality. Just the thought of what might happen to her scared her more than anything she ever faced in her life.

Chris stroked her dark brown hair softly, trying to soothe her. “Come on baby. Tell me what’s going on please. I want to help.”

Sylvia sniffled and pulled away from him, wiping her eyes, “Remember I told you I had an appointment with Dr. Michaels today for my yearly exam?

“Yeah.”

“Well, everything is fine except she found a lump in my left breast.” Sylvia whispered, as if she said it any louder it would make it more real.

Chris felt as if someone was squeezing the life out of him, his breathing became more labored as he tried to understand what she was saying to him, “Wh…..what does that mean? Do you have cancer? Oh god Sylvi, please tell me you aren’t going to die……I…..I couldn’t handle that.” Chris began to panic, pulling her more tightly to his body. Afraid that if he let her go he wouldn’t be able to hold her again.

“Chris, please stop. I honestly don’t know what’s going to happen to me, but we have to be strong. I need you to be strong for me. I don’t know if I can get through this if you aren’t here for me.”

Chris pulled away, softly caressing her cheek as tears streamed down his cheeks, “I’m not going anywhere Sylvi. I love you and I’ll stand by your side no matter what.”

Sylvia sighed with relief, “I really needed to hear that. I love you too Chris. Forever and always.”

Though I'm sure of what I feel
Never though a love so true that felt so unreal
And I'm a little afraid myself
But if you love me day by day
With all honest heart and a little faith
Baby time will tell the tale

Don't promise me forever
Don't promise me the sun and sky
Don't pretend to know you'll never make me cry
Just hold me now
And promise me you'll try

The next few days as Chris and Sylvia awaited Dr. Michaels’ phone call were stressful ones. Chris hovered over her, trying to do everything for her so she would strain herself. At first it was sweet, but as the days passed, Sylvia began to get more and more annoyed with him.

“Sylvia, sit down. I’ll pour you some more orange juice.” Chris jumped up from his seat and began to head towards the fridge before she could get there.

Sylvia couldn’t take it anymore, “Chris! I am twenty six years old. I can pour my own damn juice!” she shouted, immediately regretting her words as she saw the hurt expression on his face. Before she could apologize, their phone rang. “Hello?”

“Is this Sylvia Monroe?” a strange woman asked.

“Yes, who is this?”

“This is Monica from Dr. Michaels’ office. She wanted me to call you and get you to come into the office as soon as possible. She has your results in.”

Sylvia felt her heart begin to race wildly in her chest, “Okay. I’ll be in right away. Thank you.” she said as she softly placed the phone back on the jack. “That was Dr. Michaels’ office. They want me to come in, the results are back.”

The fear Chris had been trying to hold back shown clearly in his eyes now, “I want to go with you.” Sylvia just nodded in response as they quickly grabbed their things and headed out the door to the doctor’s office.

When they got there, they were taken straight back to Dr. Michaels’ office. She was sitting at her desk, looking over her chart when they were led inside.

“Hello Sylvia, I assume this is the famous Chris we always hear about?” Dr. Michaels smiled as they sat down across from her desk. “It’s nice to meet you Chris. I’m sorry this is the reason for it.”

“So am I.” he mumbled. “It’s nice to meet you too.”

“Okay, I won’t beat around the bush Sylvia. We got your results back.” she sighed heavily. “I’m happy to report the lump in your breast was benign. You have nothing to worry about.”

Sylvia and Chris looked at each other for a moment before both of them burst into tears and collapsed into each others arms. They had never been more relieved in their lives.

“I love you so much.” he whispered in her ear.

“I love you too.” she smiled up at him before turning their attention to Dr. Michaels.

“I know you are both very happy. So am I, but you have to look at this scare as a lesson to you Sylvia. You may not think it’s important, but you have to start giving yourself monthly breast examinations. If you feel anything remotely suspicious you get in here right away. Hopefully that will never happen, but you can never be certain of anything. I think this has proven that to you.”

“Oh yes it certainly has.” Sylvia smiled. “I promise from now on I’ll do everything in my power to keep myself as healthy as I can.”

“Good, that’s all I needed to hear. With that, you’re ready to go. News this good I wanted to give in person.”

Chris stood up and shook Dr. Michaels hand with a huge smile on his face, “Thank you so much doctor.”

“You’re very welcome Chris. Take good care of her.”

“Always.”

When they got home from the doctor’s office, they lay in each other’s arms on their bed, softly kissing each other. Chris pulled away and smiled down at her.

“I don’t think you realize how much I love you. I don’t know what I would have done…”

“Shhhh, I’m fine. Let’s not think about the bad things.”

“I know. I just want to protect you from everything. I will give you everything you’ve ever wanted. I don’t want to ever see those beautiful eyes of yours cry.”

“You don’t have to promise me the moon, the sun, or the stars. You don’t even have to promise me that you’ll never make me cry. All I want you to do is promise me you’ll try.”

“You have my word.” he smiled down at her before kissing her sweet lips once again.

Don't promise me forever
Don't promise me the sun and sky
Don't pretend to know you'll never make me cry
Just hold me now
And promise me you'll try

Don't promise me forever
Don't promise me the sun and sky
Don't pretend to know you'll never make me cry
Just hold me now
And promise me you'll try

The End

 

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