Born Again *on hold*

Chapter 9

The next few weeks were a whirlwind for Abby. It was all a blur of wondering if Dora was okay. What did her most recent test reveal? Was she getting any better?

Because she was very young, surgery was obviously going to be a last resort, so the doctors were using chemotherapy. The poor young girl barely knew anything was happening, there was no way she could. She was beginning to talk and walk, mainly from watching and listening to hospital staff, but apart from that, she knew no difference.

But everyone else did. She was getting thin hair, and often clumps of it would be found around the house. She was pale and sleepy, and not as playful as before.

Ms Fiona had decided that she didn't want to have the responsibility of looking after her, so Gabriella had to fork out to send her to day care, but it was hard to find somewhere to take her. Not many places were willing to take on the responsibility of looking after a child suffering  with cancer. But eventually they found somewhere, and it was going great for Dora. She loved it there, and made lots of friends.

As for Abby's friends, she wasn't sure who was her friend anymore. Leyanne was great, but very...Jesus-ey. As for Baylie and the others, well Abby was starting to feel uncomfortable around them. And she was realising that they weren't really very good friends. As she went to less parties so she could look after Dora, the girls lost interest in her. They didn't want her to ruin their reputation of never missing a party.

But although Abby was losing her 'street cred', she was gaining a relationship with everyone in her family. Dora looked up to her and idolised her now, and Sam now asked her to play with him, instead of told. She had a lot of fun with him now.

But it was her relationship with her mum that changed the most. They began to trust each other. They would take turns looking after the kids so the other could go out with friends; Abby may have been fourteen, but she was maturing quickly. Gabriella and Abby sometimes spent time together, just the two of them, bonding. They found out so much about each other, and had so much fun.

Over these few months, Abby went back to Leyanne's church a few times. She wasn't struck by anything anyone said to her there, and she honestly thought it was a waste of time. She only went because Leyanne wanted her to.

So as the family settled into their new routine, that revolved around Dora, they were happy. They celebrated Sam's tenth birthday together, and they were getting ready for Dora's second birthday. So, a week or so before the baby's big day, an unexpected visitor confused the dynamics of the entire family.

Abby was in charge of babysitting that night, and her mum was out. She was sitting on her bed doing homework, when she heard the doorbell ring. She shouted for Sam to get it, but he had headphones on playing a game, and couldn't hear her. She rolled her eyes, and got up. She was tentative because technically she wasn't allowed to be alone in the house with her siblings, because she wasn't old enough.

As she approached the door, she made herself look as old and responsible as she could, standing straight and putting her shoulders back. She opened the door, and dropped her mouth. He was the last person she expected to see. She hunched over and stared at the tall man that she had last seen almost two years ago. She was filled with anger. The cheek of him, coming back now, after just leaving. Abby couldn't believe he dared show his face.

"What are YOU doing here?" she scowled, shouting at the man that she hated so much.

"I'm coming back, like I said I would!" The man replied, defensive, and looking sheepish.

"Jason." Abby held herself back from shouting this time. "That was two years ago. You missed your chance. Mum doesn't want you back."

"I guess you're probably right Abby, but I really want to see her. There is a reason it took so long, and I wanted to say it to her face, not in an email. Not that I have her email address anymore..." he trailed off.

"Wow. You really love her, so you lost her email address and phone number too I'm guessing." Abby said.

"Yeah." Jason looked pained. "Look, is your mum here?"

"No. She's out, and she won't be back until very late, probably about two, so you'll have to go to a hotel and come back in the morning. Or afternoon, because she'll be really hung over..." Abby began to shut the door, trailing off.

"Here's the thing." Jason interrupted. "I have no money for a hotel." He finished.

"Fine." Abby sighed, and paused for a while. "Stay here, but sleep in the spare room, and remember, this place is now a hotel for you. You can't just wander round and go in any room you want. Your room and the kitchen. And the bathroom. That's it." Jason sighed in relief.

"Thank you Abby!" he said.

After seeing Jason to his room, Abby returned to her homework. But, unsurprisingly, she couldn't concentrate. It was so surreal seeing Jason again. Last time she saw him he was well dressed. Suits, a Rolex on his wrist, and everything designer, even his underwear, which she had seen on her mums bedroom floor. Now, he was wearing ripped jeans and a threadbare T-shirt, with nothing but a rucksack with him. He didn't even have money for a motel. Abby tried to stop thinking about it, and put away her homework. She couldn't find anything out until tomorrow, and she certainly couldn't do her homework now she was so confused about Jason, so she decided to get an early night. She put her PJs on and climbed into bed. She was about to turn the light off, when she saw the Bible on her bedside table. She picked it up, thinking maybe she could bore herself to sleep, and started to read, from the beginning this time. She read all of Genesis before she put it down. She was stunned. What if that were true. We weren't evolved from monkeys, and the earth wasn't created by a bang. The thoughts confused her, so she started googling it. Apparently, a lot of Christians believe the earth is about 6000 years old, not millions. She found a few websites, and read some articles that were supposedly proof for Creation. She had go say, they were pretty convincing! She googled until about midnight, at which point she remembered her 'early night'. She plugged her phone into the charger, and laid her head down to sleep, a lot of things going through her mind.