Voices • Jack Avery

45 • Hospital

Alex's Point of View

*beep, beep, beep, beep*

That was what I heard first as I slowly regained consciousness. Light flooded in quickly, blinding me. It took me a minute to adjust to how bright it was but, when I eventually did, I had no idea where I was.

The bed I was lying on was uncomfortable and the ceiling and walls were pristine and white. I squinted while trying to sit up although my efforts were in vain; my head was too faint.

"Hey, hey. Take it easy" a familiar voice said as they rushed to my side. I turned my head to the side to see it was London. Her eyes were red from crying and it looked like she had been up all night.

"London? What happened? Where am I?" I asked groggily. My mind still felt hazy and I had no idea what was going on; the last thing I remembered was performing on stage.

"You're in the hospital, Alex. You collapsed on stage" London explained with a small smile. I tried to smile back but it was strained; I had no energy left to do anything.

"What about the concert?" I asked, remembering that we never finished it. All of those people had paid to see us and they never did.

"It's okay. We apologised to the fans and offered them a refund. They understood that it was for your health" London answered, knowing exactly what I was thinking. I nodded in response, not having enough energy to answer her.

"Ms. Summers, you're awake" a doctor said as they walked into the room. I looked up at them, waiting for an explanation. Based on how bright it was, I had been out all night and London didn't say what was wrong with me. Surely they must know by now.

"We did some scans while you were unconscious. I'm afraid it's not good knews" she began hesitantly. My mind began racing immediately. It wasn't good news. Something was really wrong with me. What was going to happen?

"You have stage three ovarian cancer" she stated. Everything around me seemed to stop. The beeping of the machines I was connected to drowned into nothingness and everyone around me seemed to become a blur.

I have cancer. Stage three. Is it even possible to cure stage three? What how of treatment would I even need? Would I loose my hair? Maybe I was ready to die, but was I ready to leave everyone behind?

"Alex" London said while shaking my arm. My head snapped to look at her and I realised I had zoned out and missed everything the doctor has said.

"Sorry" I mumbled, turning back to the doctor. She smiled reassuringly at me but it didn't reach her eyes. "It's okay. Many people have the same reaction. As I was saying, it is treatable. You would need surgery; we would remove the uterus, both ovaries, both fallopian tubes and omentum. After that, you would need chemo until all of the cancer cells are gone" she explained.

I stared at her blankly as my mind processed what she was saying. There was a cure. Countless thoughts raced through my mind until I settled on one: could I have children?

"Wait, if you remove all of that" I began but trailed off. I was too afraid to say it out loud; that would make it to real. "You won't be able to have children" the doctor finished for me, a sad look in her eyes.

I turned away to stare at the wall, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. Was I ready to give all of that up? London squeezed my hand reassuringly but I refused to look at her.

"Can you give me time to think about it?" I asked, turning pleasingly to the doctor. She seemed to understand why I wanted this and she nodded before walking away.

London looked at me curiously before speaking up. "Why aren't you taking this right now? You have a chance to live Alex" she said, confusion laced in her tone.

My eyes fell to my hands lying in front of me. I couldn't bare to look at her when she didn't understand. "London, if I do this I can never have children of my own. Ever" I said hopelessly.

"If you don't then you might not live to have children" London retorted. I could tell she was almost as scared as I was but I still couldn't just take the surgery knowing what I was giving up.

"There's always a chance" I said barely above a whisper. Tears were flowing down my cheeks now and I knew London wanted to fight with me but I didn't have the energy for it. Luckily, she was stopped before she got the chance.

"Alex? Where is she!" someone exclaimed as they rushed through the halls. My head fell to the side, facing the door as Jack rushed in. His eyes landed on me and softened immediately as he rushed to my side, taking my hand and squeezing it.

"Maybe you'll have better luck convincing her" London said bitterly as she stood and walked out. Jack watched her leave with a confused look on her face while I turned away, not willing to face her.

"What's she talking about? What's wrong? No one would tell me" he said frantically, his eyes searching mine for answers. I could barely look him in they eyes anymore.

"I have cancer" I said in between songs. Jack's face broke before me as tears formed in his eye. He gripped my hand even tighter.

"It's stage three ovarian. If I get surgery and chemo, there's a good chance I'll survive" I continued, tears still flowing. Jack's eyes lit up slightly once he heard this, giving him hope.

"So you're gonna be okay?" he said more as a question than a statement. A smile was growing on his face yet he remained silent as the tears began to flow down his cheeks, mirroring my own.

"If I take the surgery, I can never have children" I continued while shaking. I didn't know what to do; I've always dreamed of growing old with someo e I love and watching my children grow up and I didn't want to give that up.

"What do you mean if?" Jack asked, his eyebrows knitting together. "You have to do the surgery. It's your best hope" he continued.

"Jack, there will be no chance of me having children. Not a small chance, no chance" I explained, hoping he would see it from my point of view. Jack shook his head and continued crying.

"Alex, you have to do this. You have to live. For me. I need you in my life" he pleaded with me but I looked away, unable to look him in the eye.

"What if you resent me? What if, in years time if we're still together, you grow to hate me because I can't give you a family?" I asked, finally voicing the main worry that has been holding me back.

Jack leaned forward, placing his hand under my chin. Slowly, he turned my head to face him once again. His eyes were soft now but still full of pain. "I could never hate you. Please. Take the surgery" he begged.

I sighed but nodded. He was right. I had to live. "Okay" I said.

Third Person Point of View

In a blur, Alex was whisked off to surgery; It all happened in the blink of an eye. Jack, London and Jackson sat in the waiting room the entire time, never leaving. They had to be there when she got out.

The surgery itself was a success and all of the cancer was removed; after a month or two of chemo, she should be cancer free. However, as they were closing her back up after removing the last organ, Alex had a heart attack.

They aren't sure what caused it considering she had no previous heart conditions. They were able to keep her alive however she did not wake up, leaving her in a coma.

She was breathing perfectly on her own and all of her tests came back clear. The only way she would wake up was if she fought for it.

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This was terrible oof but there's one chapter left