𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐦𝐞 | ✔

sɪxᴛʏ ғɪᴠᴇ

"Close your eyes now," Nashwa chimes.

There's an innocent light in her eyes that really makes us all feel like she's our child we have to protect.

"Alright darling," Feliks grins, sitting back with one foot on his knee and doing what she says.

"Alright, now open your mouth," she says excitedly, with a red skittle in her hand.

"Oh?" Feliks raises a brow.

"That's right baby boy– open it real big and wide," Nashwa says, covering her grin with her hand.

My head swings to Nashwa. I am shocked.

Feliks' eyes snap wide open. He gawks at her. "What did you just say to me?"

"Nashwa," I stare at her wide-eyed and wide-mouthed.

Her ears redden.

"Hey," she vigorously shakes Feliks' shoulder for some reason, "I said, close your eyes."

"Well when you called me baby boy and said for me to open it real big and wide," he quotes in the air, "I do not fucking trust you. And you've given me the red one nine times in a row, I'm not stupid."

She narrows her eyes at him before sitting back, eating the Skittles herself and muttering, "ghabiun." (idiot)

"Did you just call me an idiot?" Feliks gawks more. "Come on and share the Skittles. Devi wants some too." A red skittle collides with his cheek making him roll his eyes. "Being a brat are we?"

Ooookay.

I quickly interject, "Woah there Feliks, let's not have an argument and fall out whilst Sasha's having her chemo, yeah?"

Nashwa frowns. "She's not having chemo–"

Feliks interrupts. "Good idea, Devi," he says quickly, before turning to quietly whisper something in Nashwa's ear.

I frown. "What are you guys whispering abo–"

The door in front of us swings open, revealing Sasha who has a very tight expression. Panic flares inside of me as the corridor quietens.

I stand, "Is everything okay?"

Her lips press firmer in a hard wobbly line, making me ask myself if she's about to cry. Did she get bad news? Has the cancer spread quicker than the doctors thought? Fear wraps around me tighter and tighter as an endless stream of the worst possibilities is conjured in my head.

Sasha walks right past me. Right past all of us.

The panic inside of me grows. What's wrong?

She walks right past us and towards the bell. My mind is too slow to process why.

Until she rings the bell. She rings the fucking bell.

The bell, cancer patients ring when they've finished treatment.

My chest constricts. Burns.

The nurses and doctors are clapping. They're congratulating her.

Sasha turns around, her eyes welling with tears as they meet mine.

"Are you..." I don't finish the question because she is nodding like a maniac in front of me.

She's cancer free. Everything goes silent inside of me. She's cancer free–she's going to live?

She's going to live. She's going to grow old with me. Have kids. Become a mother. A grandmother even. This disease isn't going to take her away from me.