TRAPPED

22

Adrien

I wake up only an hour after I fall asleep. Everyone has gone to bed now—using blankets and cushions to make themselves as comfortable as possible.

     Celine is shuffling off the armchair, unwrapping my arm from around her and climbing off. I furrow my eyebrows.

     "Celine."

     She looks at me.

     "What are you doing, sweetheart?" I ask.

"Nothing." She mumbles. "You're squeezing me. I need to breathe."

My eyes soften as my lips tilt up at the corners. "Sorry, baby."

     She walks over to the other empty couch, sitting down. "Do you want to lay here, and I'll go there?" I ask her.

     She stands and nods.

     I get off the seat and watch her as she climbs back under the thick blanket. She turns away, and I frown before sitting on the couch, leaning back and letting out a small sigh.

•

"It's over now." Julien tells me, looking at me over the top of his phone.

I nod and stand, telling him to wake his little brothers up before going over to Celine and sitting on the arm of the chair. "Celine." I whisper, gently shaking her shoulder. Her eyes peel open, and I frown when I see her wince. "Sorry, baby."

She shakes her head. "My chest hurts."

"Is the first time?" I ask her.

"No." She says. "It's been hurting for a while."

"You should've told me, sweetheart." I reply. "It could have something to do with what happened in the lake. Come on, we can go to the hospital."

I set a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugs away and scowls. "You're being dramatic. I'm fine."

"We have to make sure." I respond.

"Why do you have to go to the hospital?" Léo asks tiredly as he wakes up, worry dripping from his voice.

"It's just a checkup." I assure him. "Just to make sure Celine is okay."

•

Three hours later we're at the hospital. Celine is exhausted, and I feel terrible for not letting her sleep. But I need to make sure she's okay.

The doctor tilts her head. "Celine, I'm going to get a sample of your breast tissue and send it to a pathologist."

I furrow my eyebrows. "Why?"

"She no longer has any water in her lungs. I've tested many other possibilities, but the one that seems most likely with the kind of sudden pain Celine has described is breast cancer."

"What?" Celine exclaims.

"It's not definite, but we need to be sure. Would you like me to perform the test, Celine?"

She nods, however her mind seems to be elsewhere.

"Okay." The doctor mumbles, going into a cupboard and grabbing supplies before walking over to Celine. She draws the curtain, blocking her from my view, and I lean back in my chair, bringing my hand up to rub my jaw.

Breast cancer.

My eyes water, but as she does whatever she needs to with Celine, she speaks loudly enough for me to hear.