+ Positively Negative - | Freddie & Joey

18. Freddie + The Beginning of the End [Part One]

I highly doubted my father cared but I didn't say anything about that. 'What's going on? Does mum have guests?' I wanted to know. Mia's smile widened as she scuttled on her short legs over to the living room door. She took hold of the door knob.

'No, no, there's someone you'd love to see though,' she grinned. An image off Dmtiry sprang into my mind straight away, but as I walked into the living room with the tray in my hands it wasn't my red headed ex-boyfriend I saw, it was Catherine. The second oldest daughter, and my second favourite sister.

I almost dropped the tray of cups in my hurry to get to her, but managed to dump them on a coffee table as I collected her in a tight hug.

'Cath,' was all I could sigh into her mousey brown hair as I shut my eyes, willing myself not to cry.

'Hey, Fred,' she said softly as she rocked us from side to side. I hadn't seen Catherine in so long… Almost two years ago, when she was nineteen, she had a baby girl called Amy with some guy who was now her fiance and I hadn't seen her since the baby was born; they moved away -up North.

It was only when we pulled away that I realised we weren't alone. Mum, Lou and my father were all sitting on separate chairs around the room. As I stepped away I looked from each of them to Cath. 'So… What's going on here?'

I frowned when none of them said anything. 'Lou!? Cath, tell me-'

'Isn't it obvious, Freddie?' Dad said as he stood up. He stepped towards us but left a considerable amount of space in between, probably still wary of earlier today. Lou, and my mum kept their gazes on the floor but Cath squeezed my hand gently. 'I'm dying. Isn't it natural for my daughter to come and see me?'

'Oh.' I said shortly as I looked at Cath. 'Right.' She nodded. 'What about Beth and Paris?'

'They'll be arriving any time this week,' Catherine said.

There was silence from then. All eyes turned to Mia as she suddenly began pouring tea into the cups and distributing them.

After accepting our cups of tea, Cath pulled me to the sofa that Lou was sitting on and we sat down together. Mia left the room. I couldn't help feeling like everything was so cold and informal. My reunion with Cath didn't feel good anymore.

'I am dying,' my father began.

'Neil, please, give the treatment a chance-'

'Fuck the treatment, I can feel it… I'm dying. And hiding that- giving false hope- helps no one. I want to tell you this because there are going to be changes. Things may happen because of this. Obviously, I cannot work anymore… Paris and her husband will try and help fund things and will be sending your mother money but you may not be able to keep this house. Hopefully my savings will secure it for a year or two but your mother and I thought it best to move somewhere smaller and keep the savings for something else-'

What my father was saying kept ringing in my ears. It was all real.

I couldn't imagine my life without him. Even though for a lot of it he'd hated me, and he'd made me upset he'd been really involved in my life…

I heard sniffles from my sisters and my mother but didn't feel a single tear prick my eyes. My body was completely rigid. And it wasn't that I didn't want to cry at all. I just couldn't.

'Another thing. Freddie.' I looked up at my father. His face was completely blank but the wrinkles on his fifty five year old face made him look weary and… sad. 'You're moving.'

'What?!' Cath, Lou and I leaned forwards in the sofa at the same time, the same word echoing from our lips.

'You're fucking joking!' Lou shouted at him as she stood up. 'At this time? This time when we're meant to pull closer as a fucking family and keep each other up?! What the fuck!?' She screamed. Her whole body was shaking, and I couldn't watch.