The Boy Next Door, Maybe?

Chapter 12

"Thank you, for everything." I said.  He just nodded with a small smile and then left.  I reach in my closet and grabbed a big red sweater and a pair of leggings.  I put them on, threw up my hair, and started to go downstairs.  I had to stop for a second.  Who would have guessed that walking and going down the stairs would hurt so much. I start again and go really slow.  Max sees me and comes to where I am on the stairs. 

"Are you okay to be doing this? If not, I can carry you." He said.

"I'm fine, really.  And thanks for the offer, but I think I can do this."  I said with shaky confidence.

"Okay, but I'm right here if you need me." He said.  He is so sweet, it's hard to imagine that he tries to be a bad boy.  I finally make it down the stairs and I am in so much pain.  He leads me out to the car and we leave.

                                                                                                              ~*~

I'm sitting on the table in the doctors office in this awful paper towel gown waiting for my test results.  The doctor took ultrasounds and more blood work to see if he can find anything.  I've been waiting for about 20 minuets and he finally comes back in.  He has a pale color to his face and looks very worried. 

"So, is everything okay?" I asked.  I was a little antsy now.

"Well, Miss Maxwell, I hate to tell you this but last time you were in we diagnosed you with the wrong thing." He said.  His voice was sad, shaky, and a little scared.

"So...what is wrong with me?" I asked.

"Well, you have a heart disease, unfortunately.  Fortunately, since you are so young, we have been able to put you at the top of the list for a heart transplant.  Unfortunately, we don't have any hearts available at the time being." He said. I can't believe what is happening right now.  My whole world is crashing down.  How am I supposed to tell my dad.

"So, what do I do now?" Was all I could say.  I have no idea what I'm supposed to do.

"Well, first we need to notify your dad and-" I cut him off.

"No!  We can't tell my dad." I said with worry.

"Well I'm sorry Sophie but you're still a minor and it's against the law to keep this information from him, I'm sorry." He said. When he said that my heart sank. How is my dad ever going to forgive me? I can't do this to my dad.

"Can you at least wait until he gets home?" I asked. At least that way he wouldn't have to come home early. This is the worst way life could go.

"Of course Sophie. But I do have to tell him. I'm sorry." He said. He sounded very sincere.

"Of course, I understand. Thank you." I said. I was ready to get out of here.

"Well, I will let you get dressed and I will be back to lead you out." He said. Thank gosh, I can leave.

~*Max's POV*~

I'm worried about Sophie. I don't know what to expect when she walks out of that door. Is it going to be the cancer spreading, or could it be another problem? I am freaking out, I can only imagine what she's going through right now. She just walked through the door and I jumped out of my seat. It must have been bad, because this is the first time I have been able to tell that she is actually worried and scared.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I asked. Wow, I didn't know my voice could ever be that shaky. She looked at me and just shook her head no.

"Nothing can ever be okay again." She said. She started to walk out of the office.  When we got to the car she turned towards me and hugged me. She hugged me for a very long time. Her shoulders were moving up and down ever so slightly like she was crying. I looked down at her and she looked up at me. She was crying.

"Sophie, what happened?" I asked. She sniffled.

"Well, I, no longer, have cancer," she said while hiccuping. "But instead, I, have, a, heart disease." She said. Then she went back to crying on my chest. How to even comprehend this, I don't know, but I do know that I need to stay strong for Sophie, she can only do it for so long.

"Hey, Sophie. Look at me. Yeah it's bad, but it can be fixed, right?" I asked her. Probably not the best thing to say to her, but it's something. She looked up.

"Yeah, I'm at the top of the list for a heart transplant. When they will have one, they don't know." She said.

"Well hey, top of the list, you can't argue with that. Why are you so upset?" I asked her. I mean, I would be upset too, but top of the list? Why be this sad?

"Because, my dad. He is going to be so upset at me. And what happens if this transplant doesn't work? Then I'll be gone and he'll have no one." She said. She moved away and got in the car.

"He won't be upset at you. You didn't do anything wrong. And don't think it won't work, there is almost a 90% chance this will work. Okay? Don't get too worried." I said. She looked a little better.

"Yeah I guess. I just don't want to upset my dad, that's all." She said. She is so worried about her dad. I wonder why?

"Sophie, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so worried about your dad being upset with you?" I asked. Her body got tense and her breath caught in her throat. "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." I told her. She looked at me.

"It's fine Max. I will tell you, but just know that have never really told anyone this except for Mia, when she was around." She paused. I think she was waiting for a response, so I just gave her a nod.

"Got it, won't say a word." I said. She relaxed a little and gave a little smile.

"Okay, thanks," she paused. "So, last year, my sister, Grace, was at my moms house. My mom is a bit stupid in her own little ways. So, Grace and my mom were driving to the store and my mom was goofing off in the front seat, as usual, and she wasn't paying attention to the road. She looked at my sister and bang, they drive into a ditch. My dad was devastated and very upset at my mom. My dad said if anything ever happened to me he wouldn't know what to do. He said it would kill him. So I'm scared to tell him when I'm hurt or sick or anything like that. I just don't want him to have to go through that pain again." She said. Wow, she has gone through a lot. No wonder she hides everything.

"Wow, I can understand now. But Sophie, that doesn't mean you need to keep all this stuff from your dad. It would probably hurt him even more if one day you just died and he didn't know why, you get what I'm saying?" I asked. It sounded bad, but it was true.

"Yeah, I get what you're saying." She said. She sounded defeated, so I know I did my job. When we pull into her driveway there is another car parked there. Sophie tenses up.

"What is it?" I asked her in panic.

All she said was, "It's my dads car."