The Boy Next Door ~ Ethan Karpathy

Chapter 7 ☯ Bad News

"Honey! It's time to go, I'm waiting in the car" Mum shouted. 

I ran down the stairs thinking about my decision to see him.

What will I say? How will he react seeing me again?

Questions buzzed through my head as I jumped in the car.

Bzz Bzz

Ethan💩-
Wanna hang out today? I'm going to the beach with a friend, come! :)

I texted him back

Me - I'm really sorry I can't today, going somewhere with mum. How about tomorrow we can hang out? :(

Bzz Bzz

Ethan💩-
That's okay. Beach tomorrow then? 🌊

Me - Sounds good!

I replied before quickly shutting my phone. 

"Who you texting?" Mum spoke after a long silence raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, just Ethan. Can I go to the beach tomorrow?" I said hopefully.

"I guess it's good to get your mind off everything... Okay but stay safe." 

She replied sternly. 

"I will".

We arrived at the hospital a few minutes later and went inside to the emergency department to speak to the lady at the desk.

"No sorry ma'am, Bruce Lima was moved to the East Wing. You are going to have to go down the hall and to the left. The nurses there will direct you." The lady smiled.

"Thank you" mum replied before making her way towards the hall gripping my hand.

We arrived in front of his room but the door was closed.

"What do I say?" I whispered. "Nothing." 

She said before opening the door and walking in with a sudden burst of confidence.

"Bruce?" She said sitting next to him.

His muffled voice was weak and breaking. It saddened me even though it shouldn't have.

"What kind of mess have you gotten yourself into this time." 

Mum tutted eyeing him up and down.

You could see the bruising on his arms and legs. 

The colour of his skin was no longer tan and pink. It was drained and slightly yellow.

"I'll be o-okay, you don't have to b-be here." He managed to put together.

I didn't listen to why mum said after that. All I could hear was

BEEP. BEEP. BEEPBEEPBEEP BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEP.

I suddenly awoke from my daydream and choked on my breath and looked at the meter so fast I could have gotten whiplash.

Mum and dad were starting at me with confused faces.

I stared at the meter once I had gotten calm again.

BEEP. BEEP. BEEP.

It wasn't going at a rapid pace. Why did I imagine it going so fast and dead lining?

My heart was racing and I took a deep breath after realising it was just my head.

"Are you okay, Caitlin?" Said my dad pulling himself to sit up.

"Uh, yeah. Just my imagination." I sat down and put my hand on my head.

☯☯☯☯☯

After kissing him goodbye, we left the hospital and got into the car. 

We had been there for 2 hours.

Mum had a small chat with him. 

I'm not entirely sure what it was about but it looked pretty serious.

Dad and I talked about life and played a game or two until visiting hours were over.

It wasn't long before mum and I were home and making dinner.

"Pass the sauce?" Mum said as she stirred the pasta. "Which one? The pesto or tomat-"

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

I was cut off by a knock at the door. We looked at each other before making our way to the door.

She opened it and

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.

jk jk

She opened it and a man in a black suit stood before us with a page in his hand.

"Um, yes?" Mum said.

"Ms. Lima, we have bad news... Bruce Lima has been diagnosed w-with minor brain cancer." 

He declared.

My mind stopped. It seemed mums did too. "Wh-what?" She stuttered.

"Right after you left the hospital today, his CAT scan results came back and the doctor found a mass of tumour," he stated.

"Look, I'm really sorry. We haven't told him yet, but we thought you should know first."

He handed the results to mum so she could inspect them. 

"Um wow okay, I'll have a look at these... Thank you for telling us, bye." 

Mum smiled tightly which I knew was fake. 

The man nodded his head and smiled sympathetically before walking away back to his car.

Mum stood there with an emotionless expression. 

She then closed the front door with the same face and walked away without a word.

She went upstairs and closed her door quietly with the papers in her hand.

My mind was still fuming with questions and fear. 

My mind broke in two. It was too much for me.

I walked up the stairs so slow a turtle could have walked to China and back. 

I went into my room, shut the door and flopped onto my bed.

It doesn't matter what he did, he was still my dad and that's what tore me up.

I expected to cry. I expected to break out in tears. I expected to feel... Something. 

I just sat there on my bed staring at the ceiling, thinking nothing but dead thoughts.

I felt so much sympathy that my emotions went numb.

That was exactly what I was feeling: nothing.

I quickly put on my pjs and slipped into bed. Same expression, same feelings.

I went out like a light.