Blurred Lines | ✓ [1st Edition]

15 | A Sickness

At this point, I couldn't resist acting ignorant about Robin anymore. There was clearly something wrong with him, something his friends refuse to disclose to anyone else. If he was just down with a simple flu or cough, there was no way they'd be this worried.

No, I thought grimly. They're hiding something.

"What's wrong with him?" I asked vaguely, cautiously testing the waters. Asher barely casted me a glance, and replied monotonously, "Just a flu."

"Can people faint from the flu?" I asked, and even the nurse currently speaking to Logan in hushed voices across the large hospital suite could hear the accusation in my tone. Everyone in the room froze, looking at me warily.

Emily was the first to break the silence.

"Marissa, would you like some coffee?" she changed the subject softly, offering me a friendly smile. But no amount of sunshine in her could hide the frantic panic in her eyes.

"Not really, no," I replied, narrowing my eyes. She had only managed to add fuel to the fire.

"He's sick," Asher said. "That's all."

"How sick?" I asked, quietly but harshly. There was no room for fooling me at all. I think Logan and Yuko realised this, because the two of them exchanged wary glances before Logan sighed.

"Marissa, you have to promise not to tell anyone," Logan warned, his eyes glinting. Pursing my lips, I nodded. Logan eyed me for a second longer before he opened his mouth again.

"Robin's health is deteriorating," he began silently, looking at his feet. He looked utterly defeated, and he slumped as if he was just barely carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. "He has a brain tumour."

I blinked, shocked but surprisingly calm. I looked at the boy on the bed, eyes closed and unconscious. He was dying.

"Cancer?" I asked quietly, although I already knew the answer. Logan nodded silently.

"He's been on treatment for awhile now," Asher muttered. "Nothing's worked so far."

Even though I didn't consider Robin a friend, my heart still skipped a beat when I thought of him dying. That can't be, right? He still has so much to live for, his business, his education, Alex. Alex.

"Does Alex know?" I asked, although I already knew the dreaded answer. There was no way she would leave him if she knew.

Logan stared at Robin's sleeping figure, and shook his head.

"So all of you lied to her?" I questioned, although it sounded more like an accusation. My words dripped with warning and maliciousness.

"We didn't lie to her," Emily whispered, eyes flashing with hurt. "We knew only after she left."

"And none of you thought, 'Hey, we should probably tell Alex'?" I spat sarcastically, anger evident now in my tone. I glared at all of them, even Siobhan and the nurse. Only Emily had the decency to look guilty.

"We couldn't have told her-," Yuko began, but I swiftly cut him off.

"All of you are bloody unreasonable and selfish!" I hissed. "Do you realise how serious this is? Are you all going to deprive her from the truth? Well?"

"You don't know anything about our situation. You don't know Robin," Asher sneered.

"But I knew Alex!" I shouted, my tone rising in anger. I took a deep breath and shut my eyes, trying to calm myself down. My eyes snapped open again.

"I knew Alex. So did all of you," I spat. "If all of you think keeping her in the dark will make her feel any less pain, you are all dead wrong. And I won't sit around like a useless piece of shit and wait for him to die."

"You said you wouldn't tell," Emily cried, eyes watering. Asher placed an arm around her, rubbing her arm comfortingly.

"Are we really doing what's right?" Emily questioned, hiding her face in Asher's shoulder.

"It's for the best, Emmy. You know it is," he said quietly. But even then, he didn't sound convinced. A traitorous tear escaped her eye and she shook her head, "I don't know anymore. Are we really doing what's best?"

"Doing what's best and doing what's right are two very different things," I muttered, shaking my head. I took large strides towards the door, casting them a look of what I could only explain as disappointment. I couldn't believe they were thought keeping her in the dark was for the best.

"Where are you going?" Yuko spoke up weakly. I looked at him, the anger from earlier and the disappointment I felt now swirled in my eyes, making him flinch.

"I have to tell her."

-

If you were in their place, would you or would you not tell Alex? :( This chapter makes me really sad, because you can clearly see how distressed/worried everyone is for Robin and Alex.

ALSO, thank you all for the well wishes :') <3 I am feeling much much better now hehe :P

Character Polaroid: Asher Dane, played by Benjamin Jarvis.

Song of the Chapter: Sleeping Sickness, by City and Colour. One of my absolute favourite songs, although it's pretty sad.