Cancer

Needing-Chapter Nine

-Athena-

(I don't know if it counts as a trigger but I'm throwing one here just in case)

Cam and I started spending a lot more time together. It was surprising, really, seeing her actually happier. Now, she wasn't jumping over rainbows and singing 'little happy songs', but she was smiling more. Laughing a little more. Not the whole nine yards, but we had progressed a meter.

I wake up in my bed, staring at my ceiling, calming my breathing. My emotions are all out of wack. Why? I'm always okay at home. I never freak at home. Anger swells in my chest like a suffocating fist and I let out a guttural scream, grabbing a paper weight off my bedside table and throwing it as hard as I can. It slams through the wall, stilling my rage. My breathing is ragged. Cam. I need Cam.

I climb out of my four poster and practically fly over to my closet. Ripping open my door, I run in my closet and pull off my sleep top, throwing on a Hawkeye t-shirt (because he's hot) and blue jeans. I pull my crazy hair back into a ponytail and jog down my steps and outside.

It takes a while to get to her house, but I finally make it there without accidentally tripping and falling and breaking my neck. I falter before knocking on the door, knowing that it's Sunday and that her dad is probably home. I take a deep breath as the door in front of me opens. A man stands there, making my heart sink. He's tall, with dark black hair like Cam, and steel grey eyes. His mouth is set in a thin line, his jaw flexed.

"Who the hell are you and what do you want?" He barks, making me actually take a step. Well okay, he's not the nicest grape on the vine. I hold back a sigh and open my mouth to reply, but Cam's mom appears in the opening to the kitchen. Her eyes flash from me to her husband then back to me.

"Callum, let me-" He turns sharply, facing her with an angry frown on his face. His eyes, the same glass blue as Cam's, are alight with rage.

"Elise, I suggest you step back into the damn kitchen and finish what you were doing." He snaps, his knuckles turning white on the door. She opens her mouth to reply, but a voice beats her too it.

"Dad, let her in. For once stop being such a Nazi about me having friends." His angry gaze swivels to the top of the stairs, glaring daggers through his daughter. She meets his gaze with a ferocity that I've never seen in her before.

"Cameron Alyss Pitch, you watch your mouth before I do something about it." His face is growing redder and redder by the minute. I can feel my heart pounding in my chest, my panic at a maximum. With a jolt, I realize why he's just so angry. I'm fueling him, turning his small anger into a massive tsunami of fury.

Cam's footsteps are quiet on the stairs as she descends, reaching the bottom and approaching the door. She stops in front of her father, a slow smile spreading across her pale face. It's a smug smirk, one I've rarely ever seen her use. "Athena, I'll meet you in my room in a bit." She turns to me, gesturing behind her. My heart sinks when I see the fear in her eyes. This is a show.

"Can, maybe I should-" she silences me with her look, a warning so bright it's like a beacon of light in the middle of a dark night. I slowly push past them and ascend the steps. Cam's mom catches my eye, many emotions flashing in those dark grey eyes. Worry, sorrow, regret, pain, love, anger, fury. It actually sends chills up and down my body.

The screaming match that ensued afterwards was one of the worst things I've ever heard. There were cuss words I didn't even know existed yelled by her father's deep voice, and her mom retorted with a voice that was choked with tears. Cam's voice popped up every once in a while, absolutely furious. I tried to ignore it all, but the rage and depression was fueling my own whacked out emotions. I started balling, fueled by her mother's sadness. All of a sudden, the entire house goes totally silent as the blare of the house phone rings.

The door opens to Cam, dressed in ripped black jeans and one of the blue Marvel shirts I left back a few weeks ago. I almost smile at it, but the tears in Cam's eyes stopped it.

Don't get me wrong, I had seen her cry before, even though she hated too. I had ink witnessed it twice, and both were over past events. The first was when she was telling me about Angel and how she died, and the second was when she fully related to me how bad Hospice was, both times my heart broke for her, but this was totally different. This was over something that was happening here and now. I stood quickly and pulled Cam against me, though she resisted the hug.

"God I'm sorry you have to see how screwed up my family is. I wish-"

A scream cuts her off, making us both jump. Fear courses through my body at hyper speed, fueled by Cam and her mother's fear. Footsteps pound up the stairs and Cam's door flies open. Her mother's red, tear streaked face fills my view. Her eyes are locked on her daughters, filled with so much dread and again it scares me.

"Cameron. The doctor called. Baby I'm so sorry. Your...your cancer is back."