Cancer

Together - Chapter Eleven

-Athena-

How dare he say that to her? My blood boils more than it ever has, and the words that spill out of my mouth are like pure lava.

"I don't care what you want me to be when I get older. I don't care what you want me to do. You don't control my life. I will be here next time Cameron is, and I will be here every other time after that."

Cam's mouth is on the floor. I don't think she can even process what I just said. Neither can my father, either. He's speechless, staring at me and opening and closing his mouth like a fish out of water.

Before he can reply, the door opens and a nurse steps in. "Doctor Polar? A patient in critical condition needs you right now." He nods without saying anything and walks out of the room. Cam is still open mouthed staring at me like I'm some kind of alien. I smile sheepishly at her, my cheeks coloring.

"Gosh, Cam, it's not like I shot the president." Her face is still shocked, but then it breaks into a huge smile, one I haven't seen on her before. Then, she starts to laugh. It sounds like water trickling, making my heart soar into the clouds.

"Theen, you are the craziest girl I've ever met," My smile droops, but she adds, "and that's why you are my best friend."

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Cam starts having to have chemo every Friday, because when they found it again, it had been at Stage 2. Not bad, but not ideal. Ideally, she would be happy and not have cancer, but we can't always have what we want.

Today, Mike drops me off at the hospital, my backpack in the back seat along with Cam's. I stare at the all to familiar hospital before walking in, throwing out an air of fake confidence. I see a man siting in a chair, coughing blood onto a tissue, and a woman next to him patting his back, her stomach huge under a tank top. Her eyes are full of tears as she whispers that it will be okay, always rubbing her stomach with one hand and his back with the other.

I realize I'm staring and move on, trying not to let that image haunt my mind. I approach the nurses desk and see a woman I'm familiar with: Shelly. She sends me a smile and grabs a clipboard off the desk, turning and motioning for me to follow.

I glide along behind her like a shadow, past a bunch of different rooms and hallways full of the sick and dying. I feel my heart shattering at all of the sickness around me, before I realize the nurse guiding me is crying. I raise my eyebrow in surprise, and she quickly wipes her face.

"I...I'm sorry... I just got really sad all of a sudden." She laughs a small, awkward laugh and guilt crawls up my throats and leaves a foul taste in my mouth. I push down every feeling I can into a little pot and slam down the lid, and the nurse's face goes back to normal.

We reach a door and she knocks lightly before opening it to Cam asleep on a bed. She has an IV in her arm and a clear liquid sits in it. Panic jumps out of the pot and into my heart. "What's wrong with her?" I ask in a small voice.

"Oh, nothing major. We needed to try a new type of chemo today because the last one began to wane in its effects. It made her very tired."

"What about the IV?"

"Hm? Oh that's just water to clean out the IV. It's not even moving."

I let out a small breath of relief, moving into the room. Cam's parents aren't here, presumably at work, so I sit next to the bed, looking over Cameron as she sleeps. Creepy, maybe, but it's nice to see my best friend so... calm. Looking at her, her hair is almost to her shoulders. It's grown out so much since we first met, which doesn't even feel that long ago. Her skin isn't as pale, and she isn't as paper thin as she was.

Then, her eyelids open slowly, sleepily, and she stretches out like a cat before hissing in a breath and looking at the IV in her arm. She chuckles slightly before slowly pulling it out of her arm. I wince as she lets it drop next to the machine beside her bed. She flashes me a smile and slowly gets off the stiff mattress thing, letting her blue sneakers hit the floor. Sneakers that I got her. That makes a smile set on my lips as I stand.

"Mikes out front waiting." I say, making her nod. We move towards the door and she places a hand on my arm. I turn my head to look at her.

Her face looks really awkward, and she clears her throat. "Theen, I don't really know how to say this but-"

I hold up my hand. "Wait, are you breaking up with me?" The bewildered look on her face makes me bust into laughter. Soon, she laughs along with me.

"No, you weirdo. No...I just...Thank you, okay? For being here and picking me up and staying with me on my sick days and not freaking out about my cancer. Thank you for accepting me. And for...for being the best friend I've ever had." She looks really nervous to be saying this, but it warms me from the inside out. I throw my arm over her shoulders as we walk out of the room.

"C'mon now, Pitch. We're partners in crime. We're the only ones who can deal with each other's craziness." This makes her laugh, and as I laugh, too, I realize that I really have found one of the best people on the world.

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Hey Killjoys! I know it's been 5ever since I've updated but I'm back! I plan to get these chapters out quick and hopefully even start a couple stories in the future. I love all of you and have missed you all. Thank you all so much! I love you!

-Bear