UNTIL THE END | ✔️

Chapter 9

The next day:

Kenna's POV

After monitoring me for a day with all those creepy plugs attached to me, I was told they'd be starting treatment on me today.

I can't believe this is really happening. I mean, a week ago, I had a normal life. I worked for a few hours, read, and lazed around all day.

Who ever knew a week later I'd be in a hospital getting ready for my first chemotherapy?

.

.

As soon as Dr. Hart declared that he'd be conducting my first chemotherapy almost an hour and a half from now, mom exited my room, saying she needed to get some air.

Hence, she will be going out for about fifteen minutes. Danica went ahead to prepare for my first chemotherapy.

I didn't know much about chemotherapy or cancer.

I mean, why would I ever need to know about it? Until now.

But I prefer not knowing anything about it. It would only make things worse for me.

I did know a few things, like how painful chemotherapies are and that not many survive cancer if they aren't lucky enough and-

I'm interrupted by Dr. Hart's chirpy voice: "Kenna, your first chemotherapy is an hour away. This is it. Your first step to getting cured and okay. I know you're nervous about this. Maybe even terrified. I mean, who wouldn't be? But I need you to promise me something".

Ever since I met Dr. Hart, I haven't really communicated with him through words. Just a few words have been exchanged in the past few days.

And I don't really need to communicate with words. He just seems to understand my silence.

So I look up, urging him to go on, and he does.

I told you, he seems to understand me.

"Promise me, Kenna, promise me you won't give up. Not until it's over. Not until the end", he says, almost pleading.

I'm surprised at this.

Okay, it's not that he's interested in me or anything; he's just a doctor who wants his patient to make it out alive.

Don't get ahead of yourself, Kenna.

I nodded enthusiastically.

"Don't just nod. Say it. Say the words," he says, sounding mad at me.

"Y-Yeah, I promise you, Dr. Hart,", I stutter.

"And what do you promise me?" he smirks.

Wait, what's he even doing? Hold on, he looked so gorgeous when he smirked. There's a slight trace of a dimple on his right cheek. Crap, I'm drooling over him again!

"Yeah, I promise you I won't give up. Not until it's over. Not until the end", I say, almost repeating his words.

There's a tiny smile on his face; it's almost as if he didn't smile, but I saw it.

"That's what I want to hear, Kenna. I want you to live. I don't want things to end badly for you", he says with concern in his voice.

"Thanks, Dr. Hart. I want to live too," I mumble.

"Firstly, I will do everything to cure you, and secondly, please call me Tyler," he says.

"Tyler," I say, almost humming and listening to how his name actually sounded.

"Goodness, no one's ever said my name like that," he says, grinning like a five-year-old.

I find myself blushing, and this moment is interrupted by mom, who walks back into my room.

Hospital room, I might add.

The blush on my face and Tyler's smirk soon disappeared.

But I suppose mom saw it before it disappeared.

"Oops, I'm sorry. I didn't know I was interrupting something," she says, looking at Tyler and me.

"Oh, no, nothing, Miss Joy," Tyler says, trying to hide the nervousness in his voice by laughing.

"Of course not," I say defensively.

"Yeah, of course," mom says, smirking at me.

"Also, what took you so long? You said you'd be back in fifteen minutes!" I asked, trying to change the subject.

"Oh yeah, I was getting here, but then the receptionist delayed it," she says thoughtfully.

It was my turn to smirk now, and mom's eyes widen.

"Oh, so the receptionist delayed it," I say, dragging every word.

"Uh whatever. We were just talking," she says defensively, raising her hands up.

"Yeah, that's what Tyler and I were doing," I say.

"Yeah, okay, right," mom mumbles and walks towards the washroom.

But we all know we weren't just talking.

There was something more. Between Tyler and me.

And mom and the receptionist?

Ugh, I need to stop having these stupid thoughts.

Once mom was out of sight, Tyler said, "Wow, nice way to explain that we were just talking," and burst out laughing.

"Well, I'm pretty sure it wasn't just talking, Kenna. It was something more than that," he says, winking.

Before I could even process what just happened, he spoke again: "Forty-five minutes until your first chemotherapy, Kenna. I'll come and get you, or maybe send Danica in to get you. Be ready," and with that said, he was soon out of my room.

And I was a blushing mess.

Wait, I have my first chemotherapy in forty-five minutes; this is no time to blush!

I have to use every ounce of effort to get my mind out of what he said and focus on my chemotherapy.

And thank the heavens! I managed to do so.

Mom re-emerges and looks around for Tyler. When she's sure that he isn't here, she looks at me.

Carefully.

I thought she was probably going to question me about what Tyler and I talked about earlier as she began walking towards me.

Once she's in front of my bed, she wraps her hands around me and pulls me into a tight hug. I immediately returned it.

I felt one of her hands lose contact with my skin but didn't care much.

I soon realized that she was pulling her phone out of her pocket with her free hand.

"Forty-one minutes to go, Kenny," she whispers.

That's when I tightened the hug.

Forty-one minutes until the nightmare begins.