Surviving Cancer

Welcome Home

I ran home that day, well to a bus stop that took me home anyway. Kate didn't follow me, nor Mia, or any of my other cancer friends, nor Tylar, nor anyone. See? It doesn't matter that I'm gone from there now. Maybe Tylar's right, I just messed things up, they don't need me. Mom was overjoyed to see me, ecstatic to be precise.  Her scream of joy exploded from her lungs as her limp arms wrapped around me. I walked in to smell the fresh scent of cherry pie. I ran upstairs and flee onto my bed sheets, my bedsheets. Not the 'special hospital's bedsheets', but my very own. I smell them and the smell of home. I don't think they've been washed since I left, but I'm happy they weren't. It's nice to smell home again. I look over to my dresser with the little ballerina spinning on her tiny musical box. I look into the mirror and see the small bald spots around my head. I open my closet and see all of my old clothes again. I immediately change out of my sick dress. The new clothes feel like heaven. On my bedside table is a picture of George and Hana. It didn't hit me as to how much I've missed them till now. I take out the broken picture frame of my dad and place it next to Hana and George. I spend the rest of the day just running around my home, touching things, finding old things I thought we threw out, just walking down the stairs again using both of my feet is invigorating. Mom and I eat our cherry pie and she practically waits on me hand and foot for the rest of the week. It feels good to be home.

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I wake up the next morning and cannot even begin to explain how good it feels to shower in your own shower. The hot steamy water trickles down my back as I scrub through my scalp with my honeydew shampoo and conditioner. After my shower, I ask to visit Hana and George. I've missed them so much. They stand outside on my front porch as I get dressed quickly. I throw open the front door to wrap my arms around them so tightly I can feel their ribcages pulsing.

"George! Hana!" I scream.

"Abele!" they yell.  George is crying, crying like a baby.

"George stop!" Says Hana.

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. I've just missed you so much Abele"

"I've missed you too Georgie". I hug him again, a long hug, because I really did miss him. He'd been my best friend since forever, and I missed hugging him. I missed trading lunches, cracking jokes, playing stupid games, and talking about absolutely nothing. It was one of the perks of having a best friend. Especially having a best friend that's in love with you. I hug Hana again, because we've been best friends forever too. We had sleepovers every weekend, we did each others nails, we watched the same shows together, we cheated on tests together, Hana was my girl best friend. And Tylar---I mean George, was my best guy friend. Tylar is just a old friend now.

" You're staying here now right?" Asks George.

"Oh yeah, I'm defiantly staying" I say.

"That's great!" Says Hana.

We hang out all afternoon, and it feels like we never stopped talking. They fill me in on all of the things I've missed in school, and they tell me about their summer vacations, which stings a little bit. Because while Hana was in Hawaii with her family, and George was at Geek Camp, I was in a hospital sitting on my bed most of the time planning a stupid campaign that never amounted to much. Such joy. I tell them about how I left, about how rude Tylar was, about the campaign sucking, about how I messed everything up, I tell them about Dad Cane, and us moving, and everything in between.

"I don't think you messed up" says George.

"Yeah, me either" says Hana.

"Well Tylar does" I say.

"Then screw Tylar" says Hana. I smirk and half frown. I think the same thing, screw him, but I can't say it out loud. I can't just do that to people, even if I hate them at the time. And doesn't that suck? When you care about someone so much, that even after they hurt you, you can't just yell "Screw you!" back at them? That they have that much of you inside them, that they can control your emotions without even trying. And I hated that, I hated that Tylar knows I can't really hate him. Which makes me hate him even more.

"Yeah" I say. George looks at me oddly, he knows what I'm thinking. He knows me better than anyone.

"So how was Geek Camp Georgie?" I ask.

"Great! Literally made for me! It had every single thing I'm into, with every single example, or version, or software, or species, or set I could ever imagine!" He exclaims.

"That's great George"

"I'm sorry you had to spend you're summer in a hospital, we'll all have a great summer this year together"says Hana.

" Yeah, I hope so!" I say.

"So when do you think you can start school again?". Ugh! School!

" I don't know". Mom comes out and tells us it's time for dinner. I ask for George and Hana to stay, but she says another night. I squeeze them goodbye and George starts crying again.

"Oh George! Boy up already!"

"I'm sorry , I'm sorry! It's just that last time I saw you, you ended up leaving for a hospital with cancer and I didn't get to say goodbye and now I have to say goodbye and I just--"

"George! I'm not going anywhere okay?". He doesn't say anything, we hug goodbye and he leaves. I sit down for dinner and Mom smiles at me.

" Good seeing your old friends? " she asks.

"Great actually"

"Well that's just great. Your other friend can visit too if their aloud"

"What other friends?"

"You know, the ones you made in the hospital"

"I don't really want to see any of them"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes"

"But why not?"

"Because I just don't want to"

"But Abele"

"What Mom?"

"You didn't exactly say goodbye to any of them, or give a reason for leaving"

"Yes I did, they know why I left. And why should I go say goodbye? You don't see any of them coming or running out to say goodbye to me!"

"Abele! You know they don't exactly have the resources to call or visit you!"

"And is that my fault?!"

"Abele Cane! What is wrong with you!". I scream and run up to my room, leaving my dinner and mother behind. Two hours later, Mom knocks on the door.

" Abele? Open up" she says.

"No, I don't want to talk to you" I say.

"Abele, it's important"

"No! I don't care about the other cancer kids anymore! Just let them be! I want to be by myself and that's it!"

"Abele.... it's about your father". My head shoots up from my pillow and I look towards the door. I open the door to reveal the shriveled mother at the bottom of my door leaning to keep balance.

"Dad?" I whisper.