{completed}
He gave his word with the sunrise, but as night unfolded, she slipped away into the dusk's embrace.
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•Formerly known as Before Knell
• First draft in December 2020
#1 in myeloma
#1 in adaptive
Word count: 30000+...
My facial muscles relaxed at the remembrance, so I hauled myself out of bed, ignoring Naomi, who took a picture of Harper and Cleo's weird sleeping position.
As soon as I got into my room, I went into the restroom and locked the door. I sighed as I took in my reflection in the mirror before packing my hair in a low bun to wash my face.
As soon as I bend my head towards the basin as I brushed, I felt the liquid streaming down from my nostrils. To my surprise, it was not blood, so I heaved a sigh of relief.
Another day; another life.
The knock on my bathroom door brought me back into my alertness. I struggled to wear back my top, which I had taken off to see the port on my left arm.
"It's Naomi."
Upon hearing that, I left the top as it was and opened the door for her. She only peeped in and nodded, her gaze finding the port on my arm for a second.
"Chemo today?" She asks me in a hushed tone, and I nodded in response. "I put Advil on your table."
"Thank you." I smiled and watch her leave before I lock the door again.
As I headed out of the bathroom after washing up, I changed into a long-sleeved red romper. My body still ached as I drank the coffee Naomi made, still ached as I waved goodbye to my friends, and it still did as I drove to Midland for the weekend.
As I drove into town, I took a glance out the window constantly at each stop sign. Midland is nowhere like Texas, but I liked it better here. It didn't harbor the memories of my father, which give me nightmares in the bare nights. It didn't remind me of who I am, so I could always forget how I lived.
The door to my house was opened by the time I arrived home. I found Gianna drawing on her board in the dining table.
"You're here!" She screamed in excitement as she left the chair and jumped into my arms in no time. My body shook for a second on the impact, but I completely waved it.
"What are you busy drawing?" I asked her.
As if on cue, she immediately went ahead and wrapped the white sheet up and threw me a teasing smile. "You cannot see it until it's done." She replied as she leads me to the living room where we found mom descending down the stairs.
My mother worked two shifts as an ER doctor at the county hospital and so she was always in her uniform scrubs during work and leisure, so her in an animated pajamas was an interesting sight.
"Hi, mom," I greeted her as soon as she got down the stairs.
"How're you, Raine?" She pulled me into a hug as she led me to my chair where the drip stand was placed.
"I'm fine, Mom."
"How is it? Anyone figure it out yet?" She asked me, curious.
"No one, my secret is safe."
She nodded with a smile, and I could only wonder what she'd do to me if she knew that one of my friends already figured me out, a long time ago at that.
She soon fixed my chemo medication into the port and then left to go make some lunch while Gianna dragged a chair from the dining to fill me in on her life in recent times.
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My eyes fluttered open gradually, and I found Gianna's silhouette still drawing in the dining room. As I glanced down at the clock, I realized that it had been four hours since I fell asleep.
"Where's Mom?" I asked.
"On call tonight," Gianna answered, and I nodded without saying anything else. I grabbed my phone from my pocket to see my notifications and I found a text from Naomi.
::: When you're back, let's talk
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