The next day, like every Saturday, was JamFam, and everyone wanted to know how Lea's scans turned out.
"The doctor said... the tumor's growing really fast," Lea sighed. "The chemo's not working, and... I have less than three months to live."
Everyone's jaws dropped.
Madilyn looked at Lea with a sad expression on her face. "Fuck," she said. "I'm so sorry, Lea."
"It's okay. I mean, I guess this is what I get."
"What do you mean?" asked Bri.
"Karma's a bitch sometimes, but... necessary."
"Karma?" said a confused Alyssa. "But, you didn't do anything."
"Do you actually believe all that shit people have said about you in the past?" Bri asked sadly.
"Well... yeah," Lea said hesitantly. "All that stuff Val said about how I make people's lives miserable, I can see it. I can see how I've hurt people, and I guess I'm finally getting the payback I deserve, a slow, painful death."
"Okay, first of all, Val can go fuck herself," Bri said angrily. "She's the biggest bitch on the face of the Earth, and I'd personally love to flatten her plastic tits with a baseball bat."
Damian and Sméagol burst out laughing.
"She is wrong about you, Lea," added Alyssa. "You don't make people's lives miserable. You make people happy. Your music, your awesome sense of humor, the way you listen to people, how the fuck does that hurt people?"
"So what if you're different?" added Rachel. "Yeah, you're super-sensitive and emotional, but that just means you have a big heart, and you feel things a lot deeper than a lot of people."
"That means you feel love a lot deeper," added another member, Jessica. "You care a lot about people's feelings."
"You go out of your way to make sure you don't hurt people," added Damian, "and you work your ass off to make people feel good, and it works."
"But, I'm super needy and clingy," said Lea, "and I rely on people too much."
"Good," said Bri. "That means you trust us."
"Yeah, and you know what?" added Damian. "We're happy to help you in any way we can. We enjoy helping you, because we love seeing you smile."
"It doesn't take much to make you happy, Lea," said Bri. "You're easy to please, and you're easy to help."
"And,
o, we're not just saying this stuff to make you feel better. It's the God's honest truth. It's how we feel about you. If anyone has a problem with the fact that you care as much as you do, feel things so deeply, and love people in a big, unique way, they are the ones with issues, not you. If all that makes them miserable, they need help."
"I honestly feel sorry for people like that," said Madilyn.
Lea wiped tears from her eyes.
Sméagol wrapped his arms around her. "My precious, what happened to that girl who sang 'Skyscraper' a couple weeks ago, the girl who knows she deserves good things?" He kissed her cheek. "What happened to my baby?" he said in the sweetest, cutest voice as he played with the zipper on his sweater, which made a sound he knew would always make Lea laugh.
Lea snickered.
"Awww, there she is." He giggled. "Look at that beautiful smile. That's my baby." He kissed her again.
"Thanks, guys," said Lea. "But, I'm still upset."
"Why?" asked Austin.
"Because... I'm scared."