{Billie Joe Armstrong} - Sex And Drugs And Rock'n'Roll

Chapter 11: Fucking Terrible!

The front door opened, and Billie walked in, his head down. I was really scared, and his current body language scared me even more. "Liz," he sighed looking up at me. "I'm just gonna cut to the chase. I have cancer.".

"No!" I cried. "Oh, Billie, this is terrible! This is fucking terrible!". I ran to him and wrapped my arms around him.

He stayed silent. I don't think he knew what to say. He cried, I sobbed, and we held onto each other for a few minutes.

"Billie, we've got to tell Mike and Tre." I said quietly.

"I know.". Billie let go of me and went back over to the phone. He punched in a number. "Hi." he said. "Oh, hi Brittney. Is Mike home? Can I talk to him, please?".

I went back into the studio and grabbed Blue. It wasn't plugged in, so I started strumming some power chords.

I looked down at all the stickers. I never asked Billie about them, but I had always thought that they all must have some meaning behind them. If they did, would they have meaning behind them even when Billie was gone?

"Snap the fuck out of it." I whispered to myself, wiping my eyes. I liked to think that Billie would beat cancer.

After what felt like hours, the door opened and Billie came in. His eyes were red, and he looked very sad.

"I'm sorry Billie." I said.

He nodded and sighed, picking up a chord and plugging it into Blue, which I was still holding. "Play something.".

"Alright.". I played through Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

"That was good, Liz." Billie told me when I was done.

"Thanks. So, what did Tre and Mike say?".

"Oh," Billie said, looking down at the floor. "They're sad. Really sad. But I told them we've still got to do the tour.".

"Yeah.". We sat in silence for a moment before I stood up and unplugged Blue. "Billie?" I asked. He turned around and looked at me. "Let's go upstairs.".

"Okay.". I stepped out of the studio and we went upstairs into the bedroom.

"I love you." I told Billie as I lay down on the bed. He looked at me and gave me a forced smile.

"I love you, too.". He lay down beside me and grabbed my wrist.

"Look, no matter what happens, I love you.".

"Same.".

I moved closer to him, resting my head on his shoulder.
"Did they say anything about treatment?" I asked.

"Yeah, they told me to come in this week and they'll see what they can do." Billie replied. I stared up at the ceiling and felt the sunlight hitting us through the window.

"Oh.".

"Liz, don't worry about me too much, babe. It's not good for you.".

"Billie, you're my husband. You're my life. You don't know how much I love you. It's impossible to not worry about you, especially now." I said. I felt a tear roll down my cheek.

"I know." Billie sighed, rolling over and putting his arm around my waist. I snuggled close to him.

I didn't know what to do. I tried to stifle my crying, but I couldn't.

"Oh, babe." Billie whispered, slowly running his fingers through my hair. "It's alright.".

***

Me and Billie walked into the medical clinic, holding hands. We sat down together. Both of us were silent and nervous.

"Billie?" a doctor said. We stood up and followed him into a room. I sat down in a chair, Billie sitting on the bed.

"Well, I have some bad news." the doctor said. He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that the cancer has spread to your prostate, now, too.".

Billie looked down at the floor, his head resting on his fists. Then he looked over at me.

"I'm very sorry." the doctor told us. "But, it hasn't become terminal yet. We may still be able to treat it.". Hasn't become terminal yet? What the hell does that mean!? I asked myself.

"Oh?" Billie asked.

"Yes. We're going to start your treatment.".

"Okay. Uh, I just have one question." Billie replied.

"Yes?".

"Well, I'm gonna be away for the next eight months, so what's that going to look like in terms of treatment?".

"Why aren't you going to be here?".

"Nevermind that. I just want to know what's going to happen.".

"Well, I suppose I could have you take injections." the doctor said, looking at a computer screen.

"Alright.".

"And how long did you say you're going away for?".

"Eight months.".

"When are you leaving?".

"Next Thursday.".

"Okay. You can come pick up your medicine on Saturday. You need it because if you don't take it, you have probably about, I'd say a year or so to live." the doctor told us, and my heart skipped a beat.

"Fuck." Billie muttered quietly. He sighed and looked at the floor. I could tell that me and him were thinking the same thing.

"Do you have any questions?" the doctor asked. Billie shook his head. The doctor looked to me. "What about you?".

"No." I replied, shaking my head, although I had so many questions.

"Alright. You two have a good rest of your day.".

Me and Billie walked out of the clinic.

"Billie, I love you." I was all I could think of to say.

"I love you, too, Liz.".