cast l.h

week nine part three

I sit at the end of Shyla's hospital bed, my feet dangling over the edge. Her and Luke talk about things to keep our minds off the situation but I can't help but let my mind linger over the scary truth. Cancer. Does she really have it? I pray its a false alarm.

Footsteps grow louder along the tile floors until they stop in front of the room. The door opens and a doctor enters. Her hair appears to just be turning gray and her scrubs a bit wrinkled. At the early hour of 7 though, don't expect anything else.

Our eyes stick on her as she walks towards the bed. I feel Luke stand. The doctor flips along the pages of the clipboard and then finally looks up, meeting the gaze of Shyla. Shyla smiles softly.

¨Well,¨ the woman's tired voice exerts ¨your test results are back.¨

I turn around towards Shyla and Luke, their eyes are wide and my heart is beating a million miles a minute. ¨It appears that you have a tiny tumor, resonating in your brain that caused the small stroke.¨ The room is silent. A needle dropping would sound like a thunderstorm.

I hold my breath and squeeze my eyes shut. This can't be happening. ¨But,¨ the woman interrupts the silence, I look up ¨as far as I can tell, at the moment, it is benign. Meaning it isn't growing, or cancerous.¨ The heaviness of the air lifts and I release my breath.

I look to Luke and try to deceiver his face. He looks relieved yet sad, probably remembering his own Mother's experience.

Luke speaks up first, ¨What do we do about it then.¨

¨Well that is up to Shyla,¨ she shrugs ¨you can schedule it to be removed to eliminate any further risks of tumors and strokes, or you can leave it. If you leave it though, it may grow and cause more strokes. If you decide to remove it, we can do the procedure here. The only downside it, your recovery period would take months to be able to do everything you are used to.¨

I can feel the options move up and down in Shyla's mind, like they are weighed on a scale. She finally speaks, ¨Well this sucks.¨ We all nervously laugh. Shyla always tries to make everyone else feel better. ¨I don't want it to grow, but I also am just starting my business and I need to be involved.¨

The doctor sends a sympathizing look, ¨I would suggest getting it removed and hiring some help for your business.¨

She laughs and looks at Luke and I, ¨these are my help.¨

¨Well I guess I should get it removed.¨

Just like that in the course of one day, everything became much more complicated.

The three of us leave the hospital, thankful that she doesn't have cancer but sad that she has to get surgery. The ride home we decide not to tell her about Ashton, maybe a surprise is what she needs. When we pull up to the house, it's mid-morning yet I feel like I've been awake for a year.

I can tell Luke is tired too because he's yawned 5 times in the last couple minutes. The ignition turns off, and I help my Aunt from the car to the front porch. Her leg is bandaged up and shes a little woozy from meds.

We walk into the house and are welcomed with the smell of bacon and waffles. With the scent greeting her nose she jumps, immediately knowing it to be her sons meal cooking. She shuffles quickly to the kitchen with help from me. Not to my surprise, Ashton stands waiting for us.

I laugh at my cousin's appearance. He has batter all over him and his apron says ¨Kiss the Cook¨ When he sees his mother he drops a goopy spoon and rushes over to her, scooping her up in the biggest hug I think I've ever seen.

They laugh, which makes me laugh. Still in a hug, my cousins eyes meet mine and he nods. His smile bares crooked teeth and his hair is longer now than the pictures Shyla has shown me. He's tall though, he towers over his mother. They begin talking fast, like they hadn't seen each other in years.

Strings tug at my heart, I've never had a relationship like that with my parents, and I sure as hell never will. I'm jealous of Ashton. I sit down at the counter and nibble on freshly cooked bacon while they catch up. I remain silent, but content this way.

¨ASH,¨ I hear Luke shout from behind me.

¨MY MAN,¨ Ashton replies. Laughs fill the room again as the two giants hug each other. I giggle the way their eyes light up when they talk, bromance much?

I feel out of place suddenly. These people are my family and friends but I feel like such an outsider. I've known them for what? A few months. They've known each other for years and years.

My aunt's arms wrap around my shoulders and she smiles at me, making me feel once again welcome. ¨Ashton, say hi to your cousin.¨

I blush, ¨It's fine Shyla.¨ I try to object but seconds later I'm scooped up into a bear hug. Pleasant suffocation. Ashton sets me down and shakes my hair, making it more frizzy than it already was.

¨Hey cuz,¨ he smirks ¨Wow you look just like my mom when she was young.¨

I blush awkwardly again. Luke walks over and wraps his arm around my waist for some reason. I look up to him but he doesn't look back, just continues to smile at my cousin who talks nonstop.

¨... the city is amazing, don't get me wrong but it's nice to be home. Oh god but Central Park is so beautiful this time of year. Remember Izzy when we went to the Zoo when you were 3 and I was 5. I promised you that I'd get you a giraffe one day.¨

I hadn't remembered, but somehow my mind digs out the memory from deep with in and it flashes back. I wore a pink striped dress and I'd chase after the boys, trying to keep up constantly. When I finally caught up at the giraffe exhibit, Ashton tried to lift me up over the fence to see the animals because I was too little. Finally I had gotten on his shoulders, nearly crushing the little kid and he promised he'd get me a giraffe one day.

I smile and nod looking down, when I look back up Ashton has disappeared. His long finger taps my shoulder and I turn around to find my goofy cousin holding a giant stuffed giraffe.

My eyes widen and my smile grows. I hop out from the stool and hug him, squashing the animal in between us.

I had never known what a real family feels like, but standing here in a room with the most amazing people, I think I'm starting to.