The Cruelest Summer

Chapter 12- Sick

The rain still hadn't ceased come late afternoon. Taylor pressed her nose up against the French window, watching the water droplets race down the glass pane. The numbing effect of all of the alcohol she had consumed had worn off. She could feel things again. Her loneliness and bitterness had returned, much to her demise.

Taylor briefly contemplated texting Joe or starting a new "Words With Friends" game with him, but she quickly stopped herself. He had only left her apartment a few hours ago. She couldn't come across that desperate. She was also wary of accidentally leading him on, still convinced that she was under no circumstances ready to date. Romantic relationships were simply not in the cards for Taylor. She had to accept that.

Taylor finally peeled herself away from the window, after witnessing a lighting bolt narrowly miss the brick building. Not that getting struck by lighting would be the worst thing in the world. It would certainly put an end to her misery.

Before Taylor's thoughts had the chance to get any darker, the loud ring of her phone conveniently interrupted them. It was her Mom.

"Hey, honey."

"Hi, Mom," Taylor replied in a monotonous voice.

"How are you holding up?" Andrea asked nervously. Taylor quickly took notice of how much her mother's voice had wavered.

Not wanting to add to her concern, Taylor made the careful decision to avoid telling her how she was really feeling. "I've been better," she quipped, in the most cheerful voice she could muster. "Obviously, things aren't amazing, but I got to see a friend last night which was nice."

"Oh?" Andrea probed. "Which friend?"

Taylor hesitated for a moment. "Just someone I met in L.A a while ago. You wouldn't know them."

She had neglected to tell her mom about Joe, because the circumstances of their relationship were so bizarre. It was so ill defined that Taylor reasoned that it would be weird for her to mention him to her parents. At this point he was just a guy that she had met for drinks, had a good time with, and spontaneously had sex with. Taylor wasn't even sure that she wanted to bring Joe up to her friends. She was worried that they would think she was ridiculous for hooking up with him so soon after her breakup with Tom. And worse...what if news of her and Joe's rendezvous got out? That would be fucking humiliating. She couldn't bear to think of the PR nightmare that would be. With Joe's career just blossoming, and the end of "Hiddleswift" still being kept under wraps, that leak could cause colossal damage.

"Well, I'm glad that you have people out there, supporting you in New York," Andrea heaved.

"Yeah," Taylor said weakly. At this very moment, it did not feel like she had a lot of support in the city. Nine out of ten of her New York friends hadn't bothered to contact her since Snapchat Gate. It was a real slap in the face. Even though Joe had seemed unbothered by the whole Twitter cancellation, he was based in London...not New York. He didn't count.

"I know how good a solid support system can be," Andrea continued. "And I'm really lucky to have mine as I go in for my next doctor's appointment."

Shit! Her next doctor's appointment! How could I forget? God, I'm such a terrible daughter. How did I manage to forget about my own mother's meeting with the oncologist? I'm so goddamn selfish. I was so caught up in all of the Kimye beef, and the fallout with Tom that I didn't remember to check-in with my mom. Adam was right....I am self absorbed.

"Mom...I'm sorry," Taylor trembled. "I can't believe I forgot about your appointment last week. What did they say? Why did they schedule another one?"

Andrea took a deep breath. "They scheduled another appointment, because the tumors are still growing....and it's malignant. They need to explore other options before it's too late."

Taylor felt her whole body go numb. Just like that the whole city went quiet. The claps of thunder, the wailing sirens, the incessant horn hocking- it all stopped. Time had froze in the worst way.

The cancer..is back? And it's worse? No, this can't be. It's not fair. It's not right! This has got to be a mistake. This can't be happening to Mom.

Taylor thought she was going to choke on the words in her throat, but by some miracle she managed to cough up a reply. "Jesus. Whatever you need, I'll be there. I'll try to fly out to Nashville tonight. I promise. I love you."

AN: I know Joe isn't a big part of this chapter...but I promise he'll be HUGE in the next one. I just thought that Andrea's health was worth mentioning in the story, since it's such a significant part of Taylor's life- especially since she relapsed right around the time that her and Joe started dating. My love also goes out to anyone that has a loved one dealing with cancer. Thanks for reading besties <3