The Reaper's Assistant

*5*

"Your mom has stage 4 cancer."

The words woke me so fast I nearly fell out of bed.

I sat panting hard and covered in sweat. I could feel blood at the back of my head and my vision blurred with sleep. My body shook with terror and dread as fresh as the week before.

I pressed against my eyes with the palms of my hands and sighed. My heart was still thundering in my chest and I couldn't stop shaking.

The dreams were changing. Starting off the same and morphing into horrific nightmares of that morning in the hospital.

Mom had refused to leave my room and the doctor had announced the growing stage of breast cancer in my mother.

I shuddered and panted away the tears stinging the edges of my eyes. God, I wanted to bawl like a child and hope it was all a bad dream.

Of course, it wasn't. And I was a young adult. I'd handle it like everything else.

In my head I was still a child in a way. There were very few things I didn't know about handling life as an adult.

So, as a young adult, I would handle this new obstacle.

I sighed and slipped out from under the blankets to get ready for school. Lily jumped off the bed and followed me to my dresser where I was getting ready.

I yanked off my T-shirt and started at my inked up abdomen in the body mirror beside the dresser. Since I was young I always had this inate fondness for tattoos. When I turned 16 the year before I had my mom pick out my first. She'd picked a mental health butterfly that had been engraved into the skin of my left pec.

It was colored gold and black and gave the illusion of sparkling like a star under the right light.

   I observed myself in the mirror for a minute. My hair looked shaggy and dishevelled. My bright green eyes had dulled with the lack of good sleep and dark circles lingered under my eyes making me look half alive. I was barely on my feet and I looked weak and frail.

   With all my attention on the mirror I saw something shift out of the corner of my eye. A whisp of white and it was gone. When I looked up everything was normal. I shrugged and blamed it on my half-asleep mind.

   I turned back to my dresser and pulled out a clean long sleeve shirt and clean pants. I pulled the shirt over my head and pulled the pants on after. Lilytail rubbed against my leg and I bent down to scratch her head. She meowed and bumped her head against my calf.

    I hummed and grabbed some socks to put on. I glanced at the clock.

7:15

   I had time for a quick bite before school began, so I tugged on my socks, shoes, and slung my bag over my shoulder before leaving my room and going downstairs.

   A note alongside a plate of eggs sat waiting at the bar.

   I picked up the note and read over it quickly.

  Breakfast. Don't forget to eat today have a good day.
-Dad.

  I sighed and sat down to my breakfast waiting for time to tick a little faster.