His last thought

05| Fairview

"Did anyone tell you anything before you left?" I ask Caleb.

"Yeah. My doctor gave me some new meds, he said I can't be driving by myself for a while."

"Wait, who drove you to the grocery store?" I frantically ask.

"My mom."

"Does she know you're with me?! Shit, did I just accidentally kidnap you?!"

"No, I told her, you're fine Morgan."

I nod and pull up to my house. "Grab a bag." I tell Caleb before walking inside caring some myself. He does so and we meet in the kitchen.

"My house is down the block." Caleb says and sits down at the counter.

"That's funny. How do you feel about Fairview? Now that you've actually seen it."

"It's different than Mississippi." He says and sits down at the counter. "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"What did people do when they found out you were sick?"

That question stumped me. I don't know how to respond to things like that.

"I guess since I was so young no one really knew that much about cancer." I tell him. "Are you worried about what people will say?"

"Kind of. My new doctor wants to do another round of chemo soon."

"Right before school?"

"That's what I said." Caleb starts to play with his hands.

"You already went through this. Twice. You know how it goes. It'll be okay."

"You don't know that."

"You're right. I don't know. But I know you went through chemo and radiation when you were younger." I say.

"But what do I tell people?"

"Just say it straight up" I tell him. "Get it off your chest as soon as you can."

He just nods again and stands up. "But then won't people treat you weird?"

"Yeah, but you can't control that." I say and I hear a loud bang; the door shut.

"Morgan, are you home?" It was my moms voice.

"Yeah, I'm over here!" I yell. She walks in and her eyes go from me to Caleb and back to me.

"Who's your friend?" She asks.

"Caleb Hall. He moved here a week or so ago. He's going to FHS with me too." I tell my mom. "He bought the Wilson's old house."

"That's nice. I was going to stop by there later today." She says. "How did you two meet?"

"At the hospital. I have cancer." Caleb blurts out.

"I'm sorry." she says. "Thanks for doing the shopping Morgan."

"Sure."

"I'm going to go get some brownie mix, will you two be okay?" She asks.

"Yeah." I tell her. "We might go out." my mom nods and runs out. "Well that was really blunt." I say to Caleb.

"Well that's what you said to say!"

"Yeah but don't introduce yourself as 'Caleb with cancer' or that's all people will see you as."

"Well school starts in two days; I don't know what to do." he says and puts his head in his hands.

"When do you start chemo?" I ask.

"Wednesday. And did I also say that I can't do any sports, after school activities, and gym I can do every other week?"

"I know it's really dumb, but you're already going to be missing a lot of school. After chemo, it will be different." I tell him. "I've been working with this for a long time, you can't tell me something that I don't know."

"Really?" Caleb asks and I nod. "What about my dad leaving after I got sick?"

"My dads overseas." I say. "But Sadies dad left when she got skin cancer."

"Sadie?"

"She's six." I tell him. "You know all we talk about is cancer, tell me something about you."

"Like what?" He asks.

"Anything."

"Well I played baseball for like, eight years, I'm the youngest, I usually get good grades."

"Usually?"

"Yeah. But my mom was a teacher, so she was able to help." Caleb says. "Is it just you and your mom?"

"Yeah" I say. "I'm an only child. What about you and your brother? Are you two close?"

"Yeah we were. He stayed in Mississippi for college. He has a MSU football scholarship."

"What's his name?" I ask.

"Adam. He drove me to the hospital for all my appointments, stood up for me after I lost my hair, and taught me how to drive."

"He sounds fun." I say. "What did people say to you after you lost your hair?"

"Some just made fun of the fact I was bald and others wouldn't come near me."

"Tell me more about Adam." I tell Caleb.

"He's two years older than me, so he's a freshman in college. I never saw a weak side to him."

"That doesn't mean he didn't have one."

"I know." Caleb says. "I'm going home. I need to sleep, I'll see you later." he walks out and shuts the door.

What was that about?