Strangers in the Storm ✔

Chapter 6: Selfish

DAMIEN 

The moment Damien slammed the door and left the girl in the hallway, he felt guilty. Of course, she did not deserve such treatment, but he did not have enough emotional capacity to deal with his dying mother meeting his one night stand.

He turned away from the door and headed for the kitchen, in desperate need for coffee.

"You, Damien Douglas, are the same as your father." His mother said and he could see her pout even though he turned his back to her.

Damien leaned against the counter and took in a sharp breath, "Yeah, thanks. I'm just like dad."

"Why would you treat the poor girl that way?" His mother's voice reached a dangerous high pitch. "Imagine if someone treated me like that, or Mona!"

"Yeah, I don't date assholes." Mona mumbled.

Damien chuckled, "Only bitches."

"Watch it." Mona warned.

But Damien was too hungover and hungry to watch it. Plus, he had just found out there was nothing else he could do to save his mother. The bundle of emotions squeezed within his gut and he kept it firmly locked there, unwilling to let it all spill out.

"You should call that girl and apologize." His mother sat on the couch and crossed her legs casually, like she hasn't just found out her days were numbered. "I raised you better than that."

"I'll send a postcard." Damien made coffee in the espresso machine.

"Damien!" Both women shouted out loud, causing a surge of pain in his temples.

"Enough." Damien put the cup down and looked up. "Enough about my goddamn love life. It's time to talk about the elephant in the room."

The change in his tone silenced both of them. Mona suddenly looked visibly uncomfortable and Damien wondered whether she wanted to leave. He wouldn't hold it against her. But Mona was strong, far stronger than he would ever be, and she did not shy away from tragedy. She faced her problems head on, like a grownup.

His mother, on the other hand, shrivelled on the couch and the dark leather ate her small figure up. Perhaps she wanted to pretend this wasn't happening for an hour or two.

"It's my elephant and I'll talk about it when I feel like it." Dana puffed.

Damien made two more coffees, "There are things we can do. You still haven't tried targeted therapy or lasers or-"

"Darling." Dana interrupted. "There is a fist-sized lump in my brain. Chemotherapy hasn't helped, neither did radiation. It's inoperable. What else do you want me to do?"

"Everything." Damien said like it was the most obvious and the only acceptable way to proceed. "Literally everything. If there is something that can be done-"

Dana's only answer came in the form of a nod and Damien knew it was her way of telling him this discussion was over. She did not want to fight, she was way too agreeable for that, but she had her opinions, and he would have to fight long and hard to change them.

"I want to rest. I have a headache." She said after a half a minute long staring contest.

Damien sighed, "Of course."

Her movements turned more sluggish since this morning as she walked to the guest room and closed the door behind her.

Dana wasn't the type of person to give in to illness. No matter how tough things got over the past five years, she always held her head high and kept a smile on her face, but a strong will could only work so far. Frequent headaches, losing focus and concentration and trouble sleeping all got way worse over the past month or two. She's lost appetite, too, and with that, a lot of weight, which did not help during chemo.