Finally Breathing

~ Chapter 28 ~

Tobin's POV

She'd been gone for a while now and I was starting to get worried. The planned prank on Mal had backfired, us getting soaked with gallons of water instead of her. Someone (I would put a thousand guesses on my daughter) had told her before it happened. Even so, it was pretty funny to watch Sonnet and Kelley's faces as the water descended on us. 

I had texted Chris a few minutes ago, her response being short and distant, saying that she was fine and was with Dawn running some tests, which to be honest is completely normal for us, especially after a suspected injury. Even so, I was anxious for her to get back. Sky had run off with Tierna to talk about her college/pro decision, and I was left here with nothing to do.

I sighed, pulling myself up off my bed at the same time. I needed to distract myself, which for me usually meant some form of exercise. I pulled on some running clothes: a black Nike sports bra with a t-shirt over the top and some Nike running shorts, not forgetting my navy blue snapback. I grabbed my keys and left the hotel, driving to a nearby park to begin my run.

We had England in five days, which meant that I had five days to prove my worth to Jill. I was off my game during gym this afternoon, the absence of Dawn evident as I lazily executed my squats and pull-ups, and Jill noticed. She had called me in for a meeting later today after dinner, and I was not looking forward to it. Something else was on my mind, though I didn't know what it was. We were happy; I had a beautiful daughter and an amazing girlfriend. Yet deep down I knew that whatever was up with Chris after the game was more than cramp or a small pain as she had passed it off as. Her face and body were closed to me last night, giving nothing away. That wasn't normal. Usually we would chat for hours after a game, express all our feelings and elation through venting our anger and happiness. Why wouldn't Chris talk to me? 

I paused my music, taking a moment to catch my breath and check my stats on my phone. I sat down on a nearby bench, getting strange looks from the other people in the park as I stripped off my t-shirt. The weather hadn't changed since we got to Paris; the sun was shining down on the lake before me, beating down on my face as I felt a red flush emerge. The shirt was wet with sweat, the soft material clinging to my back as I struggled with it. My heart rate was through the roof, stats indicating that it reached almost 160bpm on the hill just past the lake. Damn. I really needed to get a hold of myself. 

~~

I was sat on the bench for a while, listening to my music and organising my thoughts. I was probably there too long though, as I heard young voices rising over the hill as the sun began to set.

"Mom?" 

I looked behind me, Teirna, Mal and Sky giggling as they saw my flushed cheeks.

"Hey guys. What are you doing here?"

"Same as you I guess," Sky replied, "Planning on going on a jog." 

I nodded, waving them on as they stood there awkwardly before turning back to stare across the lake.

"You guys go on, I'll catch you up." 

I heard Sky whisper from behind me before the soft patter of trainers began ahead, Tierna and Mal's ponytails swishing in the warm breeze.

There was a plonk beside me, Sky sitting down and wrapping her hand around mine, stopping me from picking at the skin beneath my thumb nail. It was a bad habit that I had picked up after my parents kicked me out, one that I was supposed to have defeated a long time ago. I guess not.

"Are you okay Mom?" 

I thought about her question for a while, relaxing into her grasp as we sat there in silence.

"No, not really." I replied, "I guess I'm worried about Chris. I don't know, I've been feeling like this all day." 

Sky remained on the bench beside me, eyes distant while we watched the sunset.

"You know you can tell me anything Mom. You were there for me through everything, I need to be here for you too." 

"Yeah I do. Thanks Sky." 

Christen's POV

They had just finished running tests, taking everything from blood and urine samples to my heart rate and temperature. I was exhausted; the weight of the day finally taking its toll on me. I missed Tobin and I missed Sky, hoping that they were okay at the hotel, that Tobin had reminded Sky to eat and that she in herself had eaten. 

The day was a whirlwind, every doctor that I came across glancing at me worriedly before hurrying off in different directions. "Everything will be fine Chris." Dawn had told me earlier as we entered, but how did she know that? I didn't know what was going on. I thought I was just tired and having a bad day yesterday during the match, yet the physio therapists had all seemed really concerned, and now with what was going on with the doctors? I just wanted to know what was wrong with me.

The nurse led us out to a waiting area littered with magazine sheets and plastic chairs, indicating that we may have to hang around for a bit longer while the results were being processed. I followed Dawn's lead as she pulled up a chair, taking one beside her while we waited.

~~

I must have dosed off as Dawn nudged me lightly, the chair shaking beneath my weight.

"Press?" I heard the nurse call for what was probably the billionth time, her whispy hair floating as she looked around the room.

I gained her attention as we walked up to her, following her through the first set of doors towards the second set, the double doors swinging menacingly as we approached them. Soon we found ourselves in a small room, a skinny hospital bed pushed in the middle of the room with a machine next to it. There were two white and blue cushioned chairs set up next to the bed, a further black spinning chair opposite. We took our seats on the blue ones as the nurse left, leaving us with doctor...

"Jackson." He said, noticing my struggle to read his name tag.

"Hi Dr. Jackson." Dawn smiled, showing her eagerness to get on with the news.

"So, Miss Press." the doctor began, "you will have noticed that we ran some tests on you when you arrived. These were based off of what the US physio team alongside your trainer Dawn told us. It took us a while to process these samples as we are slightly full today, but judging on what I saw I knew it had to be done today."

I smiled nervously, Dawn sat still beside me.

He sighed. "I'm going to be honest with you, and I'm sure that you don't want to draw this out. It's not good news." 

My face dropped. What could be so bad that even the doctor felt sorry for me?

"Do you want me to stay or leave?" Dawn asked, her face full of sorrow as she noticed the tears welling up behind my eyes.

"Stay," I whispered, "Please stay."

She nodded back.

"Miss Press, you have leukemia."