The Stories of Latia, Vol. 2: Demon's Curse

Chapter 12: Fair

Chapter 12: Fair

The Narrator

"How's Avery doing?" Cassidy somberly asks Jayme, after he'd come back downstairs. She's sitting at the table now and Jayme is still standing, having just entered the room.

"Oh, uhm. She's doing f-fine..." Jayme stumbles.

"She's drinking again, isn't she?" Cassidy interrupts him. Jayme regretfully nods.

"I thought so. She was doing better, but... I guess she's not going to be better anytime soon, huh? I guess nothing is," she mutters with a slight chuckle, her voice quiet and somber.

"I guess not," Jayme mumbles, joining her at the table.

The two sit in silence, both completely out of tears to cry.

Jayme, however, is relieved.

Before, all he could offer to Avery and Cassidy was a shoulder to cry on. But now, he can offer them hope.

"So, uhm. I had lunch today with my brother, Nor," Jayme begins.

"Oh, cool. How is he doing? He's the nice sibling, right?"

Jayme chuckles "yeah, yeah he's the nice one. And he's doing really good, actually. He's moving into town with his partner, and they're expecting," Jayme cautiously says, still not really able to wrap his head around Nor having a kid.

"Oh, shit! That's awesome, tell them I said congrats! So that means you're gonna be an uncle, huh?" She tiredly asks, and Jayme nods excitedly.

"Uncle Jayme... That has a ring to it." She laughs.

"Yeah... but that's not the only news he gave me today," Jayme continues.

"It turns out my mom... my mom got stage four lung cancer last year and didn't tell me," he forces out, obviously still annoyed and hurt about it.

Cassidy's eyes widened "oh... Well, as nicely as possible, I wouldn't lose sleep over her. I know how she treated you and honestly, you're better off."

Jayme chuckles "yeah... But that's the thing. She isn't dead. She beat it."

Cassidy's eyes widened even more "What? That's like... super rare, right?"

"Yeah, but it wasn't a hospital that cured her."

"What do you mean?"
"This is going to sound super crazy... but Nor said she went out into the Fallen Dunes, and found something out there. An ancient tribe of witches who cured her. So... so what if..."

Cassidy knows where he's going with this.

"Don't do that, Jayme," she lightly scoffs.

"Do what?"

"Don't give me... don't give us hope," Cassidy whispers, more tears forming in her eyes.

"It isn't fair to her."

"It isn't fair?" Jayme snaps.

"No, what isn't fair is that you didn't do anything about it when you picked up something wrong months ago. It isn't fair that you didn't tell her when you did find out, instead she had to learn it from me. It isn't fair that you were 100% prepared to jump ship instead of spending whatever time you have left with the love of your life," he sternly lectured.

Cassidy just sits in silence, staring at the floor in front of her, not refuting a word.

"Cassidy... this is the only shot at curing whatever this is. I don't care if it's a shot into a dark room, if it keeps my best friend's future wife, and my friend alive, I'm taking it." Jayme stands, calming himself, before continuing.

"But the decision is yours. I haven't told Avery yet, and I won't if you don't want me to, but... if it were me, I know what I would do," Jayme concludes, stepping away from the table, and out onto the front porch, leaving Cassidy with nothing but this idea he's presented for her.