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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE 3 weeks later ☆
"Okay, after running all the tests. We are aware the cancer is back or might have never left. Because of how long you've had it without treating it, it spreads to your pancreas. We don't think there's much we can do because of how late in the stage we caught it. We will do everything to try and treat this but, if our efforts don't work, you're looking at 5 months left."
Her words linger in the air long after she says them. Neither my dad nor I say anything. My dad is so busy hating himself for being a bad parent and I? Well... the first the that pops into my head after hearing I have 5 months left is Cory. I'm thinking about how I probably won't see her again and how I'll never get to touch her again.
The doctors begin to speak again but I zone them out. My mind is set on her. Even when I'm dying, she's the only thing I care about. It's crazy, but I would take one day with her for these 5 months. Shit, I'd take an hour. I sigh, trying to let everything go with a deep breath but after I exhale everything comes back.
Especially the fact that I'm dying. I remember when I was first diagnosed and I didn't really care because I was depressed. I had nothing to live for, nothing I cared about enough to make me feel sad. Now, I have her. Had her, and she's all I can think about.
I know she's upset, and she has every right to be. I just hope my last impression of her isn't that. It can't be. When I finally tune back in the room is quiet and all the doctors and nurses are looking at me including my father.
"What?"
"An at-home nurse and doctor will be monitoring you for as long as we need. The hospital is currently overflowing with patients and it is not the best environment for someone in your condition." I nod, not showing any anger or any emotion at all. For someone who's five months away from death, I sure am not as focused on it as I should be.
They leave the room to get my discharge papers and it's my dad and I. We haven't spoken since I found the letters and I'd like to keep it that way. He's careless and he's only proven that over time since my mother passed away. I miss her but damn, she has bad taste in men.
While I eat I turn my phone on to do my daily stalking. It's crazy and obsessive but I can't go a day without seeing her face. To my surprise, there's a new photo on her Instagram. I jump at the opportunity and press it. I feel a smile form on my face as I scroll through the carousel of photos. Until the last photo. A bouquet with a card whose handwriting wasn't hers.
The card reads 'it's always good seeing you." There are so many things that could mean from so many different people. I try not to let it bother me but it does. I don't want to jump to conclusions, that's what got me where I am now, but I'm almost a hundred percent sure those are from her ex. It's a shitty thing to accuse her.
