Noah's Winter

Chapter Eleven

     Last week I started my treatment again, which meant any hair I had grown was now completely gone. I lost a lot of weight again; I was at a scary 95 pounds, which was not healthy since I was 5'7. I looked into the mirror. My gray eyes were dull and lifeless, and there no longer was a pink blush in my cheeks, I was pasty white all over. Oh, how I longed to go out in the sun and just run free and careless. My skin seemed too tight over my weak bones and my breathing was labored. I pulled my purple robe tight around my too skinny torso and fixed my white bandanna on my head. This treatment had gone worse than the last one. I lost too much blood from throwing up almost every hour and I had to get a blood transfusion, leaving me weaker than ever...not to mention I hated the fact that someone else's blood was now in me, I didn't like my own blood to begin with and now I had a strangers running through my veins.

Since I couldn't leave my room due to the treatment, Riley had spent every day in my room with me, missing out on fun with the other kids. I couldn't help but feel guilty. No matter how much I told her to leave, she never would. One day we were reading magazines. 

"Did you know that on Friday it will be Chris and mine one year anniversary?" I looked up at the love sick girl and smiled. 

"No. How did you two meet, anyway?" 

"Here, actually. Kind of like you and Noah, you know I see a lot of potential in you two..." I rolled my eyes and snorted. 

"Noah and I talked all but once. And the last time I saw him was when I momentarily woke up from my mini coma" I had been worried he wouldn't come around after that and I knew it was because I was sick again. He didn't want to get close to me and then all of a sudden I die. I couldn't blame him though.

 "You are in denial, Winter." Riley laughed and shoved a chip in her mouth. Over that week we had become the closest friends, we had shared every secret we had and talked about an endless amount of topics. I was quite fond of the overdramatic girl, and couldn't ask for a better cancer buddy.

I pulled my 'IV on wheels', as I liked to call it, toward the door, using it as a cane. I walked out into the hall and was glad I wore my fuzzy slippers. I knew how cold these linoleum floors got. Ever so slowly I made my way to Riley's room. I wasn't supposed to leave my room but we were supposed to hang out today, but she didn't show, and that worried the heck out of me. I knocked on the door and it finally opened. There stood Riley's mother all puffy eyed packing Riley's belongings. I had learned to really like her mother, we had gotten along nicely. 

"Mrs. Carson?" I asked. I had a feeling something terrible happened. She leaned in to hug me and just started to sob. I brought my weak hand to her back and patted it softly.

 "She's..." Mrs. Carson swallowed hard. "Gone." it felt like someone took a baseball to my gut. She was gone...and never coming back. I wanted to scream at the heartbroken woman that it wasn't true...but I couldn't for the life of me find my voice. Just when I thought my world was turning up, cancer had to knock me back down, and kick me in the face...hard.