MOON

38

"I'm so fucking tired.." I mumble to myself as I ditch my suitcase by the front door and go straight to my bedroom.

I crawl into bed and curl into a ball, hugging myself tightly to bring comfort to my now lonely self.

Leaving Renee is never fun. It always makes me feel sad and eventually I end up getting physically sick over it with a head cold. It's not fun.

Vivian and Wyatt are in their own apartment across the hall, probably ogling over each other. Ever since they found out Vivian is pregnant, nothing else and nobody else matters except for them and their relationship. Don't get me wrong, I'm very happy for them, it's just weird because they've never been like this before.

I open my phone and begin scrolling through the photos and videos I have of my trip. The amount of pictures that I have of Renee is.. insane.

My personal favorite is the one I took of her on the beach. She was grouchy this day because she was bored and hungry but I didn't want to leave the beach. So she's showing the camera her middle finger as she smiles cheekily behind it.

She's so cute.

I groan when I realize how late it is. It's 1am, it's so late, so when my phone begins to ring I nearly throw it across the room until I see the contact.

"Hi baby!" And suddenly I'm wide awake.

"Hi honey, I just wanted to call before I went to bed." Renee sniffles, it's like she just got finished crying.

"What's wrong, Nae? You sound-"

"I'm okay." She quickly says. "I'll call you in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. Goodnight, I love you."

"I love you too." Then she hangs up.

That was.. weird.

I sigh and set my phone down and turn off my lamp. As soon as my eyes close, I drift off into a deep sleep.

___

I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing, I look up and groan when I see who it is, my father. I haven't spoken to him since he kicked me out when I was eighteen.

Since then, I made a career for myself. I found a new family while he lost his. My mom and him got a divorce shortly after I moved in with Vivian, his mistress moved across the country, and I was long gone.

I was always close to my mother though. She has always been there for me.. but why is he calling me at such an early hour? Does he still live in Pittsburgh? Did he move away?

"Hello?" I answer the phone as I sit up and stretch.

"Tatum.. hi sweetheart, how are you?" He speaks in an awfully sweet tone which makes me cringe.

"I'm okay dad.. are you?" I ask.

The old man sighs and hesitates, "I've been in the hospital for a few months.. I just got out last night. I have cancer, Tatum and I was told it's severely genetic. I wanted to call and warn you-"

"Wait." I take in his words. My dad is on his death bed. We've never been close but hearing this news after years of not speaking sends chills down my spine. "You have cancer?"

"It's in my lungs, Tatum." He begins to cough loudly, "Please just go get checked. I know I've never been the best toward you but.. I've seen you on TV with that girl. You're so happy and I don't want to ruin that for you by giving you this disease." He coughs again. "I'll pay for it, just please.. go to the doctor."

I'm at a loss for words. It's been three, nearly four, years since we've last spoken and now he has cancer?

"I'll go to the doctor." I clear my throat, "I'm sorry that you're going through this."

"I'll pay for your appointment, Tatum."

"No need, it's already handled. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay." He goes silent, both of us hesitating to speak. "I love you, girly."

I nearly begin to cry when he uses my old nickname, "I love you too, dad. Don't worry about me, I'll call you later. Bye."

I hang up the phone and check the time, it's already nearly noon. I call Vivian but it goes straight to voicemail, she's still asleep.

So I call Renee.

"Tate?" She yawns, "Hi honey."

"My dad called."

She goes quiet for a moment, "You never talked to me about your dad before.. I thought he was out of the picture?"

"He was.. well, until now." I sigh. "He has cancer and it's genetic, he wants me to get checked."

"Does your mom know he reached out to you?"

"No. I haven't told her yet, you're the first person I called other than Vivi but she didn't answer."

Renee sighs, "Where?"

"His lungs."

She swears under her breath, "You're healthy, baby."

"That's what I want to believe but.. what if it's not true? What if I have it too?" My heart begins to race at the possibility. "I'm scared, Nae."

"Tate.. I don't like the fact that he just called you out of the blue to tell you this. You said in the past that you never got along since you came out-"

"You don't think he's lying, do you?"

"No, I don't think he's a liar. But I do think he's telling you this just to get you back in his life. If he cares so much about you now, where was he for the past few years? Why didn't he tell you sooner?"

She makes a very good point.. why did he call just for three minutes to tell me he has cancer? He could've told me much sooner but he didn't. Why does he care so much all of a sudden?

"I don't know." Is all I manage to mutter out with all of the thoughts in my head. "I have to call my mom."

"Keep me updated, Tatum."

"I will. I love you, bye." I hang up and immediately dial my mom's number.

"Hi sweetheart!" She greets me happily.

"Hi mom.."

"What's wrong?" My mom asks me immediately. I leave my bedroom and go into the kitchen to begin making myself a coffee.

"Um.. dad called me.."

She goes silent.

"What did he say?" Her tone sounds nervous. She also hasn't spoken to him since she left him.

"He has cancer mom. It's in his lungs.." I sigh, "It's genetic so he wanted me to get checked."

My mom sighs in frustration, "You believe him?"

"Yes?"

"Tatum.. he's just trying to make you weak so he can slip back into your life with you even noticing. Delete his number and forget he ever even called, it's for the greater good."

I gulp, "But what if he's telling the truth, mom? I don't want to have cancer-"

"He doesn't have cancer, Tatum. He's lying to you."