Shoulders

Chapter Thirteen- Why, God?

A/N- please watch this video...it's about Moriah Peters, and it talks about when she first met Joel...Also, please don't hate this chapter, but I guess it is unlucky number thirteen. Sorry!

Moriah's POV
Winter Jam was closing in three days. We had this performance, and one more, then the wrap party, and then we'd go pretty much just back to our places in Tennessee. The tour had been filled with water balloon fights, egg dye tablets in the shower, bullhorns at eight o'clock in the morning, and condiments in cream and jelly doughnuts. Also, Amber was still having the long, and painful headaches, so she had an appointment with Dr. Emma Watson in five days. Colton and Amber had been planning something, so they did their routine, and then things got a little different....

Amber's POV
We finished Scars, and then, I tossed Colton the little black box. He stepped out from behind the piano, and grabbed the mic.

"Alright, first off, I'd like to thank you guys for coming, and I have someone special I'd like you to meet. Annie, c'mon up." She came up, looking nervous and confused at the same time.
"Hey, Paducah, this is my girlfriend, Annie. So, really quickly, I wanna do something before I lose my nerve." He turned to Annie, and started speaking.
"Annie, I know you've heard this before, but I love you. And now, I have a question for you." He got down on one knee, and opened the box, revealing a beautiful ring with tiny diamonds in the shape of a heart.
"Annie, I wanna spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?" Her hand flew to her mouth, and she nodded, just barely whispering yes. He grinned, slid the ring on her finger, and stood, kissing her. Then, everyone cheered as they waved, and we all headed offstage. I saw mom and dad, standing nearby, smiling. I grabbed my water bottle, since Skillet was going up, and I had some time.

"Yay!! I'm so happy for you two! That is one way to do it, Colton." Mom said, hugging Annie. Dad gave her a teasing look.
"Oh, and that's coming from the one who yelled at me when we met at Luke's wedding. My jaw dropped, and I stared at her.
"No! You didn't, mom!" She laughed, kissing dad on the cheek.
"Guilty as charged. I think it was something about his accent...I can't remember. Guess I fell for him, though." We all laughed, and dad kissed her. Then, Thursday, we had our wrap party, and the tour was summed up in one sentence. The three biggest things that stood out were all the pranks, Colton and Annie's engagement, and sadly, Katelyn's death. We got home, and we unpacked, and then we crashed for the next twelve hours. I had an appointment at two, so I was up at twelve o'clock, and I also heard mom, but she was in the bathroom, and it sounded like she was sick. Then, she came out, looking okay.

"Hey, mom, you okay? You didn't sound too good in there." She smiled gently, patting the sofa beside her, so I at down.
"Can you keep a secret for a week or two? Just until I get a definite yes or no." I thought.
"Depends on what the secret is." She chuckled, taking my hand.
"I should've known I'd get that. Alright. You ready?" I nodded eagerly, and mom smiled.
"Alright. Amber, I think that you're going to get a new baby brother or sister." I caught my breath, trying to smile and not look worried or upset, but mom knew better.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong, sweet girl? Why isn't that good news?" I choked back a sob, trying to talk through the tears that started.
"Every time I was at a foster home, and they found out they were going to have a kid of their own, they didn't want to keep me, and I don't want that to happen here as well." She wrapped her arms around me, gently whispering in my ear.
"Hey, it's okay. You're not going anywhere, okay? We love you, and every time we add someone to our family, that love only grows. We're not going to give you back. We love you too much, and I'm not sure what we'd do without you, now." I pulled back, smiling. It seemed like every time I needed it, God put the right words into their mouth to comfort me.
"Hey, mom. If us had a choice, I'd prefer a baby sister. And, if I wasn't here, you'd be the one to put egg dye tablets in the shower for dad." We laughed, and I hugged her.
"I don't wanna go." I whispered. Then, we heard a yell.
"AMBER!!" I looked sheepishly at mom.
"Oops?" I shrugged, and we both burst out laughing, and I heard dad laughing as well.

Moriah's POV
We had been at the doctor's office for about two hours, and she had secretly gone ahead and done an ultrasound, and had printed the pictures. Amber had gotten an FMRI done, which is basically them taking pictures of her brain, and we were waiting for the result. Then, Dr. Watson came out, holding the pictures.

"Well, we have the results." She held up the pictures, and I saw a blob of white right in the middle of the picture.
"What is that?" I asked, pointing.
"That is the cause of Amber's headaches. I'm so very sorry, and I always hate to say this, Amber, but you have cancer. There are three options. One, do nothing, and you'd get about three months. Two, chemotherapy, and you'd get about another year. But, there is one more option, that I personally think is your best bet. Just one surgery would only buy you time, but three, surgery every four months, and you'd get a few more years. I do need an answer in one week. Any other questions?" I shook my head, feeling numb. We shook her hand, and headed home. When we got back, Joel was on the couch, watching AFV. He heard us come in, and saw our grim faces, and turned the tv off.

"Okay, good news, or bad?" He asked.
"Bit of both." I sighed. I handed them each a picture.
"That's the good news. The bad news is, Amber has cancer." Joel dropped the ultrasound picture, looking at me, and he was as white as a sheet. Amber started crying, so we both went over, wrapping her in our arms. We just had to trust that God knew what he was doing now.

Author's note- bwa ha ha! Double plot twist! Enjoy!