marked.

Poison Infects People.

Marco stood with me until 9 o'clock at night on that roof. We just sat there, completely in a daze from everything and everyone else in the world. But once he left, the fairytale came to a close...

Before I shoved myself in my room, I fed myself and took a shower. Of course this was simple routine for when I get home but... Tonight was different.

Again, for the umpteenth time, I lay there, fully awake. For a couple hours, I just looked up at the ceiling with rock music blasting in my ears. I knew I wasn't going to sleep tonight, so why bother denying it? This night was a special night; I knew that the only reason I couldn't sleep, was because of this gut-wrenching emotion tying itself tightly around my waist. My heart was screaming at me, WRONG. GET UP. DO SOMETHING. But I ignored it for a good while. I couldn't get this gut feeling out of my chest and I knew that if I didn't pay attention to this feeling, something bad would really happen. I looked at the time:

3:15 AM.

Is mom here? Of course, I never leave any question unanswered so I checked her bedroom. Gone. There was not another sign of life in that apartment besides myself and a dying plant in my mother's bedroom. I looked around the living room, to the kitchen, and even ventured out to the balcony... Not here. Since I had my iPhone already in hand, I decided to give her a quick dial-up.

After several rings, it went straight to voicemail.

I called again.

Voicemail.

I thought to myself: Third times a charm, right? And apparently so, my theory is proven to be correct.

"Hello?" My mother asked, a little shaken. "Dani?"

"Mom?! Where are you? It's past 3, and your shift's over." I thought my mother was trying to get away with doing overtime; you know, how "a little extra" can go the long way? But this "little extra" is three hours long.

I heard a sniffle. "Honey," more sniffling. "I think you need to come here yourself."

My eyes widened, but of course she couldn't see that. "Mom. What. Is. Going. On? Tell, me." My lips formed into a thin line as I rushed over to my bedroom to grab a new set of clothes. I put her on speaker as I shuffled through my drawers.

"Dani," she started as my mother took a deep breath. "It's better if I come pick you up so you can see for yourself." You could hear my mom try to stifle her tears, but it wasn't working for me. My head began to spin.

"Who is it, mom?"

A moment of silence passed as switched my pajamas for a pair of jeans, a black tank, and my sneakers. However my hair looked, that was the way it was going to stay; all I cared about was getting to the hospital.

"It's Quinn, Dani. Something bad has happened."

My heart dropped. I stopped, cold. I don't know how wide my eyes were, but I felt it bulging incredibly. My breath quickened with every dead-silent second that passed by. What I didn't realize was that my fist clutched so tightly, my palms bled a little.

My mother broke the silence. "I'll be on my way once they get him settled, okay baby?"

I shook my head as if she could see that. "No. I'm on my way."

"Dani, let me pick you up. It's easier this way. I'll just-"

I cut her off. There was no time for excuses. "No, I need to get there now. Alone." And with that, I hung up. My left hand shook rapidly as I texted Marco.

Meet @ hospital in 5. It's Quinn.

But just as I managed to grab my hoodie, phone and wallet, I walked out the door to find him standing in front of an old black truck.

"Get in." He spoke directly and emotionless as I jumped inside. We drove over to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in record time. I knew Marco had gone beyond the average speed limit, but I didn't care. Not one bit. Especially when it was about Quinn.

Just as Marco pulled into the driveway, I practically threw myself out of the car before Marvo could officially put the truck on park. Marco ran beside me into the Emergency Room and we both stopped in our tracks. In the whole room, all you could see was nurses and doctors running back and forth and paramedics filling out paperwork and asking questions. To the far right, I saw my mother, still in her baby pink scrubs, filling out papaerowkr  and yelling at nurses to do their job. As I walked over to her, I could see people crying on the waiting seats... They looked almost exactly like Quinn... 

It was as if Marco had read my mind. "Must be his family."

Of course it was, for I had met some of them before. His wary-wart daughter, athletic and overprotective grandkids, his distant son... I had met them before. Two old ladies and three older men  sat there, lifeless with gallons of tears spilling out, those were Quinn's brothers and sisters. How fast they had came, and how quickly things had happened. But what happened?

I looked at my mom. She never took her eyes from the paper and pen but she knew I was there. "He had a heart attack and they are running some tests on the mass on his liver. The doctors think it grew."

I blinked twice. "What mass?" I squeezed my wrist, digging my nails into my flesh. "You're meaning to tell me that Quinn has cancer?"

My mother stopped writing and gave me a weird look. "Yes, honey. He has had this mass for years now... Non operable so we left him there." But then she realized what I really meant. "He didn't tell you before?" Her eyebrow created a huge arch but her eyes softened completely. All I felt was my chest having trouble control my breath; it felt as if someone was piling bricks on top of me, over and over again.

"He can't have cancer. He can't. He doesn't have it. He can't have cancer." I kept trying to repeat this to myself, as if it would just make everything go away... As if it would heal him. But all I felt was Marco shove his hand over and take mine in his, allowing me to squeeze away.

He is not poisoned. He is not.