Dying Wish

Chapter 10

"Whatcha doing tomorrow?" Tobias asked Laura.

"Mom and I are having a girls day. I don't know why, though. She never really did that stuff with me before. Maybe she's expecting that I'm dying and is wanting to get her last moments in," replied Laura. "That kind of frustrates me, though. The fact that she may have lost faith and hope in my life. That'll kill me faster than the cancer ever will."

"Ouch, sorry I asked," responded Tobias, trying to keep the mood light. He still wanted to give her some understanding too. "I see what you're saying, though. I feel the same way with my aunt. Ever since I was diagnosed with cancer she seemed to view me as a dying plant that she kept watering, trying to preserve its life, but still expected that it would die in the near future. She's always asking me to work on my will, but I don't want to, because it's like giving up on myself. And my uncle? Well, he really doesn't care much about me either way. He only took me in because he's my mom's brother and she begged him and my aunt to take care of me, should anything happen to her and dad."

"How long have you been with your aunt?" Asked Laura. After all the years of their friendship, you'd think she would've known, but they never really talked much about deep, personal stuff. So once the information was surfaced, she liked to explore it.

"Since I was two, so, fourteen years," he said. "My mom was killed by my dad when I was two, and he was sent to prison for the rest of his life. He drowned her in the bath tub and tried to play it off like she drowned by herself, but there were obvious strangle marks and signs of abuse."

"I'm so sorry. Can you remember anything about them?" Asked Laura, delicately.

"Not my mom; I was too young. But I remember when I visited my dad after I was diagnosed with cancer, so we could have our goodbyes if we needed. He didn't seem to care much, though. If anything, he seemed relieved that I had a deadly disease growing inside of my body, like he hoped that I would die so he wouldn't have any responsibilities left. I haven't seen him since, and I really don't want to, unless I beat the cancer. Then I want to show him I'm in life for the long run and tell him about what a bad father he is," elaborated Tobias.

"I'm sorry," said Laura sincerely. She didn't know what it was like to have such a terrible father and a dead mother and mediocre guardians, but she did know what it was like for people to view her differently because she had cancer. To have people see her as this delicate thing that'll shrivel up and die if you're not careful.

"It's not you're fault," he shrugged, closing the conversation. They then went on to talk about some other things before Laura's dad came to pick her up.