Beyond Logic

XXI. Toughest Decisions

Sebastian spent the last few weeks focusing on getting his shit together. He has been busy looking for internship since he would need a proper work experience for when he apply to law school. He also kept his distance away from Alexandra because he didn't want her to gain more reason to hate him more than she already does.

He still sees her in class but he never approached her and tried to strike a conversation. There were some occasions that their gazes land at each other but she was always the one to look away first. He wished he could change things between them but he also knows that in order to do that, he has to fix himself first.

It wasn't exactly that easy. On the outside, his life might seem perfect. He is an only son who gets everything that he ever wanted. He has really supportive parents who are probably the kindest and most loving people anyone could ever wish for. Yet growing up as an only son isolated him from other experiences in life. He felt like because of his parents' status, the expectations that other people have on his parents reflected on him. Throughout his life, there's the pressure for him to be the golden boy – to put up a façade that he has to keep up in order to fit in. People put him in a box and label him with that and when the day comes that he doesn't want to be fit in that box anymore, he no longer knows what will be the alternative.

The only thing that has been constant in his life is his dog, Aristotle. It's only around his dog that he felt like he didn't have to put a mask on or pretend to be the happy go lucky guy that he is. Aristotle has been an extension of himself – one that he could not imagine his life without. For that same reason is why, as he sat there at the vet's clinic, he felt his deepest fear.

Aristotle is already 13 years old – he already surpassed the lifespan of his breed. Sebastian noticed that his dog wasn't his regular self a week ago when he took him out for a walk. Usually the dog was really enthusiastic about going out but at that time, he just let out a low whimper as they headed out.

"Mr. Andersen?" The voice of the vet took him out of his reverie.

Sebastian stood up and followed the vet inside the examining room where Aristotle was lying on the table.

"I'm afraid I have a bad news for you." The vet said as he sat down opposite to Sebastian.

While he still hasn't heard the news yet, Sebastian felt like he was sucker punched, "What's wrong with him?"

"As you already know, Aristotle is old. He's about 150 years old in dog years," The vet explained, "But that's not the main concern for him."

"Then what is it?" Sebastian asked

"The main concern is that according to the tests we've conducted for the last two weeks, we have reason to believe that he's got osteosarcoma," the vet said, "Now, if there is any good news, it's that since we found it early, the cancer is still at its early stage, with proper treatment we can beat it but... with Aristotle's age, it might be a lot more complicated as compared to other younger dogs."

"What kind of treatment are we talking about, Doc?" Sebastian asked, trying to keep himself calm.

"There are two options, we can either do chemo or full hind leg amputation," the vet answered, "but in this case, there is 85 to 90% chance that your dog would not survive the chemotherapy. As far as the amputation, there are no guarantees either. He could have 6 months or a year but the recovery period would be tough, seeing that he needs to adjust upon losing a leg and with his age, it will also be a lot harder."

Sebastian pet Aristotle's head as the dog stared back at him. As if the dog could sense how he was feeling, he got up and put his front paws on either of his shoulder and licked his face. Sebastian wasn't able to contain the tears he'd been keeping.