A Little Bit Of Everything (EARLIER CALLED YOUNG, WILD AND FREE)

22. // This Can't Be Happening.//

From "Apology" by William Carlos Williams:

"The beauty of
the terrible faces
of our nonentities
stirs me to it."

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I woke up to find me sleeping in Sarah's lap, and Tiana was gone. She must be brushing or something. I didn't think further, and went back to sleep, my leg on top of Sarah's head.

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I woke up again about an hour later, and realised I had fallen down from the couch.

A crash coming from some part of the house had awakened me. I slowly walked towards it, a baseball bat in my hand.

I couldn't make out where the noise came from, untill.... There it was again. It came from the kitchen. I crept there, and opened the door...the bat slipped out of my hand, and hit the ground with a huge clank.

''Sarah! Oh my god, Sarah!'' I shrieked.

Tiana was sprawled in a corner, blood dripping from her mouth. Her clothes were ruffled and hair messy.

She was clutching a glass of water, and a few pills lay scattered on the floor.

I brushed to her side, and tried to wake her up. She looked at me and whispered,
''Hospital....Now.''

Then she fainted.

By now, Sarah had come running down, and when she saw what had happened, she almost fainted too.

''What happened?'' she asked me.

''I'll tell you later, just go start the car, and I'll get her out.''

Sarah just nodded, her face contorted with worry. She sprinted to the front door, and banged it open. She sped out the door.

I picked Tiana up in my arms, and walked to the front door.

I got outside, and lay her down on the back seat, and quickly sat down next to Sarah. She started driving immediately.

As we drove as fast as possible, I called the hospital and told them that we were on our way.

I know we could have called the ambulance, but it was impossible to think in such a hurry. I did what came to me first. The feeling that we would be to late was clawing at my mind.

I looked back at Tiana. Her fragile body lay there in the back of the car, motionless. I had no idea about what was happening.

We reached the hospital, and some male nurses were already standing out to help us.

They rushed towards our car, and picked Tiana up from the back. They entered the hospital, and put her on a stretcher. ''You should have called an ambulance, she would have gotten here much faster that way.'' One of them said, as they rushed towards the emergency room.

We followed them till the entrance, and then, they stopped us , preventing us from entering. We stood back, and the doors closed,and the red light on top of them came on, signalling that the room was occupied.

I walked towards the chairs in the waiting room, and sat down with a thump. Sarah sat down beside me, and she was silent as well.

We had no idea what to do, say, or think. I knew something was wrong with Tiana, she was very thin when she came... Too thin. and I suspected something was off that time too.

But... I didn't know it was this serious. I suddenly remembered the pills that were in her hand.

I removed them from my pocket, and looked at them, hoping to get a clue, but no luck. They were out of the container, so they had no name on.

I was just sitting there, when the reality of what was actually happening hit me like a ton of bricks.

Tiana was here, in this hospital, god knows what was wrong with her. I didn't know what I would do if I lost her. I was so used to her being there, that the fact that something happened to her, that she could go away, terrified me.

I'd be destroyed if I lost her. Sarah and her practically add the happiness to my life. They make me ....me.

I know I sound selfish and all, and I'm
only talking about me.... But I am what I am today because of them.

Tiana is the most normal of all of us.

She was always the calmer one, the friend who kept the two of us in control, who prevented us from getting into too much trouble.

She is just great....and if she goes...

"Stop it Gab! What are you doing! Tiana's gonna be fine", a little voice said in my head. Of course she will be fine. She had to. For me... For Sarah. For us...

Look at me. Here I am, I have no idea what's wrong with Tiana, and I'm already thinking of her going away.

I looked around and notice Sarah wasn't sitting with me anymore. She had walked to the window and was looking out of it, deep in thought. I knew perfectly what she was thinking about...

The same things were swimming around in both of our minds now.

I walked up to her, and gave her a big hug. She held on to me hard, she needed this hug as much as I did.

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I heard the door open, and I saw Tiana's mom Rachel, rush in. When she saw us, she ran to us and held my hand.

She was sobbing. I helped her sit down, and patted her back as she cried silently. I felt really sorry for her, but at the same time, I started worrying a little more than I already was.

Looking at the way Rachel was crying, the situation seemed much more serious than we initially thought it was.

I was going to confront her about the truth, when I realised that now was not the time.
She was in a really bad state. Suddenly, the doctor entered the room. All three of us stood up, and I suddenly found my hands shivering uncontrollably. This was it...

'Tiana has lung cancer, as you already know Ms Davies', she said, and continued to speak to her in a low voice, but I ignored whatever she was saying.

I couldn't hear, I couldn't breathe, and I couldn't think. Tiana had  cancer? It's like my whole world came tumbling down, this was worse that my worst fears.

I couldn't help it as a tear slipped down my cheeks.
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Totally unexpected I know and I'm sorry.
And TIANA78, I LOVE YOU TO THE MOON AND BACK!
This was a difficult chapter for me to write too...😁
And I'm sorry if I offended anyone by writing this chapter just remember... No hard feelings!

Toodles,
D.