And Then Death Held Out His Hand

Confinement

The sun is up way before I am, my sleeping routine that of a typical teenager. One with cancer.
Some days I'm able to forget that I have a deadly disease, then there's the days with out visitors, when the hospital food tastes a little bit blander, the stark white walls more depressing.
I feel so confined in this small, white room. No matter how I toss and turn, I can't sleep. Hours slowly tick by with the help of the tv (barely any channels) and magazines Chris brought. The celebrity gossip and day time reruns does nothing to stop the jittery feeling. I want to go running, to feel my feet pound against the board walk, to lose myself in the rhythmic breathing patterns.

Like that will happen though.

I'm about ready to fling off the sheets and climb unsteadily to my feet when a very welcome figure fills the door frame.

My breath catches at the sight of him, my heart beating so fast the nurses will probably hear the monitor go off.
Jacob.

His face breaks into a grin at the sight of my new hair style. I can't help but smile too, shaking off the memory of my long hair cascading down my back in a sing waterfall.

"Hey."
"What are you doing here, did something happen too Echo?" I immediately try and calculate how long she has left.
"Shhh, no she's fine."

He gives a grin and pretends too be hurt, "I came to see you."
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It feels great to be out of the hospital room, even if it's in a wheel chair. I feel like I'm more normal, not so much like an dying kid. I hear Jacobs laugh as he pretends to disobey the cautious nurses and do wheelies down the hall.

I try not to think of Echo's scream of laughter as her big brother pushes her around.

We slow as we reach the movie room. Jacob sits opposite me and begins to talk. And just like that I forget. Everything. Cancer, death, Echo.
Only once before have I dated someone. Chris begged me for weeks to double date with her and her new boyfriend. I spent days mulling over the pros and cons of going, or whether I should just play it safe and stay home reading.
It took a while, but I plucked up enough courage to ask the one boy I sort of liked. Emphasis on the sort of.
It was disastrous. For two hours I sat with him, through dinner and an incredibly long movie. Chris was a natural, flirty but entirely calm. Me, I couldn't say a sentence without stuttering.
The second he put his arm across my shoulders, I excused myself and hid out in the bathroom.

With Jacob, it's the complete opposite. I don't have to think, all my shyness disappears. If it weren't for cancer, I would be over the moon. But then again, I met him because of cancer.
The movie room is empty and I'm glad for being alone. With Jacob.
"What planet are you on?"
His voice cuts sharply into my thoughts, his hand waving in front of my face.
"Nothing, just thinking."
I feel great, sure I'm dying of cancer, but at the moment, I feel no pain.
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After that day, I look forward too every second day, when Jacob comes to visit.
The routines the same, but each time it gets better and better. I feel stronger too.
He and Nurse Powell lift me gently into a wheelchair, refusing to let me walk on my own two feet. Then for the next hour, the cancer inside me disappears.

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Sorry for all the mistakes, this is a really bad chapter (and really short). I don't really edit (or even reread) so that would be why. Hopefully next chapter will be better. By the way, the foster parents are Sarah and Alex.