Don't Let Me Go

Chapter 4

"Cowards die many times before their deaths;

The valiant never taste of death but once.

Of all the wonders that I yet have heard,

It seems to me most strange that men should fear;

Seeing that death, a necessary end,

Will come when it will come."

I hated reading aloud, but I was one of the few AP English students who actually enjoyed Shakespeare. Yeah, I groaned about going to class. But that was because it was first period and I still had that godawful headache.

Julius Caesar was pretty good. Not as good as Romeo and Juliet.. but nothing could beat that.

I didn't know how exactly the play ended yet, since I wasn't finished reading it yet. But I had a pretty good guess that it ended like most Shakespeare stories did. Meaning everyone dies. Good, cheerful literature right there.

After English class, the rest of the school day went as school days usually do. Uneventful, dull, just overall blah.

I met Axcel at my locker after the final bell for dismissal. As usual, I was exhausted. And also as usual, he was just ready to go conquer some orcs. I had no idea how he had so much energy after such a long day. I'd never know all the mysteries of Axcel. He could be a very complex person when he wanted to be.

"Wanna go grab a cup of coffee up at Starbucks? It's on me," he said with a crooked grin.

"Really?" I asked, my face lighting up a bit. "Thank god, I need one." I switched out my binders and books for the things I needed. "Maybe I should have a seizure every week, if I get free coffee out of it." I had a slight addiction to the stuff. Just slight though, I swear.

He frowned at me and I just looked at him blankly. "What? I'm kidding! Geez, can't you take my sarcasm anymore? I'd think you'd be used to it by now." He returned a disapproving stare. Hmmm. Guess not.

"Okay. Well, lets go then," I said, shouldering my pack. "Let's just get that coffee, I think it'll put us both in a better mood."

We pulled into the Starbucks parking lot and I picked out a seat while Axcel ordered our coffee. He'd been my best friend for as long as I could remember, of course he knew my favorite coffee.

He sat down, sliding me the coffee with extra vanilla creamer and keeping the mocha latte for himself. "Thank you sooo much," I said with a smile. Coffee made any day better. My calculus teacher wouldn't accept the fact that I was in the hospital practically all night as an excuse for my unfinished calc homework. "So how was your day?" I asked Axcel.

"Eh, the usual," he replied.

"Lighten up, Ax. We have coffee," I said, taking a sip of coffee, burning my tongue. Oww.

"Cheers," I said, raising my glass, "To the weekend."

"And thank god for Fridays," he added, a smile of his face. We touched coffee cups and I drank again, blowing on the liquid first.

My phone's Harry Potter ringtone blared and I took it out of my pocket, looking at the screen. Mom.

"Hold on a sec," I announced and answered the phone. "Hi mom."

I paused, listening to her. "Ughhh. Yeah fine. I'm at Starbucks. You can pick me up here. K. Bye."

I rolled my eyes and looked at Axcel. "The doctor has my results, so my mom's making me go," I complained.

"Okay..I'll come over later?" He asked.

"Yeah," I said, putting my jacket on. We lived pretty close to each other, so he walked to my house when it was nice out. And he came over pretty frequently. A red car pulled over to the side of the road in front it the Starbucks and I stood, taking my coffee with me.

Axcel stood up with me and held the door open for me as I walked out. He gave me a concerned look. "Well, good luck, Del," he said.

"Oh Axcel.." I said, giving him a small smile. "I'll be fine, don't worry about it," I insisted. "I'll text you when you can come over." He nodded and I got into the car. I waved to him a last time, giving him a reassuring smile as my mom pulled away.

I sipped my coffee as I sat in the passenger seat of my mom's car. It wasn't too far to the doctor's office, so I still hadn't finished my coffee when we got there.

Mom made me get out of the car and take a seat in the waiting room. Not my idea of a Friday night. I drank my coffee and turned to the comics section in the paper they had on the table in the waiting room. I never got tired of Garfield. My mother gave me a slightly annoyed look when I laughed out loud at one of the cartoons. There were only a couple other patients in the waiting room, which was dead silent except for my laugh. "What? It was funny!" I said indignantly.

"Delilah?" Asked the nurse, peeking her head out into the waiting room. "The doctor will see you now."

My mom stood up and I grudgingly stood as well. I'd rather be back at Starbucks. Oh well, I'd see Axcel soon enough. We were escorted into a small room and I sat on the bed covered with thin, white paper which crinkled when I sat down.

The doctor entered shortly after, carrying my paperwork. She sat down in her wheely-doctor-stool.

"Hello Delilah, Mrs. Marx," she started, sorting through her papers.

"Hi," I said, tapping my foot to a Green Day song that was stuck in my head from the bus ride earlier.

"Well, Delilah, there's no need for delay, so I'll tell you the news now." She took a deep breath. Did she seem nervous? Or was I imagining it? Axcel's over-paranoid mind was rubbing off on me. Geez, I spent too much time with that kid.

"We got your test results back and they weren't good," she said carefully, studying my face.

My mom made a kind of whimpering noise beside me and gripped onto my shoulder. "Oh?" I said, my heart giving an anxious little stutter.

"The MRI showed a tumor in your brain and after further testing, I'm afraid we found that it is malignant tumor. You have a disease called Astrocytoma Grade 4, also known as glioblastoma multiforme or GBM."

If I'd been standing up, I might've fallen. My mom buried her head in my sweater and started to cry. I wouldn't let myself cry, not in front of everyone. Besides..maybe it wasn't bad.

Maybe.