Fake Smiles

#19: Treatment?

Lily was cuddling up to Grayson's chest when she got a phone call. She got her phone and saw it was the hospital. Confused, she answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Miss Lily Lovegood?" They asked.

"Yes?" She replied, uncertain.

"We have news for you" they started. "We'd like you to come as soon as possible. What we've got fir you might be life changing. We can speak more in person. Can you come in today?"

"Sure!" She replied. "I'll be there in an hour". They ended the call and she checked the time: 10am. She shook Grayson awake.

"Gray" she whispered. He didn't move. "Gray!" She said louder. Still not waking up. "Grayson!" He woke up and stared at her. "I need to go to the hospital". He jumped up in panic.

"Why?!"

"I got a phone call asking me to go in so they can speak to me. They said they've got news for me and it'd be best if we spoke in person. I told them I'd be there in an hour".

"Wait! Good or bad news?"

"Dunno! They didn't say". She crawled out of bed. "Come on! We need to get ready! You don't want to be late!"

They got ready and left the apartment; Grayson sent Ethan a text saying where they are.

They arrived at the hospital sooner than they expected. They walked to the desk and they were directed to a waiting room. They waited until her name was called.

"Lily Lovegood?"

They followed the doctor into the room. They sat down in the chairs and braced themselves for what was to be said. They were holding each others hands for comfort.

"It's good news! We've found away to get rid of your tumor. There's an operation that can help you. You will have to stay in hospital for three weeks after the operation, but you will be cancer free!"

"How much will it cost?" She asked.

"That's the bad news" the doctors stated. "It costs a lot. Around $500,000".

"$500,000?!" Lily exclaimed. "I can't do the operation. It's too much! I'll find another way to beat cancer. I can't pay that!"

"I'll pay it!" Grayson said.

"What?! No! It's too much!"

"I don't care!" He argued. "You've been through enough! You've helped me in so many ways possible! This might be you're only chance! I'll pay the cost. I love you! And you deserve to have something good happen in your life!"

"I already have! It's you! You are the best thing that's happened to me, I can't let you pay that much money!" She resisted.

"Tough! I am! I want to do this! If you love me the way I love you, you'd let me pay it". He looked at her with pleading eyes.

"No! I won't let you pay! You've done enough for me! I can't allow you to pay for the treatment! It's too much! Thank you for offering, though". She turned to the doctor. "Thank you, but we won't have the treatment".

The doctor nodded and led them out. They drove home in silence. They arrived at the apartment and Lily sat on the couch. She stared at the wall as she thought.

Ethan and Grayson were filming a video for their YouTube channel. They were filming for 2 hours while Lily made them dinner. They all ate at the table and Grayson updated Ethan about the hospital appointment.

"Treatment?!" Ethan exclaimed. "That's great news! I can't believe you didn't tell me straight away! This deserves to be celebrated!"

"No" Lily said. "Sorry to rain on your parade, but... I've declined the treatment. I don't want it". He was about to ask why, but she answered before he spoke. "It costs too much".

"I did offer to pay, but she won't let me" Grayson admitted.

"It costs too much! I couldn't let you pay for that! $500,000 is way too much! It's not fair that you spend your money on me. It seems wrong" she explained.

"But I offered" he argued.

"Wait!" Ethan interrupted. "$500,000?!" Lily nodded. "Why does it cost so much?! That's insane! Who can afford to pay that without asking someone for help?!" She shrugged her shoulders as she ate her meal. She placed her dish in the sink as she walked into Grayson's room. She sighed as she fell on his bed.

Ethan and Grayson turned to face each other in sync. "We should pay!" They whispered to each other. They smiled. "Jinx" they said together. "Double Jinx!" They sighed.

"We should surprise her for her birthday" Ethan suggested. "If we start saving now, we might be able to afford it. We could ask mom for help. She adores Lily, she would gladly help! I'm confident we will be able to pay the bill".

"I hope it works" Grayson said doubtfully.

"It will!" Ethan reassured. "Look, we've got 3 weeks to get $500,000 and be able to hide it from her. If she found out what we're doing, she'd stop us. We need to keep it a secret".

"Okay," Grayson said. "I'll speak to mom and see what she can do". He thanked his brother before going onto the balcony to call his mom. The phone rang four times before she answered.

"Hi Gray!" Her voice came through the phone. "What's wrong?"

"Lily got a phone call this morning" he started. "She was told to go to the hospital for an appointment. We found out they've got a treatment that could cure her cancer".

"That's great!"

"It's  $500,000".

"Oh, that's a bit expensive".

"Yeah. I offered to pay, but she wouldn't let me. She turned down the treatment because of the price! Ethan and I were planning to surprise her for her birthday. We're going to pay for the treatment, but I don't think we can do it alone. I know it's asking too much of you, but-"

"I'll help!" She cut him off. "We'll all chip in and help you pay for the treatment. I'll ask everyone else if they could help, and then I'll transfer the money to your bank account. Look after her, I don't want to see her frown".

"I will! I love you!"

"Love you too! Bye!"

"Bye!"