The IV League [EDITING]

Chapter 16

To state the obvious: everybody dies. It can happen at the time of birth, ninety years later, or some time in the middle, but one thing is certain. Death is inevitable. That's why, the easiest way to get over that haunting fact is to make peace with it. And frankly speaking, it's not that hard. It is far easier to accept one's own death than someone near and dear. Because, no matter how many times it happens, death of a loved one is not a feeling anyone can get used to. The occupants of River View Hospital and Rehabilitation Centre were all to familiar with this feeling, but it was not something they were used to. Each loss to IV League hit just as hard as the last. And this time, it was no different.

Cassandra Mahoney passed away in her sleep, at 0239 hours, on the 26th of June, 2016. At least that's what her death certificate said. Morgan wasn't there when it happened— she found out the next morning. With the way Sarah was acting, she instantly knew something bad had happened. No matter how much Sarah tried to beat around the bush, Morgan put two and two together.

She didn't cry. She didn't laugh. She didn't say anything. She just shrugged and looked out of the window. She didn't feel any emotions. She felt empty. Cassandra was someone she cared about, but she didn't react to her death in the way she was expected to. The others were worried about her. Carter tried to talk to her about it, but she brushed him off. Joey offered to watch a movie with her, but she wasn't interested. Vivian bought her ice cream, but she didn't touch it. Finally, it was decided that the best person to talk to her would be her therapist.

"How have you been holding up, Morgan?"

Morgan ignored the question and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep. Dr. Dev sighed, but she tried again.

"There's a memorial service tomorrow evening. Will you be attending?"

Still no response.

"Morgan, you should talk about how you're feeling. It's not healthy to keep everything bottled up."

Just silence.

"You lost someone close to you. It's very normal to feel sad about it."

"But don't you get it?" Morgan opened her eyes and sat up. "That's just it. I don't feel sad. I don't feel grief stricken or hurt. I don't feel anything."

"And that is normal as well. You haven't yet adjusted to the fact that you will never see her-"

"You're wrong." Morgan cut her off. "I know she's dead. I know she's gone forever. I know she's never going to come back. I've accepted it. I've moved on. Just because I'm not crying or a complete emotional wreck, doesn't mean I'm in denial. Everyone deals with death in their own way. So just let me be."

Dr. Dev put her clipboard down and leaned closer to her patient. "Morgan, may I ask you a question?"

"You're going to do it anyway, so why ask for permission?"

Dr. Dev ignored Morgan's question and continued, "Have you ever lost someone close to you before?"

"How is it relevant?"

"You'll see. Just tell me."

Morgan sighed. "My best friend died in a car accident a couple of years ago."

"Do you mind sharing the details with me?"

"Her name was Tennessee; we used to call her Ness. She was my neighbour. We practically grew up together. We went to the same elementary school, attended the same ballet classes, hell, we were even on the same Little League baseball team. We were inseparable.

"Her dad had died before she was born, and her mother was abusive, so she went to live with her aunt in France. I had to go through middle school without her. But we were always in touch, either through email or Facebook. We'd talk over the phone at least once a week, and videochat once month. She'd visit her mother every summer, so we'd meet then.