Slow Suicide

[21]

A/N: This is it.

  This is the chapter where everything will be revealed.

  Everyone, take in a deep breath and continue reading.

—

"Rainy is in the hospital."

His eyes widened; it was as if the entire world stopped. "Wh–what? Why?"

"It..." Katherine sighed. "It's a long story."

"Please, Katherine. I need to know. She–she's my everything. She's all I got, " he pleaded, his voice cracking.

Katherine stared at him, searching his eyes. Then, she nodded understandingly and gestured for him to come in the house.

"Can you help me take this?" Katherine asked him and he shakily took the large paper bag. He followed her back outside, waited for her to lock her house, before walking with her to her car.

Katherine opened the driver door and climbed in. He stood there awkwardly before she looked at him inside her car.

"You want to see her, right?"

  He nodded and sat in the passenger seat. Before she began to drive, she put the paper bag in the back seats and gave him a small smile.

  It reminded him of her.

"I'll explain everything on the way there, " Katherine murmured before glancing at his tense figure. "Hey, do you want to call anyone first to let them know where you are? It's pretty late."

He shook his head. "No, and I don't have a phone anyways."

"You could use mine?" Katherine offered.

"I meant what I said before. She's all I got, " he replied and she gave him a small smile before turning away.

For a few minutes, they stayed silent with only their thoughts. Then, she spoke up.

"Okay, let's start from the beginning, " Katherine took in a deep breath. "Rainy, as you call her, was always a nice girl. She'd never purposely hurt someone's feelings but when she did, she would apologize immediately. Because of that, people adored her.

  "She was basically friends with everyone. But not only was she nice, she was intelligent too. She did so well in all of her classes that by the end of high school, she had been accepted into all of her chosen colleges. And she started right away, " Katherine chuckled. "She was never one to waste time. Live in the moment, she'd say."

  He smiled a little at that. "Rainy told me she dropped out of college in her second year."

Katherine nodded solemnly now, clutching the steering wheel. "Yeah...she did."

"Why?" he asked reluctantly.

Katherine kept her voice steady but a tear had already escaped from her eyes. "Because she had been diagnosed with...lymphoma cancer."

And just like that, his heart shattered.

  Everything he had planned for them: gone.

All he could think about was that she, the love and light of his life, had cancer. Why her? Why did it have to be her? She was such a good person, one of the best. What did she do to deserve this?

"She can't..." he held his face in his hands, breathing heavily.

"After two years of treatment and pain, she was in remission. She–she was good as new for four heavenly years. Until it came back last week, " Katherine continued, her voice wavering.

He looked over at her with tears in his eyes. "Why, Katherine? Why?"

  "I don't really know. The doctors said something about remaining cancer cells in her but there's no actual cause for cancer recurrence, " Katherine let out a humorless chuckle. "It's just all by fate, I guess."

  "But...she can do the treatments again, right? She could get better again but for good. Right?" he questioned desperately.

  "I won't lie to you, Cig. This is the second time she has lymphoma. There's not a very good chance–"

  "No!" he cut her off. "No, she has to get better. I need her. I need Rainy. She can't just–just leave me!"

  Katherine gulped in a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Cig."

"No...only Rainy calls me that."

  "I'm so sorry, " Katherine repeated as they got lost in their own feelings of grief.

Soon after, Katherine had parked the car but he didn't even notice. All the memories were replaying in his mind. He couldn't live with the fact that soon, he wouldn't be able to make any new memories with her.

One day, cancer will beat her in the race of life and she'll be...

Gone.

Just like that.

"Hey, we're here, " Katherine tapped his shoulder but he didn't move at all.

"I can't, " he muttered as he stared blankly at the ground.

  Katherine sighed. "I know this is hard. But it's even harder for Rainy, that's why she needs you right now. Stop thinking of yourself and think of her. She's all you got, right?"

  "She's all I got, " he nodded. Slowly, he stood up and followed her into the hospital.

  Katherine then helped him walk through the halls until they were in front of her room.

  "Are you ready?"

  He wiped his eyes with his sleeve before taking in a deep breath. "Would you mind giving us some time?"

  "Alone? Sure, " Katherine smiled softly. "But remember, she needs you. More than ever now."

  "Yeah, me too."

  He waited for her to leave before closing his eyes and opening the door.