I can't hold it. Tears are streaming down my face. I pinch myself, hoping this is all just a nightmare, but instead my skin turns red. I can exactly remember what the doctor told my little sister.
"Grace, I'm gonna explain you what's wrong with your body. You've got ALL, also known as Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. This is a type of cancer, that starts from white blood cells called lymphocytes in the bone marrow. Those lymphocytes are not done growing, causing symptoms usually occur within a few weeks. Those cells are now in your blood and we need to fight to get it out, do you understand me Grace? We're going to send little soldiers into your blood, so they can kill the sickness." Grace nods, she seems extremely calm. "Good." the doctor smiles. "We need you here for a few weeks Grace, other wise thing will end bad and we don't want that." She nods again. To be honest, she's acting more like an adult than I am. She holds my hand and tells me to calm down, that everything will be okay. The weird thing is, I believe her.
The doctor stands up and takes us to Grace's new "room". The room has all the colors of the rainbow and looks really nice. Good job on that, hospital. I see a desk, an hospital bed, a couch and a table. It looks like a little home.
"Avery, will you maybe grab some things at home for me?" I hear Grace ask me. I look up and nod. "What do you want, love?" I ask her while giving her a little smile. "Clothes, toothbrush and all that stuff, my teddy bear and a picture of mom and dad, please." I stand up from the couch and grab my bag. "I'll be back in an hour sweetie."
When I close the door and walk into the elevator, I bump in to someone. "Oh sorry babe, I didn't see you there." I hear a guy say. I look up and my jaw drops. "Uhm, no.. that was totally my fault." This can't be true. Is this really him? "No it wasn't. Close your mouth dear, you'll catch flies." I turn red and close my mouth. "I'm Avery, big fan." I stutter. "Avery, beautiful name. What are you doing here?" Ross asks. "I just heard that my little sister has ALL..." And as I finish my sentence, I start crying again. Ross pulls me into a hug and I can feel his warm and strong arms around me. "I need to catch the bus. I need to get her some stuff." I tell Ross, when he lets go of me. "That's okay Ave, can I call you that?" I nod. "Well, okay Ave, I'll walk with you."
He pushes the elevator button and when we're at the ground floor, we walk out of the hospital. "So, what were you doing there?' I ask him. "I was visiting some sick kids, it's so nice to see their happy faces when I visit them." He says, smiling at me. "That's sweet." "It's the least I can do." And with that, I see my bus drive away. "Oh crap...." I yell. "It's okay, I'll drive you." Ross says, grabbing my arm. "Where do you live?"
