Paige
The cancer was killing me. I laid in the hospital bed as my stomach churned back and forward like the rocking of a ship caught in a storm. The chemotherapy had left my wreck of a body weak, and crippled. I had no energy to do anything. Somedays I even begged for death to come, the pain was just too much. Every time I pushed through though. I had gotten over the fact that there was ten percent of recovery for me. I had had a good life. I was able to help the charities and I had always made sure I was nice to everyone. I had a huge support system from my friends and family. I wouldn't let any of my friends see me like this, bald, skinny, my skin a weird yellow. Even though they all knew what was going on, I couldn't stand to let them see me in shambles. I laid there, curled up by the side of the bed with my eyes closed. I forced myself not to throw up, even though there was nothing in my stomach. I heard the closed door to the hospital room open and someone walk in. "Morning Paige." I heard my mother say.
She walked p to me and kissed me on the top of my head. I grunted at her. I heard her chuckle a little. "Someone's not in a good mood today." She said to me.
I grunted again. She ruffled the soft tuft of hair I had left and walked away. I heard her settle into the chair in the corner. She made conversation with me, but I didn't say anything, like usual. "Hey, you know Liza really wants to see you." My mother said.
I gave a small shake of my head. Liza was my best friend. I had known her since elementary school and we were almost like sisters we were so close. My mom fell silent and did whatever she did to pass the time. By the time noon rolled around the pain had subsided and I sat up. "She lives!" Bellowed my mom.
A small smile formed on my lips but quickly disappeared. Mom was great at trying to make me feel better, well that's what moms are for. I reached over and grabbed my phone from the side table. As usual I had like a hundred text messages and a million notifications. All my social media was blowing up, I ignored most of it. A couple of my friends had started a page supporting me. It was so sweet but I really didn't want them to do that. I had the habit of worrying about others more than myself, it was better to help others feel better than let them help me feel better. I fiddled with the tube that was blowing air into my nose, adjusting it. I went to the text messages in my phone. So many get better soon texts from people I didn't even know. I went to the only person that mattered text's. Liza had tried to start a conversation. "I have to c u man!" She texted me.
I sighed and scratched my head. My mom looked up from the book she was reading. "What's wrong?" She asked.
I looked over to her. "Should I let Liza come?" I said.
Mom slapped a hand to her forehead. "Of course! I've been trying to get you to say that for months!" She shook her head. "Now you listen?"
She scoffed and returned to her book. I called Liza's phone and bit my lip as the phone rang. It rang three times, four, five, the other line picked up and squealing came through into my ear. I pulled the phone away from my ear until the loud noises stopped and put it back to my ear. "Liza Moneralli! What do you think your doing?" I heard a man's voice come through the phone.
"Wait a second." Liza said to me.
"I'm sorry Mr. Wester but my best friend in the whole world who is in the middle of making a miraculous recovery," she said that last part loud so I cold clearly hear and I chuckled. "Is on the phone and I will talk to her."
Liza was the only person in the whole school that the teachers wouldn't dare to cross, she was intense but also as sweet as could be. She was the loud and ambiguous one and I was just the nice friend that tagged along for the fun of it. I heard some talking, too far away for me to hear then I heard Liza's voice again. "Okay, I'm outside. Dude! Why haven't you talked to me!"
Liza was obviously from Southern California. Her slang was a big clue, also the fact that whenever it got below 60 degrees she would wear a ski jacket. She wasn't the best person to live in Seattle. She moved here when she was ten, and then we met. "I'm sorry, I just haven't felt up to it." That was my excuse.
She scoffed, "You should always be up to talking to me."
I laughed. "So what's been going on at school?" I asked her.
"Well, I'll have to give you all the juicy deets when I visit you, and I will." She said firmly.
"Course."
"Good, but you should know that the hallways are littered with your face."
"What's that supposed to mean? Do I look good?"
"Fabulous. Jamie and Ethan printed out about a hundred papers saying that you needed support and to donate money to the nearest cancer center."
I groaned. "Great. That's just amazing."
"Is that sarcasm I detect?"
"Maybe."
She laughed, "Okay so I'm coming after school okay?"
"Uh,"
"I am and you have no choice about it."
"Fine."
"Good." She said firmly and shut off her phone.
"I haven't seen you smile that much in forever." Mom said.
I shook my head, but still had a grin on my face.
Mom helped me change into some sweats and I put on a beanie to cover my patchy head. As three rolled around Liza gave me the play by play on where she was. Driving, here, coming up, I see you. The door burst open revealing Liza. She ran forward and tackled me into a hug. I was pinned between the bed and Liza. I wrapped my arms around her back, feeling comfort in her embrace. She pulled away and sat down next to me. She went on a rant about who was dating who and who did what. I didn't care about that stuff, it was just good to see her again. It felt like a piece of me was missing and she had filled that hole. I never really noticed before how big of a part of me Liza was. She was my life. "So what's going on." She looked around the room. "Here?"
I shrugged my shoulders, "Nothing."
"That's boring."
I nodded, "You have no idea."
Liza laid back and tilted her head back so she was looking at my mom. "How's the book Mrs. C?"
Mom looked up. "It's really good. How is your family?"
"Ah, Brandon's fine, Mom now wants to file a law suit against Dad so she can keep us all week. But whatever, I don't care."
Liza's parents were divorced and really hated each other. Her mom was nice but strict. Her dad was more nonchalant but he was funny. I put a hand on her arm. "I'm sorry, do you want to talk about it?"
She put her head back and laughed. "This is so you."
I pulled my hands back into the 'what' gesture. "It's you, always making sure everyone is okay. Come on man! You have cancer, don't worry about me."
I rolled my eyes. Liza's cell phone dinged and she looked at it. "Ug, mom wants me home." She leaned over and whispered. "I may or may not be failing math."
I laughed and pushed her shoulder, "Go." I told her.
She jumped up and made her way to the door but turned just as she got there. "I'll be back." She said in the terminator voice. "If you die I will kill you."
I chuckled. "I'll keep that in mind."
She walked out of the door and jogged away. I laughed to myself and leaned back against the bed. I exhaled, suddenly tired. "It was good for you to see her." My mom said.
I nodded and wiped a hand down my face. I turned over in my bed and shut my eyes. My exhaustion made it quick for me to fall asleep.
I woke up and it was dark outside. Mom was asleep in her chair, snoring loudly. A nurse was fiddling with my IV. I wave of pain in my stomach made me nauseous. I held my stomach and laid still, wanting the pain to go away. I shut my eyes and wished to go to sleep. After thirty minutes of not being able to sleep I opened my eyes again. I suddenly felt light headed. Everything got blurry. I tried to focus on one thing, but it wasn't working. My vision all blurred into one color, then everything went black.
