Waiting With Death

Chapter 1:

It was a beautiful day outside, the sun was shining and the flowers were blooming. Cassedy was sitting on a porch swing, staring out at the yard. It was like a normal day, except it was never a normal day in the Dyer house.

Cassedy's mother, Rosanne, was setting up an oxygen canister for Cassedy. She had been diagnosed with terminal lung cancer at age 15, three years ago.

Most people with cancer don't make it that long, that gave her parents hope. Hope they shouldn't have. Cassi could feel it with every painful breath of air she took, she was dying. Slowing, but she was still dying.

Rosanne sat on the swing next to Cassedy, looping her arm gently around her shoulders. "How are you, baby? You feel alright?" Her mom always asked that, it was part of the worry that came from being parent to a kid with cancer. Cassi nodded, smiling. "It's nice out here," she said.

Pain stung her chest as she took a deep breath, taking in the smell of freshly mowed lawn. She winced and wrapped an arm around her stomach. Her mother frowned, her eyebrows wrinkling together in the middle. "You ok, Cass?" She nodded as Aiden ran onto the porch.

Cassi's little brother had grass stains all over his jeans and mud on his shirt. His mom sighed, "How did you manage to get so messy? You've been outside for twenty minutes." Aiden shrugged, heading for the door. The mom stood up, "Go change, maybe I'll be able to salvage the pants." He raced inside the house.

"Don't run!" She shouted after him, following him inside the house. Cassedy sat on the porch alone, rocking softly. Her lungs ached for air and she adjusted the tubes in her nose. She let out a deep breath, staring out at sky.

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Later that night, the whole family was sitting at the dinner table. Shaun, Aiden and Cassedy's dad, passed food around the table as Rosanne told a story about how work went for her that day. She had worked part time since Cassi's diagnosis.

Aiden handed Cassedy the bowl of salad and it almost slips out of her hands. She set it on the table and put a little onto her plate. Her mom looked over at her. "You ok, baby?" She nodded and gently passed the bowl onto her mother.

After dinner, Cassi curled up on the couch under a blanket with her book. Her mom sat by her feet watching TV. Shaun was sitting at the table thumbing through bills and Aiden was up in his room. As Cassi lost herself into To Kill a Mockingbird, her father let out a heavy sigh.

Cassedy looked up and saw him rest his head in his hands. She wasn't naive, she knew how much her hospital bills were costing them. She'd offered to get a job to help pay for it but her parents wouldn't have it. She needed to work on getting better they said. That's all that mattered. It didn't matter how long it'd take, just as long as she got better.

Cassedy shut her book and laid back on the couch. She suddenly felt so tired. Her eyelids dropped down. Her mother looked over and set a hand on her shoulder. "Are you tired, baby? Why don't you go lay down?" Cassedy opened her mouth to reply but no words would come out. She was so tired, she shut her eyes again. "Cass?" her mother called to her. 

Her dad looked up from the table. "Rose, what is it?" She tapped Cassedy lightly. "I can't wake Cassi."  Cassedy tried to lift her eyelids but they stayed still, blocking her view. She didn't know what was happening.

Shaun walked over, peering down at Cass. "Cassedy, baby, why don't you go lay down in your room?" Cassedy tried to move to get up but her hand only flinched for a moment. The mom grabbed the hand that had moved. "Shaun, go call the doctor." He sighed. "The girl is fine, just tired. Let her sleep it off, she'll be right as rain in the morning!"

Rosanne propped Cassedy up on her, rocking her softly. Shaun shut his eyes momentarily, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Here, let me have her. I'll move her up to her room to sleep." He pulled her away from her mother and lifted her up off the couch.

Rose grabbed the oxygen tank and wheeled behind him as he went to put her in bed. He lifted her up the stairs, watching her head on the banister. "Careful!" His wife whispered behind him. "I know what I'm doing," he said. She bit her lip and stared at Cassedy's face, her eyes were still shut.

When they situated her on her bed, the father went back downstairs. Roseanne adjusted her oxygen flow before sitting in a chair near the bed. She grabbed Cassedy's hand and held it between hers. "Please be okay, baby."

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Shaun went back downstairs to finish paying the bills. Aiden was sitting on the couch, tapping on his phone. He glanced up when his dad entered. "Hey," he said. "Where's mom and Cassi?" The little boy looked worried and his dad stopped behind the couch.

"Your sister is upstairs sleeping, I want you to let her rest. Don't disturb her, understand?" He asked. Aiden nodded, looking back down at his game. Shaun sighed and sat back down at the table, mumbling about expenses.

When Rose came downstairs a few hours later, Aiden was sitting on the couch watching tv. She sighed and nudged him. "Come on, buddy. Bedtime." He groaned, "Mom! Come on, let me finish this show." She shook her head, tired. "No, you'll never get up in the morning. Now go get ready for bed, I'll be up in a minute."

Aiden hurried off upstairs, rolling his eyes. Once he was out of hearing-range, Rosanne turned to Shaun. "She's not responding, Shaun. I think she needs help." He took off his glasses and set them on the table. "We can't afford that, Rose. You know that! I mean, we're drowning here in financial debt to pay off her doctor bills as it  is. Just let her sleep it off, she'll get better."

Roseanne  shook her head. "No, she needs a doctor. I'm taking her to the hospital tomorrow, we just have to."Shaun pinched the bridge of his nose again, sighing. "Rose-" She stopped him, "Don't even start."

Roseanne hurried back up the stairs to Cassedy's room, sitting on the edge of the bed. "It'll be ok, honey. You'll be fine." She whispered to Cassi as a tear trickled down her cheek. "You'll be fine."