Chasing Neverland: A Retelling | ✔️

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

After the procedure, Camille and Dr. Grant left the room and Wendy took her time getting dressed. She was always so afraid that she would get the dreaded headache afterward, so she took extra care to move slowly. Her back felt a little uncomfortable, but she had to admit that the worst part of having the procedure done was all of the worrying about it beforehand.

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"It's okay, Wendy. I'll be here waiting for you after you're finished. I promise it won't take very long. Dr. Grant is a genius, and he is very gentle," Evelyn reassured, hugging Wendy tightly. "I've had this done almost a million times, and I can promise you that it is not as bad as you're afraid it will be," she soothed, wiping the tears from Wendy's face.

"I can't do it! I'm not as strong as you are," Wendy sobbed to her friend.

"Yes you are. Don't you ever say that you aren't. If you let your fear know how vulnerable you feel, it will take over. You need to be in control and let it know who's boss. You need to believe that you are going to win!"

Evelyn held Wendy's face tightly in her hands, forcing her to look into her eyes. "You are a strong person and capable of beating this. I never want to hear you say you're not! Promise me right now that you will be strong, Wendy."

Wendy squeezed her eyes shut, letting the tears spill over. She still could not believe that this was happening to her. What had she ever done to deserve this kind of punishment?

Life had been so simple just a few short months ago. Everything was good and as it was supposed to be. Often times she found herself praying that this was all a dream, some horrible nightmare that she would wake up from. But she was forced to face her new reality every morning when she opened her eyes. She hated seeing the tortured looks on her family's faces. They were all hurting so badly, and she felt responsible. Of course, she knew in her heart that it wasn't really her fault, but during her weaker moments she always wondered why it was her that had gotten sick.

She couldn't help but remember all of the times that she had bullied her younger brothers, or argued with her best friend. Maybe it was the time that she cheated on her math test, or when she disobeyed her father when he said no electronics for a week and took away her phone and laptop? He had forgotten that Wendy owned a tablet that was safely tucked away in her room. Even though she knew it was wrong, she had spent the better part of that week hiding out with the forbidden electronic. But that was all normal teenage stuff, right? Not that it excused her bad behavior.

Wendy looked at Evelyn through blurry eyes. Now THAT girl was tough. Evelyn had overcome so much in her short life. Her father had walked out on her and her mother when Evelyn was just a baby, and her mom had a debilitating alcohol addiction. Evelyn had gotten sick and was a patient at the children's hospital for over two years now. She spent several weeks at a time receiving treatments there, hoping to go into remission. All of the other patients had families visit often, showing their undying love and support. All of the patients, that is, except for Evelyn.

Whenever Evelyn came to the hospital for treatment, her mother would get her checked in and then leave right away. She never stayed to hold Evelyn's hand during the scary moments, or to tuck her into bed at night. She was never there when the doctors came to check Evelyn's progress, or to reassure her on days when all felt hopeless. She would just drop off her only child and then wouldn't show up again until after the treatments were over, usually several weeks later. Wendy couldn't understand how a mother could do that to her own child.