A Spine-Tingling Story - TDG Fanfic

The Spoon Theory

Chloe had deliberately ran over his feet when she found out what he wanted to do.

Not that he could feel it. He just hoped she hadn't broken any bones.

"When are you going to tell the others about your plan to cripple yourself?" she'd spat when she was finished. "Or are you going to fob it off on someone else?"

Ryan rolled his eyes. "One, I'm half-crippled already because of this disease
that will kill me unless I do something about it. Sue me for not wanting to die!" he defended. "Two, I don't even know if I'm gonna be allowed to have the surgery anyway. I'll tell them if I get it."

Chloe made a sound of annoyance that set Ryan's teeth on edge and pushed off, yelling back, "Fine, but don't expect any sympathy from me!"

***

Sure enough, two more days saw him back at the hospital, though with May-Li accompanying him this time. Mike had told her about Ryan's decision the afternoon they'd come back from their talk with Dr Gareth about it. Unsurprisingly, she had been rather shocked by it, vehemently voicing protestations to the point where a row had broken out between them, with May-Li arguing that they weren't doing their duty of care if they allowed such a thing to happen to a child.

Listening to their squabble from just outside the office, Ryan couldn't help but feel a bit guilty. He knew that many people would oppose his choice, but he didn't want Mike or May-Li to lose their job because of it, especially after the fiasco of several months ago and with Chloe still watching him like a hawk. She was the only one who knew what he'd done, and he suspected that his secret wasn't safe with her. He doubted she would stoop so low as to tell everyone while he was sick, but that would probably change once he was cancer free.

Eventually, May-Li had complied with his wishes when he stepped in and invoked the amputation argument, though she still said she thought he'd regret it later.

Ryan knew he would never regret not dying.

But thanks to May-Li's accidentally writing down the appointment an hour earlier than it actually was, they ended up arriving with plenty of time to spare, so they'd ended up sitting in the hospital café, quietly sipping drinks in an awkward silence.

It was then that Ryan noticed Finley Albaston sitting at a table in the corner, absently running his hand through the stubble on his head. A can of Pepsi was in front of him and he was wearing the same weary scowl as the last time Ryan had seen him. His mother was nowhere to be seen, however, which puzzled Ryan. He hadn't had much experience with good loving parents, but he was pretty sure that any mother whose child had cancer would be unwilling to leave his side for very long.

He excused himself from the table and got up to sit at Finley's table, the older boy looking up to give him a nod in greeting. Before Ryan could say a word, however, Finley got there first.

"You're wondering how I figured out what you had," the boy stated.

Ryan hadn't been wondering right then, but the thought occurred to him again as Finley mentioned it. "Yeah, how did you know?"

"The cane," Finley said. "It wasn't just that you had it, but the way you used it. Most people use it because they don't have much energy, but I saw that you use it because your legs are defective," he said bluntly, causing Ryan to frown. His legs were fine - it was his spine that carried the defect. "Both legs too, so the cancer couldn't have been in one leg, like bone or muscle cancer. If it was one of those things and it had spread from one leg to the other, you'd probably be at death's door by now, and I know you're not because you're too new here. So it had to be in your nervous system, probably the central nervous system to affect such a large area. Am I right?"