Ghosts of The Past

Chapter Nine: Truth

His knee bounces up and down with nervousness as he waits for the doctor to walk in with his test results. He had been put through multiple tests and scans. He had been in the hospital since noon the previous day. And now, at almost seven at night, the doctor walks in with his group of interns, carrying Alex's chart in his hands.
"We started out yesterday with an elevated I.D.H. as our only clue." the doctor begins, teaching Alex as well as the interns. He places an x-ray of his brain on the board, turning the light on.
"And then we discovered your enlarged lymph nodes and the suspicious mole on your back. Meanwhile, this MRI, with contrast showed a met on your right temporal lobe, and the biopsy revealed dividing cells." he says, pointing at the scan.
"That coupled with further staging tests led to our final diagnosis of metastatic melanoma with mets to the liver, skin and brain." he finishes.
"Stuart, what's the prognosis?" the doctor asks one of the interns.
"With chemo and radiation, uh, a few months. At best." the young girl answers. Norma reaches over and grabs Alex's hand. Her touch calms his nerves but he is still a it frazzled.
"What's the survival rate?" Alex asks with concern. The interns all look at each other with sadness.
"There are support groups and-"
"Please. Just tell me." Alex pleads. The doctor looks at him hesitantly before quietly answering.
"Survival rate's 5%."

Their car pulls into his driveway on a cold, Friday afternoon. The leaves had just begun to fall from the trees, decorating his entire front lawn in colorful leaves. Before Dylan and Emma can even reach the door, Alex is there, opening it for them.
"Hey." Dylan says, hugging him quickly before stepping inside. Emma hugs him next, taking the time to rub his back. She could tell he has been very fragile recently and she was worried about him.
"Thank you guys for coming on such short notice." he says, closing the door and helping Emma with her bags.
"Of course. Sorry we are late. Katie through a bit of a fit when we dropped her off at my dad's." Emma says, looking around the house.
"Wow. That's an elaborate painting." she says, staring up at it. Alex glances up and nods, walking to the guest room down the hall.
"Yeah. It was an impulse buy. I wish I hadn't paid so much for it." he mumbles, setting their bags down next to the bed.
"You seem to be doing a lot of things that aren't like you lately." Dylan says, glancing over at Alex warily.
"Yeah. I..." he trails off, knowing it is a good time to tell them but feeling afraid.
"Tell them, Alex." Norma whispers.
"Are you guys hungry?" he asks, chickening out.
"Not hungry enough to eat one of those frozen meals." Dylan says with a smirk.
"How did you know I-"
"Norma never stopped talking about it. She used to complain about how she wanted to cook for you but you were too damn stubborn." he says with a laugh.
"You were." Norma says, grabbing his hand.
"Was not." he says to both of them.
"Maybe we shouldn't talk about Norma so much." Emma says, glancing over at Dylan before looking down at Alex's hand which is half closed again as if he is holding something. Alex notices her stare and lets go of Norma's hand, shoving his hand in his front pocket.
"I actually ordered a pizza. Hope you guys don't mind having that." he says, walking to the kitchen.
"Sounds good. Haven't had pizza in a while." Dylan says with a smile. Norma sits down beside Alex and Emma sits across from them. Dylan moves to sit next to Alex where Norma is.
"No!" he shouts, shoving Dylan roughly, making him fall to the ground. He looks at Alex with surprise and confusion.
"Uh oh." Norma says, staring at Dylan and Emma's frightened expressions.
"I...the chair is broken." he lies smoothly. Dylan nods and stands up, slowly walking to the seat beside Emma. He pulls it out and glances at Alex before slowly sitting down.
They grab pizza from the box and put the slices on their plates. Emma and Dylan watch Alex cautiously as they eat while Alex stares down at his pizza.
"Alex what's going on with you?" Emma asks. Dylan glances over at her with worry before looking at Alex who is watching her with surprise as he bends over his pizza.
"Nothing." he says a little too quickly. He straightens up and wipes his mouth with his napkin.
"I'm fine." he says a little more believably.
"It's just...you have been...saying things and doing things-"
"I'm fine." he says, his voice cracking and sounding a little too high pitched. He smiles as he thinks of what they will be like once he has passed away from the sickness that ails him.
"You guys are great parents." he says, catching them off guard.
"You're going to make great grandparents. I can see you guys in fifty years with all of your grandchildren running around you." he says with a smile. Dylan and Emma glance at each other with worry before looking back at him.
"God, I love pizza." he mumbles, taking a large bite.
"He's lost it." Emma whispers to Dylan who nods, still staring at Alex.
"I have a theory." Dylan whispers, glancing at Emma. She nods and they both turn to Alex who is staring at his pizza. Dylan grabs a napkin and holds it out.
"Alex, could you pass this to Norma?" he asks.
"Sure." Alex says, taking it from him. As soon as he grabs the paper he looks up at Dylan with a mix of surprise and fear. He sets the napkin down in his lap, staring down at it. He finally gains the courage to speak and looks up at them again.
"I'm sick." he says, gauging their reactions.
"With the flu? How sick?" Emma asks. Alex looks down at the napkin again, picking at the corners.
"It started when I started having hallucinations. Tactile, visual, and auditory hallucinations." he begins.
"You saw Norma." Dylan says quietly.
"I see Norma." he replies, glancing over at Norma who reaches over and strokes his cheek lovingly.
"Can she hear you?" Dylan asks. Alex nods.
"Can she hear us?" Dylan asks, his eyes filling with tears.
"Yes." Alex whispers.
"Can she...can she ever forgive me?" Dylan whispers, his voice cracking.
"For what?" Alex asks with confusion.
"I couldn't...I couldn't save her. If I had been there I could've...I think it's my fault." Dylan tells them, the news shocking Emma the most. She never knew how much guilt he carried on a daily basis. Alex stands up from his chair and quickly walks around to pull Dylan in for a hug.
"She doesn't blame you for any of it." Alex tells Dylan. Norma appears beside Alex, wrapping her arms around Dylan.
"She loves you so much." Alex says, letting the boy cry into his shoulder. Emma quickly joins their hug, each of them holding on to each other for comfort. They finally pull away and Dylan chuckles, wiping away his tears.
"Sorry to steal your thunder." he says to Alex.
"It's alright." Alex says, going back to his seat.
"Have you gone to the doctor?" Emma asks, getting them back on the topic.
"Yeah." he mumbles.
"And?" Dylan asks.
"Stage 5 metastatic melanoma with mets that have spread to my brain, liver, and skin. It...it's a five percent survival rate." he says, ripping away his napkin. He hears Emma gasp and he finally looks up at their pained expressions.
"I'm...I..." Emma mumbles, not knowing what to say.
"It's fine. You don't have to say anything. I mean what do you say to someone who...who's gonna..."
"You tell them they have a choice." Norma says. He looks over at her with tears in his eyes.
"Is that Norma? Did she say something?" Dylan asks.
"She said I have a choice." Alex says, repeating her words.
"She said I can either run and hide from it or I can face it." Alex says, grabbing her hand.
"We will stay with you." Emma says, wiping away her tears.
"What?" Alex asks.
"You need to be surrounded by people who love you. Because this is going to be the toughest fight of your life and no one should have to do it alone." she says strongly.
"Even though a five percent chance is bad...it's really bad.." Emma says, grabbing Dylan's hand.
"Screw the odds." Dylan says.
"Emma fought her way through cancer. You can too. Because you have us. So you have to face it and fight."
"I can make an appointment with one of my doctors. I'll pull some strings and get you the best doctors in the world-"
"I don't even know if I want treatment." he says, stopping them.
"Alex." Norma says with disapproval.
"What?" Dylan asks with surprise.
"I know too much. I've done my research, I know how violent surgery is. They cut into my brain. They're gonna slice open my abdomen and pull my organs out, and for what?" he asks. Before they can answer, he continues.
"Surgery fails all the time. And even if they do everything right, I have a 5% chance of survival. Why would I put myself through hell, run poison through my veins, irradiate my brain, if it's not gonna work anyway?" he asks.
"Because of us. Because we are your family. And you have to fight because we can't lose another person. Katie can't lose her papa. She only has two grandparents as it is. She can't lose another family member." Emma says.
"I cant lose another family member." Dylan adds.
"You're all I have left of her." Dylan whispers.
"She loved you so much. And she died and you're all that's left." he says, becoming upset.
"Do you remember how you felt when your mother had taken her own life?" Norma asks, making him turn to look at her.
"Remember how it made you feel like you weren't enough to save her? You can't kill yourself, Alex. Because you will make them feel how you felt. You will make Katie feel like she wasn't enough." she tells him.
"What is she saying?" Emma asks.
"She is reminding me of how I felt when my mother killed herself." Alex tells them.
"So you'll do treatment then?" Dylan asks. Alex pauses, a sad look on his face.
"My life is nothing without Norma. These past five years have been hell for me. Torture. I love you and your entire family so much. But I can't...I don't..."
"Why did you tell us, then?" Dylan asks, standing up with anger.
"If you don't want our help, and you're not gonna do anything about it, why did you tell us?" he shouts. Alex looks up at him sadly but he rushes out of the kitchen to his room, slamming the door shut.