It Was Him

Ch. 5: Cat Fight

"Rachael, I'm really not in the mood today," I groaned as I turned around to see her face-to-face.

"As if I'm in the mood for desperate girls like you to be talking to my man!" Rachael huffed, stomping her foot. "You're not the only one having a bad day, you know."

I scoffed. "Me? The desperate one? You're the one fooling yourself that a guy like Seth would ever like you." Venom dripped from my every word. 

Rachael's eyes filled with tears, and some part of me, however small, regretted my harsh statement. But she had said worse things to me. She'll live.

"And for the record," I took a step closer to her, "he was the one that started to talk to me, so if I were you, I'd get my facts straight before making false accusations."

Rachael was at a loss for words. "W-well, just lay off, okay? It's not like he'd go for the likes of you, either." And with that, she turned on her heel and sashayed towards her group of "friends". The people who could actually stand to listen to her fake problems. 

The rest of the school day was a blur. Occasionally, I'd glimpse Seth staring at me, but I shrugged it off. Every now and then, I'd also catch Rachael glaring at me. She needs to get over herself. And Seth, for that matter.

As soon as the last bell rang, I packed all my books in my backpack and speed-walked to my house. I just wasn't in the mood to talk to anybody right now, and I didn't want to give anyone the chance to try and talk to me. 

"Hey, Stells," Zack greeted me as I entered the house, pulling me into a hug. "I heard about Gramps," he whispered in my ear, his voice cracking as he held back tears. My backpack clunked to the ground as I threw my arms around my brother, my own tears that I had been holding back now streaming down my face.

Zack pulled away, but still held me at arm's length. "Mom and Dad left work early to visit him, and I just got home before you did. I waited so that I could take you, if you feel up to visiting him right now?"

I took a deep, shaky breath. "Um, Kacey was going to text me later, but since Mom and Dad are there, she's probably just wondering where we are," I said. "So yeah, let's go."

*

As Zack drove, he didn't say a word, but it was obvious just by looking at him that there was a storm brewing under the surface. I didn't feel the need to speak either, so we rode in complete silence until we got to the hospital.

I faltered as we entered the hospital, shuddering. I began hyperventilating as all of my terrible memories of this place came flooding back to me. Zack stopped in his tracks, pulling me into a comforting hug. 

"Shh, it's okay...," he assured me, rocking back and forth to calm me down. Whenever I got stressed as a kid, Zack would always do this, and it worked like a charm, even today. 

We checked in and immediately went up to the room we were told Gramps was in. As Zack and I entered, all eyes were on us. 

"Stella!" Kacey jumped up to greet me, pulling me into a hug. I hugged back with all my might. 

"How is he?" I asked, pulling back from the hug and turning to look at Gramps. He was napping, his frail body taking up barely any space on the bed.

"He's doing about the same that he was," Kacey informed me. "Doctors said that there's really not much more they can do at this point since Gramps didn't want the radiation treatment." She choked back her tears. "I don't want him to die, Stella!" she sobbed. I pulled her into another hug.

"It's all going to be okay," I whispered, my voice cracking. After we pulled away, I walked to stand beside Gramp's bed to say hello. 

"Hey, Gramps," I smiled, a stray tear sliding down my face. I reached down and placed my hand on his bony one. "It's me, Stella." I stood up, wiping away the tears that had escaped my eyes. "I love you, Gramps."

Mom, Dad, Zack, and I didn't stay for much longer after that. Seeing Gramps like this was hard on all of us, but I couldn't imagine how painful it must have been for Kacey and her mom. Gramps held a special place in all our hearts, and losing him was going to leave a gaping hole in our families, one that wouldn't ever completely heal.

~

Whew. That was an emotional chapter. And sorry, I know it's significantly shorter than usual, but I wanted to make sure that I could update for you guys!

So there you have it! If you enjoyed, don't forget to leave a vote and comment, and I'll see you in the next chapter!

                                                   ~R.J. <3