Sick Little Games 2 [The Sequel]

This One's Malignant [3]

April 25th, 2016
Every word that comes out of his mouth is like a jab in my heart. This one is malignant. This tumor is malignant. Dr. Ruiz explains to Jack and I that Bella's new bump on her paw is cancerous, unlike the benign tumor she has on her left leg. He tells us that he's going to do a full body scan to make sure there is nothing growing inside of her as well. "Are we doing something wrong?" I can't help but ask.

"Of course not, Ms. Allbourne." He shakes his head. "Bella probably has a family history of cancer, making her more susceptible to it."

"Okay." I nod. 

Dr. Ruiz takes Bella with him to a different room to do her full body scan. When the door closes behind them, I'm left alone in the vet's office with Jack. He's sitting in the chair next to me, and wraps his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him. I lay my head on my chest, and do everything I can to keep myself from crying. He rubs my arm and tells me, "It's not our fault, Mads."

"I just wish there's something we could do." A tear rolls down my face.

"Hey," He pulls away and looks at me. "We don't know anything yet. Yes, we know she has one cancerous tumor, but he said it could be easily removed because we found it so early. But we don't know about what's happening inside of her yet. And if something bad is happening, there's still something we can do."

"Yeah." I say. "You're right. It just sucks."

His dark brown eyes look deep into mine, before leaning in and pressing his lips against mine. He kisses me slow before pulling away just a little bit and setting his forehead on mine, "She's going to be okay."

"Okay."

After what feels like forever, my little ball of fur is back in the room again. She runs up to me and jumps on my lap and I hug her tight, looking up at Dr. Ruiz. He's not smiling. This can't be good. He leans up against the counter, looking at us before sighing. "Do you want the good or bad news first?"

I don't say anything, so Jack answers for me, "Bad."

"She has three tumors inside of her." He says slowly. When Jack and I stay silent, he moves on to the good news. "But, I can remove all of them with surgery."

"Well, that's good." Jack says. Dr. Ruiz looks at me, "Are you okay, Maddy?"

"Not exactly." I say. 

"I understand." He says, "Our pets are our children, it's okay to be upset. Devastated, even. But just remember what I said, I can remove them all. Here, take this chart, it will explain all of the surgeries and recovery in detail."

He hands Jack the clipboard, and pets Bella's head. "Do you guys have any questions for me?"

"Not right now, thank you." Jack says.

I shake my head no and Dr. Ruiz leaves the room. I stare down at my dog and feel Jack's hand leave my thigh as he begins to flip through the chart that the vet gave us. I just keep petting her. I'm unbelievably upset, and hearing Jack sigh from next to me doesn't help. I look over at him, and his bushy brows are furrowed. He runs a hand through his hair, before looking over at me. His expression changes and he rubs my arm, "It's going to be okay, Maddy. Look, she can get them all removed." 

That's when I start crying. In the vet's office. Awesome. Bella looks up at me, confused and starts licking my face, and Jack pulls me in for another hug. He keeps telling me its going to be okay and rubbing my back. "But will it be okay, Jack?" 

"Have I ever lied to you?" 

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April 28th, 2016 
"Wow." Jack says, looking up from the bill in his hand. I look over at him, sitting across from me at the kitchen table. He has on his glasses and a hoodie. His hair is messy, considering he's been in bed all day. 

"What?"

"Over $200 for Bella's visit on Monday." He says, handing me the piece of paper.  I adjust my glasses and look closely: $217.86 

"How are we going to pay for this and the surgery?" I ask. He looks up at me and shrugs, "We'll figure it out."

"Jack, we don't have $5,000 just laying around." I say, dropping the bill on the counter. 

"We'll pull it from our savings." He tells me. I sigh, knowing we have no other choice. "It's going to be okay, Maddy."

"I know it will." I say, looking through the rest of this months bills, "It's just a shitty situation."

I feel him staring at me, so I look up. He smiles and asks me, "What will make you feel better?" 

"Ice cream." I tell him. He drops all of the mail that was in his hands and stands up. He walks to the fridge and pulls out a tub of chocolate ice cream and two bowls. "You want whipped cream?"

"Do you even know me?" I ask, sarcastically.

"Dumb question." He laughs, attacking the ice cream with the whipped topping. He sets my bowl down in front of me, and tells me to open my mouth. I do so and he sprays some whipped cream in it and hands me the can. He opens his mouth and I reach up and begin to spray some in his, but then purposely get it all over his face. "Maddy!" He laughs, pulling away and wiping his face off. 

"It made me feel better!"

He smiles, "Then do it again."