Chapter 11:
Liam's POV-
I knew I had hurt her. I could see it in her face. But it was for the best. There was no reason for her to suffer with me. Tears streamed down my face as I ran out to my car. I couldn't even see through all the tears. There was no way I could drive, so I sent Niall a text to come pick me up. There wasn't anything I could do besides lag my head against the steering wheel and cried. I cried for Erin, I cried for me, I cried for my family and my boys. Everything was crashing down. I saw the manila envelope sitting in the seat next to me, the one that changed everything. I made myself dry up my tears for a minute to read the paper inside. I felt a tear slip out as I pulled the paper out. The tears were coming steady again. I didn't think I could ever cry this much. I could feel my like slippin away as I looked at the last line. It read "Diagnosis: leukemia."
Niall's POV-
I showed up at the hospital 5 minutes after getting the text from Liam. Good thing I was in town. It didn't take me but about a minute to find his car in the parking lot. I knew it like the back of my hand. The window was rolled down, and Liam was inside gently sobbing. I put my hand on his shoulder. "Liam?" He looked up at me. I could tell he had been crying for a long time. He was holding a piece of paper that looked very official. I didn't know what to make of it all. "What's that?" I asked, pointing to the paper. "Nothing," he said hastily, and flipped it over. "Liam. Let me see it." He just sat there. He wouldn't even look at me. "Liam, look at me," I said, putting my hand on his shoulder. Slowly he lifted his head up. "Fine. But you have to promise me something. You can't tell anybody about this, especially not the other boys. I have to tell them, and I will, when I'm ready." I hesitated. This must be pretty serious. The others would want to know. But I pushed that aside and said, "Sure, Liam. Okay." He reluctantly handed me the piece of paper. It was thick and official looking. I flipped it over. Most of the page was covered in big medical words that I didn't understand. But I could read the very bottom line. And it said "Diagnosis: leukemia." I felt my heart shudder to a stop.
