The Celebrity Swap

chapter three ♥

 OKAY ASH IS ON THE SIDE -------->

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chapter three (maya's pov) :

        "I have cancer."

        I didn't know three words could have such a big effect on me. I looked between their gazes to see if this was some kind of sick joke. They stared at me expecting me to say something, anything. When I realized this wasn't some kind of joke I couldn't control my emotions. The world was just slipping. How? My sister's money was what was keeping us from collapsing. I had lost one person to cancer and I don't think I can be strong for another one.

        "Not again.." I gulped loudly as my words came out in a blur, "Please this can't happen again." When my mom realized I was talking about our dad, she started tearing up. My sister's confident aura dropped and I could feel her take deep breaths. You see, my dad had passed away when I was about six. Lung cancer had tooken his life. He used to be the rock of our family. His confident aura was what kept us going everyday. His job was what kept us on the line everyday. His laugh was what kept us smiling everyday. We really thought he would always be a part of our world, but all good things have to come to an end. The pain hit hard months later when we found out he was diagnosed with stage three lung cancer. By then, it was spreading like wildfire to other parts of his limp body.  Maya stop.

        I looked back into Payton's exhausted green eyes and I wiped the salty wetness sliding down my cheeks. Her posture slackened as she looked at me and her face looked pale. My mom was gulping slowly while looking at me with pity. That's it. I felt like the tension was going to break me eventually. I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't take the sympathetic looks. I rushed up the wooden staircase ignoring the shouts of my mother only to be met by the cold aura of my room. My closet was completely empty. It wasn't ordered in its normal messy manner. Everything was neat and it disgusted me. My suitcases were packed neatly by the door. What happened? This morning it looked like a bear had gone on a rampage.

        "Maya you're leaving. " my mother suddenly spoke behind me almost like she knew what I was thinking, but it's not like I was hiding it. I collapsed to the floor with my head in my hands. First, I was burdened with the fact that my sister leaving and now I was leaving. I was leaving? Forever?

        "Leaving?" I whispered quietly to no one in particular. My mom put her warm hand on my shoulder and I flinched. Suprisingly, she backed up and gave me my space.

        "I'm leaving?" I whispered harshly. This time it was my mom's turn to flinch.

        "You're leaving Maya."

        "Where?"

        "You're going to take Payton's spot in the acting industry. "

        Payton's spot? But she was a natural. I was a clumsy mess.

        "Does anyone else know?"

        "Only the director. Our secret is safe with him."

        "When do I leave?"

        "Next week."

        I rolled up in a ball on my bed. I didn't have to look at her to know she was pitying me again. After giving me a long look she shut my bedroom door and preceded downstairs. I guess I fell asleep because the world around me became a blurry mess.

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        "Read Goldilocks." Payton whispered excitedly.

        "No, no make your own story!" I jumped up and down.

        "No read Goldilocks!" Payton replied angrily.

        "Girls calm down." my dad chucked a little while he stroked his non-existent beard and coughed a little, "I'm making my own story for tonight." I grinned evilly at my sister and she huffed while glaring back. My dad waited for our "eye war" to end and then he began with another cough.

        "Far, far away in a kingdom there lived two girls. One was named Humpty and the other was Dumpty. " he smiled a little. This made Payton and I erupt with laughter.

        "I call being Humpty!" Payton blurted. I just rolled my eyes and waited for my dad to continue.

        "They ruled the kingdom of Funlandia along with their parents. Now the parents had been hiding a big secret from Humpty and Dumpty. One that was probably hard for them to understand at that time. " he cleared his throat and his posture seemed to slacken, "He had to leave one day because of a terrible incident."

        "But you won't leave ever right dad?" I whispered. He ignored me and stared at the wall. Suddenly, he coughed. Payton and I looked at each other confused that he was ignoring us.

        "Dad?" we both got up frantically. His coughing got more violent and his body shook. He looked up at us with tired eyes and tried to smile, but it looked like he was forcing it. His breathing became more shallow by the minute. I watched in terror at my dad's shaking form and then I motioned for Payton to call 911. Payton yanked the phone of it's cord and the scared look in her eyes never left.

        "Hello this is 911 what may we..."

        '"My daddy's having a hard time breathing, please save him." she yelled and right then my mom barged in. She surveyed the scene with a hard look in her eyes, but when she looked at my dad her eyes went wide. She bent down and put her ear to my dad's unconscious form. She listened for something, I'm not exactly sure what, but I could tell it was important because her eyes never left his chest. A tear escaped her eyes and she hugged my dad with so much force.  I didn't understand at that time. I didn't understand that cancer had stopped my dad's life, but now I felt like I should've. All I remember after was the sobs escaping my mother's body and the heartbroken look in Payton's eyes. All I remember was poor little me sitting in the corner with a cold hard stare fixated at his body.

All good things have to come to an end.

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A/N: SO THAT WAS SAD TO WRITE. TRUST ME THIS STORY WILL GET ROMANCY OR WHATEVER YOU LIKE TO CALL IT. THIS IS REALLY ONLY THE BEGINNING AND I'M HOPING THAT I CAN UPDATE THIS FASTER. AND I'M SORRY THAT THESE CHAPTERS ARE SO SHORT.

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