False Hope

Prologue

"It's too advanced," Dr. Jance said holding a clipboard with Tami's results. She had been tired, she had been bruising for no reason, she had been scared. Now there really was a reason to be scared. Her little sister was dying, and there was nothing she could do about it. The little sister she had cared for since her parents died was losing her life, and there was absolutely nothing she could do.

How was she supposed to react? In truth, she wanted to scream and cry. She wanted to hurl the phone she was holding at Dr. Jance's face. She wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that he just wanted to get rid of Tami to make room for other patients that needed his help. But he was the best doctor in Idaho and was known for his compassion and honesty throughout the state. He wasn't wrong and he never had been.

She was fighting back tears. She had to be strong for Tami. It had only been her nineteen-year-old-self and her sixteen-year-old-sister when their parents died. Now she would be left alone to face the challenges of the world by herself with no family to turn to.

Tami was barely eighteen. She was in the prime of her life. Eighteen year old's weren't supposed to die like this. They weren't supposed to die at all. Tami had her whole life ahead of her. What about college? Having a career? Falling in love, getting married, starting a family? There was so much that Tami would miss. How was she supposed to live a life in the short time that she had had? How on earth was she supposed to talk to her sister now? How could she act like everything was alright when it really wasn't? It would be lying. How would she handle this around her sister? Was she supposed to go back to her normal routine acting like there was nothing to talk about? It would be lying. It was her little sister they were talking about. Tami was her own flesh and blood. How do you betray someone that you grew up with? How do you betray the one person you could tell anything to?

She glanced over at Tami. Her expression was blank. Yet, she knew her sister's mind was filled with a terror that no one could describe. She wanted to reach over and squeeze her shoulder and at least give her some kind of reassurance that she wasn't alone. But what good would that do? It wouldn't stop Tami from dying. If she could stop the force inside her sister's body she would. If she could kill the strange obstacle that was making her sister die she would. But she couldn't do anything about it. That was what hurt the most.

She got up from the black chair slinging her bag over her shoulder. Tami did the same gripping her hand as she did. She glanced at Dr. Jance, silently pleading for help for something to say. He offered her nothing.

"Thank you for everything," she said a little matter-of-factly. She shook his hand as the door opened and closed behind them. She turned to see that Tami had already left to go get in her small truck.

"I'm sorry there's nothing more I can do," he said releasing her hand from his grasp, "if there was anything, I would do it. Truly I would. Try to have a normal day, alright. Acknowledge the situation and accept what's happening. Talk about it. It helps. This is never easy. If it were then we wouldn't be considered human. Rather monster."

That hit her hard. Monster. In many ways, she felt like one. If she had noticed the signs earlier, they would have been able to help  Tami. If she had pushed her sister to go see the doctor at least once a month, they could have discovered it. If Tami wasn't so darn stubborn in insisting she was fine... She could've ignored the things Tami had said about her being fine, she should have realized she wasn't. It was all her fault. For sure, the monster wasn't cancer, Dr. Jance, or any other doctor. It was her.

"Goodbye, Ms. Gilbert. I really am sorry."

"Me too," she said with tears welling up in her eyes. Without another word, she spun on her heel and headed after Tami.

She found her in the truck in the passenger seat with her eyes glued to her phone. It was how Tami usually was. Electronic addicted. Many times before, she had gotten mad at Tami for spending too much time on her phone. In her opinion, high school students should've spent their time outside getting involved in work. Work that would benefit their future lives so they could have a good work ethic.

What she would give if that were the only problem Tami had. She opened the door and settled into the driver's seat. Starting the engine she felt like crying. No. She needed to be strong. It was vital. For Tami. It would be for Tami. From now on everything would be for Tami. She had to give Tami the normal life normal teenagers had. It would give Tami comfort and also her. She didn't want to think about cancer or death. It was way too much for her to handle. If Tami was happy then she was happy.

"Lily?" Tami suddenly asked when Lily pulled onto the freeway away from Boise.

"Yes," she answered afraid that her voice might crack at any moment. What would Tami ask? It scared her not knowing what would happen. But she was more scared if she knew it wouldn't be good.

From the corner of her eye, she saw Tami look at her with tear-filled eyes. Tami was about to ask her to do something for her. This got her heart rate up. What would it be? Hopefully, it was something that wasn't impossible for her.

"I need you to do me a favor," she replied her voice cracking the tiniest bit.

"You name it," she said her eyes completely focused on the road.

"Him. I need you to help me find him."