Twin Flame

Lily

      Waiting for the news felt like eternity. I was almost sure I would did in the waiting room before I even said "Hi" to the doctor. The smell of alcohol and disinfectant still burns my nose. I can still hear the echoes of all the nurses bustling around and the weary patients trying to have casual conversations. It was deafening. It was like they were all trying to escape the same reality I was.

      My mother was going on and on about some brochure as my dad just nodded, probably pretending to listen. The waiting room T.V. had episodes of "The Andy Griffin Show" playing. Barney was in another one of his rants asking Andy if he was really his best friend. I always thought he was silly or even a little fruity.

      Leo, my twin brother, was holding my hand. I would occasionally feel his worried gaze. I'm sure even then he was more worried than I. For me, this was just confirming something  I was already sure of. I could just feel it.

                                                                   "Lilianna Ricci."

     A nurse in a pair of hideous pink scrubs called my name from an open door. Suddenly all eyes were on me. I think it was the first time I had felt nervous that entire day. Hesitantly, my family stood up and headed toward the pink nurse.

           "Lily? Are you ready?" Leo's concerned voice rant through my ears. He was still waiting for me to stand.

           "Hmmm. Yeah, I'm ready." My mumbled reply bellowed.

     Hand in hand, we both walked to join the nurse waiting with our parents. She smiled brightly at all of us. An obvious mask as her eyes held deep pity within them.

         " If you will, please follow me. Dr. Williams will be in waiting. He will then answer any questions and or concerns you may have." She chirped.

     As if we were all afraid to speak or to even breathe, we all just nodded. Following the nurse through turns and curves, dodging other patients and nurses, we finally reached the room. There was a big brown door with a silver plaque labeled "Dr. B.J. Williams; M. D. " I couldn't help but  wonder what the B.J. stood for.

     Around his door was few posters. One was on proper hand washing, the other an inspirational poster. It held a big eyed kitty hanging in a tree saying "Hang in there!" I thought it to be very cheesy. I rolled my eyes and Leo laughed under his breath. Finally it felt as though some of the tension had been relieved.

     The pink nurse knocked on the door. "Dr. Williams." She started to say as she slowly opened the large brown door.  As if opening it slowly were for dramatic affect.  "Lilianna Ricci and her parents are here sir."

                                              "Brandon James?" I wondered blankly.

            "Yes! Thank you Nurse Alex." His voice echoed deep within the halls where we still stood. "Please, come on in. We have much to discuss."

     Nurse Alex nodded her head good-bye as she moved aside to let us in. One after the other we all shuffled into the office. It was much bigger than I had pictured.

      There were pictures set up all over of what appeared to be the doctor and possibly previous patients. The plaques he placed on the wall shinned, clearly his pride and joys. A small bowl of  Lifesaver mints sat on a wooden  table circled with a couch and a chair. His office gave an odd welcoming feeling, not exactly how one would picture the office of a doctor.

                                                                   " Bobby Joe?

     There was a large maple wood desk placed perfectly in front of a window. Behind the desk sat a burly looking man. He had a solemn look on his face. Still, he smiled brightly, his brown eyes piercing mine.

                                                               "Brandon James?"

     He looked a lot younger than I had imagined.

    "Lilianna, why don't you all come in and take a seat." He gestured to the couch and table. Everyone sat down still holding their breaths.

                                                                 "Bartholomew Jr.?"

     He solemnly glanced from us to a folder with my name and back again. It was clear he was just as nervous as the rest of us. The air was thick.

       "We have the results of your labs. Now, when you came in because you weren't feeling good, we took a few test to figure out why. After one of the test we had noticed that you had an elevated white blood cell count.  Typically, this means a person has some sort of an infection. Therefore, you were administrated a round of antibiotics in hope to bring the count back to normal." He paused for just a moment before he continued. "Two weeks later we took some more test only  to see there has been no change in both your condition and the count."

     He was just telling us stuff we already knew. I couldn't help but feel anxious. I wanted nothing more than for him to just spit it out already. He then took a weary breath in as if the next words he was about to say was going to be the hardest thing he has ever had to say in his life. Come to think of it, it might have been.

          "The results were the sent and reviewed by a pediatric hematologist-oncologist. I'm afraid it was returned with some bad news." He spoke calmly as my mom started to cry.

       " I'm very sorry to tell you this Lilianna, but you have acute lymphocytic leukemia. It's a cancer of the blood." he stopped pausing for a moment as if to let us take it all in. I felt numb. My mom's cries turned into sobs as my dad stifled his cries.

     The doctor began apologizing whilst continuing to explain the murderous disease and talk of killer treatments. Leo's hand tightened and loosened around mine. He was glancing back and forth between Dr. Williams and I. His face looked as though HIS whole world had ended. Honestly the look  alone made me more upset than the news itself. I hated to see him in pain. While looking at Leo, for the first time since I started feeling sick, I cried.