WOUNDED

12. It's bad

        Finding out that her dad had leukemia was the last strand remaining. Alex had gone on a full mode panic attack and had to be carried out by nurses. Waking up later after calming down,she initially thought she had been dreaming. This had better be a terrible nightmare.

His dad couldn't be sick,fate couldn't be more cruel. Going back to her dad's side, she'd found him sleeping. She had sat besides him and cried till her eyes were swollen. Her entire world was shuttering right before her eyes. To think that she'd felt pain before was even absurd, this was not just pain, she was literally breaking from the inside.
        
Opening her eyes, she was not surprised to find that darkness had befallen. She had slept on the bedside chair after crying for hours. Her father had slept all along and she didn't have the heart to wake him. When the nurse came to check on him, Alex had gone out to find Jenny. Still seated at the waiting area, upon seeing her, she had broken down all over again and Jenny was there to offer a shoulder.

"Everything will be alright." Jenny was trying to reassure her. After calming down, they had gotten coffee and sat together handled up sipping their drinks quietly.
        
"Why didn't he tell me, I could have been here." Her voice was hoarse from all the crying. She just didn't get why her dad could keep such big news from her. "He didn't want you to worry, I swear I wanted to tell you but he had me promise not to. He's a good man with such a heart of gold." Jenny couldn't be more correct which was adding to the guilt welling up inside. She had been so caught with stupid heartbreaks to notice that his dad was not well. It was an unforgivable mistake.
        
"He had it diagnosed pretty late and had tried keeping it from me too until I stumbled upon doctors appointments by mere luck, he's one stubborn man." Alexis couldn't argue with that, she had after all inherited her stubbornness from her dad. He was the kind of person to carry all the world's problems on his shoulders and tell others not to worry about it.

She still was in shock and couldn't fully come to terms with her father's illness. As far as she could tell,no one had any cancerous diagnosis from both sides of the family.
        
Talking to her dad, she'd learnt more of the horrific news. "I had been feeling really tired and mild pains on my joints from time to time and eventually I had gone to do some tests. I'd initially thought it was malaria or something else and wasn't expecting something as big as this. It had come as a shock and it had taken quite some time to come to terms with." Her dad,who was surprisingly very calm had explained everything. "But dad why didn't you tell me, I could have been there for you on those days."

Alex still couldn't understand why he thought that keeping the news from her would be helpful. She could get his logic of wanting to protect her but still the idea of him going through so much in silence was devastating.
       
Being diagnosed in the late stages and being wheeled for chemotherapy in quick succession had been the reason for such drastic changes and weight loss. The previous appointments had been successful but the recent one had led to him being hospitalized. Despite talking to his dad almost the entire day, he was still insisting that she go back to school and not tell the rest of the family. After begging and some more begging he'd finally given in under the condition that she'd go back to school immediately he was discharged.
      
Persuading Jenny to go home and rest, Alex had decided to spend the night at the hospital even with both of them being against the idea. She had to make up time for all the days she was not present. School had become a pain in the ass and there was no way she'd go back there with her dad in hospital.
       
Not wanting to worry his dad, she had lied to him with great effort when he'd asked about school. Alex was not proud of the person she'd become and disappointing his dad was the last thing she wanted. Watching him try to hide the pain he was in, was already enough and couldn't bare adding unnecessary problems. He was kept under medication to numb the pain which kept him mostly asleep.
       
Telling her family was the hardest and Alex had been delaying it for a while. Though her dad had agreed, she was still hesitant of their response. When he was eventually discharged after a week,looking a tiny bit better, she'd suggested staying at the house which her dad had greatly disapproved. According to him she needed to "concentrate on your studies and stop worrying about me."

Alexis with no other option had conceded since Jenny had moved in with him, but with the exception of dropping by twice a week. "I still think it's unnecessary but since I can't argue with you I'll have to agree, you're my daughter after all"
      
After having them promise five times to call if anything happened, she left for school though she had to make the highly avoided stop at home. She was so not looking forward to the foreboding conversation awaiting her.