How To Save A Life

Chapter Four: Something So Important

Matt had another handful of tests, leaving Owen and I alone yet again.

He didn't pick around the topic, instead he dove right in.

"So, you and Matt."

I huffed obnoxiously. "Nothing is going on between us."

"HA! You're a bad liar. You're both good looking, fun, in the same hospital, and you both feel the same way towards each other. Put a ring on it." Owen sighed, as if it was all so obvious.

"First of all, thanks. But second, Matt doesn't even like me." I said, feeling a sudden loss about having to say those words.

"Whatever you say, Mrs.Fielder."

Glaring at Owen, I thought about everything. Not to be conceited, but it made sense. Guys can be obvious, and it can be so easy to tell if they like you. Matt showed some signs, but maybe he was just being nice.

A minute into my thinking, Owen spoke up again. "So are you thinking about Matt's abs or his face?"

I grabbed the pillow near me and threw it at him, which he dodged with ease. "Leukemia can't take away my moves." He smiled, gloating about dodging a throw from a girl who's never played softball.

Chatting away for awhile, I accidentally admitted to liking Matt.

"Matt's great, isn't he?" Owen sipped on a bottle of water, casually asking this question.

"Yeah, I mean he's nothing like the guys I've liked before him." I clamped my hand over my mouth and looked at Owen wide eyed.

He just smiled and shook his head.

"Are you not surprised? It seemed so obvious to you, at least that's what you said." I suddenly felt very nervous that Owen was going to tell Matt.

"I mean YES, it was obvious. But admitting it out loud is a whole different case." He was excited, but for some reason switched his entire approach quickly. "Are you sure you want to do this? I mean, you'll probably be out of the hospital soon. Then you might not see each other for awhile, and long distance never works. Plus, we are all still really young. No need to rush things!"

"Owen, calm down. We live about twenty minutes away from each other, that's not long distance. I will be out of the hospital soon, but so will he, right? It's just tests."

Owen nodded quickly, then changed the subject. Looking back, I should've known something was up. Owen was trying to hide something from me, but I know now that it was for my own good. He couldn't be the one to tell me something so important. More on that later.

Hours later, I was in my room when Matt texted me asking me to meet him in his room.

On arrival, I noticed a small, blonde girl aggressively coloring on a sheet of paper.

"Kaylen, I would like you to meet my little sister."

The blonde girl didn't look up, and it didn't take a genius to know that they were related, even without Matt telling me. She had straight blonde hair, but what I noticed was her eyes. They didn't look like Matt's from where I was standing, they looked brown or dark green.

She looked up and asked, "What's your favorite color?"

I was wrong, the girl's eyes were a vibrant green. Just like her older brother's.

"Hmm, I would have to say either orange or purple."

"Okay, but if you had to pick just one, what color?" She questioned in all seriousness.

"Then I would have to say purple."

She smiled, stood up from her chair, and went to Matt's bedside. The girl put her hand to her cheek and whispered something into Matt's ear.

She returned to her seat, and I awkwardly stood there watching.

Matt looked at her, smiled, and replied, "Me too."

He motioned for me to sit on a chair next to him, which I took quickly. The standing had worn me out.

"My name is Violet. I'm four."

I smiled for real, noticing something. "Well then your favorite color must be purple too."

She beamed, and Matt interrupted. "My favorite color's red."

"No one cares, Matt." I said sarcastically, which got a laugh out of Violet.

"Thanks for the backup, Vi. You're a great sister."

"Thank you." She smiled, not understanding the sarcasm.

"So, is Matt your boyfriend?"

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The day after that, my track and field coach and a few teammates came by. I hadn't been thinking too much about track in the last few weeks, but it was a pleasant surprise.

"You'll be ready for next season right?" Lilly asked, a redhead who was on my 4x100 meter team. "We can't win state without you!"

"Don't worry about it, I will be ready to go for next year. I might be a bit out of shape, but I will hit the gym when I'm out of here." I smiled at my teammates, who all wore our team's warm ups.

The previous year I had been recruited to a Washington State Junior Olympic team, and these were my new teammates. They were all really good, but I was better. I swear that I'm not bragging, but it was just a natural thing for me. I was just born a runner. These kids trained so hard to become super fast, but I never really had to do that. I still trained, but my talent was already there before I started to train. So when I got asthma (I mean, I didn't, but when the doctors thought it was asthma and not a tumor), I had to lay back a bit, but I never lost a race. My 4x100 team won state last year, and I won the 200 meter dash for my age division. It was safe to say that this tumor was a pretty big deal. But I'm not going to lie, when you do the same sport for a long time, sometimes you want a break. I got my break, although I wish I hadn't now.

"Even if you need a break next season, we'd love to have you coach with me." Coach Becker spoke up, his loud voice quieter in this small room.

"What?" I asked, totally caught off guard. He had pushed me pretty hard over the last year, and I expected him to be tougher on me, even with my tumor.

"We want you to be in the best possible shape, so if you aren't at 100%, you can help coach the younger kids with me."

Thinking about it, I realized how great that sounded. I would get some time off, but I would still be around the sport that I loved.

"Deal." I smiled, becoming excited about getting out of the hospital, even though it meant leaving Matt and Owen.

Little did I know that a few days later I would be wishing I had never meant them.

Not if it meant going through what I had never prepared to go through.

The news that I never expected to come...

was coming.