Summer of Love & Sorrow (Completed)

Chapter Thirteen

"Are you okay, Mr. Linwenski?" Jack turned to a still crying Mr. Linwenski.
"I will be okay. She is just upset." He sniffled. "I should have told her sooner."
Jack shook his head. "No, you done the right thing. You done it so she wouldn't have even more worry on top of the end of senior year. I get it."
"Thank you, Jack. I am going home. If you find her, let me know." Mr. Linwenski walked off.
                               •
I ran straight to the hospital. I was so mad. I walked through the automatic doors going straight to her office. How dare she keep this from me? Making dad keep this from me.
When a nurse yelled at me if she could help, I kept walking. She was right on my tail telling me I couldn't be back here. I wasn't stopping until I found her.
I stopped when I saw her. She was smiling talking to a nurse. How dare she?
"It's your fault!" I started stomping towards her.
She mouthed something to the nurse. When the nurse walked off, mom straightened her shoulders. "It's okay nurse."
I was standing right in front of her. "Why?"
"Opal, this can wait until we get home." She gritted through teeth.
"NO! We are doing it here, right now! He would have told me! I could have been there!" I had never been this angry. Tears streaming down my face.
She grabbed my arm, pulling me into her office. "Are you done?"
I crossed my arms waiting for an answer. She sighed, shutting her door. "Sit down."
She rounded her desk taking a seat. I wasn't budging. "Sit down Opal."
Her tone felt like my heart did, broken. I sat down. "I wanted to tell you. Even have you there. I told your dad you wouldn't like it."
I still had my arms crossed. "Then why?"
"He wanted to protect you. It was the last month of senior year. He wanted you happy. He knew you would only want to help take care of him instead of being a teenager and finishing school like a teen should." Mom sat back in her chair sighing with relief. It was like the weight was lifted off her shoulders from revealing the truth she had been hiding for months, well a month.
I leaned forward placing my head in my hands. "How much worse is it?"
I heard her swallow. "It is at the end of stage four."
I sat there looking at my feet. Every emotion running through my body. I finally made my feet move and ran out.
I heard mom running after me. I pushed even harder to get out. I heard her yell my name before the doors closed.
Just like my crying, the skies had opened up. Pouring rain down on the earth. I ran as fast as I could. My heart aching and pumping fast at the same time.