It Was You

Chapter 39

I gasped as I jolted awake in an unfamiliar room. Where was I and how in the hell did I get here? I put my hand over my aching head and groaned. "Cass?" A tired sounding voice beside me asked. I jumped a bit and looked over. The room—that I now recognized as a hospital room—was dark, but I could make out Ben's brown leather jacket draped over the man himself.

"Hey, baby," he said a bit more awake, "how are you feeling?" I shook my head trying to remember what had happened. "I...I don't know," I told him. "I feel odd. What happened?" He stood up from the chair he was in and sat on the bed next to me. "You got yourself a bit worked up. Told off our professor, then threw up on his shoes and passed out."

I vaguely remember that. "The doctors think it might have been stress," he continued. "They're doing some tests just to be sure. Actually, your parents are talking with them right now. Also...don't be mad...but I told them. I told your parents about your past with Fassbender and how you've been trying to contact the Dean about it. They're furious. Not at you! Of course not at you."

Oh, God. This was so embarrassing. My parents don't need to know I hoed around and with my teacher of all people! "Fuck," I breathed out. "I guess they had to find out at some point, didn't they? Ugh, this is embarrassing." I put my hands over my face, but Ben slowly took them away.

"Hey," he said, his face close to mine, "it's going to be okay. Besides, Fassbender is the one who should be embarrassed. There's video of him yelling at you and you throwing up on his shoes that's going viral right now." He started to laugh, but then saw the look of horror on my face. I don't want anyone to see that!

"Of course, everyone who's seen it is on your side," he quickly told me. "There's nothing but love and support for you out there. It's because of that video that he's being suspended, pending an investigation. I mean, he put a student in the hospital for Christ's sakes."

He smoothed his hand down my hair and kissed my head. "It took everything not to knock that fucker out for the way he spoke to you. No one treats my girl like that. No one." He finally kissed my lips, but pulled away as the door to the room started to open.

My parents and a doctor walked in. "Oh, sweetie," my mom said in relief as she quickly came over to me. Ben got up to make room for Dad to sit next to me. "We were so worried, kiddo," Dad said. "That fucker is going to pay, mark my words. Thinking he can talk to a kid like that? Are you kidding me? And the way he used you! Oh, don't even get me started on that!"

Mom put her hand over his and said, "We won't because we aren't going to talk about that right now. She needs to rest, Jeffery." Dad took a deep breath to calm himself while Mom said, "I wish you would have told us what that man was doing. We could have helped you do something about it."

I couldn't help the tears that welled up in my eyes. I've been keeping all of this in for months and now that it's finally out, I felt like I could let my feelings about it go. "I wish I had, too," I cried. "I'm so sorry, I made a big mistake." She shushed me and hugged me tightly. "Baby," she cooed, "I made mistakes, too. Your dad has made mistakes, Ben has made mistakes. We've all made mistakes, baby."

Ben came over and put his hand on my leg. "Love, you of all people know I've made mistakes," he chuckled. "Like I've been saying, it's all going to be okay." The doctor, who had been standing there this whole time, cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, but I do have the blood results."

"I thought you said it was just stress," I told him. He sighed as he said, "I said I think it might be stress. However, the blood results say otherwise." Dad stood up as I sat up a little bit. "Well, what is it?" Mom asked.

"Well," the doctor said, "since you told me about her history with cancer, I decided to test for it and...and I am so sorry." Mom put her hand over mouth, dad had to sit back down and Ben looked like was going to keel over. I, however...started to laugh. Everyone was looking at me like I was insane!

"Cass," Ben gasped with tears in his eyes. However, I just couldn't stop! "This is normal," the doctor told everyone, "especially when the patient has been in recession. I'll give you a few minutes to discuss, then I'll be back with some options."

After he left, my laughing started to subside. Actually, I started to feel tears roll down my cheeks, but I thought it was from laughing so hard. As it turns out, I was crying. Mom and Dad didn't say anything, they just wrapped their arms around me, their faces in disbelief.

Ben looked like he didn't know what to do. He tried to sit, but couldn't seem to do so. However, it looked like he wouldn't be able to stand for long, either. Finally, Dad opened his arm up to him and said, "Come here, kid." Ben made his way over and sat down next to Dad on the bed.

We were all there, crying and in complete shock that this was even happening again. I couldn't think in that moment, couldn't process my emotions. If could, I would have told everyone to stop crying because that isn't what I wanted. I wish I had said that. I wish I could have formed words and thought correctly, but it was impossible in that moment.

The doctor came back in a few minutes later and started talking, but I didn't listen. I know what I have to do for treatments. I know what the side effects are, what I can and cannot eat or drink. Mom and Dad were listening like they've never heard this part before. Maybe because it's been so long since they heard it, they needed a refresher.

But I know what's going to happen...and I am dreading every second of it.