Song for this chapter- His Daughter: Molly Kate Kestner
Chapter 29:
Cirrhosis.
A disease of the liver in which scar tissues build up, prohibiting the proper functioning of the liver. Some symptoms of this can be nausea, missed periods, not too bad right? Wrong. Because Cirrhosis of the liver can lead to malnutrition, a buildup of toxins in the brain, liver cancer, and oh yeah, death.
The real kicker is that it can be passed down through genes. In other words, its hereditary.
My great grandmother died from this disease. My aunt just got diagnosed with it.
It runs in my family, mostly in the girls, and it's almost always fatal in every case I've heard.
But then again, my aunt was a frequent drinker of alcohol, so that didn't help her chances of not getting it. I have never been worried about something like this happening to me. That is, until I realized this morning that it's been three weeks since I was due for my period.
To top it all off, I threw up a few mornings ago for no apparent reason at all. I feel like shit most of the time. Now I'm worried something may be wrong with me, so I called my doctor and I have an appointment in about an hour.
As I sit at the kitchen counter, I nervously tap my ceramic mug, which has been empty for a while, against the cold marble. I jump slightly when I feel warm arms wrap around my torso.
"Morning babe. You're gonna break the mug." Niall says, yawning into my ear and taking the cup away from me.
"Sorry, I spaced out." I blink a few times because I was staring at the same coffee stain on the rim of the mug for the past half hour.
"Something on your mind?" He asks, pouring himself a glass of orange juice. I smile at his concern for me, but I don't want to worry him before I know for sure if anything is wrong or not.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sausage and eggs?" I ask, grabbing for a frying pan in our cabinet. It still feels weird calling this my home. Me and Niall have been engaged now for almost a month, but it feels like just yesterday we were standing on that bridge. I'm so in love with him.
"You know me so well." He kisses my cheek and then lazily strolls out of the kitchen and into the living room. He slumps onto the sofa and turns on some golf match. "Thank you and I love you, by the way!" He shouts and I laugh, shaking my head and cracking the eggs over the hot pan.
I hurry to finish cooking us breakfast on this lazy Saturday morning so I can make it to my appointment. When our plates are full, I carry them over to him. One thing I love about living without my parents is being able to eat places other than the dining room table.
"You're amazing, marry me?" He jokes.
"Regrettably I already am." I tease him back and he laughs.
"My turn to cook tomorrow, I promise." He gracefully burps and I swat at the air as he blows the stench into my face.
"Niall!" I whine, scrunching my nose.
"You're cute when you get annoyed with me." He smiles, looking back at the television.
"So all the time then." I mumble and he sticks a finger into my rib cage, tickling my side. "Okay, okay, I take it back! You're an absolute joy!"
He laughs at me as I try to regain my breath. I hate when people touch my sides.
"I gotta go though, I have a doctor's appointment. See you later, Ni." I stand up from the couch and begin to make my way towards the door.
He sits up and turns to look at me, "For what?"
