Butterswap

2

Father had been unable to find the thief, despite Larry's helpful assistance. So after nearly two weeks of fretting about my mum's jewelry and father's inability to figure who the thief was, father gave up and went back to focus solely on his work.

Father was a lawyer. He was highly respected for his win to lose case ratio. Having nearly represented all the famous celebrities, his name was a to-go for any rich person fighting a lawsuit.

However, if only he was half as good a father as he was a lawyer.

The shocking pain in my chest exploded again and I squeezed my eyes shut, willing it to go away. I'd been having pains in the chest for as long as I could remember. But the thought of it developing into something more severe had never crossed my mind.

I sat in the clinic, awaiting my test results. The clinic was situated far from the city, near the countryside. Since I didn't want my parents to know about my recent visits to the clinic for all sorts of tests, I had chosen to visit one I'd never visited before. It wasn't very small, but it was of course not as big and luxurious as the private hospitals I usually visited.

"Holland Evans, Doctor Ned will see you now to explain the results of your tests." A tall female nurse said to me.

I knocked lightly and walked into the room, I was terrified of what I was going to have to hear.

"Hello, Miss Evans." Doctor Ned said softly, a small smile graced his features.

I replied with a customary nod, fear knotted my stomach I could barely breathe.

"Before I explain the results to you, how are you feeling today?"

"Not so good, I have not been sleeping too well lately, I have been feeling discomfort all over my body, especially my back and chest," I said cautiously.

"Hm, those really are some of the symptoms..." He muttered.

I licked my dry lips as I waited for the bomb to drop.

"The scans are not good. Do you remember the transesophageal echocardiogram test I did? The one where I had to insert a probe down your throat?"

I winced. The thought of it already had me quivering. I nodded.

"Holland, you have thoracic aortic aneurysm."

"Huh?"

"An aortic aneurysm is a weakened area in the wall of one of the largest blood vessels in your heart. It is so large that I'm afraid even surgery might not be able to work. I can only give you medication to subside the pain and symptoms you feel. And also some medication to lower your blood pressure. At maximum, according to your results and the estimated speed the aneurysm is growing, you only have two to three more months to live. I understand that this is a big blow to you but I would like to advise you to still remain positive, because sometimes..."

I tuned the rest out.

I was dying? Dying? A word so foreign plagued my mind. Why me? I was only eighteen, I had a future, I had so many more things I wanted to accomplish. This was only the beginning of adulthood. I choked on my saliva, resulting in another one of my infamous coughing fits.

"...go out, have fun, live. Don't be afraid, be brave. Go rock climb, go and abseil, go skydiving. Do all these when you still can. Don't regret life." He said patting my arm gently, like a father would. Like a father should.

I nodded, stumbling out of the room, almost tripping over a little toddler sitting outside. His mother was too busy on the phone to bother about the child. I glared at her.