Kitten

Chapter 43: Hope

Who's ready for a James & Lily moment 🥰🥺

Lily

Hot tears streamed down my cheek as I frowned at the daisy covered grass by the porch of my family home.

All I wanted was for all my family to accept Alexander. They all did, all but my brother. I wasn't expecting him to like Alexander straight away, but he was so rude to him. Alexander had been nothing but a gentleman to him.

I felt a presence behind me and a gentle yet strong hand placed itself on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry for leaving you there Alex".

"It's me princess".

My lips curved up into a small smile as my dad sat down beside me with his hand still resting on my arm comfortingly.

"Sorry" I mumbled out before staring back at the peaceful front garden that held so many memories.

"You my sweetheart have nothing to be sorry for".

We both fell silent as we took in the beauty of the garden. Mum and Dad spent so many days out here planting the most magnificent of flowers.

"You know, when you were a little girl I used to find you sitting here talking to the sky about all your dreams and wishes. It was very sweet. I loved sitting behind the door listening to you ramble on about what you wanted in life. You had a long list Princess".

My dad had lived on this earth for countless years, yet his memory was beyond anything I had ever seen. He could remember the smallest of things that happened when I was a baby.

"Hopes and dreams? Funny how that all panned out. They're a bunch of rubbish, false hope in a world of fakery".

I paid no attention to my dad as he sighed heavily.

"Honey, I once thought the same. How could a man like myself have a dreams and hopes of life of peace and happiness. But that was until I met your mother. She changed my life. She was and still is my hope. And you and Ethan are the blessings in my life. You have suffered tremendously Princess, but call it a father's instinct, but I believe Alexander is your hope. He brought you out of the darkness and has brought you nothing but happiness".

I shook my head in disbelief and glanced over at my dad, but he was staring out at the garden with a sad and forlorn expression.

"He does. Dad, I love him".

Dad's eyes lit up and slowly turned his attention to me.

"Princess, as long as you're happy, then I am".

"I know you and mum have accepted him, but why hasn't Ethan. I understand he's probably weary of him after everything, but he was so rude to him".

Dad grabbed my hand and placed it into his.

"Princess, you know I'm a very protective man when it comes to my family".

"Don't I know it".

He let out a breathy laugh and nodded.

"I'm fiercely protective over all of you, but as for you and your mum I'm probably too overprotective. Ethan I trust more"-

"Are you trying to say that I can't protect myself? Mum too? She'd beat your ass if she heard you say that!".

Dad's face suddenly paled and shuddered in fear.

"No God no! I'm not saying that. Let's forget I implied that. Your mother low-key scares me and she'd definitely beat my ass if she heard this conversation. But no, it's just that she's the love of my life and you're always going to be my little girl. I have raised Ethan to be protective over his family and unfortunately that's just how he is. I don't think he's going out of his way to be mean, it's just that your heart was broken by a man we all trusted and now a new guy has come into your life. He's just as nervous as I am. I can't live with seeing you hurt again".

I guess he has a point. Ethan has always been overprotective over me. Guess that's what you get having a super protective dad and older brother.

"Ethan was wrong for the way he acted and I will talk to him, but I just wanted to check on you and explain the reason as to Ethan's reaction. We all love you and only want you to be happy princess".

"Thanks Dad".

"Now let's go. We need to tell you about your mother's, cancer".

His infectious smile had disappeared and now a broken man sat before me. I knew mum would take it hard, but I had completely disregarded my dad. The love he had for mum was one of those romances you'd only find in books. Anyone with eyes could see how much it was affecting him.

"Dad, mum will make it. She's a fighter and will kick cancer's ass".

Dad nodded with a small smile on his lips as he stood up.

"She certainly will. Now come, your mum has made you favourite, lemon drizzle cake".

Following my dad back into the warm house, I followed the zingy lemon scent and walked back into the lounge.

My eyes instantly fell to Alexander who had now stood up from his spot on the sofa and walked over to me with a face full of concern.

"Baby, you alright?" he whispered whilst he stroked my cheeks softly.

"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?".

Alexander nodded softly and continued stroking my face in admiration.

"Now that we are all back we need to inform you on your mother's condition".

The room turned silent as we focused on the horrible situation that nobody wanted to reflect upon.

Alexander grabbed my hand and pulled me down with him onto the sofa.

Mum's eyes were now staring down at the floor with a blank expression as Dad stood up to explain to us of the severity.

"Since I found out, your mum and I have been to frequent appointments and she's had many tests. She also had lots of appointments before she told me. The results came back. A tumour has been found in one of her breasts, a large tumour. It is very aggressive and has spread to her lymph nodes in her armpit".

Tears pricked at my eyes as my eyes connected with my mum's own glistening eyes.

"So what? Have you discussed treatment?" Ethan blurted out with a hint of fear in his voice.

Dad looked at mum as if he was waiting for her permission to carry on.

"We've looked at the best and most efficient forms of treatment and Isabella has chosen the route she wants to go down".

Dad took a very deep breath as he stroked the back of mum's head.

"Because the tumour is very large and aggressive, she has been advised to start chemotherapy in order to shrink the size of the tumour and then have a lumpectomy in which surgeons will attempt to remove the tumour from the breast".

There was so much pain in his voice. He was always a goof when it came to mum. If she accidentally hurt herself or bumped into something, Dad would always tell her to lie down whilst he bandaged her up. But now that he was faced with a serious illness he was truly scared of losing her.

"It's been a rocky few months, but I'm confident with the right treatment and have faith in the nurses and doctors. We all need to look up and keep on going. I'm scared, but I know it will all be okay with you by my side" mum muttered with a reassuring smile on her face instantly brightening up the tense room.

Dad lent down and kissed mum delicately on the head and as he pulled away mum glanced up at him with a face full of love and hope.

Feeling Alexander's grip loosen on my hand, I turned to him wondering why but stopped as I noticed he was staring up at mum and dad with a conflicted expression.

"Hey, everything okay?" I whispered into his ear.

Alexander turned back to face me with the same conflicted expression.

"I'm fine".