You're Mine

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ashley

Everyone sits in complete silence, their eyes anywhere but me or my mother. She's shaking hard. Nick is behind her, offering me as much of a comforting look as he can. He's the one who brought her here.

"What is going on?" Ryan stands, wiping his hands on his pants nervously.

"I have the same question." My mom's voice shakes, finally surveying the rest of the room. She can't stop herself from looking surprised. "What are you all doing here?"

"You know what, we have..shopping stuff to do. See you in a few days." Riley throws Luke's coat at him, throwing me a smile before the rest of them follow suit, waving goodbye.  She squeezes my mothers shoulder as she goes by. 

Ryan sits back down beside me, his legs jiggling nervously. I maybe should've given him a slight warning but honestly, I wasn't sure if Nick would even get her here. 

"You better start explaining. Now." My mother is still clutching her bag, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. Nick steps beside her, squeezing her arm. 

"I called Nick and asked him to bring you here. I'm really sick Mom." I take a deep breath. "I needed you all here because I have something to tell you. I'm going to need your help telling Robin." 

"I don't understand." Tears roll down her face. "Why didn't you call? When did this-?"

She breaks into a sob and Nick puts an arm around her. 

"I have stage four cancer. I think some small part of me hoped I was going to beat it and walk in the door and tell you I'd done it. I'd save you all the pain of watching me get ill. But it's not working out that way." 

Ryan reaches for my hand and I smile at him. I haven't told him this next part yet either and I don't know how he'll react.

My mother finally moves to my bedside, taking my other hand in hers. "You are so stupid."

I laugh, a few tears of my own dribbling down onto my cheeks. "I just didn't want to hurt you."

"I'm your mom- you always call me. Always. Do you understand me?" She grips my hand harder and I nod. She smiles, wiping a few tears off my cheek. She then turns slightly and finally seems to grasp who is here beside me. "Now, what in the hell are you doing here?"

Ryan chuckles and they both let go of me for a moment, hugging each other. "It was sheer coincidence a few months ago we bumped into each other. But I've been helping out since." 

"You're a good man Ryan." Her eyes are soft. She always had a sore patch about Ryan and I breaking up, that much was clear when I mentioned I was seeing Cassian. She didn't take to him much. "So, what's going on that you want us here now?"

Nick comes and sits down near us too. I take another breath. Here's the hard part.

"Surgery didn't work. Chemo isn't doing that much. TACE isn't working." I begin and Ryan frowns, his grip on my hand loosening. "My doctor is trying one more medication. A clinical trial. But if it doesn't work...i'm not doing any more."

"What do you mean?" Ryan's voice is guttural. 

"They found a great clinical trail for my skin cancer and my liver. But it's spreading and if it doesn't work, I don't want to be in constant pain for months on end. I can't." I shake my head. "I want to see our friends and my sister. I want to travel and cook and sleep in my own bed."

"But you might not be well enough-"

"Maybe not. But I'd rather be sick out there than sick in here." I reach over, grasping my mother's hand. "I know this is hard, because it'll feel like I've barely fought since you just got here. But it's been a long five months. I'm exhausted."