𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙮 𝙜𝙞𝙧𝙡 / 𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧

"i believe it"

After the doctor told me the worst news I thought I would ever hear, an even worse word came out of his mouth. "Cancer."

Brain cancer. I'm fifteen years old and I have brain cancer. Some life.

I told my parents I wanted to be alone after that. They protested but I wouldn't listen. I needed to process things. So with a silent nod and lots of tears, my parents slipped out of the door and left me in the room alone. 

I sat on my bed and held my head in my hands. Was I going to die? That was the thought that wouldn't go away. The doctor had said that I had stage 2 cancer. Not good, but could be worse. As if that's supposed to make everything seem better. 

And when I couldn't decide what to do next, I cried. I cried hard. Brain treatment was going to take up the next few months of my life, if not more. 

That's when the realization came. My team. Adam. How was I supposed to tell them the news that would change everything for me? 

_

Luckily, Adam listened and stayed away for the weekend. Monday was the Blake game, the game I had hoped to play in. I knew I would finally have to face him.

It was a little past 9 when I heard a soft tap on the door. Adam cleared his throat and slowly pushed open the door. In his hand were some flowers. My parents gave me small smiles before excusing themselves out of the room.

"Thought you were going to be out of here by now." Adam gave me a quick kiss on the forehead and set the flowers next to me. "Everything okay?"

I stared at the daisies in the bouquet and chewed on my lip. "Yeah."

"Well, that's good." He paused and when I didn't say anything, he continued. "We won the Blake game. 4-1. You know, the new kids were incredible. Especially Joey. Didn't know that kid could shoot so well."

I looked up and gave Adam a small smile. "I'm glad. Wish I could've been there."

"Yeah, the team really misses you. Connie and Julie talked about you every chance they got. And I did too, of course." He nudged my shoulder, playfully. I stared at the bed sheets, feeling like I wanted to cry.

I wanted to pretend everything was okay. I wanted to stop time so I would never have to tell Adam the truth. But he deserved to know. 

As if reading my mind, Adam leaned over and looked me in the eyes. "Ella what's up? You seem... off."

"I just... I have to tell you something."

Concern immediately replaced the carefree look on Adam's face. "Alright."

"Adam what I'm about to say, it's gonna change a lot of things. And if you want to walk out of here and never come back after I tell you, I'll understand." 

"What? What are you talking about?" Adam had stood up by now but was still close to my bedside.

I sucked in a deep breath. "I have brain cancer."

Adam's eyes widened "What?" He walked over to the corner of the room, beginning to pace. He ran his hands through his hair as I just watched helplessly.

"It's okay, you can leave. Adam you don't deserve to be with someone who's sick and unpredictable like me." Hot tears were streaming down my face as I watched my boyfriend fall apart. "You need someone who can go out and have fun, and isn't stuck in a hospital all the time and someone who-"

"Ella." Adam walked over and held my face in his hands. "I'm never leaving you. We're in this together now."

"Really?" I sniffed and tried to slow my breathing.