Salient Secret

Chapter 25

Ahhh Saturdays, I decide not to get out of bed until breakfast comes, I'm feeling really good today and I don't know why. I stay in bed and watch FRIENDS, eventually breakfast comes, and so does Doctor Mitchell. 

"Good morning Avery."

"Morning Doctor Mitchell, is everything okay?" I ask knowing I only see her on days we do the treatment.

"Yes, I just wanted to tell you that the results came back today from Thursday's scan, and I just wanted you to know that the immunotherapy is working, your cancer stopped growing."

"How does that help me, it's still there?" 

"Yes it is, but now there is a 40% chance we can remove it."

"I've been told it's too big to remove."

"Yes well, since it has stopped growing, we can focus on making it smaller by changing your medicine a bit, and since it is only in your left lung, there's a good chance we can remove it." I don't know what to feel, I won't let myself feel excited because there is a high chance it won't work, and since I've already made my peace with dying I am just going to stick to my post death pack. 

"Oh." That's all I manage to say. 

"I'll give you room to inform your family." She leaves the yellow envelope next to the breakfast tray and leaves with a smile on her face. 

I pick up my phone and the first person I want to tell is Maya, but then I remember that she's screwing my brother and has been lying to me for months, so I call my mom, I tell her everything the doctor said and she has the same unsure reaction as me. 

"It's best we don't get our hopes up," I say to her,"But would you please tell dad and Chloe."

"Of course honey."

"Thank you, bye."

"Bye sweetie." With that she hangs up and I eat cornflakes for breakfast. 

I get dressed, nothing fancy, just sweatpants and a hoodie. I then decide to make Chloe's videos, she has more than anyone else because she is the youngest therefore has more milestones to reach. I didn't cry for hers because there's a chance I might get to live, these videos are just 'in case.' I find myself looking at the yellow envelope the doctor left and it's just a scan of my lungs, I slip it under my bag so that Kai doesn't see it when he comes.

When lunch comes around I'm not hungry, so I decide to kill time by straightening my hair. The drip in my hand keeps moving around which is making me squirm, so this is taking a lot longer than usual. Of course Kai comes around when I've only done half of my hair.

"Ave?" he says closing  the door and not seeing me in the room.

"In the bathroom," I say loudly.

"Can I come in?" It's not like I can make him wait in the room for another hour while I try to do my hair. 

"If you must," I sigh in defeat. When he sees me he starts laughing of course.

"What's happening here?" he asks.

"I thought I'd straighten my hair to kill time before you come but the needle in the hand is making this very difficult." He surprises me by taking the hair straightener from my one hand, and then takes the comb from the other.

"Talk me through it." My smile goes from ear to ear.

"Take one piece," he does it."Put the comb under the piece and comb through it as you pull the hair through the straightener, and just do that until it's straight." It takes him a few pieces to get the hang of it but he does.

"Wow," he says putting the straightener down and looking at me in the mirror. 

"I take it you like the straight hair better?" If he says yes I'm going to be very disappointed because this isn't my natural hair. 

"You're the most beautiful girl I've ever seen either way." With that he pulls me close and takes my lips in his, I move my hands up into his perfect hair, and he pulls away slowly while biting my bottom lip, he then smiles and says, "You have a jar to choose from."

We walk back into the room, I take a paper out of the jar, unfold it and read it aloud, "Watch Avery's favourite movie."

"Well, what's your favourite movie?" Kai asks.

"I have so many."

"Choose one then."

"Pretty Women," I say and I swear I saw his grin die out in slow motion. 

"Have you ever seen it?" I ask him smiling.

"No, but that sounds like a movie about pretty females, it doesn't sound very interesting." 

"You'd be surprised," I say still smiling because I know he is going to love it. I set the lap top up and we cuddle on the small bed, and watch the movie.

Half way through the movie, I ask him to pass me a chocolate from the side table.

"Shhhhhhhhh," he really just shushed me, lmao. I knew he'd like it. 

He watches the whole movie with an intense look on his face, like he doesn't even want to so much as blink, it's really cute. I look up at his face and study it because he isn't paying attention to me, I look at how his eyebrows curve and how messy they are but at the same time they're perfect. I look at his blue eyes, and how his eyelashes aren't long but they're definitely not short, he has a few freckles on his face, he has these perfect pink lips that are never dry and he has such clear skin. 

When the movie is over, I could swear he wanted to cry, but he doesn't, he just looks at me and says, "I'm stealing your favourite movie." I laugh at that comment and he tells me he has to go and he gets up to get his things.

"Where to?" I whine, I hate it when he leaves.

"I'll show you when you're out of here, okay?"

"Okay," I say with a sad face, after getting all his stuff together he comes to me and gives me a long, fervent kiss. 

"I like this goodbye," I say when I pull away. 

"Me too," he says, "But I still have to go." He leaves and I sit there smiling like an idiot.