Fitting In.

Beach.

No amount of love could stop the glistening of tears that were growing in Elora's eyes as she saw her life crumbling. However, she could also see a man truly care for her.
"After I had those tests done, I couldn't even stand for long and the treatment will only be worse. Not my first rodeo." Elora found her words escaping from her as his eyes stuck to her.

"Well, we can be there for you and besides. This test could come back negative and then there is nothing to worry about." Rossi spoke with an air of surety as Elora listened.

"One in six diagnoses' that are carried out a year are given to people who have had it before. If a person has had it before, they are 14% more likely to be diagnoses again and with my genetics, well, Spencer knows that statistic I am sure but it is well over 14%. I have had hours of radio and chemo. Breast cancer has a rate of about 13% in the 5-20 years after the initial diagnosis and ovarian has a chance of 85% rediagnosis. There is a chance that this is negative but the odds are not in my favour. We both know that." At Elora's words, Rossi held closer to her hand.

"Do you know for sure though? 97% chance of a condom working yet so many children are born a year despite this protection." His words sat for a second before a smile was seen.

"That's because people don't know how they work. I know what you are thinking and you are right. The longer I leave it, the sicker I am more likely to get but I just want to feel happy for a little while longer and it isn't just me that suffers. I know that other people do too." As she spoke, Rossi pulled the envelope out from under her arms and then pushed it closer to her.

"Why don't you tell me about all of this and then open the letter?" Her nod was begrudging but it was given.

"I was born whilst mami was going through treatment. She was so stressed from the death of my grandfather that she never showed and when she was tested for it, the pregnancy stage was so late that the test gave a false negative. She was receiving experimental treatment here in America. When it stopped working and papá had a business deal over in England we all moved, mami, getting better when I was 5. I was born with the faulty gene so I was tested every few years and sure enough, one year I had it, breast cancer. I was 9. Mami never really got better and she was so different from the stories that people told of her before she got sick. We were put in clubs, we could all play one instrument, dance one style and took part in one water sport at least. I was enrolled in the most clubs because my brothers could care for themselves well enough by the time mami was sick the first time. When I was getting better, she was then diagnosed again. It was bad and she could hardly stay awake. I was 11, the day that I got tested to see if I was clear, the drugs made me tired so I went to sleep." Tears began to fall as her hand then wiped them away.

"It's okay. It's over now."

"When I went to bed, papá said that he wanted to go for a walk, he left me and mami alone. I woke up the next morning and saw that he never came back. She was still fast asleep so I went to where he always took me for a walk when I was struggling. I, uh, found him hung on a tree in our secret hiding place. It was where we went to escape the world. Two weeks later I was given the clear. I became Mami's full-time carer and all of my brothers would come and help if they could. When I was 15, she had passed away. She knew it was her time because she kept saying how much she loved me. I came down in the morning to see her gone. After that, I was in the system and my brothers would look after me for Christmas or on a few of my birthdays but, a week after mami passed away, I was told that I had ovarian cancer. My hair was gone quickly and I spent more time in the hospital than my care home. When I was home, the older ones mocked me for being bald and sickly while the younger ones would point and stare. Some even laughed. At 18 I was given the clear and I moved here." Rossi had rolled his chair over to her but never moved his hand as they both sat alone in the room.