Blue Roses||Tom Holland

Eighteenth Chapter

Helena

"HELP!"

"Stay here. Do not exit this room", I say to Josh while grabbing my phone and running downstairs. "Eveline? Is ever- Oh my God!"

As I walk in the kitchen, I see the woman laying down on the floor. She passed out after screaming for help and now she's suffering from spasms. I deal the 911, tell them what's going on and the operator warns me that the ambulance will be here soon.

"What happened?"

I look up and see a man in a white coat running towards me; only once he's right in front of me, I recognize him being Mason.

I didn't know he was a doctor.

"Helena, what happened?" he asks again, this time speaking louder. "Where's Eveline? Josh?"

"I was upstairs with Josh. I-I heard her screaming an-and when I...I found her almost lif-lifeless", I say to him sobbing hard. I grab a tissue when he hands me a package. "J-josh is with the nanny."

"Dr. Baker!" A woman runs after us screaming a doctor's name –who I find out being Maison. "I've just seen they brought here Eveline. How's she? Have you seen her yet?"

"I was going. Do you need me?"

The young woman shakes her head at him and goes away. I turn to look at Mason but he's no longer here: he reached another doctor at the entrance of the surgery. I quietly walk to them; the gray-bearded man is very serious while talking to Mason, who seems to be worried and... desperate.

I stop immediately.

"Helena! She's her daughter. She can do it!" Mason suddenly turns to me and the man next to him does the same. "Helena, he's Connor Kenney. He's following your mother."

Following?

"Why?"

I didn't know she is in care. But, for what? Is she ill?

"May I introduce myself. I'm Dr. Kenney and I'm your mother's oncologist."

Oncologist?

"Can you just explain what's going on? Because I really don't know what's going on", I sit on the nearest chair and both soon are by my side.

Why do she need an oncologist?

I mean, I know what an oncologist is and what he does, but I don't get why.

I think I might have a panic attack in the next ten seconds.

"Your mother has leukemia."

I've always hated hospitals. I remember I was probably six years old when I broke my right foot and dad drag me at the hospital –even though I'd assured him it was nothing; the doctor who took care of me was kind of creepy –he had a weird smile on while looking to me and asking me questions. The second time I was a little older –maybe twelve- and I'd had my first period, so dad wanted to be sure everything was okay.

I will never have a gynecologist's visit until I'll be pregnant.

I hated every part of that visit and, in particular, of someone touching me down there because it was 'mandatory'.

And then they took samples of my blood to make sure there wasn't something wrong in my body. Since then I'm afraid of needles.

That's why I ask for a moment when Dr. Kenney and Mason ask me to do it again. Mason leads me into an empty room, make me sit on the bed and brings me water.

"Helena, I know we haven't had time to get to know each other better, but I really love your mother", he sits down next to me and grabs my hands in his, "Damn, she's my entire world. And I can't lose her", he looks me in the eyes and says: "You're our chance- her chance to live again as a normal person. Would you do that?"

Even being a doctor, Mason doesn't know how to act, what to do and, by the way he's talking to me, by the things he's saying to me, it seems like I'm her last chance.

"I'll do it."

That's the right thing to do.

At least, I hope it is.

I need you here, please.

[Location sent]

Chris

"Uncle Chris!"

I lift my head and see a blonde-haired little girl running towards me. I get up and eventually raise her up. Her mother runs after her and stops only when she sees her standing between my arms.

"Where's Len?" Rosie turns to her mother and says: "You told me Len was here!"

"Yeah, where's Len?"

The question is called upon me and I just shake my head, saying: "She told me to tell you that she loves you, but she can't make it for lunch".

Scarlett is more than confused; Rosie and she sit down, and I do the same, then she puts out a pencil case with colors and the little girl loses herself into her own world.

"Care to explain what's going on?"

If I hadn't known Scarlett for too long, I wouldn't say she's now contemplating of killing me. And I also know that she's probably the only person in the world who can actually not make me feel a bad dad.

I let out a breath and start telling her what has been going on with Helena in the last few days. I tell her about our short calls while she's there and how I don't want to interfere in her on-building relationship with her mother.

"Sometimes I think you're really dumb", she lowers her voice as she acknowledges other people looking in our direction, pointing at us and eventually taking pictures. "Are you telling me that you allowed your child to meet Eveline? The same woman who six years ago came here to tell you that she had leukemia and wanted to persuade you to let a twelve-year-old girl donate her bone marrow to a stranger? Are we talking about the same person?"

I look down at the dish in front of me and run a hand through my hair, I don't know how many times I've grumbled since the beginning of this lunch, and I'll keep on doing it -considered my mood in the last few days.

"Where is the badass Chris Evans that I know? I know you're better that this."

"I hide it from her, Scar. She would hate me if she knew she could possibly have leukemia", I would kill myself rather than tell my daughter -the person that I love the most in the entire world- that her never-present mother has a deadly illness and she could possibly suffer from it.

"And that's why you had all the exams done years ago. Do you remember the results? Let me clear your mind: they were all negative. Len has nothing. Please-"Scarlett looks me in the eyes, "-take her home. That woman doesn't deserve her, neither her good heart".