Never Again

Chapter 7

Cora sat on the edge of her dorm room bed, lost in thought. She had gone there as soon as she returned from the police station, not saying a word to any of the guys about what had happened. She was too in shock; she needed some time to process the situation on her own before discussing it with anyone else.

As she sat on the bed, head in her hands, she found herself replaying every interaction with her father, thinking back to each word that was exchanged during their conversation. She was trying desperately to make sense of his news. She understood that he had stage three bladder cancer, but she didn't know what to do about it; and his adamancy to send her back to Tacoma made the situation especially tricky.

There was a part of her that wanted to heed his advice and run back to Tacoma. She loved the city and had a great job there, yet the thought of leaving her sick father behind, twelve hours away, felt wrong. He was the only parent that she had left, and she felt like she barely knew him. She didn't want him to die with her having regrets about their relationship. She didn't want their time to run out before it was too late for her to make amends; and the only reasonable way to ensure that was to move back to Charming.

Cora groaned, throwing herself back and flopping down on the bed. If she decided to stay in Charming, it would be good for her father, and it would certainly make Cath happy too, but then there was the issue of moving, of finding a new place to stay, and getting a new job. The idea of just uprooting her whole life and moving it back to the place that she had avoided for so long felt wrong, but so did leaving her father behind.

Cora's thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on the door. She wasn't sure if was ready to speak with anyone yet, but she was curious to find out who was looking for her, so she invited them in anyway.

The door opened and she turned her head to look, watching as Piney walked in. Cora cast the old man a faint smile. "Hey," she mumbled quietly.

"You okay?" He looked her up and down, a frown overtaking his face.

She locked eyes with him, sighing before finally asking, "Do you know about my dad?"

Piney took a moment to think back, racking his memory. "I remember Clay mentioning something about him. Doesn't he have cancer?" he asked.

Cora nodded. "It's stage three bladder cancer," she clarified.

The old man grimaced. "Sounds bad."

"It is." She turned away for a moment, focusing her gaze on her lap, fidgeting with her hands nervously. "I don't know what to do."

Piney raised an eyebrow. "You thinkin' about staying?"

Cora gave another shrug from where she sat, still not facing him, rubbing her palms together anxiously. "That's one of my options; the other is for me to go back to Tacoma. The problem is that I can't decide which one is better."

"Tough decision," he noted. "But it's yours to make, Cora. Do what you think is right."

"I know," she uttered to herself. "I know."

A moment of silence passed over both Piney and Cora, a moment filled with contemplation as Cora sifted through her thoughts yet again, still landing nowhere near a decision.

Finally, Piney broke through the quiet, offering, "Why don't you come get something to eat? You can't go making life decisions on an empty stomach."

Cora smirked at his comment, before sighing and standing up, giving in to his suggestion. She headed to the dorm's entrance and followed after him, letting him lead her back into the main room of the clubhouse.