Teenagers were always tired, right? It was just a common thing for people between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, right? Did Lars even count as a teenager anymore? He had just turned eighteen two weeks ago, he was an adult now! Sort of...
The constant sleeping he did around work and home that usually resulted in Sadie's anger just seemed so normal to him. Ever since highschool, the kid would sleep when ever possible, but now, he was almost desperate to sleep. Constantly, he felt the need to rest or at least sit down for awhile. It even got to a point where he began leaving a chair behind the counter just in case.
And it was normal to get cold every once in awhile, right? Despite living on a beach, Lars always felt light shivers creep up and always pegged it as being the air conditioner making the room too cold. He started wearing a long sleeve shirt under any of his shirts really, trying to combat the chills, but they always seemed to get to him. Stupid A.C, always making the room just too damn cold.
Bruise were a common thing with the boy, too. He'd find one on his knee, above his hip, on his forearm, anything that could collide with furniture actually. They would spring up from a slight hit, but maybe it was because Lars was too thin. Yeah, that makes sense. He never really felt the desire to eat. These feelings would come up out of no where and usually last a few days, however, the lack of wanting to eat became a daily thing and the boy usually found himself eating a handful of chips to get his parents and friends to shut up about it.
Prehaps it was from the lack of eating that was causing the sudden headaches that plagued Lars for days on end, which, for once, he realized was not normal. It wasn't until one morning when the boy had went to look at a bruise on his side and was met with small red spots instead of purple flesh that he began to actually worry.
He had seen this exact same thing in a movie once, not that he could remember the title. All he did remember was that the movie didn't end well. It took a full five minutes of staring at the spots until Lars actually decided to do something about it.
"Hey, m-mom," He called from the bathroom, finding that with each passing second, it got harder and harder to breathe, "Can you come look at this?"
Leave it to parents to over-react about everything. Lars' mom had taken one look at the spots and rushed him to the family doctor. Along the way, she had called Lars' father and told him to meet them there. It in no way eased the boy's headache as his mom spoke urgently into the phone, the edge in her voice was like nails on a chalk board. HIs dad had met them in the waiting room, engaging in a hushed conversation with his wife, trying to grasp the full extent of the situation.
Lars never liked doctors' offices in general, but today, he knew he should hate them. They began by asking a ton of questions that he didn't know the answer to, pressing along his skin for some reason, then ordering a round of tests. Now, Lars was never scared of needles, but watching the blood leave your arm in such a large amount was enough to make any kid throw up. The last test was a bone marrow something and something, all Lars knew was that it hurt. He had shut his eyes when it started and didn't open them until it was over.
"It's gonna be fine, right? I'm okay?" He looked up at his mother, who only reached for his hand. His dad rested a hand on his shoulder and a small sense of fear returned to him.
That fear would become full-blown when Lars would find himself sitting back in the doctor's office between his parents, his mother crying and his dad with his head in his hands. Lars had to almost strain his ears to hear the doctor correctly.
"Um...c-could you say t-that again?" He chews his bottom lip, hoping he had heard wrong the first time.
The doctor removes his glasses and sets them on the desk before him. He folds his hands in front of him before delivering the news again,
"You have leukemia."
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