Chapter Two
"Eat," Sue says, setting a plate of food on the table in front of me. It's piled with eggs, bacon, sausage, toast, and fruit.
"I'm not hungry," I mutter, pushing the plate of food away from me. I have my first meeting with the cancer doctor today and I get to find out my treatment plan. What my chemotherapy will be, if I have to get surgery, etc. I'm not looking forward to it.
"Bella, you have to eat. You have to keep your strength up," Dad says, giving me a pleading look. I just can't bring myself to eat.
"Do you want me to force feed you?" Jake asks, giving me a stern look. His stance is intimidating, crossed arms and feet shoulder width apart. Yeah, it's the pack stance, but you really never get used to it.
"No," I mumble.
"Then eat," he commands, taking a plate from Sue and sitting down next to me. He takes a bite of his eggs to emphasis his point. Slowly, I reach for my fork and spear a piece of strawberry onto it. I take a small bite, chew, and swallow.
"Good girl," Jake says.
"So, Jake, when are your cousins coming to town?" Seth asks, bouncing up and down.
"Around twelve o'clock today. And then we are having the bonfire tonight to welcome them into the pack," Jake says, smirking at Seth. "Why so excited?"
"No reason," Seth says, quickly leaving the room. I will never understand that kid.
"So, they are arriving pretty close to when we get back home from the doctor," I say, taking another bite of fruit.
"Yeah," Jake says, nodding.
"Come on, Bella. Hurry up! Jake and I are driving you," Seth whines, twirling his keys around on his finger.
"Alright, I'm coming," I say, standing up. I sway and Jake catches me.
"You alright?" He asks.
I nod my head.
Still, Jake picks me up bridal style and carries me to the car. I don't care. He's warm and I'm cold. That, and he loves carrying me. So it is a win-win situation. After Jake sets me down in the car, he lays out a blanket over me, tucking it close. Then, he closes the door and goes to talk to Seth. I can't hear or make out what they are saying, but I have a pretty good idea that it's about me. They keep motioning to the car, so that's how I know. Or it could be about the car. Once they finish talking, Seth gets into the drivers seat and Jacob slides in next to me, throwing his arm around me.
"I'm not on chemo yet, Jacob. You don't have to keep me warm," I grumble, irritated when my body goes closer him.
"Well, you're freezing. So stop complaining," Jake says, rubbing my shoulders.
"Shut up," I mumble, starting to fall asleep.
"Do you understand everything, Miss Swan?" The doctor asks me. I nod my head.
"Alright, I will see you later this afternoon for your first round of chemo. Make sure to bring some warm clothes, though. The chemo can make you really cold," he says, standing up. I stand up to, shaking his hand.
"Do you want some lunch?" Seth asks me.
"Sure," I say, shrugging on my jacket.
"Alright, what do you want to eat?" Jake asks. I shrug my shoulders.
"How about we go get some pizza? You know, it's your last meal before all hell breaks loose," Seth says. I try to ignore the 'last meal' part, but I can't stop thinking about it. Who knows, it could end up being that.
"Sure, pizza sounds good," I say.
"Alright, lets go get pizza," Jake says, giving Seth a pointed look.
"What?" Seth asks.
"You know what," Jake replies sternly.
When we get to the car, Jake hands me the blanket again before sliding in next to me. I snuggle into his side, already getting cold. It's about twenty minutes before we reach the pizza parlor, and it's packed. I'm skeptical that we are going to get a table, but Jake seems pretty confident.
"Watch and learn," Jake whispers in my ear.
I watch him as he walks up to the hostess, whose texting on her phone. She's blonde, tall, big bust, and, well, beautiful. I see her look up at Jake, and then see her totally check him out. He's leaning in close to her, close enough that their noses are just inches apart. She laughs, and gets a knowing look in her eye. When her eyes flicker to Seth and I, however, they narrow suspiciously. Jake gets her attention again, and she nods her head. Looks like he won her over.
"I am a genius," Jake smirks, walking over.
"Sure you are," I say, rolling my eyes.
"What? I got us a table in a very packed restaurant, didn't I?" Jake says, raising his eyebrows at me.
"Yep, you did. After making a fool of yourself by flirting with Miss Slut over there," I say, nodding to the hostess who's walking away from the table.
"Yeah, how did you pull that off?" Seth asks, helping me into my chair before sitting in the one next to it. He immediately grabs a menu and starts reading what the options are.
"Well, after Shelley noticed that you guys were with me, she started to get suspicious. So I just said that I was setting up Seth with Bella," Jake says, nonchalantly. I spit the water I was drinking out of my mouth when I hear that. I glance over at Seth, who as his nose buried in the menu, literally.
"Why would you do that?" Seth says, still hiding in the menu.
"Well, it did get us a table," Jake mutters, scratching the back of his head.
"He's my brother," I point out, pointing my finger at a still hiding Seth. He finally lowers the menu from his face, frowning.
"I still got us a table." I stick my tongue out at Jake. "Very mature for a twenty year old, Bella," Jake chastises.
"Same to you. You might as well have just said that you and Seth were a couple," I say. Seth groans, and then puts his face in the menu again.
"No, I think that's worse. A lot worse," Jake says, his eyes closed shut.
"Alright, my name is Krista and I will be your server today. Now, do you know what you want to drink?" Krista the Server says, still looking down at her pad of paper. When she gets the answer of silence, she looks up. Low and behold, she looks exactly like Shelley the Slut. I think this whole cancer diagnosis thing is making me bitter. I usually never give people these kinds of nicknames. Especially slut.
"Three cokes," Jake says, and then, "Do you guys know what you want to eat?"
"Why don't we just get one large cheese pizza and two large pepporini. Simple, easy, gone in minutes," Seth says.
"Alright, is that all?" Krista the Server asks.
"Yep," I reply, not liking how she's checking out both Jake and Seth. Jeeze, I know they're both hot, but come on!
"Alright, I will give your order to the chefs. I will be right back with your drinks," Krista says, before walking away. I scoff as Seth and Jake have their eyes glued to her swaying hips. I snap my fingers in both of their faces, and that gets their attention.
"Hello? I'm the girl dying from cancer here! Not Miss Slutty Server over there!" Yes, I have extended Krista the Server's nickname to Krista the Slutty Servant. Don't judge me.
"Bella," Seth says, giving me a look.
"What? It's true. And the looks you guys were giving her ass was not a pretty site to see," I say.
"Alright. Well, ugh, whatever. So, Jake, tell us about these awesome cousins of yours that we are celebrating tonight," Seth says, leaning back in his chair and throwing his arm around my shoulders.
"Well, there's Quil. He's the older one, my age, twenty-four. He's more of the out-going type of guys. Loves to joke around, very funny, like-able guy. He may come off as annoying, but he really isn't. Honestly, he's pretty much like brother with everyone he meets. But, I have never seen him with a girl. So no, Bella, I do not recommend him as your boyfriend," Jake says.
"I wasn't even going to go there," I mutter, reaching for my water.
"Here are your drinks, and your food should be out in about fifteen minutes," Krista the Slutty Servant Who's Wearing a Black Bra With a White Shirt says, setting down our drinks. Yes, I keep on adding to her name. I don't like her, so I will keep on adding to her name. Deal with it.
"He sounds like a cool guy. What about the other one? Eli, right?" Seth asks, taking a piece of pizza.
"No, Embry. He's, like, the total opposite of Quil. Well, I mean like, everyone likes him. He's not a jackass or anything like that. He's just shy and quiet. But he's a really caring fellow. Always has a solution to every problem. He's gentle, sweet, and a really good guy all around. He's really smart, too. He was head of the debate club at his old school, and some science club. The debate thing totally surprised everyone. Here's this incredibly shy kid, and it turns out he's amazing at debate. I went to one, and it was super cool. He's incredibly supportive. He truly is an amazing guy. Him, I would allow you to date, Bella," Jake says, taking his fourth piece of pizza. Don't ask me how he's already on his fourth piece with all of the talking he's doing. It's strange, I know.
"He sounds like a good guy. Wait, is he in high school? Why would I date a guy in high school?" I ask, picking at my piece.
"Eat, Bella," Seth says. I take a bite just to placate him.
"He's not in high school. He actually just got out of college. He's the head chef at that new restaurant in Forks. That's why he's moving down here. Quil, well, he has his own reasons," Jake says. I finally finish my first piece of pizza and go to grab a second, only to realize that two of the pizzas are gone and there is only one piece of cheese left.
"You guys are unbelievable," I say in awe.
"Here. You have to eat," Seth replies, taking the last piece and placing it on my plate.
"Um, you kind of have to hurry. We have to be back at the hospital in twenty minutes," Jake says, looking at his watch. I roll my eyes; Jake and his ever so nonexistent punctuality.
"Since when are you so on top of time?" I question, taking a sip of my coke.
"Since I learned that you had cancer," Jake replies.
"Alright, lets go. I can eat this piece in the car," I say, grabbing a napkin and wrapping it around the pizza. We leave after Jake signs the check. And guess who's numbers was on it? Miss Krista the Slutty Server Who's Wearing a Black Bra With a White Shirt and Miss Shelley the Slut. Jake's expression was a classic one; I got a picture. Perfect blackmail.
Once we get to the hospital, everything happens very quickly. The doctor quickly explains the chemotherapy again as he leads me to the treatment room. There's other patients there, and it makes me nervous. Some are like me, look completely healthy. Others are bald, but still look pretty healthy. And then others are bald, thin, and their skin looks papery. Seth notices my nervousness and he grabs my hand, squeezing it reassuringly.
"Alright, so you will be sitting right here. Here's some blankets for you incase you get cold from the chemo. The nurse will be with you in a few minutes to get you all set up with the drip. It will take about an hour to an hour and a half. We want to start you out slow. It's a pretty high dosage of chemo your getting since your cancer is stage three, so that makes us a little worried. This will be the trial run to see if you can handle this much dosage. When you come back in four days, we'll see the results of how the chemo is affecting you and then go on from there," the doctor says before leaving.
I sit down in the chair, and try to get comfortable. It's as hard as a rock.
"Do you want to sit on my lap?" Seth asks, looking at me fidget. When I nod my head, Seth picks me up and then sits down in the chair with me on his lap. I place my head on his shoulder, and close my eyes. I never realizes how tired I was until this moment. Gosh. Soon after I close my eyes, I fall asleep.
"Bella, honey, you have to wake up now. We have to get you ready for the party tonight," someone says, lightly shaking my shoulder.
I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to fight off the sudden nausea. Why do I feel so sick? All of a sudden, I roll over onto my side and throw up into the trashcan. How convenient that it's next to my bed. Wait, my bed? I'm home? Last I remember, I was at the hospital!
"Good thinking, Jake. That would have been a pain to clean up," the same voice says.
"Jacob?" I whisper, opening my eyes.
"I'm right here, Bella. Come on, can you open your eyes? Please?" Jake pleads. I open my eyes with a little bit of a struggle. I am met with the faces of my mom, Sue, and Jake.
"Where am I?" I ask, tiredly.
"You're at home sweatheart. Jake says you fell asleep right before the nurse came with your chemo treatment. You were asleep the entire time and on the drive home. You got here about thirty minutes ago," Mom says.
"Oh," I say, rubbing my eyes. I groan.
"What's the matter, Bella?" Jacob asks, concerned.
"I feel like crap," I mutter, concentrating on my breathing.
"Well, how about you go take a bath and then I'll help you get dressed for tonight. We have about an hour before everyone goes down to the beach before the bonfire starts," Mom says.
"Ok," I mutter, getting up from bed. Mom leads me to the bathroom, holding onto my elbow just in case I fall over.
The bath feels great. No, it feels absolutely amazing. The warm water helps to cool my aching back and the bubbles, well, they are fun to play with. It's as if I am a child all over again. I wish I were right now, actually, then I wouldn't have to deal with this. To soon, thought, I have to get out of the tub. I protest, like a little kid would, and I fail. I can hear Jacob laughing outside the door, and I curse at him. Of course, that just makes him laugh louder.
"Alright, do you want comfy or do you want fancy?" Mom asks me, holding up skinny jeans and sweatpants.
"Sweatpants," I whisper, finding it hard to breathe at the moment.
"Alright. Come on, after this, Jake will carry you downstairs and then to the beach area," Mom says. It takes a little while for me to get dressed. My joints hurt, and my whole body aches. But once I get my clothes on, I am comfortable. But I know one thing for sure, I hate chemotherapy.
