Chapter 2
Lucas stared at the man in disbelief. His hands started to shake and he could feel the blood pumping in his head. The silence in the room rang loudly his ears and his heart pounded in his chest.
"No…" he whispered, more to himself than anyone else, as he stood up from his chair.
"Lucas, please, we need to discuss your—"
"No!" Lucas cut the doctor off suddenly. He took the black sling from his shoulder and tossed it casually onto the man's desk. Grabbing his jacket, he walked in silence towards the door.
"Lucas! Wait!" Nathan called after him.
Nathan watched as his he turned around in the doorway to face him. For the first time since they'd heard the news, Nathan met eyes with his brother. The look in Lucas's eyes caused Nathan's breath to catch in his throat and he didn't protest again when Lucas turned again and left the room.
"I should, uh, probably…" Nathan started, gesturing towards the door.
"I know this is a lot to take in right now, son."
Nathan tried to listen to the doctor as he got up from his chair and gathered the pamphlets given to them. He tried to focus on what the man was saying, but everything seemed to run together, like when someone tries to tell you something right after you wake up in the morning and you just can't focus. Something about calling someone, something about another test, something about treatment…it was no use. It made no sense; he felt overwhelmed and blocked everything out. Finally, Nathan stopped him.
"I need to go find Lucas…" he said firmly, taking off out the door.
Lucas ran down the sidewalks of Tree Hill feeling the breeze blow all around him. His legs felt weak as he managed to get farther and farther from the hospital. His head was spinning, making him feel as if his world had suddenly been turned upside down. He couldn't shake this feeling and he couldn't tell what exactly it was either. Sadness? Grief? Anger? …Denial? He ignored his aching legs and kept running. He couldn't stop. He had to go somewhere else, anywhere else. His shoulder throbbed but he concentrated on ignoring it. He told himself it wasn't hurting, that he was just imagining it. This couldn't really be happening. He was only 16! He couldn't be sick! It was just an injury from last year, he wasn't really sick. Lucas just kept running, lost in thought.
Nathan drove down the streets in his car searching for Lucas. He glanced over at the packet of cancer pamphlets in the passenger seat beside him, and quickly reached over, tossing them into the backseat. He didn't know how to handle this! He and Lucas had just now started getting along again! His mom was gone, Karen wasn't even in the freakin' country, and there was no way in hell that Dan would even care! Lucas didn't have anyone else to turn to right then but him, and that scared him. He and Lucas had never been very "brotherly" and now that they were just getting back to being civil to one another again, he was being thrown into the protective brother role. And he had no idea how to do that. How was he supposed to help Lucas if he couldn't even get his own head together! Nathan was suddenly torn from his thoughts as he spotted Lucas sitting solemnly on a bench outside a small bookstore. He pulled over and jogged across the street, slowing before he got to him.
"Hey, man…" he said softly.
"Hey…"
"You, uh, you okay?" Nathan asked hesitantly as he sat down beside him.
Lucas stared straight ahead, as if staring through everything in front of him, and nodded slowly, not wanting Nathan to see the tears that burned his eyes. He wasn't sick, he couldn't be. He finally turned his head and looked towards his brother only to see Nathan's eyes glazed over and his face grim. His breath caught in his chest and he quickly turned his head away as the tears spilled over for the first time sine he'd heard the news. The reality hit him hard, leaving him with the feeling of being punched in the stomach. He was wrong, this was real. He was sick. Nathan put his head in his hands as Lucas cried in silence beside him. He sat quietly, knowing that this was it, Lucas finally knew this was real, this was really happening. Nathan listened as Lucas finally took a deep, shaky breath and instinctively put his hand on his brother's back. Lucas turned to face straight ahead again.
"It's gonna be okay, Luke…" he said softly.
Lucas nodded slowly. Nathan got up from where he sat and stuck out his hand, pulling Lucas to his feet. Putting an encouraging hand on Lucas's back, Lucas nodded again, knowing what Nathan meant without words.
"C'mon…" Nathan said, following behind him to the car.
Nathan walked through the bedroom door to find Lucas sprawled out over the top of his bed, the sling now back on his shoulder. He smiled to himself and softly walked over, thumping him on the top of the head. Lucas immediately opened his eyes and sat up on the edge of the bed.
"Whoa, man, did you get any sleep at all last night?" Nathan asked, somewhat concerned.
Lucas smiled and laughed slightly, shaking his head. Nathan sat down beside him and for a moment, there was an awkward silence. He hadn't talked to Lucas since the afternoon before, when he'd dropped him off at home.
"So…I called the hospital last night…" Nathan said hesitantly.
"And…?"
"And you have to go in on Wednesday morning to talk about your options and have some special test, a bone biopsy, whatever that is…" Nathan said as casually as he possibly could.
"Great…" Lucas responded sarcastically, laying back down on his back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as Nathan still sat on the edge.
"Luke, don't worry about it, man. I told you, you'll, we'll, get through this…so when's your mom gonna get home?" Nathan added quickly.
There was a long pause before Nathan realized the situation and groaned.
"Lucas! Tell me you called and told her!" he pleaded.
Lucas sat up and stared at his feet, shaking his head.
"Lucas! You have to talk to her! This is serious!" Nathan told him.
"I know that! Don't you think I know that! Don't you think I want my mom here during all of this!" he suddenly fired back.
Nathan stared at him, a little taken aback by his response.
"I did talk to her…she called last night…" he said slowly.
"If you didn't tell her you're sick then what did you tell her!"
"I told her congratulations…she's engaged, man." Lucas said quietly, laying back to stare at the ceiling again.
"Andy?"
Lucas nodded.
"I always wanted my mom to find love. Granted, I wanted it to be with Keith, but, still, she's finally happy, Nate. I can't just take that away from her!" Lucas explained, clearly distraught.
"Lucas! She'll kill you for not telling her! She'll want to be here!"
"I know that! But if she comes back now, she and Andy may never get their chance."
Nathan gave him a confused look, cocking his eyebrow.
"Dan had Andy deported…so until he becomes a citizen, he can't come back to the states. But if he marries my mom in New Zealand, he can come back with her before all the citizen stuff is settled." Lucas explained, clearly knowing the dilemma he was in.
Nathan just nodded solemnly, not knowing how to respond.
"I want to do this…I'll tell her soon, I swear." He said.
Nathan nodded during another slightly awkward silence.
"You're gonna tell Brooke though, right?"
"No!"
"Lucas!"
"What! I don't want to tell her now! We're doing good, man. She's finally realizing that I'm there and that I love her. I don't want her to be with me just because she feels sorry for me or feels like she needs to. I want things to keep going the way they are, but I want it to happen because it's meant to. I want it to happen because we love each other…and you can't tell Haley either." He added quickly.
"Lucas! Are you freakin' kidding me! She's my wife and your best friend! She deserves to know!"
"I know! I know she does, okay! And I'm going to tell her…when I can. I don't want to worry her until I know exactly what's going on. I don't want anyone but you to know until then, okay! Look, I know this whole fight between us over the summer was because you trusted me and I lied to you. But you said you've forgiven me! So, here's the test, Nate. I need you to trust me again."
They both sat in silence. Nathan stared at Lucas.
"Okay…" he responded finally. "I trust you…but you have to do the same, okay? If something bad happens, I'm going to tell someone. I have to. I trust your judgment, I do, I just…I'm guess I'm just worried, man. I don't want you thinking that you're doing this alone. You have to trust that I'm trying to help you, I want you to know that I'm here during all this." He said quickly, embarrassed by his little speech.
Lucas smiled and nodded. Nathan got up and took his brother's hand, pulling him to his feet. They slapped hands and Nathan hit Lucas's back, picking up his bag and following him out the door.
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Ok- first of all, wow! I have never gotten this many responses for one chapter of a fanfic! Thanks so so so much y'all! Your reviews keep me writing! Sorry this chapter was short but just so you know, I have already written Chapters 3 and 4 and have sent them off to my lovely beta, Jen. So look for two new updates this week! Thanks again for the reviews! I'll try and do shout-outs next chapter! Luv y'all:) -Justine
