Chapter 3
Charlotte's POV
I currently was parked at Mystic Falls High waiting for school to get out. I sighed bored. I was also currently conflicted. I want to tell everyone about my cancer, but then it gets complicated and what if they see me like my parents and brother saw me. I should just tell one person. That way I have someone to talk to about this. I started thinking about who to tell. Damon and Stefan are out of the picture because I don't even know them. Elena would fuss about it too much. Bonnie would want to tell Elena about it. Caroline would spoil me rotten telling me that I need to live it up before I die and then she'll tell Elena. Matt would do the same as Bonnie. That left Tyler and Jeremy. I know that Jeremy can keep a secret. Tyler can somewhat keep a secret; it depends on what it is. I decided that whoever I saw first I would tell. The bell finally rang bringing me out of my thoughts. I looked at the front doors of the school waiting for one of them to come out. My eyes lit up when I saw Jeremy walk out.
"Jeremy Gilbert!" I shouted in his direction. He turned his head from side to side to see who called his name. "Hey, Baby Gilbert! Hurry it up!" I shouted over to him so he would see me. He looked in my direction and saw me. He started jogging over to me.
"Finally." I said exasperated.
"Charlie, what are you doing here? And don't call me that here. It's embarrassing." He said his cheeks a bit red.
"Good. Now get in the car. We have much to discuss." I said and opened my door. As I turned the car on Jeremy walked around the car and got in the passenger seat.
"You going to tell me what is going on?" he asked suspiciously.
"Nope." I said. "Not yet, at least." I added.
"Alright." He said.
"I need a secluded place. Is there any around here?" I asked him as I drove out of the parking lot.
"The beach is about a half hour away from here." He suggested as he texted.
"Perfect." I said as I drove in the direction he gave me.
Thirty minutes later, Jeremy and I were parked and walking in the sand. We started walking along the shore.
"So, you going to tell me why you kidnapped a minor and dragged him to the beach." He asked me smirking.
"Kidnapped?" I exclaimed. "You're the one that came willingly, Gilbert. But, yeah I'm going to tell you. I just need to figure out a way to say it."
"Just blurt it out." He suggested. I sighed sadly.
"I have cancer." I blurted out like he suggested. He stopped walking and turned towards me.
"You have what?" he asked quietly.
"Cancer, Jeremy. Chronic myelogenous leukemia to be exact." I said bluntly while staring out in the ocean.
"Elena, Bonnie, and Caroline, do they know?" he asked me softly.
"No and it's going to stay that way until I decide to tell them." I told him sternly.
"How long have you had it?" he asked.
"Since I left Mystic Falls. It was that reason that we left." I explained.
"Why are you back then?" he asked me afraid of my answer.
"Because my body stopped responding to the treatments and my parents basically kicked me out because I'm ruining their image." I said looking down trying to control my tears.
"And how long do you have…" Jeremy asked trailing off.
"Six months. My doctor said I won't live to see my twenty second birthday." I said with tears running down my face.
"Why me?" he asked looking at me.
"Because I needed someone to talk to and I knew I could trust you." I said full on crying. Jeremy stepped in front of me and hugged me tight.
"It'll be okay, Char." He said comfortingly, even though we both know it isn't true. I buried my face in his chest and cried. I looked up when I felt tears in my hair. I saw Jeremy crying silently.
"Jeremy, you can't tell, Elena. Or Bonnie. Or Caroline. Okay?" I told him. He nodded. "Promise me, Jeremy." I said to him.
"I promise." He said hoarsely. I nodded in thanks.
"Come we should probably get back before Elena thinks I really kidnapped you." I said trying to lighten the situation.
"Yeah." He said as he let go of me and we walked side by side to the car.
On the way home I answered every question that Jeremy had.
"How did this happen?" he asked sadly.
"Apparently, I've had it since birth. My genes got screwed up and the cancer started in my blood cells. The type of cancer that I have is a very uncommon one. It's the cancer of the blood cells. And it doesn't show any signs for years because it progresses slowly, so my doctors didn't catch it until I was 15." I explained.
"So you moved because you had cancer?" he questioned.
"Yes and no. We moved because the best doctor on the east coast lived all the way over by West Virginia and of course my parents have to have the best of everything, so we moved closer to the doctor." I explained to him.
"Anything else I should know about?" he asked.
"Two things. One is that I can't get sick or hurt for any reason whatsoever. I bleed and bruise easy because my bones are very thin. And if I get sick I will get an infection and my time will decrease. Also in about four months when I have two months left, my body is going to start to shut down. My skin will start to get pale, I will start running fevers, I'll lose a lot of weight, I'll start to feel tired after doing the smallest of things, I will start sweating a lot at night, the left side of my body below my ribs will hurt often, and I will start to lose my appetite for everything." I explained to him.
"And the second thing?" he asked hesitantly.
I sighed, thinking about how to word this. "I've almost died once before." I blurted out.
"What?" he asked with wide eyes.
"When I was seventeen, I was rushed to the hospital because I was passing out a lot and I couldn't eat anything without throwing it back up. When we got there they rushed me to a room and gave me some medicine that I can't even pronounce. But, anyway, I passed out again and when I woke up again I had nurse and doctors sighing in relief while they fixed me up. I asked one of the doctors what the hell had happened. He said that my heart stopped for twenty seconds. Twenty whole seconds I wasn't breathing and I wasn't alive. For the next few days I was in the hospital getting my treatments in even bigger amounts to kill the cancer and I was in pain every step of the way. So, I told my doctor that I wanted to sign a DNR. I never want to endure that kind of pain again." I explained to him while driving back to Mystic Falls.
"You signed a Do Not Resuscitate? So when you die, it's for good this time?" he asked sadly.
"Yeah. It's not like I'll live a very good life anyway. I'll be bedridden for the rest of my life and what kind of life is that." I told him seriously. He nodded in agreement.
"I'll always be here if you want to talk, Char." He said seriously.
"Thanks, Jer. I knew I could count on you." I said smiling at him as I pulled up to his house.
"Oh, and before I forget. Caroline says to tell you that your party is tonight and to go to her house by 5:00pm. And the party is at Tyler's house." Jeremy said smiling while trying not to laugh, as if the cancer thing never came up.
"Oh no." I moaned sadly. "She is so going to die when I get to her house." I said while shaking my head.
"Good luck with that and I will see you at the party." He said as he got out.
"See you later, Jer. And thanks again for today." I said to him seriously.
"No problem, Char. Remember that I'm always here for you." He said and then ran up to his house. I sighed defeated. I really don't want to go to this party tonight.
I drove back to the Salvatore house and parked my car next to Damon's. I grabbed my bag and walked in the house. I was about to walk up to my room when Stefan came out of the living room.
"Hey, was Jeremy with you just now?" he asked once he saw me.
"Yeah, we went for a little ride." I said vaguely.
"Okay, Elena was just worried because he just vanished after school." Stefan explained.
"Well, Jeremy was in perfectly capable hands." I said to him and started walking upstairs. "For now anyway." I mumbled to myself sadly as I walked to my room.
I dressed down since Caroline was doing everything for me. When I was finished, I grabbed my bag and walked downstairs.
"So, where is kitten off to looking not so pretty?" Damon taunted as he came out of the living room. I silently cursed the stars. I was almost out the door.
"Caroline's. She has my dress and shoes. Later." I explained vaguely and walked out of the house before he could say anything else.
"Alright, Care. I'm here, let's get this over with." I said as I stepped into her bedroom.
"That's the spirit, Char." She said happily.
For the next two hours Caroline gave me a short black dress and then she did my hair and makeup. Finally, the time came for accessories and shoes. She gave me a black clutch. She took off my locket and said that I would get it back later. To replace it she put on a layered silver necklace. Finally, to top it all off three inch Jimmy Choo black peep toe heels.
"You better be careful in my Jimmy Choo's, Char." She warned.
"Don't worry Care. I won't intentionally ruin them, even though you threw a party that i didn't want and stuffed me in this dress." I said sarcastically.
"I'm serious, Char!" Caroline whined.
"Fine. I'll be the one to act my age and do the right thing." I said rolling my eyes.
"You should act your age, old woman." Caroline said jokingly.
"I'm only three years older than you, thank you very much." I said mock offended and started downstairs.
"Wait for me." She called out as she ran down the stairs.
"Don't worry Care. The party doesn't start until you walk in." I said to her.
"Damn right." She said laughing as we got in my car.
I parked in Tyler's massive driveway looking at the massive line of cars around the area. I groaned as I got out.
"Caroline how many people are here?" I asked her cautiously.
"Only a few hundred." She said nonchalantly as she started walking towards the house.
"Caroline!" I exclaimed as I saw the massive house light up and booming with music.
"What? The party isn't that big!" she exclaimed knowing what I was thinking already and walked off.
"What did I get myself into?" I asked myself as I opened the door and saw the house packed full of people.
"Charlotte!" I heard someone shout. I looked around and saw Tyler waving his arms in the air. I shook my head and laughed. I walked over to where he was standing the living room.
"Tyler!" I exclaimed excited as I hugged him. "Look at you!"
"Look at you, you're so old now." He said jokingly.
"I'm 21 to be exact. Thank you. And at least I can legally drink." I shot back.
"Touché. So, what's the infamous Charlotte Buchanan doing back in Mystic Falls?" Tyler asked.
"Spending some time with old friends and getting away from my family." I said vaguely.
"Well, I think I speak for all of Mystic Falls when I say welcome back, Miss Buchanan." He said cockily.
"Still as cocky as ever I see." I said to him smirking.
"Of course. I wouldn't be Tyler Lockwood if I wasn't." he said smugly. I laughed.
"So how is your mom and dad?" I asked him.
"My dad died about a year ago." Tyler said frowning.
"Oh, I'm so sorry, Ty." I said frowning that I brought it up.
"It's fine. My mother is doing well though. She said to come by sometime during your visit to catch up." He said to me.
"Tell her I'll be here soon." I said smiling at him.
"Good. Now let me get a good look at you." He said as he backed up a bit. I smiled and twirled for dramatic effect. He whistled lowly. "If I wasn't with Caroline, I'd tap that." He said joking dramatically.
"Tyler!" I exclaimed laughing as I smacked him in the arm.
"What? I'm just saying for an older woman, you look pretty damn hot." He said jokingly.
"I'm keeping my eyes on you Lockwood." I threatened as I started walking away from him.
"Is that supposed to sound like a bad thing?" he asked raising his eyebrows. I shook my head smiling at his antics.
"Well, well look at that. The kitten transformed into a vixen." Damon said popping up behind me.
"I don't know whether to be offended or disgusted." I said rolling my eyes as I walked over to the bar.
"You could always take it as a complement because that's the best you'll get out of me." He said smirking as I grabbed a water bottle.
"Well then, thank you for the dirty compliment, Damon." I said sarcastically as Caroline came over to us.
"Come on, let's dance." She said as she pulled me towards the dance floor. I tossed my bottle at Damon and ran with her.
The song changed to Last Friday Night by Katy Perry. Caroline and I started dancing dramatically to match the song. I spotted Bonnie and Elena standing with Stefan and Jeremy. I ran over and grabbed them and pulled them onto the dance floor. We danced until that song ended. The next song that came on was, I Like It by Enrique Iglesias. Caroline and I squealed and started dancing like crazy.
Us girls dance threw five more songs. After the last song, I was super tired. I told Caroline that I was going to leave. I grabbed my clutch and my shoes, which somehow came off while we were dancing, and walked out to my car. I walked outside was hit with cold air. I shivered as my eyes grew heavier.
"Come on, Charlotte. Let's get you home." Damon said putting his jacket on me.
"Damon?" I asked sleepily as I turned around.
"Come on. You're about to fall asleep on your feet." He said as directed me towards me car. I stumbled while we were walking. Damon apparently got annoyed and picked me up bridal style. I was about to protest, but instead I laid me head in the crook of his neck and fell asleep. What the hell, I'll deal with the consequences later.
Damon's POV
I watched as Charlotte walked sleepily out the front door. I debated on whether I should help her now or not. Elena would have my head if she killed herself in a car accident and I could have helped her out. I sighed defeated and walked out the front door after her. Luckily, she hadn't gone far. I shrugged off my jacket when I saw her shiver.
"Come on, Charlotte. Let's get you home." I said to her as I put the jacket on her.
"Damon?" she questioned sleepily.
"Come on. You're about to fall asleep on your feet." I said as I directed her towards her car. She was stumbling every other step and I was starting to get annoyed. So I picked her up bridal style and walked to her car. I noticed that she laid her head in the crook of my neck and fell asleep. I sighed as I opened the passenger seat and laid her in the seat softly. I grabbed her purse and grabbed her keys out of it.
I parked her car in the driveway and got out. I opened up the passenger seat and picked her up as carefully as I could. I used vampire speed and made it up to her room. I carefully laid her down on her bed, hoping that she didn't wake up. I put her shoes and her purse on her dresser and walked out of her room. I sighed in relief that this night was over.
