Chapter 7:
Radiation treatment was pure torture for Maureen. She hated going to treatments, and she was always too tired to function all day. Instead of going to the loft that Saturday as originally planned, everyone, Benny and Alex included, was coming over to Maureen and Joanne's. Cassia was, of course, nearly in hysterics about Alex coming over. She refused to admit it, especially after Zack, but she had a thing for Alex.
Joanne entered the master bedroom to find Maureen resting in bed. She took a seat on the edge of the bed and stroked the diva's curls lovingly. Moaning, Maureen rolled over towards her.
"Are you sure you're up to company tonight, Honeybear?" Maureen nodded sleepily.
"I'm sure." Her voice was distant and obviously pained.
"What's wrong, Maureen?" she buried her face in Joanne's thigh.
"My head hurts so much, Pookie. Nothing's working to make me better." Joanne continued to stroke Maureen's hair.
"It is working, Honeybear, just give it time," she gently assured. "Maureen, are you hearing voices again?" she couldn't help but ask, that was the one question always burning in the back of her mind.
"No, no, no voices," Maureen muttered. She started to shake her head, but that hurt too much so she stopped. "Just the world's worst headaches."
"You rest, everyone will understand." Joanne stayed with Maureen, rubbing her back, until she relaxed and eventually fell asleep.
Joanne was getting out some snacks for everyone when their buzzer went off. She was about to call for Cassia when she remembered that she was at the store. She wiped her hands on a dishtowel and went over to the buzzer next to the front door.
"Hello?"
"Hey honey, let us up!" Angel chirped. Joanne pressed the appropriate button and retreated back to the kitchen; Angel and Collins could let themselves in the apartment.
Sure enough, about a minute alter the front door opened, and in burst Angel and Collins, making their grand entrance.
"Hey sugar," Angel said as she pulled Joanne into a warm hug. Joanne happily returned the hug.
"Where is everyone?" Collins asked as he grabbed a fresh beer out of the refrigerator.
"Maureen and Paige are napping, and Cassia ran to the store with Tiffany, they should be back any minute." Collins cracked open the beer and took a long drink before setting to work helping Angel and Joanne.
At the corner convenient store, Cassia paid for the gallon of milk Joanne sent her out for and the candy bar he was treating Tiffany to. When they walked out of the store, they ran into Alex and Benny.
"Hey Cassia," Alex said. She smiled and grabbed Tiffany's hand so she wouldn't get lost.
"Hey yourself." She looked at Benny. "Hello Mr. Coffin."
"Hello." The foursome began to walk down the street. Tiffany was surprisingly quiet as her candy bar contently.
"Here, let me carry that," Alex said as she took the milk out of Cassia's hand before she could even protest.
"Thank you." She blushed slightly. Benny gave his son a knowing look. There was absolutely no doubting the fact that the teenagers were smitten. He wasn't about to say anything though; especially since this was Maureen's daughter they were dealing with.
Cassia punched in the code and let Alex and Benny into the apartment building. She was grateful that Alex had taken the milk from her; she was still having some issues with her shoulder. He was a really sweet guy, but she wasn't exactly up to dating at the moment with everything going on at home. Still, she enjoyed their friendship and the prospects of a future relationship.
By the time Cassia and Tiffany got up to the apartment, Roger, Mimi and Mark had already arrived as well. The apartment was buzzing with excitement. Paige was awake by now and running around like the total nut she was.
"Here, Mama," Cassia said as she took the milk from Alex with a grateful s mile and handed it over to Joanne.
"Thanks, Cass." Tiffany was off and running around with Paige, and Benny was talking to the rest of the Bohemians. A brilliant idea came over Cassia.
"Let's go up to the roof," she said to Alex with a bright smile. That was the only way they would be able to have a private conversation.
"Alright." Without thinking, she grabbed his hand and lead him up to the roof.
It was surprisingly peaceful up on the roof. Cassia took a seat on a bench near the edge, and Alex took a seat next to her. She began to roll her shoulder to ward off the pain, but it wasn't working.
"What's wrong?" Alex asked. There was a concerned look in his eyes.
"Oh, nothing, I just messed up my shoulder," she replied quickly.
"Here, turn around," he said gently. Confused, Cassia complied. She turned around with one leg on either side of the bench. She felt Alex slide right up behind her. He slid her hair away from her neck, allowing his fingers to brush along the nape of her neck. Chills shot down her spine, but she didn't have time to react. He began to message her shoulders, taking special care not to hurt her. Cassia closed her eyes and relaxed. Never in a million years would Zack have done something like this for her.
After nearly ten minutes, Alex stopped. Cassia was disappointed that it was over, but she had sure not to really show it.
"How's your shoulder now?" he asked softly as he leaned forward so his face was a mere inches from hers. She turned to face him. For a split second her breath caught in her throat when she realized how close they really were.
"Much better," Cassia breathed. Alex leaned forward and gently pressed his lips against hers. His lips were soft and tender, nothing like Zack. Cassie rested her hand on the back of Alex's neck, holding him close, keeping the kiss going.
Meanwhile, Mimi headed up to the roof to tell Alex and Cassia that it was time to eat. She was surprised to open the door to the roof and find the teenagers in a heated liplock. The two flew apart, blushing profusely.
"Time to eat," Mimi said softly before disappearing back down the stairs. Cassia straightened her hair and clothes while Alex did the same. Once they were both presentable, they headed back down to the apartment.
Later that night, Cassia cornered Mimi in the kitchen to confront her about what she saw up on the roof.
"Aunt Mimi, you're not going to tell anyone about me and Alex, right?" she asked nervously.
"What's to tell?" Mimi asked with a wink before disappearing back out to the family room to everyone else. A smile spread across Cassia's face as she grabbed sodas for her and Alex.
Maureen rolled out of bed. She heard voices in the next room and quickly became afraid until she realized that they were the voices of her friends. She pulled on her glasses to hid her glassy eyes. Trailing her fingers along the wall, she made her way out to the family room.
"Hey sleepy," Mimi chirped. Maureen nodded as she made her way over to the couch.
"Here Mo, you can sit here," Angel said as she abandoned her seat on the couch and sat comfortably on Collins' lap. He slid a secure arm around her waist.
"Thanks Angel," Maureen mumbled as she sat on the couch.
"Honeybear, is everything alright?" Joanne asked as she got to her feet to get Maureen a plate of food. She leaned over to give her a quick kiss on the cheek.
"I just don't remember you saying that everyone was coming over," Maureen replied softly.
"I told you a few days ago, and we were just talking about it this afternoon." No matter how hard Maureen wracked her brain, she couldn't remember that conversation.
"Oh," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand. She didn't want to talk about it then. Joanne gave her another quick kiss before getting her some food.
Alex reached over and gave Cassia's hand a quick squeeze where they were hunched over her laptop in the far corner of the family room. Now he could see why she never really talked about her mother. She looked like a walking skeleton, and it was obvious that she wasn't all there mentally because of the tumor. Cassia focused especially hard on the laptop screen.
"What's wrong?" Alex whispered so none of the adults would hear them.
"Nothing." Her tone was final, telling him to drop it at the moment.
Mimi perched herself on the arm of the chair Roger was sitting on and took a sip of beer before asking, "How have you been, Maureen?" Maureen shrugged.
"Alright, I guess. Radiation is the worst thing in the world," she replied weakly before taking a sip of soda.
"But it's making you better," Joanne pointed out.
"Whatever," Maureen snapped bitterly. The rest of the Bohemians understood that this was thin ice they were treading on and quickly changed the subject. Anything to keep Maureen happy and calm was perfectly fine with them.
Joanne was really starting to worry about Maureen. Her memory would randomly slip up, causing her to get upset. On the plus side, Cassia was her usual bubbly self once again. If everything went well with the tumor then everything would go back to normal with the family.
Joanne sat curled up on her recliner late one night reading over some papers from work when she heard a door open and soft feet pad down the hall.
"Mama?" Tiffany whispered. Joanne looked up from her work.
"Shouldn't you be asleep?" she asked sternly.
"I can't sleep." Joanne cleared her papers off her lap inviting her daughter to join her. Tiffany scrambled up onto her vacant lap. "Is Mommy gonna die?" she asked completely out of the blue.
"No, of course not, why would she?"
"Because she's sick again." Joanne buried her face in Tiffany's braids and held her close. What in the world was she supposed to say to that!?
"She'll be fine, baby, she'll be fine."
