CONGRATULATIONS TO RANDOM COOKIE NINJA FOR WINNING THE LONGEST REVIEW CONTEST! THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO YOU RANDOM COOKIE NINJA! YOU ARE AMAZING!
I'm still going to answer the reviews with questions and stuff, hopefully I'll get to that by tomorrow:) thank you all for participating! There's still another chance to win. The next contest will be announced at the end of the chapter! Along with another important A/N that I would really appreciate you reading:)
Chapter 11: So That's It Then?
CHRISSIE'S POV
"I'll never join you!"
"If you only knew the power of the dark side. Obi-Wan never told you what happened to your father!"
"He told me enough! He told me you killed him!"
"No Luke! I am your father!"
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Collin yelled.
"Dun dun dun dun dundun dun dundun!" Brady sang the Star Wars theme music, standing over Collin holding a "light saber." Well, technically a paper towel roll.
Brady and Collin both stood up and bowed, smiling widely. I stared at them for a moment, my eyebrows raised. Everyone in the room was silent for a moment, feeling uncomfortable. A loud, quick clapping broke the silence.
"YAY DO IT AGAIN!" Jay squealed from the chair next to my bed.
"At least someone respects our talent," Brady said, high fiving Jay.
"Again again again!" Jay squealed.
"Oh please no!" Kim gasped, cringing into Jared's side.
"I'm gonna have to agree with Kim on this one," I sighed, shooting them an apologetic look.
"Well then what do you want us to do?" Collin exclaimed.
"Nothing!" I laughed, "You don't have to do anything! Just sit in the corner or something!"
"But Seth told us we had to entertain you while he was gone," Brady sighed, grabbing Collin's shoulder, who was already half way to a corner.
"He said entertain, not torture," I laughed.
"Hey, this is a small hospital room. We had to work with what we had," Collin defended.
"So sing a song or something. You guys have the acting skills of toaster oven," I said, exasperated.
Brady and Collin looked at each other for a minute, and then back at me with a devilish grin on their face, "RA RA RA AH AH AH ROMA ROMA MA CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE!"
"I changed my mind!" I yelled, laying back on the hospital bed and covering my ears with the pillow.
"WOOOOAAAAAAAHHHH CAUGHT IN A BAD ROMANCE!" they sang, completely off key.
"Okay even I admit that's annoying," Jay giggled next to me.
"Hey, don't judge," Brady said.
Collin said, "Yeah, cuz BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY!" Brady joined in at the end.
"I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK BABY I WAS BORN THIS WAY! I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY I WAS BORN THIS WAY HEY!"
"No stop!" Jay squealed.
Seth has a problem with leaving me alone in the hospital, so he always makes sure there's someone with me whenever he has to patrol… or you know… have a life? Today, he recruited Kim, Jared, Brady, and Collin to be my "entertainers." Brady and Collin both obviously don't want to be here, but they make the most of everything. So, I've had to endure four and a half hours of Star Wars reenactments and Lady Gaga.
"Please be kind, for the sake of my little innocent brother!" I pleaded dramatically.
There was a silence and I thought they actually stopped singing. Turns out I was wrong because as I was sitting up in relief, Brady said:
"Alright. PROMISE I'LL BE KIND, BUT I WON'T STOP UNTIL THAT BOY IS MINE!"
"BABY YOU'LL BE FAMOUS! CHASE YOU DOWN UNTIL YOU LOVE ME! PAPA-PAPARAZZI!" they sang together.
I laid back down and clapped my hands together, "Please, God, if ever I've needed you the most, it is right now. Please stop these boys from singing! I'll do anything! I promise! For all that is holy!" I prayed.
"I'M JUST A HOLY FOOL! BUT I'M STILL IN LOVE WITH JUDAS BABY! I'M JUST A HOLY FOOL! OH BABY IT'S SO CRUEL," they sang.
"Please god!" I begged.
"Seriously guys?"
Brady and Collin quieted down immediately, "Hallelujah!" I yelled, springing up.
Seth ran over to me, taking me in his arms, "Are you okay? How are your ears? I hope they didn't torture you too bad."
"It was horrible!" Kim cried, "They have neither acting nor singing skills, and yet they demonstrated both!"
Seth turned to Brady and Collin, who were starting to inch their way out of the hospital room, "Are you kidding me? I just wanted you to… you know play cards with her or something! You don't have to make a Lady Gaga reference to everything you know!"
"We thought she was enjoying it," Collin shrugged.
"She was praying to God to get you to stop with a pillow over her head! Can't you read the signs?" Seth exclaimed.
Brady and Collin looked like they were holding something in, biting their lips.
"Don't you dare," Seth warned.
Collin's face was turning red and Brady let out a quick giggle.
"I'm warning you guys," Seth growled,
They looked like they were about to burst, and I watched closely.
"Look at my face," Seth growled, "I am not fooling around."
They obviously couldn't hold it in anymore, "CAN'T READ MY, CAN'T READ MY, NO ONE CAN READ MY POKER FACE! SHE'S GOT TO LOVE NOBODY!"
Well if this isn't bestfriendship, I don't know what is.
"Out!" Seth yelled, pointing to the door.
Brady and Collin walked quickly out the door, singing Poker Face quietly. I giggled as Seth rolled his eyes, exasperated.
"I'm sorry," Seth sighed, looking down at me. I looked up at him, noticing how his hair was growing back. It was like a buzz cut now. Mine was a little bit, but I was due for another round of chemo soon and I would not let Seth shave his head again. His hair's too beautiful a thing to waste.
"It's alright," I giggled, "It was a little entertaining… until they started singing. But it was alright before that."
"Sure Chrissie."
I shrugged, "So how was patrol?"
"Fine," he said nonchalantly.
"Find any vam-"
"Kid in the room!" Jared yelled quickly
"Vamanos! Everybody let's go!" I yelled, trying to cover it up.
"Come on let's get to it!" Seth sang
"I know that we can do it!" I yelled.
"You guys are weird…" Kim muttered.
Then, all heads turned to Jay, making sure he wasn't picking up on anything suspicious. Fortunately, he was too entranced in the picture of a penis he was drawing.
WAIT WHAT?
"Jay!" I yelled, "Why are you- what are you- how did you-"
"What?" Jay asked, "I love Squidward!"
I looked at the picture again and sighed in relief when he circled the face and put a mouth. Jeez, I never thought Spongebob could be so dirty…
"What did you think it was?" Seth muttered, studying the picture.
"Ah… nothing," I said quickly.
Seth looked at the picture a second time, turning it around, "Oh. Gosh, I never knew you were so dirty minded!" Seth laughed.
"I'm not!" I defended, "You just didn't see it before he… oh never mind!"
"Does that mean she has dirt in her brain?" Jay asked, coloring in the rest of his picture.
"Er… yes?" Seth said, looking at me.
"Oh," Jay laughed, "Oh and I agree with Kim. You guys are weird." Jay looked over at Kim and winked at her. She giggled loudly as Jared pulled her into his side, rolling his eyes. Whoa, when did my brother turn into such a ladies' man?
My little brother was growing up before my eyes. It made me sad to think I wouldn't get to see him fully grown, with a wife and kids. I wouldn't get to tell his first girlfriend not to break his heart or I'd break her face. I wouldn't get to get shit faced drunk at his wedding and punch my sister in law in the face. Nobody would call me Aunt Chrissie. I'd just be a memory. By the time Jay's an adult, I'll be long gone. He probably won't even remember what I looked like without pictures.
"What are you thinking about?" Seth whispered in my ear.
I shrugged lightly, "Just thinking."
Seth was going to say something else, but we were interrupted when the door flew open.
"Alright, everybody out! Doctor's here!" mom announced, parading into the room, followed by Dr. Cullen.
Jared and Kim stood up, "Come on Jay, I'll take you to the food court!" Kim said to Jay.
"Fine, but I get to sit next to you," Jay said, grinning his toothy grin.
"You sure do buddy," Kim laughed, ruffling the top of his head. Jared rolled his eyes again. I sense some competition going on here.
Seth and my mother, however, stayed put. No matter how many dirty looks my mother shot him, Seth always stayed to give me moral support. He also kept me calm and made me laugh whenever I needed it.
"Alright Chrissie, how have you been feeling?" Dr. Cullen asked.
"Okay I guess," I shrugged, "I think-"
"Chrissie!" mom interrupted, "Tell him about the dizziness!"
"Yeah, I've had some-"
"Oh! And you haven't had much of an appetite," mom pointed out, interrupting me again.
"Yeah, there's that. Plus I-"
"She hasn't been sleeping well either!"
"Yes, and-"
"Her eyes twitched yesterday!"
"Mom-"
"Her feet get cold at night!"
"Mom."
"I've noticed a change in her breast size and-"
"MOM!" I yelled cutting her off.
She looked at me innocently. Dear god, was she trying to kill me?
"Mom, please leave," I asked, trying to remain calm. I sounded like a robot though.
She looked a little shocked, "Why would I do that?"
"Because you won't let me say anyth-"
"Dr. Cullen, don't you think I should be allowed to stay in the room with my fifteen year old daughter while she is talking to a doctor?" mom asked.
I sighed loudly and fell back onto the hospital bed, staring at the ceiling.
"Mrs. Hope, I think Chrissie is mature enough to make decisions on her own. If she would like to discuss some things without her, I believe you should respect her wishes," Dr. Cullen said kindly.
I sat up slowly. Wow, he was actually siding with me. Maybe this pretty doctor wasn't just a pretty doctor. Gosh, maybe he's pretty and smart. Oh wait… he's a vampire. He has to be pretty and smart.
I watched my mom stalk out of the room as I slowly came to the realization: Oh shit, I'm talking to a vampire. I waited until the door was closed to finally turn to Dr. Cullen.
"Are you going to suck my blood?" I asked him calmly.
Dr. Cullen looked taken aback and turned to Seth, who said, "Yeah, I told her."
"Oh well uh… no I am not going to uh suck your blood. I've been doing this for years and I am perfectly in control," he said professionally.
"Kay. Just wanted to be sure," I said, smiling at him.
Dr. Cullen still seemed slightly confused as he looked at his clipboard, "So Chrissie, what's your pain level?"
"Um…" I paused, looking at Seth who was looking at me with concern, "three?"
Dr. Cullen raised his eyebrows, "Three?"
"Yeah… you know… out of ten. That's not that bad is it?" I asked, eyeing Seth again who was still on the edge of his seat. I could tell he was trying to keep a calm face and failing miserably.
Dr. Cullen sighed, "Seth, I think it would be best if you stepped out, too."
"No," I pouted.
"Just for a minute," Dr. Cullen promised, "Chrissie seems to have some trouble being completely honest with the level of pain she's in when you're in the same room."
Seth looked at me, his eyes widened, "Pain?"
"Seth," Dr. Cullen warned.
"Alright, I'll leave," Seth said.
"I'll miss you," I called as he headed out the door.
"Yeah yeah," he waved me off, but I could see the small smile on his face.
"So, Chrissie, please be honest. What has been hurting you? Do you have any concerns?"
I took a deep breath, "Well, I don't really have an appetite and the room spins around me a lot. My stomach and lower back sometimes hurt, but that could just be because I'm lying in bed all day. Uh… nausea sometimes, but no vomiting. Oh, and I bruise really easily, but what else is new there?" I laughed without humor.
Dr. Cullen, who had been scribbling all this down, clicked his pen and looked up at me, "Well Chrissie, you're due for another round of chemo, so we'll give you that in a few days. Also, we're looking into a bone marrow transplant."
Hmm, that's new.
"A bone marrow transplant is pretty much when we take stem cells from a donor and put into your body. It will replace the bone marrow that is not working properly and maybe help to cure your leukemia," he told me, "But."
Why must there always be a but?
"But?" I asked.
"But the donor must have the same genetic makeup as you," Dr. Cullen sighed.
"Ah."
I may not be smart or regularly attend school, but if I went to medical school, I would surely pass in the leukemia department. I know a lot about the disease I have, more than I want to actually. The problem Dr. Cullen has come up with is that neither of my parents, nor my brother, has the same genetic makeup as I do. And, because I'm so damn lucky, my blood type is O negative. Which happens to be the hardest to find a match for. I know it's considered a good to be original and not to be like everyone else, but not in the blood department. I can only accept blood from other people with O negative blood. And this is bad because when I'm losing blood quicker than Emily loses her cookies to the pack, the hospital has trouble supplying me with more.
So who, you ask, is going to supply me with these stem cells that perfectly match my genetic makeup?
That, my dear friend, is a very good question.
"So until we can find you a match, we're going to stick with Chemotherapy," he sighed.
"Gotcha."
"And I would like to schedule an MRI for you tomorrow morning, check out those lower back and stomach pains," he said, putting his pen back into his pocket.
000
MRI's are really boring and suck if you're claustrophobic. Which I am… so they dope me up on drugs so I don't spaz out and end up breaking something. I've had three MRI's in my life, each worse than the one before. The first I had when I was seven. I cried the entire time and had to get strapped down. The next when I was ten and I broke my wrist fighting off a doctor. Then when I was twelve, I fell asleep during it and had a dream where I was running through a maze of candy. When they woke me up, I cried for five hours because I never got to eat the candy in my dream. That was probably the worst.
Anyways, Seth held my hand as a nurse injected a medicine that will supposedly calm me down for the MRI. In truth it just makes me pretty loopy and you can tell me I'm going to Narnia instead of getting my body scanned for dangerous cancer cells and I'll believe you.
"How do you feel?" Seth asked after the nurse extracted the needle.
"Fine," I sighed, laying down on the bed and turning my head towards him. Staring into his deep brown eyes made me feel safe, as strange as that sounds. I guess it's the "imprint" or something. He grabbed my hand with his large calloused one, rubbing his thumb in soothing circles.
"I love you, you know that?" he whispered.
I was quiet for a minute, "Seth?" I asked finally.
"Hmm?"
"I think I love you, too," I sighed.
His eyes lit up, "Really?"
I stared at him for a minute, trying to remember what he just said, "What?"
"I said really?" he repeated.
"Hmm, I don't remember… OH MY GOD SETH!" I yelled, sitting up quickly.
"What?" he asked, panicking.
I snorted at his expression, "You really should get some teeth."
He looked confused, "I… have teeth?"
"No you don't!" I said in a baby voice, giggling.
"Chrissie?" Seth laughed uncomfortably.
"Christina," I corrected, putting my finger over his mouth, "I don't like Chrissie anymore. I want you to call me Tina!"
"Uh… alright Chr- I mean Tina."
"Good kitty," I smiled, patting his head.
"Seth why is the sky blue?"
"Seth how many fingers am I holding up?"
"Seth, stop floating in the air!"
"Seth, take that dress off!"
"Seth, you silly boy! Your feet don't belong on your head!"
"Does she breath when she talks?" I heard someone ask.
"She's kind of funny when she's drugged," someone else said.
"She is not funny! Last time she ripped the doctor's mustache off and told him his stripper name was Culo Grande," I recognized my mom's voice immediately.
There was laughing and a, "Isn't that Spanish for-"
"Yes. Yes it is."
"HAHAHA AHAHAH AHAHAHA HAHAHAH !"
I smiled at the ceiling, happy that I was amusing Aslan the lion. ROAR! Like a gorilla. Hehe, gorillas have babies. I want a baby!
"SEEEEEEEEETH! I WANT A BABY!" I squealed.
"Alright Chri-Tina," Seth said, smiling at me kindly.
"Is Chrissie ready for the MRI?" a nurse asked.
"It's Tina now!" I yelled, holding up my finger in protest.
"She sure is."
The nurse came over and helped me out of bed. I stumbled a few feet before Seth caught me and put an arm around me.
"Where… where are we going?" I asked, my eyelids drooping.
"To get an MRI," Seth answered.
"Don't wanna!" I pouted, stomping my foot.
"Well where do you wanna go?" he asked, following the nurse to an elevator.
"Hmm… SPARTA!" I yelled.
"Alright, we can go to Sparta. But you have to get the MRI first," he said.
"Pinky promise?" I asked.
"Pinky promise," he laughed, linking pinkies.
"THIS IS SPARTA!" I yelled, kicking out in front of me and almost falling over in the process.
"Whoa there, don't hurt yourself. Now lay down so the nurse can s-strap you to the bed," Seth said, his voice getting quieter.
"Okay Seth," I giggled.
And that's the last thing I remember before passing out on the bed.
000
"Tina?"
"Bluuurrrggg," I mumbled, rolling over.
"Tina?"
"Bluurrggewmaduble."
"Tinaaaa?"
"Avada Kedvra!"
"Tinaaa?"
"Why are you calling me Tina?" I asked, opening my eyes and blinking at the brightly lit room.
"Because you told me to…?" Seth answered.
"One thing you should know about me. When I'm doped on drugs, don't do, say, or believe anything I said," I sighed.
"So when you told me I was a studly muffin of sex goodness, you were lying?" he asked, cracking a smile.
"Er… yes?"
"You're a terrible liar," he laughed.
"Yeah yeah. So, what's the prognosis?" I asked, sitting up slowly. It was just me and Seth in the hospital room. Ten bucks my mom's outside arguing with a doctor.
"Well, Dr. Cullen was waiting until you woke up," Seth said nervously.
"Oh."
"Yup…"
"So… what's up?" I asked, trying to break the tension.
"Same old same old," he shrugged. Looking closer, I could see him becoming more nervous by the second. Gosh even I wasn't this nervous and it was my body. I guess reason for existence wasn't an exaggeration. Wow I'm a terrible person.
A few minutes later, Dr. Cullen entered the room holding his trusty clip board, followed by my mother. She was twiddling her fingers, another nervous habit. Jeez she's such a wreck.
"Good morning Tina," Dr. Cullen said brightly.
"It's morning?" I asked.
"Yeah, you slept for a while."
"Oh… yeah and don't call me Tina. Please."
"Alright Chrissie," Dr. Cullen said, then his expression became serious.
"The MRI results regarding your lower back pains came back and unfortunately, you are being diagnosed with Renal Failure due to leukemic cell infiltration. Meaning, ultimately, your kidneys are failing you because the leukemia cells have infiltrated them. It is treatable however, using a Hemodialysis, which would regulate your blood flow and filter it instead of your kidneys. But this is where we come to another path. It takes months and months before you can even start your first Hemodialysis treatment and your estimated life expectancy just isn't long enough to do all the preparing and tests. By then, your kidneys will have shut down altogether," Dr. Cullen explained. There was sadness in his voice, no matter how professional he tried to be.
"So we just have to get her a Kidney!" mom yelled, sounding hysterical.
"The problem is Chrissie's rare blood type," Dr. Cullen sighed.
My mom looked between Dr. Cullen and I, tears in her eyes. Finally, she just stood up and left, sobbing hysterically.
I looked at Dr. Cullen, "So that's it then?"
"I-I'm afraid so. We'll continue the Chemotherapy because it still brings some chance of recovery. Radiation therapy is also advised. As for the bone marrow transplant, we'll just have to wait and see," he said.
I nodded in understanding, refusing to look at Seth.
"Chrissie?" Dr. Cullen whispered.
I looked up at him.
"I'm truly sorry."
:(
A/N hi. So a lot of you have been asking how I know all this stuff about cancer. I have had a member in my family with it, but I don't really want to go into details about that. Mostly, it's a TON of research. For some reason, I'm really taking this story seriously and trying to get ALL my facts straight. Unfortunately, Wikipedia and Google can only take you so far, and some of my information is limited. So, just so you all know, some of this information might not be entirely accurate. I'm trying the best I can, but this is really scientific and I'm only fifteen. So, I apologize if not everything in here about cancer is correct. So far, I'm pretty sure it's all good, but as the story progresses, the info might become vague if I can't find enough details.
Contest #2!
Create the coolest/weirdest/funniest character (girl) that you can think of and I'll make her Embry's imprint! Also, leave a review of the chapter of course;)
I guess I should elaborate on that:
Name:
Age:
Description of looks:
Interests:
Favorites:
Personality:
Character's relationship with Chrissie:
Background story with her and Embry if you want: