Peyton slowly opened her eyes. She was not surprised to find herself attached to a hospital bed with wires and needles being poked into her. This surrounding was all too familiar since her car accident.
"Hello Ms. Sawyer" said a nurse
"Hi" Peyton replied sleepily
"How are you feeling" the nurse asked nicely
"What's wrong with me" she asked quickly
"We're awaiting some test results" she replied slowly
"Test for what" Peyton asked impatiently
"I'd rather not get you worked up until I am sure" the nurse said hesitantly
"Why would I get worked up" she asked quickly
"Do you have a parent or guardian I can discuss this with" the nurse asked
"No" Peyton replied
"There's no one-" the nurse began
"Look my dads out in the middle or the ocean and he's practically unreachable and my moms dead. It's just me, now will you please just tell me what's wrong" she begged
"Hospital rules say that I have to attempt to reach your father before I can tell you" she explained
"You won't reach him" she warned
"I have to try" she repeated as she slowly exited the room
Outside after school
"She just fainted. The school won't tell me where she is or how she is. And the teacher wouldn't let me leave class because I'm not related to her" Haley said in a panicked voice
"Did you try calling her" Lucas asked
"Her phone is off' she replied
Brooke immediately pulled out her cell phone.
"She just said her phone is off" Lucas repeated
"I'm calling information. I'm going to call every hospital in the town. She's has to be at one of them" Brooke replied quickly
"Good thinking" Haley replied
"I'll go find Jake" Lucas said as he began to walk away quickly
At the hospital
The nurse walked back into the room slowly
"If I didn't want information from you, now would be a great time to say I told you so" Peyton said with a smirk
"I have your test results" the nurse said in a sad tone of voice
Peyton's smile quickly faded
"I'm afraid it's not good news" the nurse replied
Outside school
"Thank you" Brooke said quickly as she hung up the phone
"She's at Evergreen" Brooke announced to Hailey
"Great I'll text the guys and we'll all just meet there" she said as she pulled out her cell phone
"Okay" Brooke replied as she headed toward her car
At the hospital
"Are you sure" Peyton asked softly
"Yes, and I'm very sorry" the doctor replied
"I'm only seventeen" she replied
"I know, it's a very rare occurrence for someone your age; but it is possible" the doctor explained
"How could something like this fall through the cracks? I come every year I get physicals. I exercise" she explained in a panic
"And sometimes even when someone does all of that this kind of thing is still possible" he continued
"It's not in most tests. Only two percent of women have this. But the two percent that are affected, usually don't know until it's too late"
Peyton rested her head in her hand.
"In your case, we think it has more to do with genetics" he said
"How long" Peyton asked hesitantly as tears streamed down her face
"I have never had a case that has been spreading as quickly as yours" he concluded
Peyton looked tearfully at the doctor
"At most a year" he replied softly
Peyton dropped her head and began weeping loudly
"I'm so sorry" he concluded
"There's no cure"? She asked through her tears
"We have yet to find one. There's nothing we can do" he replied
"My best advice is to enjoy the time you have left" he concluded as he walked out of the room
Peyton sank to her knees on the floor and covered her face with her hands.
"Why" she uttered softly through her tears
On the way to the hospital
"Hailey, are you and Jake stuck in traffic too"? Brooke asked in a frustrated tone as she honked her horn
"It's horrible, and there's some accident if you go the back way. I don't know any other way to get to the hospital" she said frustrated
"87th is bad too" Lucas concluded over the phone
"I'm stuck too" Nathan concluded
"Okay I'll call you guys back" Brooke said in frustration