Chapter 25

**Eve's POV*

Claire coming home from the hospital was overwhelmingly emotional. It had been a little over a week since the horrible night Claire had gone missing. The terrifying and shocking memories of claire laid in that bathroom stall and unconscious in the ICU and the unnatural way her body twitched when she had the seizure swam around my head. There had been the odd glimpses of the old Claire through a week of visiting, but mainly she been a tired, weak and pale version of herself. I knew she was in pain as hard as she tried to hide it. I watched her lean against Shane as she walked out. I consider her strength, she had never been the biggest girl nor the physically strongest but her internal strength and determination were unmatched by anyone else I knew.

I hated leaving Claire and Shane's house but I could tell Claire was exhausted. And we needed to update Miranda, the poor girl was invisible through the day, living a half-life as a house ghost. It was still relatively early, the light outside so Miranda would still be an invisible ghost. Walking in a called her name, feeling the cold breeze pass through me telling me she there. I know she was waiting apprehensively for news on Claire. I smiled, "she home, she tired but doing well. Maybe you can go see her at the weekend with Jena?"

Jena was a sort of psychic who had come to the town a few years before on a ghost hunt. She had been part of a film team of three and they had all found more than they bargained for in Morganville. J was the only one to stay and her powers allowed Miranda to leave the glasshouse and maintain form through the day. J had a local job and was unfortunately busy today meaning it would be the weekend before Mir would be able to see Claire.

I figure was about an hour before Miranda returns to her physical form so Michael and I decided to watch a film before cooking tea. Michael suggested revenge of the nerds, one of Miranda's favourite films. She was a sweet kid and had never sort revenge, but the girl had suffered enough in her life for it to be understandable she romanticises the idea of getting revenge. I sat snuggled into Michael side on the sofa, purposefully leaving the large armchair empty for Miranda to hoover over and eventually sit into. I relax and watch the shenanigans of the film unfold. Partway through, I hear the noises of Miranda turning human in the hallway. I purposefully pretend I haven't heard it as I know she finds it embarrassing. Instead, I rewind the film slightly so she didn't miss any of the action, she thanks me quietly and flops back into her chair.

Michael pops to the kitchen to microwave hotdogs for our dinner. Not the nicest or healthiest dinner, but it was perfect in every way. Relaxed and with full bellies, we began explaining the day to Miranda. I still thought of Miranda as a kid so my instincts were to lie and protect her. But deep down I knew keeping her in the dark would be worse in the long run.

Still, I allowed Michael to do most of the talking and only answering questions directed to me. The horrific reality what Michael was saying was overwhelming to me as keywords such as 'myeloma', 'blood cancer', 'weaken bones' and 'increased risk of infections' stuck in my head as Michael explained. Michael went to bed relatively soon after the discussion which was fair given he'd been yawning for a few hours now. I knew I'd be unable to sleep and it seemed horrible to leave Miranda after that conversation. My head was spinning and I knew it would waste for her, given it was the first time hearing a lot of this information.

We sat curled on the sofa, blanket over our knees watching film after film. We laughed, ate junk and were just ourselves. Just us together. Not thinking about Claire or Cancer or Chemo. Just focused on the here and now. Partway through the night, I ran upstairs to find facemasks. We smeared the gel on each other's faces laughing before rubbing it even. I was incredibly jealous of Miranda's skin. It was so clear and probably the best part of being a ghost. Despite that, she was still a girl so loved a face mask as much as anyone.

Finally, I squeezed in a few hours of sleep before waking up too early and applying thick make-up. Even for me, it was extreme but I needed to try and hide the dark circles. The early shift went by in a blur. I was a mess of emotions and exhausted. Michael had some guitar lessons later in the day so he had gone to visit Claire and Shane that morning. I felt terrible to not visit her but I was sure she was in as much need as me for rest. Or maybe that was my way of permitting myself to go home and sleep. I was barely on my feet and really needed some sleep before Miranda came back to life at nightfall. It felt impossible to balance work, visiting Claire and caring for Miranda neither mind trying to balance a social life or get enough sleep. I hoped it would calm down over the next few weeks but I suspected it would get worse. Cancer is long-term and I was looking at a marathon of caring and illness.

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN MORGANVILLE OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS WITHIN THIS STORY

Thankyou for reading :)