((A/N: this is my first Lurlene McDaniel fanfic, so please don't be too harsh. ^_^; I haven't read many of the fics on here so I don't know how well it will fit or anything. Anyways...this acts as a sequel to "Sixteen and Dying" and a semi-sequel to "Reach for Tomorrow". The plot actually begins before the end of "Reach for Tomorrow". Please read and review...and if you want to contact me with any suggestions or anything, you can e-mail me (lovelyfreak89@hotmail.com) or IM me (Ih8happypeoples or XxGameSlaveGazxX on AIM, Cloti4ever or Cloudzacutie on Yahoo, Lovelyfreak89@hotmail.com, Ih8happypeople@hotmail.com, or Cloudzacutie@yahoo.com on MSN). Thanks!))
"You lied to that poor girl, Morgan." Maggie Lancaster said, her voice stressed as she looked up from her reservation guide on the lodge's front desk. Morgan looked up at her, his blue eyes avoiding her direct gaze.
"I didn't lie, aunt. I just...didn't tell her the complete truth." he said, his gaze returning to the long plains stretching outside the lodge's sliding glass doors.
"You're going to tell her when you see her at that wedding, right?" his aunt continued, skimming over the guests' names. Morgan had breifly mentioned Meg Charnell to her, and she had learned more about the aspiring pediatrician through extensive grilling of her young nephew.
"I-No!" he cried, with a look of disgust in his eyes, "Why on earth would I tell her? She's lucky she got a response at all! She just as well ruined my life!" Morgan had taken a severe turn with his personality in the past months. He had finally worked up the courage to take the simple blood test he had been dreading.
And dreading with good reason. The results showed that, while his aunt was safe, he was subject to face the fate he feared. He tested positive for the genes that would cause the disease that had recently taken his father, and would one day take him as well.
"The girl didn't ruin your life, Morgan!" Maggie cried, exasperated. He'd gone over the possibility so many times in his mind, Maggie was more than slightly surprised to see him so bent up over it. She could see it all on one hand with perfect clarity. It was a risk she herself was potentially living with her entire life. But on the other hand, she'd never seen Morgan acting so bent out of shape. Somehow, deep down, she'd expected he would take it just as cooly as he had everything else. "Your life held this for as long as it has been lived, and you've known it could have for years! You can't blame that poor girl." she had a tired look to her eyes, and when Morgan looked at her he could see it clearly.
It was his fault she had that look, he knew.
While his aunt was aging, that had very little to do with her appearance. He blamed himself for her worn, pained eyes, and overall dingy look. Since he had taken that damned test she had been despairing, dreading the day he would become what his father had. A total wreck. That was his fate now, and he knew it was tearing his aunt up inside.
"I can't tell her." he said dully, not giving any explanation. He didn't feel he needed any. It was his life...certainly not his aunt's. And his decision just as much.
Anne Wingate had instilled that kind of thinking within him. That decisive "control" that he felt he needed over anything he could have it on. And telling or not telling Meg Charnell about his disease was one of those things.
"You really should, Morgan." His aunt half-pleaded. She could tell by the way Morgan spoke that he had cared about the girl he met in that camp, but she also knew Morgan had no intention to tell her. And in some ways she couldn't blame him. He cared about her, and she was sure that this girl cared about him. If she was so bent on his being tested, it would only make sense. In a way she could see that this was for her protection as well, as learning his fate would most likely hurt the girl deeply. But something inside kept telling her that wasn't why he was keeping it from her.
Not in the least.
"Are you going to that wedding?" she asked, half-changing the subject. Morgan looked up again, brushing whisps of dark hair from his face.
"I suppose I ought to. That Josh is a pretty okay kid, I guess." he said, looking up at the solid wood ceiling. The last thing he needed his aunt knowing was that he wanted to see that girl. The girl he was lying to. She was the one thing that had caught his interest since Anne died over two years ago.
And she had his intrest good.
"She'll be there, won't she?" Maggie asked quietly, seeing through him.
"I..don't know...." he lied, knowing it was pointless as he said it.
"You should tell her then." she said quietly, and Morgan left at that statement.
((It'll get better soon, I promise!!))
"You lied to that poor girl, Morgan." Maggie Lancaster said, her voice stressed as she looked up from her reservation guide on the lodge's front desk. Morgan looked up at her, his blue eyes avoiding her direct gaze.
"I didn't lie, aunt. I just...didn't tell her the complete truth." he said, his gaze returning to the long plains stretching outside the lodge's sliding glass doors.
"You're going to tell her when you see her at that wedding, right?" his aunt continued, skimming over the guests' names. Morgan had breifly mentioned Meg Charnell to her, and she had learned more about the aspiring pediatrician through extensive grilling of her young nephew.
"I-No!" he cried, with a look of disgust in his eyes, "Why on earth would I tell her? She's lucky she got a response at all! She just as well ruined my life!" Morgan had taken a severe turn with his personality in the past months. He had finally worked up the courage to take the simple blood test he had been dreading.
And dreading with good reason. The results showed that, while his aunt was safe, he was subject to face the fate he feared. He tested positive for the genes that would cause the disease that had recently taken his father, and would one day take him as well.
"The girl didn't ruin your life, Morgan!" Maggie cried, exasperated. He'd gone over the possibility so many times in his mind, Maggie was more than slightly surprised to see him so bent up over it. She could see it all on one hand with perfect clarity. It was a risk she herself was potentially living with her entire life. But on the other hand, she'd never seen Morgan acting so bent out of shape. Somehow, deep down, she'd expected he would take it just as cooly as he had everything else. "Your life held this for as long as it has been lived, and you've known it could have for years! You can't blame that poor girl." she had a tired look to her eyes, and when Morgan looked at her he could see it clearly.
It was his fault she had that look, he knew.
While his aunt was aging, that had very little to do with her appearance. He blamed himself for her worn, pained eyes, and overall dingy look. Since he had taken that damned test she had been despairing, dreading the day he would become what his father had. A total wreck. That was his fate now, and he knew it was tearing his aunt up inside.
"I can't tell her." he said dully, not giving any explanation. He didn't feel he needed any. It was his life...certainly not his aunt's. And his decision just as much.
Anne Wingate had instilled that kind of thinking within him. That decisive "control" that he felt he needed over anything he could have it on. And telling or not telling Meg Charnell about his disease was one of those things.
"You really should, Morgan." His aunt half-pleaded. She could tell by the way Morgan spoke that he had cared about the girl he met in that camp, but she also knew Morgan had no intention to tell her. And in some ways she couldn't blame him. He cared about her, and she was sure that this girl cared about him. If she was so bent on his being tested, it would only make sense. In a way she could see that this was for her protection as well, as learning his fate would most likely hurt the girl deeply. But something inside kept telling her that wasn't why he was keeping it from her.
Not in the least.
"Are you going to that wedding?" she asked, half-changing the subject. Morgan looked up again, brushing whisps of dark hair from his face.
"I suppose I ought to. That Josh is a pretty okay kid, I guess." he said, looking up at the solid wood ceiling. The last thing he needed his aunt knowing was that he wanted to see that girl. The girl he was lying to. She was the one thing that had caught his interest since Anne died over two years ago.
And she had his intrest good.
"She'll be there, won't she?" Maggie asked quietly, seeing through him.
"I..don't know...." he lied, knowing it was pointless as he said it.
"You should tell her then." she said quietly, and Morgan left at that statement.
((It'll get better soon, I promise!!))