Chapter 9 - Don't even say it, I got my eye's shut.

"Mom, please don't make me do this," Keely begged, one last time before she was pushed out the door.

Keely and her mom had been up since the phone call, and now they stood, ready to try to face another day. Well, her mother was ready. Keely just wanted to go back to bed and cry.

Apparently her father died very quickly. Before the staff even knew. He went quietly apparently. Never made a sound. Peaceful.

"I don't want to go to school, mom," Keely pleaded. She had never looked worse. Even when Phil had used the Giggle, and she had decided to give up, as she was looking at a bleak future.

Mandy shook her tangled hair. "No. Your father would have wanted you to look towards the future. He would have wanted us to get on with our lives. And that's what we're doing. Heading towards the future."

"Well, seeing as I'm heading to Phil's house, then yeah," Keely muttered, making sure her mother didn't hear. "Mom…"

Mandy shook her head again. "Keely, you're going. Do you want a lift to Phil's house?"

"No," Keely declined the offer. "I want time to think."

Mandy nodded. It was hard for her, but she had no idea how hard it must be for Keely to process. Her father, had been admitted, and died all in one night. "See you later muffin."

"Bye," Keely whispered, and began to walk slowly to Phil's house.

Why my dad? What had he ever done to deserve cancer? To deserve to lose everything? If he really loved me, then he shouldn't have left. He promised that he'd try to fight. But he didn't. Slipped away peacefully. Whatever.

They said that he'd probably live another few weeks at least. Well so much for that prognosis. He's dead now. One day. Not even that. He didn't last one, stinking day. So much for fighting the illness. He practically lay down and let it kill him.

Phil's house was only round the corner, and pretty soon she was ringing the doorbell.

Pim answered. "Well, if it isn't Little Miss Sunshine. What are you doing here?"

"Is your brother walking to school?" Keely whispered.

Pim cocked her head to one side. "Gee, I don't know. He's debating about flying in, to the actual building on the Skyak."

"I'm not in the mood for sarcasm, Pim," Keely said, feeling the tears prickle in the back of her eyes.

"Oh look, she's gonna cry," Pim pouted.

Keely wiped her eyes with her sleeve. "Pim, can you just get Phil, please?"

"There's a rain cloud over Little Miss Sunshine's head," Pim teased, laughing at Keely.

Keely slammed her fist against the door frame. "Pim, just get Phil, now!"

Phil heard Keely shouting, and ran out to see what the matter was. "Keels?"

"I'm early today. So you don't have to come and wake me up. Well, you wouldn't have had to anyway. Me and mom were awake. We have been since one o'clock," Keely said, her voice in an emotionless tone.

Phil knew something was wrong instantly.

"Well no wonder you're cranky. There's something people need in this century. It's called sleep. You might like to try it sometime. It stops people getting moody," Pim said, slowly, as if Keely was dumb.

Phil put his hand out. "Pim, shut up."

"But…" Pim started.

"I said, shut up!" Phil shouted, and looked over at Keely, who had begun shaking. "Keels?"

Keely broke down. "Phil. He died. Last night. In hospital. He gave up. He gave up! He just died. At one o'clock in the morning. He was found. Dead. He promised he'd fight, but he didn't. Because I wasn't worth it!"

"Keely…" Phil said. He didn't know what to say now. What would help cure the pain she was in?

"Don't you understand, Phil? He died. He didn't care. He left me. He did all these things, but he forgot about how I would feel. Mom says that if he were alive he'd just be in pain. But what about my pain? What about me?" Keely screamed, causing Lloyd and Barb to come running into the hallway.

Barb looked concerned. "Guys?"

"Sorry mom. Keely, why are you here? Why aren't you at home with your mom? You guys need each other at a time like this," Phil said, running over to Keely, and hugging her.

Keely sniffed loudly. "Tell that to her. She doesn't care. She wants us to get on with our lives, like nothing has happened. But it has happened. My dad is dead! He's dead, and getting on with our lives isn't going to bring him back!"

"I think this is a boyfriend and girlfriend moment," Pim said, excusing herself.

Normally Phil would have yelled after her, but Keely was his priority now. Nothing else mattered.

"Lloyd. Go and see that Pim is okay," Barb instructed her husband.

Lloyd looked confused. "Why?"

"Just, do it," Barb said through gritted teeth. Her husband wasn't known for his tact. "Keely, come over here."

Keely stumbled away from Phil, and into the open arms of his mom. "Mrs Diffy, he died. My dad…"

Phil stood, watching his mother comfort Keely. He wished that he knew what to say. That he could do something to ease the pain his friend was feeling.

"Phil, get Keely a drink," Barb told her son. Phil nodded. A drink he could handle.

He went through to the kitchen and got out a glass, and ran it under the tap. What had happened to cause her dad's death? He had seemed fine yesterday. Well, not fine, but not like he was going to die at any moment. He shrugged. Sometimes these things happen, right?

When he went back into the hallway, he found Keely and his mom sitting on the stairs.

"Mrs Diffy, I have to go to school," Keely whispered, taking the glass of water that Phil held out to her.

Barb shook her head. "Not yet. I'll zap you over with the Wizrd just before your bell goes. You won't be late. Just tell me how you feel Keely."

Phil was impressed. His mother could be a psychologist if they found out that they had to stay in this century.

"I just feel…empty. Like he's died and taken a bit of me with him," Keely tried to explain. "I don't know how I feel. I mean, I'm sad, but I hardly saw him. I didn't want him to die. I mean, he's my dad. But I just feel weird."

Phil listened to Keely talking. He tried to imagine how that would feel. To lose someone close to you. Like if he lost him mom, or his dad. Pim he could probably handle losing.

Barb pulled Keely into a hug, which Keely returned. All night, her mother had cried with her, but she had never hugged her. Barb was the mother that Keely had never really had. Sure, her mom was great at talking to about clothes, and school. But Barb was there for her about other things. Like how she felt.

"Thanks Mrs Diffy," Keely said, finishing the water. "C'mon Phil, we'd better be going to school." She got up and dusted off the plain jeans she had thrown on that morning.

Phil watched as she went to put the glass away. "Mom, what will I say to her at school?"

"Just act normal," Barb said, smiling at her son. "She needs you there for her. She needs you. Not some counsellor type."

Phil nodded. "Okay."

--

"I hate this," Keely sat down at the table with Phil at lunch. "Do they think that I'm going to thank them for giving me an extra helping of this muck?"

Phil sighed. "Keely, they're only showing you that they're there for you."

"Well I don't need them there for me. They haven't been there for me before. Not until my dad dies. And now they want to say sorry? Well bring my dad back. If they're that flipping sorry, then they will," Keely said, shoving her fork into the surprise lunch. "And they way they all say it annoys me. It's like, 'Keely. How are you. Good. I'm so sorry.' Like I'm stupid or something. They can't say things with more than two syllables. Because she's just lost her father, and apparently her brains."

Normally Phil would have laughed, but there was nothing normal about today. "They don't know that it annoys you, do they?"

"Keely," Via came up to their table, speaking to Keely for the first time that day. "I'm really sorry. If there's anything I can do…"

Keely looked up at her. "Can you bring my dad back?"

"No," Via looked embarrassed. "That's the one thing I can't do. But I can give you a hug."

Keely smiled. "A hug would be appreciated."

Phil watched as Via hugged Keely, wishing that he could have done something as simple as that. A hug, which brought a smile to her face. It wasn't exactly rocket science, was it?

"When did you find out?" Via asked, breaking apart from the hug.

Keely jabbed the fork in the lunch again. "One o'clock this morning. I woke up. It was like, I knew, before the phone call. One of those freak coincidences or something."

"I'm really sorry for you Keely. I know that if my dad died, I'd be heartbroken," Via said, sympathetically.

Keely looked up at her. "You feel totally worse than heartbroken."

"Probably. I just don't know how it feels. My dad's still alive. Well, last time I checked. I don't want to feel it, to be honest," Via said, truthfully.

Keely shook her head. "I hope that neither of you guys ever have to feel it. Not until you're way older anyway. Because it hurts."

Okay, this is probably the last chapter until I get back, unless I type all night, so I hope you enjoy.