It was late in the evening when, Jack opened the front door of the house and stepped inside. A few seconds later Kyle followed, hands stuffed in his pockets, his eyes down. Jack watched as Kyle strolled into the living room, pausing when he caught his reflection in the mirror. Kyle stared at himself for several seconds, before turning away and sitting on the couch with a heavy sigh. Jack walked over to where Kyle was sitting forward, resting his forearms on his legs, eyes focused down.
"Kyle?" Jack said, breaking the silence. Jack sat next to his son and continued, "You didn't say a word all the way home."
"What is there to say?" Kyle said.
Detecting the despondence in Kyle's voice, Jack said, "I know how troubling this is for you. We are all here to help you get through this."
"Yeah," Kyle said, falling back against the couch, "Except that nobody can really help me."
"You heard what the doctor said," Jack reminded, "There are options."
"Yes, there are," Kyle said, "Except none of them will do any good."
"You don't know that," Jack said.
Kyle shook his head, Jack could see he was fighting tears. "I realize this will not be easy for you," Jack consoled, "Yes, it is tough road ahead of you, but you can't give up. You can fight this."
"What's the point?" Kyle exploded, standing up, "Nothing I do is going to prevent this from happening. No matter what I do, I will still be dealing with this. I am going to get worse and worse until I can't fight it anymore."
"People have overcome this," Jack said, also standing, "You are young, strong and no pre-existing medical issues. There is no reason you can't be as fortunate."
"How did this happen?" Kyle said, "How did I get here? I take care of myself, do what I can to stay healthy."
"It does not discriminate," Jack said, "You did not do anything to cause this. Please remember, your family is all here for anything you need."
Kyle closed he eyes and sighed, "How do I tell her?"
"Rachel loves you, she will understand," Jack said.
Kyle rested his hands against the mantel of the fireplace. "We had so many plans, a future to look forward to. Now, just like that it's all gone."
"Nothing is a certainty," Jack said, "That future is still there. I believe you will beat this."
"Please stop telling me I will be fine, when I know I won't be," Kyle said.
"That is not necessarily true," Jack said.
Kyle turned around to face his father, drawing a shaky sigh. "What am I going to do?" Kyle said, quickly wiping away a few escaped tears.
"Kyle, we will work this out," Jack said.
A few more tears spilled down Kyle's cheeks, as Jack reached out for him. "Dad…" Kyle whimpered, breaking down in his father's arms. Hearing Kyle's sobs, was breaking Jack's heart, as he held his son and tried to soothe him. Jack also lost some tears, wishing he could spare Kyle any suffering and make it all go away.
Kyle carefully opened the bedroom door, as he quietly stepped inside. Peering at the bed, he could see Rachel was asleep. He stood watching her for a few seconds, before slipping off his outer clothing, sitting on the bed beside her.
Momentarily closing his eyes, Kyle thought, "How do I do this?" Opening his eyes and focusing on Rachel he whispered, "How do I tell you?"
Rachel stirred and waking she saw Kyle, who forced a smile at her. "Kyle?" she sleepily said.
"Yeah, it's me," Kyle said.
"Are you just getting home?" Rachel said, "It's late. Where were you?"
"I got home a little while ago," Kyle said, "I had something to take care of."
"I was worried," Rachel said.
"It's okay," Kyle said, climbing in next to her, "Everything is fine. Go back to sleep."
Kyle lay down, outstretching his arm, inviting her to lay close with him. Rachel snuggled up to Kyle, who gave her a lingering kiss on the forehead, before she drifted to sleep once again. Worry kept Kyle awake, as he envisioned, not only breaking the news to Rachel, but how to handle his situation. Fear of suffering for himself and those he loved, crept over him. Contemplating the unknown path before him, Kyle held Rachel closer to him.
Jack descended the stairs the next morning, surprised to find Kyle, still dressed in his sleepwear, on the couch, sifting through pages on his tablet. A cup of coffee assisted on the table beside him.
"Good morning," Jack said.
Momentarily looking up, Kyle said, "Hey Dad," before returning his focus to his device. Pouring himself some coffee, Jack sauntered over to where Kyle was sitting, and paused before he said, "How are you?"
Kyle shifted his eyes up to look at Jack across from him, before he said, "I'm the same as yesterday. Minus a night's sleep."
"Yeah, I didn't get much sleep either," Jack said, "What are you so involved with over there?"
"I couldn't sleep, so I have been looking up information that pertains to my diagnosis and different treatments available," Kyle said.
"You know you can't believe everything you read on there," Jack said.
"I know," Kyle said, "All the facts from different sources agree on one thing."
"Which is?" Jack said.
"The risks," Kyle said, "And the survival rate."
"Kyle…" Jack sighed.
"I know you don't like to hear about that," Kyle said, "I don't like to think about it, but I am just trying to be realistic."
"Alright, be realistic," Jack said, "I know this is a lot to deal with and you are still dealing with the shock. But you need to have some level of optimism, some positivity. You can't assume things will turn out to be the worst case scenario."
"There may be a very small chance that I will be okay," Kyle said, "But I don't want to pin all my hopes on that chance, just to find myself, dying in a hospital bed, a year from now."
"There is every possibility, a year from now, you will have recovered from this, you will be married and have a wonderful future in front of you," Jack said.
"I would give anything to have that," Kyle said.
"Then give anything," Jack said, "Fight for it."
"I'll try," Kyle said.
"I have been meaning to ask you," Jack said, "Did you talk with Rachel about this?"
"No," Kyle said, "She was asleep when I went upstairs last night. She woke up for a few minutes, but I didn't want to get into it. She looked so beautiful and I just wanted to hold her for one more night, without this hanging over both of us."
"You have to tell her," Jack said.
"I will," Kyle said, "It's just that…as soon as I do, everything is going to change. Our lives will go from happiness to disaster."
Kyle was quiet for a few minutes, before he said, "Dad, I'm sorry about last night. I didn't mean to fall apart on you like that."
"No apologies," Jack said, "That's what I'm here for." He smiled at Kyle.
Kyle gave Jack a half smile, as he said, "Are you wearing that to the office? It's kind of casual for you."
"I'm not going into the office today," Jack said, "Neither are you. I am taking you to your specialist appointment and then I thought we could spend the day hanging out together. If you feel up to lunch out or if you just want to sit by the pool, we could do whatever comes up."
"You don't have to babysit me, just because of my diagnosis," Kyle said.
"Do I need a reason for a father, son day together?" Jack said, "I'm doing this because it's long overdue."
"I would like that," Kyle said, "But first I want to ask you for a favour."
"Name it," Jack said.
Rachel was fixing her hair in the mirror, when she saw Kyle enter the bedroom. "There you are," she said, "You were up before me this morning."
"I couldn't sleep," Kyle said.
"You're not dressed yet," Rachel said, "Aren't you going to be late for work?"
"I'm not going in today," Kyle said.
"Are you okay?" Rachel said. Feeling his forehead she said, "Are you coming down with something?"
Kyle removed her hand, but held onto it, as he said, "I need to talk to you."
"What's wrong?" Rachel said.
Kyle continued his hold on her hand, as he led her to the sitting area of the bedroom. As she sat next to him, Rachel could see Kyle was nervous, but also detected a level of sadness. Kyle hesitated to speak, Rachel prompting him with a reminder that he could tell her anything. Kyle began with a profession of his love for her, culminating that with a kiss. Then he started to explain his situation. Confessing the severity of the headaches, the dizzy spells, the lack of concentration and the memory lapses. He told her about his episodes of passing out, apologizing for keeping it all from her. He explained why he came home so late the night before, how his Dad had taken him to the hospital, tests he had done and how the doctor found the cause of his symptoms.
Rachel could see Kyle was apprehensive to continue. She saw the despondent look in his eyes and knew something bad was coming.
Kyle spilled out the story of his diagnosis. Rachel's eyes wide she looked at Kyle in disbelief. Tears were slipping down his cheeks, as he nodded at her in confirmation that she had heard him correctly. Rachel wrapped her arms around Kyle, the couple holding each other tight. Sitting close to each other, Rachel took both of Kyle's hands in hers, as he affirmed what this meant for him and the possibility he may not survive. Rachel's eyes welled up as she hugged him again, her heart breaking at the sound of his uneven breathing among tears. Neither of them wanted to let go. Maybe if they held each other long enough they would wake up from this nightmare. Only, Kyle and Rachel knew it wasn't a dream, this was really happening.
Abby smiled as she walked into Crimson Lights, approaching the table where Mariah and Tessa were sitting. Abby sat down with them and said, "I am so excited."
"I can see that," Mariah said, "What's going on?"
"The wedding," Abby said, "I have so many ideas."
"Wedding?" Mariah said.
"Kyle and Rachel's," Abby said, "I want to put some excitement into Rachel's bridal shower."
Mariah and Tessa exchanged glances, before Mariah said, "I will ask the obvious question. Why are you planning everything?"
"I guess Rachel didn't tell you," Abby said, "She asked me to be a bridesmaid."
"That's really nice," Tessa said, "But I'm the maid of honor. Mariah and I have planned the shower already."
Abby paused before she said, "Where are you having it?"
"We booked a private party on the rooftop of the athletic club," Mariah said.
"We figured it was summer, so it would be nice to have it outside," Tessa said.
"Plus since their wedding will be outdoors, it compliments the big day," Mariah said.
"They are having an outdoor wedding?" Abby said.
"Yes, they are getting married in Chancellor park," Tessa said.
"Kyle has told me so much of what the wedding will consist of," Mariah said, "Sounds like it's going to be fantastic."
"I get excited just thinking about it," Tessa said.
"I'm sure it will be a day they will never forget," Abby said, "Well, there is still the bachelorette party, right? I can infuse my plans into that one."
"We have pretty much taken care of that too," Tessa said.
"Yes, but by all means tell us your ideas," Mariah said, "Maybe we can incorporate them."
"Sounds like fun," Abby said, as her phone beeped. Responding to it, a puzzled look came over Abby as she read over her text message.
"Everything okay?" Mariah said.
"That's strange," Abby said, "Uncle Jack wants me to come over to the house right away. He says it's an important family matter."
"Any idea what's going on?" Tessa said.
"No," Abby said, standing up, "I guess I'm about to find out." She gathered up her purse and left the coffeehouse.
"I hope everything is okay," Mariah said, just as her phone signaled a call coming in.
Answering, Mariah said, "Hello?"
On the other end the caller said, "Mariah, this is Jack Abbott, Kyle's dad."
"Mr. Abbott," Mariah said, looking across at Tessa, "What can I do for you?"
"I hope I am not catching you at a bad time," Jack said, "I was wondering if you could come over to the house this morning."
"I suppose I could," Mariah said, "Can I ask what this is about?"
"I know Kyle would really appreciate it, if you could make it," Jack said.
"Kyle?" Mariah said, "Is something wrong?"
"Could you be here?" Jack said.
"Yeah, I'll be right there," Mariah said.
"See you then," Jack said, ending the call.
Noticing the look of concern on Mariah's face, Tessa said, "What was that about?"
"It was Kyle's dad," Mariah said, "He wants me to come over to the house. Something about Kyle."
"That's all he said?" Tessa said.
"He was very guarded," Mariah said, "Abby said there was a family matter going on. First she gets a request to go there and now me. If this is a family thing, why do they want me there?"
"I hope nothing bad has happened," Tessa said.
"Yeah, I'm worried about that too," Mariah said.
"Well, go," Tessa said, "When you find out, you fill me in. I'm concerned now too."
"Okay," Mariah said, standing up with a sigh. Tessa watched as Mariah hurried out of the coffeehouse.
Bursting through the front door of the Abbott house, Billy said, "Does someone want to tell me why I was the only Abbott at the meeting today? Where in the heck is Kyle? He was supposed to be there." Addressing Jack, he continued, "And I thought you wanted a full report on this deal. I had do some fast talking to prevent us from losing the client."
"Something came up," Jack said.
"What does that mean?" Billy said, "Something more important than work?"
"Very much so," Jack said.
"I can tell something is on your mind," Billy said, "What is going on that you felt the need to call a family meeting in the middle of the morning."
"You will find out when everyone is here," Jack said.
The both turned when they heard the sound of the front door open. "I am sorry, I'm late," Traci said, "I was in a meeting with a very important person to talk about my book."
"You are not late," Jack said, "We are waiting for a few more."
"I been wanting to talk to you about something," Traci said, "I'm very concerned about…"
"Hold that thought," Jack said, "I'm sorry, but this is a very important family meeting. I'm finding it hard to think about anything else."
"You seem worried," Traci said, "What's going on?"
"All in good time," Jack said.
"Okay, I'm here," Abby said, bustling through the front door, "I have to admit, you've peaked my curiosity as to what this is about."
"You and me both," Billy said.
Everyone's attention was diverted to the sound of the front doorbell. Abby opened the door and said, "Mariah, what are you doing here. This is not the best time for a visit."
"Jack asked me to come," Mariah said.
"Yes, I did," Jack said, greeting Mariah with a smile, "It's nice to see you, please come in."
"Uncle Jack, what's going on?" Abby said.
"Now that everyone is here, we can get started," Jack said.
"Are we not waiting for Kyle to show up?" Billy said.
"Kyle is here," Jack said, "He and Rachel have been waiting in the other room."
"Why?" Billy said.
"This is Kyle's meeting," Jack said, "He has something he wants to talk to all of you about."
"I really wish you would stop being so cryptic," Billy said.
"I will let him know you are all here," Jack said, walking into the dining room.
"Do any of you know what this is about?" Abby said.
"I think, I might," Traci said.
Looking at Mariah, Billy gestured to a chair next to him. Feeling out of place, Mariah sat down. "I'm not sure what I'm doing here," she said.
Spying Jack, Kyle and Rachel walking into the room, Billy said, "I think we are about to find out."
Jack, Kyle and Rachel sat on the couch together. "Alright," Jack said, "Kyle do you want to start?"
Kyle nodded, pausing as he was unsure where to begin. "First off," Kyle said, "I appreciate you all being here. I know you have busy schedules. I have something I need to tell everyone." Kyle glanced at Rachel, who took his hand and kept a continued hold on it. The nervous tone in Kyle's voice was evident as he continued, "I know I've been short with most of you and not acting like myself and I apologize for that. Truth is, I have not been feeling like myself and I haven' t been feeling well for that last few months. So, Dad took me to see a doctor and I had some tests done. It turns out…" Kyle paused, before attempting to continue, "I uh…" he stammered.
Noticing Kyle's was becoming emotional, Jack said, "Do you want me to do this?"
"No," Kyle said shaking his head, "I need to say this." Taking a nervous deep breath, Kyle forced back his tears and said, "Dad and Rachel already know about this." Kyle took one more deep breath and said, "I'm sick."
Everyone felt the knot in their stomach at the same time as Kyle continued, "I have…a brain tumor."
Traci's hand went to her chest, Billy sat back in his chair, as Mariah and Abby stared at him in disbelief.
"How bad?" Billy said, "This can be taken care of, it's benign, right?" The room was silent so Billy prompted, "Right?"
Kyle slowly shook his head, as Jack said, "It's malignant." Jack put a comforting hand on Kyle's shoulder as he said, "The doctor says it's cancer."
Billy momentarily closed his eyes as Traci's hand flew to her mouth. Mariah shifted in her chair, as Abby said, "I don't understand. What does this mean? You're going to be okay, aren't you?" Abby became panicked as she said, "Tell me you will be okay!"
"Abby, I don't know," Kyle said.
"What?!" Abby said.
"Of course we really want Kyle to be just fine," Rachel said, "There a lot of factors that will…affect the outcome." Rachel was visibly shaken, causing Kyle to put his arm around her shoulders.
"Sweetie, I'm so sorry to hear this," Traci said, "What happens now? What did the doctors say was the next step?"
"I have some medication that should help alleviate the headaches and other symptoms," Kyle said, "Also, I will be having surgery, to see if they can remove the tumor."
"Of course they can," Abby said, "Then it will be gone and you will recover."
"That would be the best case scenario," Kyle said.
"What's the worst?" Billy said.
"Billy…" Jack said.
"I am not being insensitive, I want to know what we're dealing with," Billy said.
"Worst thing is, the tumor can't be fully removed, or it grows back, or it spreads," Kyle said, "In that case, my condition gets worse until I can't fight back anymore."
"Just to be clear," Jack said, "The doctor says there is no indication that it has spread."
"Yet," Kyle said.
Traci stood up and hugged Kyle, saying, "Oh honey." Sitting next to him, Traci took his hands and said, "I know how scary this must be for you. The key to all of this is to stay positive. Don't focus on the outcome, deal with the here and now. Take it day by day. Every day, I want you to tell yourself, you will fight this and you will beat this. Because, I believe you have wonderful future ahead of you." Traci hugged him again, "Remember, your family is here for you. You will not be going through this alone."
"Thank you," Kyle said.
Abby stood up, as did Kyle. He walked over to her and seeing her tears, he said, "Please don't cry over this."
"I can't help it," Abby said, "You're my favourite cousin." She smiled through her tears.
Kyle smiled back and said, "I don't want you to worry about me."
"That doesn't mean I won't," Abby said, hugging him. "I'll be thinking about you," she said. Pulling out of the hug, she said, "I am here for you, whatever, whenever."
Abby could not control her emotions, so Kyle pulled her into another hug. "Abby…" he sighed.
"I love you," Abby said.
"I love you too," Kyle said.
Billy walked over to Rachel and said, "Are you okay?"
"No, not really," Rachel said, "I keep hoping I am going to wake up from this nightmare."
"I know," Billy said, hugging her, "I know this is hard on you too. Don't forget, if you need someone, you know where to find me."
"That goes both ways," Rachel said, "I know you love him too."
"Yeah, I do," Billy said.
Billy turned around to see, Kyle standing before him. "Kyle…" Billy said, before he hugged him. Afterwards, Billy put his hand on Kyle's shoulder and said, "You are going to be just fine. Do you know why that is?"
"Why?" Kyle said.
"Because for one thing, you are an Abbott," Billy said, "And another thing. If you are not fine, I will kick your ass. I can say that to you, because you're my nephew." Billy and Kyle shared a smile.
"I am here for you too," Billy said.
"I know, thanks," Kyle said.
Mariah sauntered over as she and Kyle saw each other at the same time. "I don't know what to say," Mariah said, "Except, I am sorry you have to go through this." Mariah hugged him. "Thank you for trusting me enough to include me today."
"You are one of my best friends," Kyle said, "I couldn't imagine not having you here for this."
"Are we keeping this on the down low, or do you want me to tell anyone for you?" Mariah said.
"You can tell Tessa, I'm sure she will want to know," Kyle said, "If people happen to ask you about me, you can tell them. Just don't announce it or sky write it."
"Cancel the sky writing," Mariah nodded, "Is it okay if it reads 'Kyle Abbott will be just fine'?"
"I hope so," Kyle said.
"I refuse to believe anything, other than, you will come out the other side of this and make a full recovery," Mariah said, "And when you do, I will be the first one to take you out for drinks."
"It's a date," Kyle said.
Mariah hugged Kyle again, saying, "I am pulling for you, my friend."
"Thanks," Kyle said.
Seeing Rachel, close by Mariah walked over and hugged her too. Seeing the worry in Rachel's face, Mariah said, "He is going to be okay."
Wiping away escaped tears, Rachel nodded.
"Take care of him," Mariah said.
"Always," Rachel said.
As Mariah left, Kyle turned to Rachel and said, "Are you okay?"
"Me? What about you?" Rachel said, hugging him.
"I'm hanging in" Kyle said.
Noticing Abby heading for the door, Jack caught up to her. "Leaving?" he said.
"I feel bad for going," Abby said, "But I have to get back to work."
"It's okay," Jack said.
"I can't believe this is happening," Abby said, "He's so young, it's not fair."
"Not, it's not," Jack said.
"I don't know how to deal with this," Abby said, as Jack hugged her, "We can't lose him."
"We are not going to lose him," Jack said, "We won't let that happen."
"Tell Kyle, I will see him really soon," Abby said. Jack nodded. Abby headed out the door in a flurry of tears.
"Jack," Billy said, walking over to him, "I know how hard this must be for you."
"It's heartbreaking," Jack said.
"Be honest with me," Billy said, "You were with him, you heard what the doctor had to say. Do you think his chances are good for a full recovery?"
"I don't know," Jack said, "I honestly don't know and that scares me."