This chapter is set around the end of April 2015.
Jem was pleased to see Chris and Lucy looking brighter than they had done the previous week. Despite the heart-breaking diagnosis, Jem knew that it must have felt like a load off of their minds now that they knew what they were dealing with, especially considering how they were acting whilst they were awaiting the results. Things quickly reverted back to how they had been a couple of weeks earlier, and Chris had invited Jem round for a movie afternoon. It was a great distraction and plan to cheer themselves up after the intense time that they had experienced lately, but after the film ended Lucy decided that she had to bite the bullet and update Paul about everything that had happened in the last month. Chris still hadn't decided if or when he was going to break the news to his parents, and was inwardly deliberating about it whilst Lucy was talking to Paul in her bedroom. Jem was still anxious about whether or not Chris was going to go back home, but decided not to mention it considering that both Lucy and Chris had a lot on their minds and didn't want to cause any more tension.
Lucy suddenly emerged from her bedroom slowly as if in a daze, holing her mobile away from herself in shock with red eyes. Chris and Jem noticed immediately and sat up.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Chris asked worriedly, then panicked, "Is it Anne?" he asked, concerned that Lucy might be in pain because of the baby
Lucy shook her head slowly, "No, it's Paul" she whispered
Chris was relieved that there wasn't a problem with their unborn child, but was confused, "What about him?"
"Do you know Nick Petrides?" Lucy asked
Chris nodded slowly as he vaguely remembered Georgia's strange relationship with the slightly creepy man a couple of months earlier, "You mean Terese's brother, the oncologist?"
Lucy nodded grimly, "Yep, that's him"
"What happened?" Jem asked
"He told Paul that he had leukaemia when he didn't" Lucy revealed shakily
Both Chris and Jem were appalled, "Are you serious?" Chris exclaimed
Lucy nodded tearfully and Jem shook his head in disgust, "Who would do something like that?"
"Apparently Paul objected to the new cancer research centre" Lucy began, "So Nick altered his blood test results thinking that Paul would change his mind if he needed the treatment"
"That's disgusting!" Jem cried
"How long has this been going on for?" Chris asked
"Since around the time we left until the other day when everyone found out the truth" Lucy replied, remembering Paul being ill when she had last seen him but not noticing that something was serious wrong
"The entire time?!" Chris questioned
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, apparently Nick went as far as giving Paul chemotherapy, even though he didn't need it"
Chris shook his head slowly, "I can't even imagine what that must have been like" he murmured before shaking his head, "I never thought I'd ever feel sympathy towards Paul Robinson" he admitted quietly
Lucy chuckled slightly, "I bet a lot of people feel like that" she muttered before exhaling deeply, "But I don't know what to do"
"What do you want to do?" Chris asked gently
Lucy shrugged, "I know I should go back to be with him, but after I told him about Anne he insisted that I stay here"
"Well it's up to you" Chris told her, "If you want to go back then you can, but if not then there are plenty of ways to keep in contact with him, so you shouldn't feel guilty"
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, I guess" she replied, "And there's so much stuff to sort out here that I'm not sure I'll even have the time to visit properly"
"Then don't worry about it" Chris insisted, "You guys can support each other long-distance style without wasting time or money by travelling"
Lucy nodded, "Yeah, you're right" she muttered, "In fact, I'm going to look into what'll happen to Nick, because he needs to pay for what he did to my brother"
Chris nodded as Lucy rushed back into her bedroom, slightly surprised by her attitude as he had never seen her so vengeful before.
Jem had gone surprisingly quiet and Chris was concerned, "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked gently as he covered one of Jem's hands with one of his
Jem had been in a trance of sorts, but snapped out of it when he felt the warmth of Chris' hand, "Nothing" he replied distantly
Chris shook his head, "I can tell it's not 'nothing'" he retorted, "You can tell me anything, you know"
Jem nodded slowly, "It's all that stuff with Paul, it brings up a lot of bad memories" he replied quietly
"Of what?" Chris questioned
Jem glanced at Chris awkwardly, "Of my mum, she died of leukemia a few years ago" he admitted
Chris was horrified, "Jem, I am so sorry" he apologised earnestly before letting out a deep breath, "That stuff about Paul must have been hard to hear"
Jem nodded slowly, "It was, and he must have been so scared when he was diagnosed and when he was having the treatment"
Chris nodded before linking their fingers together, "Do you want to talk about it? Your mum or how you're feeling, anything?"
Jem shrugged, "There's not much to say, really" he replied, "My parents had separated years before and I guess I was always closer to dad than to her. Not saying that I didn't care, because I did, but it was just different"
"How long ago was this?" Chris asked
"Just over five years ago, the 25th of February 2010" Jem responded, "It still hurts, not having her around anymore, but a lot's happened since so I guess we've all had to move on with our lives"
Chris shrugged, "Yeah, I guess nobody wants their loved ones to grieve forever, or for them to be held back by a loss"
Jem nodded and Chris repositioned himself so that he was sitting sideways on the sofa to face him, "I appreciate you telling me all of this" Chris murmured, "It couldn't have been easy"
Jem shook his head, "Well it's not an easy thing to talk about, but there's something about you that makes it easy for me to be honest"
Chris smiled, "I'm glad" he replied, "But if I start talking about something that makes you feel uncomfortable, please tell me to shut up so that I don't upset or offend you"
Jem chuckled, "Oh, I will" he replied before kidding him tenderly. The kiss quickly became more heated as Chis gently pushed Jem down into the sofa cushions. However, after a few moments Chris sat up worriedly.
"What's wrong?" Jem asked, worried that Chris' insecurities from a few weeks earlier were arising again
Chris hesitated and glanced over his shoulder, "Well, it's just that in the next room there's a pregnant, hormonal woman who wants revenge on an oncologist who ruined her brother's life"
Jem nodded in understanding, "Yeah, you might want to make sure she's not doing anything stupid"
"I'll be back in a minute" Chris replied hastily before lifting Jem back up, jumping off of the sofa and rushing into Lucy's room. Jem chuckled to himself despite the emotional situation and – for the first time in a long time – felt annoyed that not being able to walk meant that he'd have to wait until Chris came back so that he could find out what was going on. A few moments later, Chris emerged with Lucy who was cradling her laptop with a frown on her face.
"Are you ok?" Jem asked
Lucy shook her head, "No, I want to find out what's going to happen to Nick" she grumbled
Chris gently sat her down on the sofa, "He'll probably be sent to prison for a long time" he assured her, "Then Paul can put this whole nightmare behind him, and so can you"
Lucy nodded grudgingly, "Yeah, I guess" she murmured as she closed her laptop. Jem gazed at Chris fondly, admiring how calm and collected he was being considering everything that was going on. Unbeknownst to him, Chris' head was full of worries so his cool exterior was just an act to cover up how he was really feeling. Now more than ever, Chris realised that he wanted and needed to stay in New York for good, but was scared of admitting it out loud and was unsure about what he was supposed to do now that he had made his decision.
Thanks for reading! Apologies if the leukemia stuff was hard-hitting, but I thought that I would make reference to Paul's false diagnosis and expand on Jem's backstory in the process (though it does make Jem seem like quite a tragic character). For observant readers, the 25th February 2010 (the date I chose for the death of Jem's mum) was actually the date of Chris' first episode. The next chapter will be up in due course: I have a vague plan for the next few chapters, but if anyone wants to contribute their ideas for other points in the story, don't hesitate to let me know. In the meantime, reviews are always welcome!
