Here is the second chapter to Stronger Than Cancer. I want to thank everybody who has reviewed and added my story to their favorites. It makes me smile. Well I hope you all like this chapter so please read and review.
Disclaimer: The characters are not my own. They rightfully belong to James Patteson.
When I woke up I found myself laying down on the window seat and a blanket covering me. I sat up and rubbed my eyes trying to rub the sleep out of them. When I looked over at my alarm clock I saw that it was three o'clock in the morning so there was no way I was staying awake. But no matter how bad I wanted sleep to come again, it wouldn't. Thanks to my next door neighbor's loud music and his obnoxious self. He had no consideration for anyone but himself.
Picking up my phone I dialed the number of the only person in the house that I knew would pick up.
"Hey Ella," The voice on the other end yelled. "What's up!"
"Hey Fang, could you please turn the music down? I have a massive headache and I need to go back to sleep." I told him.
"Oh yeah sorry!" I was so grateful when I could barely hear the music through the phone. It was now nonexistent through the window. "Is that better?" This time he asked in a normal voice not having to yell.
"Yes. Thank you." I said. "What are you guy's doing anyway?" I wondered looking over towards the window that was covered by a black curtain. On days when the curtain was open I would glance over and be able to see a flat screen television, a corkboard that held pictures hung up on a bright blue wall, an acoustics guitar that I could sometimes hear when both windows were open, and a queen sized bed.
"Iggy and I were playing his Xbox." Oh, boys and their video games. "We decided that the music would keep us awake." They did a pretty good job with that one.
"How is anybody asleep in that house?" I asked thinking of Iggy's mom, dad, and little brother Gazzy.
"Gazzy is staying at his friends house and Iggy's parents are taking a vacation this week." Why would they take a vacation without the boy's? "Iggy what did you say you're parents called their vacation?" I'm pretty sure Fang put me on speaker phone because I could hear what Iggy was saying perfectly.
"They called it they're 'very late honeymoon that has been long overdue.'" I laughed. "So basically they are going to fulfill the 'physical needs' that they soon started to talk about…that's when I stopped listening." Now Iggy could be an obnoxious self-centered jerk…but he was funny. I had to at least give him that much.
"Now that's sick." I said still laughing. It felt good to be laughing. I hadn't done much of it in the past twenty-four hours. When the laughter died down I still had a smile on my face.
"How are you feeling?" Fang asked he voice changing from an upbeat tone to a more low tone.
"Max told you didn't she?" She had to of. Not that I really minded though. Max needed somebody to talk to talk to about it and I figured that that person would have been Fang.
"Don't be mad with her. I came over earlier and basically forced her to tell me." I understood.
"I'm not mad." I had no right to be. "I'm not even the least bit surprised that she told you."
"Max is lucky that she has such a great sister." My lips turned up into a smile. Fang, even though he was closed off towards a lot of people, always knew how to make a person better.
"Thanks Fang. So how was Max?" I asked curious. The last time I seen her she was visibly upset.
"The moment I saw her…my heart dropped." And that was Fang talking. His heart dropped for no other girl than Max. "I have never seen her so…scared and vulnerable." It was hard picturing my big sister like that. She has always been the strong one. "She loves you El. Max is the strongest person I know, but this whole situation has shaken her."
"Are you the only one that knows?" I asked wondering if Iggy knew.
"As of right now yes. If you want people to know El, you're gonna have to tell them. You got out of telling me thanks to Max but everybody else is up to you." I already knew that but it makes me wonder who I should bother telling.
"Do you think I should tell Iggy?" I asked Fang for advice.
"If you think you should. It's really you're decision though." For some reason it felt like I should. Knowing Iggy for so long it just felt like he should know.
"Well then do you think that you, me, Max, and Iggy could all go to Jordan's tomorrow…and I'll tell him then." If I'm gonna tell him I might as well get it over with.
"I can set that up. Around eleven tomorrow?"
"Sound good to me, but right now I am going back to sleep." I informed him.
"Alright, I'll see you in the morning El. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Fang. You two get some sleep." When the other end of the line clicked off I walked over to my bed and let myself fall down on to the soft mattress. Sleep came quickly but before it totally consumed me I rolled over and glanced to the window of the house next door, the light trying to peak out from behind the curtains.
"What did little Martinez want?" I asked Fang when he was finally done talking to the pest next door. He sat on my queen sized bed behind me.
"She just wanted us to turn the music down. She could hear it from her room." I rolled my eyes. Girls could be such babies. "It is 3:30 o'clock in the morning so I don't blame her."
"Whatever. If it was switched she wouldn't have turned it down." I told him ruffling my hair trying to get it to stay out of my eyes.
"You know she would have. Ella is actually considerate of others unlike some people that I know." I put my hand over my heart dramatically.
"That hurt." We both laughed.
"Anyways in the morning around eleven you, me, Max, and Ella are going to Jordans to hang out."
"Okay first question, why are we going to Jordans?" I asked.
"Just because." Sounded like a Fang kind of answer.
"And second question, why is Ella going?" Now I have know Ella ever since her family has moved here. Max and I have always been friends but Ella was always Max's little sister who just tagged along. Mostly I just pick on her because it annoys her. I know how to get under people's skin and stay there.
"Just because she is." Wow…that's what I get for being best friends with a mute.
"I'm pretty sure that was the longest sentence I have ever heard you speak." I said sarcastically getting me a smack on the back of my head.
"Smart ass." At least he was speaking the truth.
"Yeah, yeah. So what time are we going to Jordan's tomorrow?"
"Eleven O'clock." My mouth fell open.
"So even if we go to sleep now we'll only have," I took a moment to count on my fingers. "Six and a half hours of sleep." This I was not happy about.
"Yup, so we better go to sleep now. We both know it'll take about an hour for you to actually get up and get ready." And while that was true I didn't want to go to sleep. "So that means you need to turn the Xbox off, lay down, close you're eyes, and fall asleep.
"Thank mom. I'm not stupid." I said turning the T.V. off the only light now being from my laptop that sat on my futon.
"Could have fooled me."
"Just because you're gonna be Valedictorian doesn't give you the right to call me stupid." Fang was the smartest guy in our class. I wasn't stupid. Maybe if I applied myself I would do a lot better.
"I'm sorry man." Fang apologized. I knew he meant it. "There's just a lot running through my mind." I nodded.
"Like what?" I wondered moving my laptop and laying down on my futon ready to go to sleep.
"All I can say is you'll find out tomorrow." I was lost. What would I find out tomorrow? I knew though that there was no point in pushing the matter. If Fang wasn't gonna tell me the first time I asked he won't tell me if I ask again.
"Alright then. Goodnight Fang." I said turning on my side getting as comfortable as I could on a futon as one could.
"Night Ig." Then I just laid there waiting for sleep to come. While I laid there all I could think about was what I was going to be told tomorrow. Finally sleep came and not a moment to soon. I was driving myself crazy with all the thinking.