Where the Streets Have No Name
Chapter 91
Right before Bella's sophomore year came to an end, her parents sat her down and delivered the earth shattering news as gently as they could: Her father was battling cancer and there was a good chance that he might not win.
She also learned how she had been kept in the dark about it for years. Her father's relocation to Seattle for weeks at a time, and her mother's haggard demeanor from a few years ago made perfect sense to her now.
They had hoped Charlie Swan had won his fight against cancer. He had been in remission for over a year. Until the scour came back with a vengeance.
This time around, the battle weary Swans knew the odds were stacked against them. There was little point in keeping the inevitable a secret from their only child. However much they wanted to shield her from all the hardships that lay ahead, they knew the futility of the effort.
Bella was inconsolable. While not a fragile wallflower by any standard, she wasn't yet prepared to embrace the tragic truth that all humans must come to terms with sooner or later. The truth that their parents were not infallible immortals.
It was too soon for Bella to learn the bitter lesson.
And it was at this juncture in time that Paul reasserted his presence into Bella's life as a constant source of strength, support, and shelter.
He held her hand through the two year long struggle as her father went through treatment. He hugged her gently as she cried herself out on the bad days. He brought home class notes and homework for her the days she missed school to be near her dad toward the end. And he stood by her when Charlie Swan was lowered to the ground.
He became her rock.
And she let him.
Now the rock that once anchored her to the ground was pulling her down into the abyss, and she had no idea how she was going to swim ashore on her own steam.
Thank you Lulabelle98, HeidiJoVT, and Dinx.