Chapter Seven

I was officially pulled off of the heart transplant list right before that Wrestlemania when I was fifteen. My body was beginning to shut down in ways that made me ineligible for a transplant. Still, even though I made my peace with dying, it didn't mean I wasn't pissed off as all hell that I was gonna die before I got to do so many things.

As my body wore down more, I couldn't afford to waste energy on the anger anymore. I started to try to focus on anything else. Friends would come and visit, but after a while, even that was a burden to me. Having to see the look of pity in their eyes, it made the visits harder to sit through. Jeff never looked at me with pity. He never treated me like a kid, but he never treated me like I was sick either. When he'd visit, he'd bring something new for my mini Imag-I-Nation and it would always make me smile.

Five weeks before I would have turned sixteen, I got a surprise visitor. I heard the talking downstairs, but I couldn't believe it. Not until she came upstairs. It was Cassie, which meant I had heard Mark downstairs talking to my father.

"Jeff re-did your room," Cassie said, trying not to cry.

"Hey, Cass. Yeah, he did. He calls it the mini Imag-I-Nation. What do you think?" I replied, trying to keep the pain out of my voice.

"It looks great."

"Cassidy, I'm sorry I went to your father," I said, knowing it needed to be said.

"Why did you do it? I could've helped you, Denise!"

"You're so young, and you were getting so sick. You were barely breathing when I woke up from that movie! I wasn't gonna let you die just because I got a bum heart, Cass!"

"I can't lose you. You're the only one who really knows me, Denise."

"You'll find someone else you can open up to eventually."

"Nobody who will get me like you do!"

"Cassie! You will find a new friend and they won't be me, but maybe they'll be able to be close to you like I've been for you. Don't close the world out."

"That's all Dad has me do. He was mad that you knew about my abilities."

"That's his problem. People who really care about you won't give a damn if you have those abilities. I didn't. I was still your best friend. I always will be."

"But I'm losing you!"

"I'm sorry, Cassie. I can't help it. The doctors tried everything."

"How are you okay with this?"

"I'm not. I don't wanna leave my dad. I don't wanna leave you or any of my friends. But I don't have the energy to keep being mad all the time. If I could just change this and not be sick, I would."

"But you stopped me from helping."

"To save your life! You were gonna kill yourself to try to save me and it wouldn't have worked, Cassidy! What you were doing were temporary fixes. You were causing massive issues for yourself and in the end, the effects would've worn off and I would've died anyway, so yes, I stopped you! You're my best friend! I can't let you die for me."

We were both crying. Cassie came and curled up in my bed with me. She held onto me, begging me to fight, not to leave her. In the end, I started having trouble breathing. While I was still in her arms, she called for our fathers. By the time they got to us, my heart stopped completely.