Quigley's P.O.V.

It broke my heart to see Dusk sitting in the yogurt shop with the new kid, whatever his name was. I told him to stay away from her, and he didn't listen. When Dusk told me they were hanging out as friends, I couldn't help but wonder to myself if she was starting to have feelings for him even though she was dating me.

I mean, his father, Dr. Jones, was one of the most successful doctors in the city. And now, that kid was going to be a doctor just like him. He had some much that I didn't have, and honestly, I was jealous. As I walked back to the mansion, I could hear Dusk's voice echo in my head as she told me about the diagnosis. I felt guilty running away from her. I should've comforted her. I should have told her that we would get through this together. But instead, I ran away like a coward.

"You see these? These are the medications I have to take every day! Because I don't, my kidneys could fail before I find a donor! I could die, Quigley," Hearing her say that she might die made my heart come to a halt, and I felt tears run down my cheeks. "Hey Quigley! How was school?" Father called from his study. "It was alright," I answered, trying my best to sound like I was happy, even though I wasn't. "I've got some homework I need to get done, so I'll talk to you when I'm done,"

I climbed up the stairs to the bedroom I shared with Duncan and Isadora and saw they were already home and working on their homework. "Hey Quigs, you okay? You look a little down," Isadora said, closing her book and walking towards me with her arms open for a hug. I hugged for a few seconds before pulling away. "Yeah, I'm fine," I lied, not wanting to talk the argument. Isadora stared for a moment, giving me a look that "I know your lying, talk to me,"

I tried to ignore it the best I could, but I felt a knot start to form in my stomach that was begging me to tell them what was going on. I couldn't ask Veronica because she and Dusk were really close, and she probably already knew about it. So, they were the only two I could trust at the moment. "Alright, the truth is, I'm not alright. Dusk and I got into an argument, an ugly one," I sighed, letting the words slowly escape my lips.

"Oh my, how bad was it?" Duncan asked. "Pretty bad, and I think I might've ended our relationship," The three of us sat down on one of the beds together, and they listened intently to everything I had to say. I felt some comfort in talking to them, but at the same time, I was worried they were going to say something after I finished talking. "And then she said told me that she had lupus and pulled out a bag of meds, saying that she had to take those otherwise she could d-die," I said, choking up slightly as I repeated the words.

"Oh my god," Isadora gasped, clasping a hand over her mouth. "The worst part of it is I ran away instead of comforting her. God, I'm such an asshole!" I said as I buried my face into one of the nearby pillows. "Your not an asshole, Quigley. You were just in shock," Isadora said, rubbing my back soothingly. "You should find her tomorrow and apologize. She's going through a lot right now, and the least you can do is apologize and support her through this," Duncan said. 

He was right. If I wanted to get her back and have her open up to me, I had to apologize. "Yeah. I'll do that. But what about the whole new kid thing? She probably hates me for that as well," "Apologize for it all," Duncan answered. I nodded and slid off the bed, grabbing my homework from my bag. The entire time, I couldn't stop thinking about Dusk and what she could be doing right now.

*******

Dusk's P.O.V.

"Dusk, open the door, please," Dad gently knocked on my closed bedroom door. I curled up on my bed as I looked at the photo of Quigley and me from the night of the dance. It made my heart ache even more. The guy I fell in love with acted like my disease meant nothing to him. "Dusk Marie Denouement, open the door this instant," Mom said sternly. Slowly, I got up and opened the door, seeing both of my parents were standing outside of my bedroom. "Are you alright? You ran all the way upstairs crying your eyes out," he asked.

"Of course, I'm not fine! I just need to be left alone," I shook my head before closing the door and leaning against it, sliding down to the floor and curling up into a ball. "She's not okay, Dewey. Do you think it has something to do with that boy?" I heard Mom ask him. "Dusk, if this is about that boy, tell me what he did. Did he hurt you?" I couldn't get the words out of my mouth. All I could see was the memory of us fighting. "It's nothing. Just go away," I answered. I heard the footsteps recede down the hall and go down the staircase, leaving me alone to let out my anger and frustration.

I got back on the bed and buried my face into the black and green pillowcases, getting bits of my mascara on them. "I HATE THIS FEELING!" I muffled. A little while later, I dozed off and later woke up to someone shaking me awake. "It's time for dinner, sweetie," Mom said softly.