Chapter 3

Present

Sarah's POV:

Dean opens the passenger door of his car for me. "M'lady," he offers, gesturing for me to get in before taking a bow.

I send him a grateful smile before coughing again. I feel something drop on my shoulders and look up to see that Dean has shrugged off his jacket and placed it over me.

"Thank you, Dean," I say quietly, feeling the slightest bit warmer. The only reason I know his name is because his friend was yelling his name.

I climb into the car and close my door while Ryan takes the backseat. As Dean reverses away from the garage, I catch his friend's eye. I send him an appreciative smile which he blatantly ignores.

I give Dean directions to where I live and he puts on the A/C for me. Warm air slowly fills the car. Still, I'm freezing. I just want to go home and have a hot bath and then climb into bed and forget this day ever happened.

"So, Sarah, what do you do for a living?" Dean asks, glancing my way in an attempt to make conversation.

"I'm a kindergarten teacher," I answer. "And you?"

"Nice. I love kids," he replies with a grin. "I just help Landon around the garage."

I obviously love children too but they're exhausting.

"Landon...your friend? The guy who helped me?" I ask, finally having a name to put to his face.

He nods. "Yeah. That aggro mutant is my best buddy."

I notice that Dean doesn't even try to initiate conversation with Ryan. I understand why. He and Landon must think Ryan's some terrible human being and the truth is, he's far from being terrible. Ryan's just upset because we broke up.

"He seems...nice," I say awkwardly. It's almost like Landon doesn't display any emotion except anger.

Dean laughs, his laughter as loud as his voice. "He's still learning to thaw his frozen heart."

Dean seems to be the complete opposite of his friend. He's loud and friendly and his friend is quiet and aloof.

I hear Ryan scoff from the back and feel a twinge of guilt for leaving him out. "Ryan's a gamer," I pipe up. "He's brilliant. You should see him--"

"I know what you're doing," Ryan cuts me off. "Just stop."

I sigh and stare out of the window. Ry doesn't believe me but I really am proud of him. I just don't think we're compatible.

"Why are you such a jerk to her?" Dean asks him bluntly, peering at Ryan through the rear-view mirror. "I'm not judging. I just think you're horrible and mean and deserve to be judged harshly."

We all deserve to be judged harshly.

"None of your business," Ry answers, switching on his cell phone in order to shut us and the world out.

Dean shakes his head, unable to identify with Ryan...like most people. Ryan has a good heart but he's misunderstood. He has a serious issue with people. He suffers from anxiety and plays it off by being nasty. Inside, he's afraid.

"So, you looking for a boyfriend?" Dean teases, winking at me. He's trying to break the tense atmosphere by cracking a joke.

Before I can answer, Ryan does:

"How do you know that she doesn't already have one?"

"Well," Dean shrugs, "it certainly can't be you, not after tonight."

Ryan falls silent, taking offense.

Dean takes the silence as an opportunity to turn up the radio and belt out the lyrics of various songs. He's a very loud person in every aspect. Nonetheless, I find him funny and easy to talk to. Ryan, on the other hand, seems ready to jump out of this car.

"Here we are," Dean eventually says as he pulls up into my driveway.

"Thanks so much, Dean," I unbuckle my belt before reaching over to hug him. People like Dean still care for others. It's because of people like him that I continue to see the best in people.

"Keep it for now," Dean says when he sees me begin to take off his red jacket.

I nod before turning in my seat to face Ryan. "I'll see you around?" I ask in hope. I don't want to cut all ties with one of my closest friends.

Ry looks up, his blue eyes holding me in place. He hesitates when seeing my sanguine expression. For a moment, I think he might just agree. "Doubt it," he finally answers, putting a frown on my face.

He needs space and that's alright. I accept it.

"Okay," I say before opening the door and getting out. I wave goodbye to them before running to my door, taking shelter from the persistent rain. I quickly unlock the front door and rush inside.

"Sar, that you?" My sister chimes from the kitchen as I watch Dean and Ryan disappear down the road.

My younger sister, Sue, and I share a small apartment together. She cooks and I work to pay the rent. We share similar natures but opposite features. While we're both quiet, I take after my dad with my blonde hair and pale skin. Sue takes after my mom's exotic look with her dark eyes and hair.

"Yeah." I yawn and lock the door after me. "Sorry that I'm so late, minor car accident. This weather sucks." I head into the kitchen to see the cooked vegetarian lasagne lying on the counter. "Wow. That looks good, Sue," I tell her just as my stomach grumbles – it's been a long day.

She smiles and puts some food in for me. "Take a bath and then you can eat as soon you're warm and dry. You can also tell me all about this minor accident. You better not be hurt."

I laugh. "I'm not hurt. I promise."

I take her advice and do as told, changing into my comfy pajamas after having a hot bubble bath. Starving, I head back to the kitchen to eat.

"Thanks, Sue," I take the plate and sit down at the counter beside her. "You okay?" I ask when I notice that her own plate is still full of food. She should have finished eating long ago.

"Don't really have much of an appetite today," she answers, using her fork to push the lasagne to the side of her plate.

I raise a skeptical brow at her.

She stifles a laugh at me being suspicious. "Sarah, I'm fine," she assures me. "Not much back pain or abdominal pain today," she says, looking at the bright side of things. 

No matter what, she's always an optimist. She's always got a smile on her face. She inspires me.

"That's great," I tell her, hiding my concern. She's losing weight quickly and her skin and eyes are starting to yellow. "But just because you've had one good day does not mean--"

"I know, Sarah," she interrupts me quickly. "I know I'm not cured."

I nod, fearful for her. "I don't mean to be a downer, Sue. I just really want you to understand that in order to get better you have to go through with the chemotherapy. Your doctor wants you to start as soon as possible but you need to agree to it first."

"It won't cure me, Sarah," she tells me bluntly, no longer in denial about her fate. "The cancer is at an advanced stage now. They can't operate because it's spreading. You heard. It's too late. It's metastatic cancer. The cancer in the tail of my pancreas has spread to my liver and to who-knows-where else. Chemotherapy is not a cure."

My eyes well up with tears once again. "I know that, Sue. I know, but you have to put up a fight. You can't do nothing." The tears fall from my eyes as I turn to look at her. "Please don't do nothing. Please don't give up."

Sue winces in pain as she turns in her seat and reaches over to hug me. "Okay, Sarah," she breathes into my shoulder with a cough, defeated and worn out, "you win. I'll agree to undergo chemotherapy."

"Thank you," I reply, holding her tightly against me, unable to control my tears. I eventually wipe at my eyes and pull away. "Mom and Dad will be so happy. They asked all about you today." I give her a watery smile. "You sure you don't want to go stay with them?"

Sue shakes her head.

Aware that she stops speaking when short of breath, I speak for her. "You still want to be here with me? I can be pretty annoying."

She nods at me, beaming from ear to ear. She's determined.

"You got it, Sue, but I should warn you ahead of time that they plan on visiting us a lot." I laugh. "I hope you can handle it."

My parents can be overbearing but it's only because they care. Just like my parents, Sue is my world. I love my little sister very much.

"And Aunty Mila says that we better set up a room for her here," I add. "They all love you so much, Sue," I voice my thoughts, appreciative of how close our internal and external family are. It's just a pity that they live far away from us.

Sue smiles before suddenly glancing around as if remembering something, now furrowing her eyebrows in confusion.

I catch on. "I broke up with him."