* Trigger warning - Chemo/ Needles *

I stared at the drawing balanced on my thigh, tapping the end of the blue biro against my teeth.

"Who's the handsome fella? Your boyfriend?" Amelia teased, scribbling in the brown paper file.

"Gosh, no," I scoffed, saying it a little loudly. "It's just somebody I met a few times."

I didn't know why I started drawing him in the first place. He had been on my mind ever since, edging his way into my life like a wedge. Drawing him was the fine line between my imagination and having evidence on paper that he existed. I didn't like art and wouldn't call myself an artist, but Ethan had distinct features that had to be displayed.

Deep down, I was itching to find out the outcome of his trial. A niggling ache formed in the pit of my stomach, reminding me that if the tribunal went wrong, I wouldn't see him again.

I closed my journal carefully, avoiding the tube in my left arm as opposed to my right. My dominant arm was sore from my initial injection.

"What do you like about him?" She probed, detaching the cannula and tube and swiftly pressed padding onto the area.

"Excuse me?" I fiddled with the outer part of my earlobe, applying pressure. The area became warm under my touch.

Amelia took off her gloves in a swift fashion, disposing of them in the correct bin. "We draw things we like."

"Well, I don't like anything about him." I pulled down my sleeve and hopped off the recliner with my journal by my side.

I'm ready for this conversation to end.

She pulled off her apron with one tug, snapping upon release. "That's how it starts. All the things you dislike about him will mould into love."

I think I'm going to barf.

"Bye, Amelia." I drew back the curtain in a rush before she became my agony aunt. Having one aunt was enough for me.

"Hey, Erika," Blair called out, waving. She sat on the two-seater lounger on the other side of the treatment room. "Come and join us." She indicated with her thumb to the dark-eyed, swarthy boy beside her.

Is it too late to crawl back and hide behind the curtain?

I glanced back, but Amelia had made a prompt exit. Taking a deep breath, I smoothed my flyaways and wished I had made more of an effort. Each time I tied my hair into a ponytail, it resembled a pig's tail. It was hard to make that attractive.

As I joined them, Blair jumped up and introduced her friend. "This is Adekola. He's been here for a few months."

"You can call me Kola for short." Adekola was broad-chested with facial hair dusting his jawline. Wearing a Man City shirt with the number seven printed on the back and the player's name expressed his love for football. "Blair mentioned you're new."

Are we giving each other labels now? I'm fresh, Blair is semi-outdated, and Kola is expired.

I nodded, crossing my arms across my chest. The edges of my journal dug into my breasts. "How long have you been here?" Once the words left my lips, I clambered my mouth shut, refraining from saying something stupid. Blair already stated he had been here for months.

The heat spread over my cheeks as I averted my gaze.

"Two months with a home visit. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin Lymphoma." He raked his hand through his buzz cut. "I'm waiting for radiotherapy as chemo alone wasn't enough."

"I'm sorry." I couldn't find the right words to help him through this. The c-word was final. You either had cancer, or you don't. You either win the battle, or you won't. The word itself was heavy, lodged deep within my oesophagus, unable to pronounce it out loud, which terrified me.

Adekola guffawed at my remark, and his nostrils flared with each bout of laughter. "No need to apologise. It is what it is." His hearty feel-good laugh didn't fit with the sickening atmosphere.

"If you don't mind, I have to go and study." I gestured to my journal within my grasp. "Mid-terms."

Adekola opened his mouth, but Blair beat him to it as she sat beside him on the arm of the lounger. Her collarbone jutted out from her off-the-shoulder, black t-shirt. "If you ever need to chill, we will be in the lounge."

As I stepped into my room, I chucked my journal onto the bed and unleashed my hair from the elastic tie. My hair remained unkempt as I ran my fingers through each strand, massaging my sore scalp.

Releasing the hair tie and letting my hair fall is like taking off my bra on a hectic day.

I plunged onto the mattress, taking the binder and opened it to Mrs Moreno's mathematical notes, a subject I excelled.

Algebra was like a puzzle, a number away from being solved. The equations danced across the page, mathematically taunting me. I had an equation of my own to solve.

Dad + Fiona = Shadowbrook - Dad + me = ?

"Erika?"

Dropping the pen in a beat, I jumped off the bed, recognising the oh-so-familiar voice. I sunk into her embrace, a sense of familiarity as the smell of citrus shampoo and conditioner clung to her wild locks.

"Girl, there's so much to catch up on." Cassie held me at arm's length, inspecting me with her gaze. "You look better than I expected. How are you doing?"

Oh, you know, besides cancer, I now have a Dad who has a double-sided life that I knew nothing about.

"I had my second session of chemo today." It was a topic I didn't want to delve into. I wanted things to go back to the way they used to before my diagnosis. It was weird for Cassie, too. Cancer wedged itself into our lives, becoming a conversation starter.

She swung her luxury khaki handbag on the floor, dropping onto the bed. "Guess I need to fill you in on the goss. You know Indigo Perez?"

"Everybody knows Indigo." As I joined Cassie on the bed, I pushed the binder out of the way, listening to the gossip that floated around the halls.

"Well, she asked Keanu out on a date. Can you believe that?" Cassie crossed one leg over the other, showing off her slim legs and pulled her thick tights up her thighs. They always bunched up at the knee like an extra layer of saggy skin.

I wrapped my plaid scarf around my neck, letting the ends hang loosely past my chest. "I can. Indigo has had a crush on him for years."

Cassie shrieked with excitement as her hazel irises widened, inclining forward—as much as her short skirt allowed her. "He said no. It turns out Keanu likes Joanna from the science lab."

"The one with glasses and pigtails?" I asked, hiding my hands within my sleeves for warmth.

"That's the one." She flicked her newly-cut fringe away from her face, hating how annoying it was. Her curls were tight, refraining them from having a bounce. She inherited that from her Spanish roots. "Anyway, I've missed you, Eri. If I'm honest, I was afraid of seeing you. I didn't know if things would be awkward between us."

I watched her leg bop up and down, avoiding eye contact until Cassie snapped her fingers, bringing me back to the here and now.

She is always going to be my best friend, no matter the distance.

"What's wrong, Eri? You aren't your usual self." She pursed her lips and gestured to the room. "Is it this place?"

I shook my head and took the plunge. "Something is happening to me, and I can't explain it."

Her neatly trimmed brows softened as her face relaxed. "Oh, that's the cancer. I heard the chemo can make you feel sick."

"Cass, do you believe in the supernatural?" I held my breath, counting the seconds for her answer.

Cassie turned her whole body to face me, tugging her skirt down. The honey-coloured glow from the light highlighted her golden freckles scattered across her t-zone. "If you mean along the lines of an Ouija board or a Séance, then yes. Eri, where is this coming from?"

"No. I mean vampires, shapeshifters and anything of the sort." I should have stopped myself from spilling too much, but I had to get this off my chest. If I got stuck in Shadowbrook, I wanted Cassie to know the truth. Our friendship would end if she thought I upped and left without saying a word.

She shook her head, dazed as if I was spouting nonsense. "They don't exist."

I used to think that too.

"Vampires are real, Cass. I saw one." The words didn't belong in this world. They should only exist in paperback and films, not three-dimensional creatures that stalk the alleyways of the night.

A/N

Word Count: 1,486

What are your thoughts about Blair & Adekola?

Do you think Cassie will believe Erika, or will she think Erika has lost her mind?

Have a fangtastic day!

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