"Dad?" I look around in a beautiful scenery.

There's the greenest grass everywhere, and birds are singing at the top of trees. I keep looking around, unfamiliar with the area.

"Garroth!" He exclaims, his mouth slightly open and his eyes sparkle with joy.

He runs up to me and hugs me tight. I hug back tighter, never wanting to let go again. We seperate, his forehead shows a small scar, but nothing other than that.

"Please tell me this isn't a dream..." I take a deep breath and smile.

"I don't know, son. I don't know," he puts a hand on my shoulder. "But you're almost sixteen..." he smiles.

I nod, "Yeah. But I've had really bad back pain for the past four months. Is it anything serious...?"

"Son, I-"

I wake up, breathing heavy with my back feeling like it was breaking into a thousand pieces. I try not to scream, though it fills my mouth and I let it out through a rough, staggered breath.

Eventually, I do let out a small scream and cough a few times.

Mom comes walking in slowly, turning on the soft lamp beside me. Her eyes are tired and her movements slow when she's near me.

"G, what's wrong?!" She asks, putting a hand on my arm.

"Is it your back?" She asks calmy.

I nod, "Yeah."

"Okay, it's okay. You'll be fine, I'm sure it's nothing big. We'll see a doctor tomorrow, okay?" She looks straight into my eyes.

I grab her shirt sleeve tightly, "C-Can we go now...?"

"Baby, I-"

"Please? It hurts bad, mom!" I whisper scream.

She sighs but acts quick. Nodding, she walks out the door. I check the time, 4:27 AM. I sit up to the best of my ability. It hurts like hell, but I'm still able to get support from my arms. I pick up my phone and text Aphmau.

Garroth: Aph, are you awake?

I stare at the phone screen waiting for a reply. Breathing heavy, the grey thought bubble pops up. It makes me even more anxious to text her. Her text pops up and I immediately read it.

Aphmau: Hey, G, whats wrong?

Garroth: Going to the hospital. Back hurts like crazy and there's something wrong.

Aphmau: Crap!!

Aphmau: I'm coming.

I start to type. I try to type quickly, telling her that she doesn't need to come, that I'll be okay. But the grey text bubble pops up before I can type very fast.

Aphmau: And yes, I'm coming. So don't say anything about it.

I guess that's that, then.

Mom rushes in and helps me up. I grip onto her shoulders, too tight to be honest. But mom doesn't say anything about it, and neither do I. She slowly helps me down the stairs. I grab my coat and wrap it around my shoulders.

We walk outside towards the car. Zane and Vylad lean against the car and get in once mom unlocks the door for them. I feel bad, they were standing in the cold for a while. I sit down in the passenger seat and slide my arms inside my coat.

"M-Mom? What's going on?!" Vylad stutters, his voice groggy.

"Garroth's back hurts really bad, buddy. It's okay, we're just gonna go to the hospital so we can see what's wrong," she looks at him through the mirror and then looks at the road again.

We keep driving. I hear shaky and heavy breathing, obviously coming from Vylad. Then, I hear steady breathing, probably coming from Zane. He's definitely not a morning person.

We drive up to the hospital. I get ready to step out, even though every little move I take makes my back hurt even worse. I open the door and step out with support of the car. Zane and Vylad walk out, hugging their arms to their chests. Mom helps me inside and we sit down in multiple chairs. Mom goes up to talk to the nurse.

Then, Aphmau comes rushing in and sits next to me. Oh, is she a sight for sore eyes. Basically, a relief for a sore anything.

"Garroth! My god, are you okay?!" She exclaims.

I put a finger to my lips signaling for her to be quiet, "Aphmau, you're gonna wake people up."

"S-Sorry," she clears her throat and begins to whisper, "Well are you?"

"I don't know," I shake my head.

"Okay, okay," she sits next to me. "It's okay, I promise."

She puts a hand on my arm. For a few seconds, all the pain seems to subside. I take a deep breath as heat rushes to my face from her gentle touch. I wonder how red I am.

She looks down at her arm and I can tell she wants to take it away. Shes red as a tomato and beads of sweat start to form on her forehead. But she doesn't take her hand away for a second.

Thank God.

"Garroth?" A nurse with brown and grey hair calls my name.

Aphmau helps me stand up and I lean on her. We walk into the room with a large bed and not a lot of room for the rest of us. I lay down on the bed which doesn't make my back feel much better.

"What's been going on?" The nurse asks.

"He's had severe back pain for the past four or so months, and this is the worse he's had it," mom says.

"Has he seen a doctor about it before?" She writes on her clipboard.

"No. I called and they kept saying to have him take painkillers on a constant schedule," mom's hands shake.

"Okay, we're gonna give you an IV and take some blood. We might also take an MRI scan. Is that okay, Garroth?" The nurse asks.

I nod, "Anything to make it subside."

"Okay, I'll be right back," she says as she quickly leaves.

"A-An MRI?!" Aphmau says.

"It can't be that bad..." I say, looking at mom.

"It's going to be okay, I promise," Mom says.

The nurse walks back in with needles and a small cylinder on a tray. She sets it down on the counter beside me and rinses her hands off. She puts on powder blue gloves and grabs the needle.

"Which hand is your dominant?" She asks.

"Left," I say.

She nods and walks over to my right side. Grabbing a bag of liquid, she also grabs a something to wrap around my arm and slow down the blood flow. She wraps it around my arm and tightens it so it's almost uncomfortable. I can feel my fingers get cold.

"Ready?" She asks.

"Yeah, I guess," I nod.

She gives me a soft smile and slowly slides the needle in. I flinch a bit and then I feel no pain. I look down and my hand is attached to an IV. I take a deep breath.

Only a few more left.

Then, I feel the same wrap go around my left arm. I take another deep breath, knowing that they're taking my blood.

The needle goes in once again, but this time on my arm. The pain lasts longer and I feel like it'll never end. Then, she wraps a green cloth around my arm and it's all over.

"Okay, you're done," she smiles at me. "That medicine should help you sleep, too." She smiles at me and leaves.

"It's over, no more needles," Aphmau says.

I smile at her, "For now."

Everyone in the room gives a small laugh. Except for Zane, he's dead asleep in a chair. His head tilts back and his arms are hugged to his chest.

Nothing is happening.

~•~

I wake up in a small hospital room. I notice something up my nose. A cannula.

Mom notices I'm awake and walks over to me. She smiles at me and puts a hand on my head, stroking a small piece of my hair with her thumb.

"Hey, baby," she says.

"Why do I have this in?" I point to the cannula.

"They just noticed a few breathing difficulties in your sleep. It's okay," she smiles at me again. "They also did the MRI. Thats why it so late."

"Did Zane and Vylad go home?" I ask.

"Tobin took them over to our house and dropped Aphmau off at home," she keeps stroking my hair with her thumb.

A knock comes from the door. A doctor with short, greased hair walks in. His grey eyes show extreme concern. His lips are pressed together in a line. He shuts the door quietly and comes over to us.

"Dr. Samuel Parker. I'm the oncologist here," he forces a smile and shakes both of our hands.

"So, we have the results from those tests," he sighs.

I prepare myself for the worst but pray to god for the best. I breath a little harder, my heartbeat goes a little faster, and I squeeze moms hand a bit harder.

"And...?" I say.

"You have two types of cancer," he chokes out.

"What?!" Mom's hand shakes violently.

"Th-There's more..." the doctor says.

What else could there be? It's not like it would get worse! Two types of cancer, that seems bad enough for me.

"W-What is it...?" Mom asks with tears in her eyes.

"The two cancer's you have, Neuroblastoma and Leukemia have spread too far. If we tried to save you, I doubt we could," he looks down.

"I'm estimating about 2 months left."

••••••••
.....

Th-Thanks for reading! Bai!
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