Chapter 13~Brain tumour~

"Without pain, without sacrifices, we have nothing."

Iris's POV

Phone rings!

"Hello, Bibbs," Chris called with enthusiasm dripping from his tone.

"Yeah, what's up?" I muttered in a bored tone while munching on my chips.

"Oh wow, you sound very excited." He responded sarcastically and I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

"Okay, meet me at the coffee shop in fifteen." He said more like commanded and I just sighed.

"I am not in the mood to go outside," I whined.

"You are just too lazy." He chuckled. "Just meet me there okay?"

"Yeah yeah okay." And I hung up before he could say anything.

Minutes later, I got into the coffee shop, welcomed by the aroma of all kinds of coffee.

Ooh! I just love coffee. It's relaxing you know!

Chris waved at me and I strolled to our usual spot, the table close to the window. The waitress took our order which was our usual, is caramel macchiato for Chris and Frappuccino for me, with blueberry muffins.

"So why did you summon me here?" I asked as I took a sip from the coffee.

"What?" He chuckled. "Can't I have some alone time with my best friend?" He asked and I just shrugged.

"Well, we could have just stayed at home, ugh! And I was watching a movie on Netflix and enjoying my chips." I said and he just laughed.

"So I heard about what happened at the party, I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Guilt rioted in his eyes.

"Dude, it wasn't your fault and besides I dealt with one of the guys before his accomplice tried to stab me. I was glad Zander came before anything could happen." I stifled a sigh.

"Does your dad know about what happened?"

"No, I think it's best he doesn't know about it. I don't want him to worry to much."

"Okay, I get that. Just be careful next time." He smiled sympathetically at me.

I still felt uneasy and guilty because I haven't told Chris about all that happened at Zander's home.

"The party was kind of boring without you." He smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, weirdly.

I laughed. "Don't ever do that, do you know how you look?"

"Thinking of party, where did you and Lizzy go to after ditching me?" I asked even though I knew what happened. Thanks to Lizzy.

"W- why do you wanna know?" He asked nervously scratching the back of his head and I smiled at how cute he looked.

"As you said, we are best friends," I said making emphasis on the word best friends.

"Okay! well, I kind of told her I liked her." His face turned crimson and I laughed at him. I felt like squeezing his pink cheeks.

"Why are you laughing?" He asked and I kept on laughing.

"Do you think I am stupid? I knew what happened, Lizzy told me everything in a single detail." I said and his face flushed even more.

"Then why did you even ask in the first place?" He questioned in an annoyed tone.

"Duhhhh! Because it's funny when you blush and you look so adorable." I cooed and he rolled his eyes and we both started laughing, we were cut off when my phone rang. I stifled a sigh when I saw that the caller was Devon, he probably wants money or favor...mostly money.

"What do you want now?" I demanded as I took another sip from my coffee.

"Hello, oo!!!" I asked again and then I heard him crying on the phone.

"Dev, what's wrong? why are you crying?" I asked and Chris gave me a concerned look.

"It's Dad." He hiccuped.

"He was rushed to the hospital, please come now, hurry up." He said and fear overtook my face.

"What happened?" Chris stood up and came closer to me.

"It's Dad, we have to go to the hospital now!" I stated and he nodded, luckily for us, Chris brought his car.

The ride to the hospital was quiet, I sobbed silently.

"It's gonna be alright okay?" Chris said removing one of his hands from the steering wheel and giving my hand a slight squeeze and I forced a smile.

I can't afford to lose my dad, he's the only one have got right now, since my so-called mother is not here. I immediately wiped my tears, trying to clear my mind from every negative thought. I know he's a strong man, he can't just give up on Devon and I.

I got to the hospital and ran towards Devon who was sitting on one of the hospital benches with his head in his palms.

"Devon!" He looked up, his eyes were red and swollen.

"What happened?" I asked as I sat down beside him.

"When I got home from practice, I saw dad lying unconsciously on the ground, with blood oozing from his nose, I don't know Iris. I'm scared." He uttered and I just patted his back to calm him down.

"He's gonna be fine, okay?" I said and I didn't even sound convinced myself. I was also frightened.

"Mr. Jones?" The doctor summoned.

"Yes." Devon and I stood up.

"Okay, can I have an older relative like his wife? You know what I mean like your mom?" The doctor requested.

"Umh, His wife is not present at the moment." I sighed.

"And neither do we have a mother," I muttered bitterly and the looks both Chris and Devon gave me showed that they heard me, so I just ignored them.

"Ooh I see, So I assume you are his first child right?" The doctor asked while he adjusted his glasses.

"Yes, I am." I nodded.

"So can I talk to you in private then?"

"No, it's fine, you can say what you wanna say here," I demanded but I could sense he was still contemplating but he agreed at the end.

"Please, is my dad okay?" I asked nervously, holding my pendant tightly.

"Hmm, your dad is under a very critical condition right now."

"What do mean by that, it's just a nose bleed right?" My forehead furrowed.

"Well, it wasn't just a nose bleed, he was rushed here due to the side effect of the chemotherapy he had just received recently... Because of his brain tumor." The doctor said as he read that from his clipboard.

All the color was drained from my face. I couldn't breathe, everywhere seems suffocating. I needed air. The doctor's word kept ringing in my head, like a ticking time bomb.

Brain tumor!!!

How's that possible?

He always seems fine to me, and that's when it came rushing to me. I remembered all those times he will feel dizzy and just say it's a normal nose bleed, due to a cold or something and I would ask him to go to the hospital but he always declined. So he knew all along and didn't even bother to tell both of us. It feels like my heart is being stabbed multiple times, I didn't even realize I was already crying until Chris came in between me and Devon to comfort us.

"Umh...for how long has he been coming for his chemotherapy?" I asked as I wiped the tears that kept rushing out and adjusted my glasses.

"Hmm, I see this news seems new to you." We all nodded.

"I understand why he didn't want you to know now." The doctor muttered under his breath but I still heard it.

"Okay, he was diagnosed with a brain tumor roughly ten months ago".

What? Ten freaking months. And I am just knowing!

"Since then Mr. Jones decided he would rather go for the medications and check-up instead of the surgery, but right now his condition is unstable. In a few hours, he would be back to normal so don't worry okay." The doctor said calmly even though his tone sounded otherwise, nevertheless, I just nodded and he went to attend to other patients.

Chris's mom arrived a few minutes later. I was surprised she was here.

"I heard what happened, are you two okay?" She asked as she sat between Devon and I on the hospital bench.

Devon nodded. "The doctor said he's gonna be alright, but he isn't awake right now, so we are okay now, don't worry." I smiled sadly, even if I lied about being okay.

"I thought you were going for a medical mission today?" Devon asked, thankfully the tension was cleared.

"Yes I am, but I wanted to be sure you were okay since Chris contacted me." I smiled at Chris and he smiled back.

"Don't worry, like I said we are okay now, so you can go." I smiled at her, but she finally agreed after she gave us so many terms and conditions.

"Mom!" Chris whined like a baby while Devon and I chuckled.

"Okay, I'm going, love you all." She hugged us before exiting the hospital. I suddenly realized this was the time we needed our mother the most, but she isn't here, like usual.

I finally convinced Devon to go home, so he would rest and prepare for school tomorrow, leaving me and Chris alone.

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Love ya.

Ibby.