In the blink of an eye.

Not again.

Hey guys. I know it's been an eternity since I posted something. Hope you enjoy my newest creation. 

Disclaimer: I'm not a medical professional. I do a fair bit of research to be accurate, but this is still fictional. Please excuse any mistakes or medical inconsistencies. 

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For anyone else, a visit at the doctor's office wouldn't have been a big deal, but for Chloe it was different. It had been different for a long time now. Currently the ginger-haired woman was sitting across from her doctor at the hospital again. Her jaw was clenched and her leg bounced up and down under the table while she waited for the doctor to tell her about the results.

"Miss Beale, I'm sorry to inform you, but your cancer is back." Dr. Lowe surely didn't beat around the bush, but at this point he had known Chloe long enough to know she would appreciate it.

Chloe slightly nodded, her eyes glued to the table. Her head was empty, except for the all-consuming thought of having to go through this yet again. It wasn't the first time she had been given this diagnosis and slowly she started to believe that it probably wasn't the last time either.

"I suggest a combination of radiation and chemotherapy to treat it. We should start as soon as possible."

"I need to think about it." Chloe said as she got up and left the room without saying goodbye. Chloe wandered around the city, until she found herself in front of her best friend's house. Absently she rang the bell. The ginger was so distracted by her own thoughts, that she didn't even realize her friend had already opened the door, "Chloe, hey!" Chloe came back out of her mind, "Hey, Bree."

"What are you doing here? I thought you had your appointment at the hospital today?" Aubrey, Chloe's blonde best friend asked.

"It's back." Chloe whispered. She didn't say anything else, but the tears welling up in her eyes spoke louder than words anyway. Aubrey just pulled her best friend into a long hug. Once inside, Chloe settled on the sofa in the living room, while Aubrey prepared two cups of coffee. "What did the doctor say?" The blonde asked as she put down the cups on the coffee table.

Chloe nipped on her coffee, "He wants to do a combination of radiation and chemo." Aubrey nodded, thinking about the impact that this would have on her friend's life. She had supported Chloe when she went through radiation, when Chloe threw up from the chemo so violently, that only gastric acid left her body. The blonde had been there, when Chloe ultimately wanted to shave her head because the chemo made her hair fall out. They had been through it all together. Chloe had been extremely grateful towards her blonde best friend for her support and she told Aubrey almost every day during that time.

"When does the treatment start?" Aubrey asked, ready to do it all again. She wouldn't leave her best friend to go through this alone.

"I haven't scheduled a date yet." Chloe answered and got up, "I need something stronger." She stood in front of Aubrey's bar cart and poured herself a glass of whiskey, which she immediately downed. Aubrey looked at her through worried eyes.

"Don't look at me like that." Chloe hissed. She couldn't stand the pitiful looks from people. There had been more than enough of those looks in the past six years.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. It's just...I'm worried about you." These words completed the ginger's mood shift. Chloe was sick and tired of people pitying her. She just wished for a normal life. A life, in which she could do all the things a woman in her early twenties did. "I'm sick of this! Maybe I shouldn't even start the treatment at all."