My New Life (Sequel to Adopted By Janiel)

Chapter Three

I stare at Allison with all the love in the world, admiring the way she looks...how beautiful she looks.

Her long, wavy hair reaches her shoulder. It's pulled up off her forehead and tucked underneath her beanie.

"You wanna know something?" I mumble, messing with her hands.

"Yes, Cassie. I'd love to know something" Allison smiles.

I mumble the answer to where she can't hear me.

"What?"

"Allison, I-I have to go. I have to go" I rush out of the room, tea with her.

"You ready?" I sigh, nodding my head and pulling on my own black on black striped beanie.

"You know, Cass. We can't keep going on like this" I pop my sweatshirt.

"I can't tell her, Joey. She just had our baby"

"Depending on today's answer, you might have no choice" He presses the floor number in the elevator.

"Joey, think about it like this" I pull my piercing into my mouth, a habit I've come up with as an alternative to having panic attacks. "What would you do if days after you adopted me Daniel told you he was dying?"

"You're not dying, Cassie"

"Well, I mind as well be" I snap, tears like a river. "Depending on what Hailey says today, I couldn't even be home enough to raise Dylan. It's all going to be on you, Daniel, and Tyler"

"Cassie, I wouldn't care if I had to raise Dylan by myself forever. Hell, I'd kill Tyler if it meant raising Dylan" I laugh. "I'd kill Danny"

"Is everyone up there?" Joey nods.

I move into his arms, sighing loudly.

Alright cancer, what is it gonna be. Will I lose my hair or not? Will it be surgery? Will it be a death sentence? Or will you go away? Will you leave me alone?

The elevator stops on the top floor and Joey picks my denying body up, carrying it straight to everyone.

I run into Daniel's arms, letting out a loud sob. Tyler kneels down next to me. Shane and Joey surround me as I drop to my knees, my forehead pressing to Daniel's legs.

"Cass" Tyler sighs, rubbing my back. "We're gonna love you no matter what happens in there" Joey takes my hand.

"We're gonna support any decisions you make about your treatment. We're gonna help you through all this. We'll help you make decisions, we'll help you through this. We'll hold your hand, we'll hold you when you cry. We're a family now. And family sticks together" Daniel comforts.

"Cancer sucks, Cassie. And though none of us have gone through this before, we're fighting with you. This is as hard on you as it is for us" Shane adds.

"We hurt when you hurt. It's like we all share emotions. This is hard for all of us. But we've gotten over hurdles and made it through battles just fine. This is just one big test. And in order to pass, we all have to stay strong" Joey explains.

Daniel kneels down and everyone wraps me in a group hug.

"We're all gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay, Cassie" Shane says comfortingly.

"Cassan- Cassie Preda" Katrina calls.

I sigh and stifle the loudest cry ever.

Everyone, even the ones coming in with me, wish good luck.

Shane, on his own decision, backs off. Tyler, Joey, and Daniel walk into the exam room with me. He said he feels like he doesn't belong in this environment, and that he couldn't take the truth.

"Okay, how are you doing Cassie? Word in the hospital is that Allison had her baby" Katrina says as we all get set.

"I'm a little nervous. And yeah. His name is Dylan"

Tyler and Daniel hop onto the bed with me, Joey sitting in a nearby bedside chair.

"Cute cute cute. Alright Cassie, let's get started" My breath hitches in my throat and Tyler takes my hand.

Katrina rolls her chair over, carefully dragging my arm over across Daniel's lap. I look up at Daniel fearfully.

"Same as last time" He whispers, kissing my cheek. Tyler tightens a grip on my hand a safe amout as I do.

Katrina ties a tourniquet around my forearm and I groan, pushing my head into Daniel's side, his arm coming to rest around my shoulder.

A needle is slipped into my vein and I hiss.

"How much are you taking?" I ask before letting out a wired pained noise.

"Seven vials, darling. I'm sorry" Katrina says.

I groan, squeezing Tyler's hand as she pops a vial and attaches another.

It seems to take hours before Katrina is done, untying the tourniquet, sliding the needle out, and taping a gauze pad down.

"You okay?" Tyler asks softly in my ear. I shake my head. I'll never be okay.

"Alright, Cassie. I'll send these up to the lab, grab Shane, and I'll be back when the results come back to see if we need to do some other tests or something" Katrina says and I nod before she goes.

Shane joins us, sitting in another chair next to Joey. I move to sit on Tyler's lap and he doesn't even mind, draping his arms around my waist for comfort as he talks to me about Dylan and Allison.

"They say you guys should be able to go home tomorrow" He tells me and I sigh.

"She might be able to" I comment.

"Stop talking like that, Cassie" Shane says. "We don't know what's going to happen"

An hour has passed, and we've been talking about everything from what color a smurf turns when you choke it to this year's VidCon to pizza and shot glasses.

Katrina knocks on the door and enters, Shane leaving.

"Hi" She sighs and I brace myself against Tyler. "I'm afraid it's bad news" I pull my beanie down, a habit I've found calms me down. "The cancer has gotten worse. We're gonna need to start chemotherapy" I collapse back onto Tyler's chest, letting out a loud sob.

Joey is up out of his chair, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Daniel moves me into the middle and everyone huddles around, group hugging and crying with me.

"I'm gonna have to tell Allison. I can't do that. I can't do that! She just had my son and now I have to tell her I have cancer! I can't do it!" I sob.

"One of us can tell her, Cass. Katrina can tell her. Everything is going to be alright, Cassie. You know Allison is going to be supportive all the way. Just like us. We'll always be here for you. It's all going to be okay" Words of comfort flow from someone's mouth that I can't pinpoint right now. I collapse forward onto my stomach, continuing to cry. Without looking, I know Daniel's hand as it comfortingly comes down to my back.

I turn around, throwing myself onto his lap and wrap my arms around his neck.

Once I settle some and are left sniffling on his lap, I shift so Daniel is holding me in his arms like in my past. I rest my head on his chest and sigh. It's cancer. It's chemo.

I close my eyes as Daniel coos to me, quickly drifting off.