Passion In The Game 2

I'll Always Be Here

Anthony hadn't heard for Rayna all day since she left the house. He tried calling up at the clinic where she was now working but, they said she did come in but, that she really couldn't take any personal calls at the moment. He got a call from all three of his children saying they couldn't get in touch with her.

It was odd of Rayna to not answer someone's call. She left in a great mood today and seemed to be unbothered. Anthony decided to do some investigating. He went into her office to find her calendar book. She had a doctor's appointment today but that was about it. 

Anthony tried calling her again. Just when he thought he'd get her voicemail again, Rayna picked up.

"Hey." she said sounding a little distressed.

"Hey. I've been calling you. Everyone has been calling you. Is everything okay?" Anthony said.

"Uhh. I've been busy. I'm coming home early today." Rayna said.

"Okay. Is something wrong?" he said. 

"I just need to come home." she said. "I'll see you soon."

"Okay, honey." Anthony said. Rayna hung up leaving Anthony baffled. 

Anthony was outside playing with the dogs when he heard Rayna's truck pull up. He went back inside to greet her. She walked in from the entry way, practically throwing her purse and laptop bag down. She looked distressed and was looking around mumbling to herself.

"Rayna?" Anthony said.

She looked up at him and forced a smile over her face. "Hey."

"Baby, what's wrong?" he said.

"Nothing." she mumbled.

"You're lying. Come sit down with me." Anthony said. Rayna sighed and went to sit down with Anthony on the couch. Anthony took her hands and felt her shaking. "What's been going on with you today?"

"Anthony...I don't..." Rayna was interrupted by her phone ringing. Anthony saw the color drain from her face as she nervously dug into her pocket. She sighed when she saw Ivy come across the screen. "Hey, Ivy."

"Mom? Is everything okay? You haven't answered or returned any of my calls. Nor Sawyer or Anthony." Ivy said worried.

"Mom's fine. How was class today?" Rayna said trying to make conversation.

"Fine. Sawyer wanted to know if you and Dad planned on making the game next week." she said.

Rayna started biting her nails. Her heart was beating out of her chest. She was talking to her daughter with all this anxiety and she barely keep it together.

"Mom are you there?" Ivy said.

"Yeah. I-I'm here. Mom's here. I don't...I don't quite know what my schedule will look like. Tell Sawyer that I...me and your dad will talk about it and we'll call. Yeah, we'll call." she said stuttering.

"Mom, what's wrong? You've never been like this before." Ivy said.

"I-I...uh. Look, I'll call you tomorrow. Okay? Mom has to go." Rayna said shaking more and more. Her leg was bouncing and she couldn't breathe. The tears were forming and she had to get off the phone.

"Okay. I love you." Ivy said.

"I love you, too." she said hanging up and tossing her phone on the table. She put her face in her hands, feeling broken down by the anxiety.

Anthony took her hand from her face. "Rayna, talk to me. What's gotten you shaken like this?"

Rayna sat back on the couch, sinking in. She took deep breaths wiping the tears, smudging her make up. She felt like an elephant was sitting on her. Words couldn't come to her, she kept shaking her head.

Anthony was starting to get scared. This was the worst she has been compared to when Ben died and the day he asked for a divorce. Instead of asking what was wrong, he brought her close and let her cry in his chest. He had to let her calm down and relax before he could get any information out of her.

After letting her drain herself of tears, Rayna pulled away and sat back on the couch.

"Tell me what's wrong." Anthony said taking her hand and kissing it.

"I got to my doctor's appointment today. We wanted to do the usual physical and a few other things. Everything was going fine until a test came back. They found...a tumor in my breasts. They don't know if it is cancerous or not. I have to go back tomorrow but, the way he said it made it seem like it was bad." Rayna explained.

"Oh, my God, Rayna." Anthony said concerned.

"Anthony, I'm scared. My grandmother died of breast cancer. My aunt fought it on and off for years before she died. I don't want to be next, baby. I'm not ready." Rayna said sobbing all over again.

Anthony held her and consoled. "It's okay. It won't be you. Everything is going to be okay."

"Anthony, I don't want to leave you or our children. I'm not ready." she cried in his shoulder.

"Relax. Come down. You know I'm right here. I'll always be here for you." he said rubbing her back.

"What am I going to tell the kids?" Rayna said.

"Sssh. The doctors said they don't know for sure. We'll both go back tomorrow and everything will be fine." Anthony said. "You aren't going through this alone. I'm going to be there when he tells you the results. No matter what, Rayna, I'm going to be right next to you."

Rayna nodded as Anthony wiped her eyes.

The next day, Anthony and Rayna found themselves in the doctor's office, waiting from Rayna's results to come back. Rayna was jittery and hadn't had a lot of sleep that night. Neither did Anthony. If Rayna was up, he was going to be up. When he told her that he would be there every step of the way, he meant it. 

Anthony held her hand, kissing each knuckle telling her that things were going to be fine. She was a wreck, not taking a lot of time with her make-up, her wavy hair was pulled back, and she had bags under her eyes from the lack of sleep.

Finally, the doctor came in the room and sat at his desk in front of him.

"Well?" Rayna said wanting to get it over with.

"Mrs. Clarke-Steele, your results came back. The tumor is not as bad as we thought. It is not cancerous by any means." the doctor said.

"Oh, praise God!" Rayna exclaimed holding her chest with one hand while squeezing Anthony's hand with the other.

"We definitely dodged a bullet on this one. However, it may not be cancerous that does not mean it won't increase in size. Should it begin to grow and you feel any pain at all, give us a call and we can schedule to have it removed." the doctor said.

"Other than that, she is fine. Right?" Anthony said.

"Yes. Go home, relax. You look a mess." the doctor said.

"Thank you, doctor." Anthony said as he escorted Rayna out.

Rayna and Anthony came home after having lunch to relax from the scare they just went through. Rayna kissed Anthony passionately, hoping on him and wrapping her legs around his waist. Anthony pulled away.

"You better stop before the next doctor visit is for us to find out I popped another one inside you." Anthony said playfully.

Rayna smacked her lips. "Oh, please. You'd probably like that."

"You're right. I would." Anthony laughed as he carried her over to the couch and began to kiss her neck.

A/N: I had to end it on a good note. However, I want everyone reading to realize the dangers of breast cancer or any cancer for that matter. I have had someone survive breast cancer in my family. This chapter kinda hits home for me. I want people to know that the threat of breast cancer is real and to get yourself checked out. Love you guys!