The Tree in the Forest

Chapter Thirty-Two

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  Graduation was in a week. You were able to pass, but only just barely. Karkat, Rose, and Kanaya all passed with flying colors, but that was expected of them.

  You had passed with A's, B's, and C's which is good enough in your opinion. Your GPA isn't affected too much, but it could be much, much better.

  You had even gotten congratulations from the family that didn't want to see your face. They were happy that you passed, but that's about it. Regardless, it was a feat and you were proud of it.

Karkat's family had been congregating at his house for a few days. It's mostly just his grandparents and Kankri that are actually staying at his house, though.

Karkat's grandparents were cool. They liked to play card games and talk about when they were young, like a lot of other old people, but they were really expressive. You're pretty sure that they were where Karkat got his own expressiveness from.

His grandma's name was Cheyenne and his grandpa's name was Elie. You connected more with Cheyenne than you did with Elie, but they were both still very nice people. They had both come from Karkat's mom's side. Karkat didn't know his grandparents from his dad's side.

You were sitting on Karkat's couch, his head laying in your lap as you stroked his hair. He was fast asleep and didn't show any signs of waking up soon. Cheyenne was sitting next to the two of you, petting Mayor.

"You like him, don't you?" She asked you suddenly.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. I like him a lot," You stammered, trying not to sound unsure. She let out a soft chuckle and adjusted her glasses.

"You two are a very good match. I'm sure you'll keep each other sane. You seem like a very calm person, able to keep Karkat's little rants at bay," She said, smiling. You laughed a little, making an effort to keep it from sounding nervous.

"I'm shocked that you've stayed with him for so long. All through his medical problems. I don't know many people who would do that," Cheyenne stated.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I'm just happy that his situation isn't like his mother's," She said, but that didn't make it any clearer. You probably looked confused because she went on to explain.

"His mother had the same sickness. Many of her friends were lost because they couldn't bring themselves to support her. At some point it was just Cameron, her father, and I that were helping her. Kankri didn't know how to help, but he tried. He was only a child at the time. Karkat was a little baby," Cheyenne started.

You hadn't known that Karkat's mom had had cancer. You knew that it could be hereditary, but you didn't know it to be back to back like that.

"His mother died when he was just a little thing. Karkat didn't quite understand the situation due to his age. He was only five at the time. My heart had never broken so much and I just couldn't bring myself to tell him, and neither could Cameron or Elie. Kankri ended up having to tell him." She finished.

"I didn't know those things about him. I had never asked because it didn't seem like a topic he'd want to talk about," You mumbled. Cheyenne told you that she understood and said that she was going to bed. You nodded and she went to her room, leaving you with your thoughts.

You had no clue that Karkat's mother had died from the sickness that he'd been infected with. It seemed cruel to you. It seemed cruel that the world would force him through that and his family to suffer as well after it happening once before already. There was nothing to suffer from now, though, because of his treatment. Karkat's had a nice streak of being healthy and his regular CAT scans had been reduced to only one every six months. If that's not progress, you don't know what is.

Speaking of which, he had to go for his scan in a few weeks. Exactly two weeks and three days, he had told you when you'd asked earlier that day.

You decided to just sleep on the couch, and tried to move into a laying position, but you'd woken up Karkat in the process.

"What's happening?" He asked groggily. He wasn't completely up.

"Nothing. I'm just trying to lay down. Go back to sleep," You whispered, getting into a fairly comfortable position as he crawled up onto your chest. He whispered goodnight to you and fell right back asleep.

You went back to putting your fingers through his hair. You stared at the ceiling, thinking about the information you'd just learned. Maybe you should tell Karkat that Cheyenne told you those things.

You fell asleep eventually, hands still in Karkat's hair. You didn't dream, but you never really did. It was only an occasional thing.

You woke up to find that you were laying by yourself, regardless of how early it seemed to be. Karkat never woke up early. You checked your phone to see the time. It told you that it was only six in the morning.

You got off of the couch, stretching your arms above your head and rubbing your eyes. You then went to go try and find Karkat. He wasn't in his room because Kankri's using his room because Cheyenne and Elie were using Kankri's practically empty room. Karkat offered to give up his room and you're starting to resent him because of it. You now had a soreness in the base of your neck from the position you slept in.

You found Karkat in the bathroom. You got a little scared, but you were happy to find that he wasn't throwing up, but was just looking for something.

"Oh, hey, I didn't know you were awake," He mused, looking through the drawers.

"Yeah, I just woke up. What are you looking for?" You questioned.

"A wash rag. I think I had a night sweat. Sorry if I got you gross. Night sweats are some of the most annoying fucking things," He answered.

"You didn't. Well, as far as I know at least. And yeah, I bet." You walked into the bathroom with him, hopping up on the counter, watching as he pulled a beige rag from the drawer and covering it with cold water. He pressed it to his forehead and sat on the side of the tub. You didn't leave the room and just watched as he slid the cool cloth over his face.

There's nothing to be worried about, Dave. He's okay.

~~~

Oh man. We're coming to a close in like 2-3 chapters.

Ps, Elie is pronounced like Eli.

Graduation stuff will be next chapter. It'll be great. They are going to be real adults now.

Karkat's grandparents are awesome. They're those grandparents that will tell you stories but they'll be cool and will play card games with you.

Anyway, I don't have much to say. I'll see you soon!

~Ghostie