Stepbrother ✔

3.4

❀Courtney's P.O.V❀

"Doctor, how is my daughter?" Nichole is the first to stand up when the doctor walks out and Alex wipes my tears as I stay seated with him.

"Don't cry, she'll be fine." He tells me soothingly and I look up into his eyes, my eyebrows furrowed.

"You can't promise that..."

He frowns, "I know, I'm sorry..."

"Please, what's wrong with Emily?" Damien asks frantically and the sour look on the doctor's face makes me stand up as well.

"Are you the parents of Emily Ryder?"

"Yes, and they're close family. Now please tell me, what's wrong with my baby?" Blake holds her close as she cries and the doctor looks down at his clipboard.

"I'm sorry but your daughter was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia."

I feel my heart drop to the pit of my stomach and I stare at the doctor with wide eyes. Nichole drops to the ground and Blake goes down with her. They hold each other as she sobs and Blake lets his own tears fall.

My ears ring as I watch Damien fall onto his knees and he rests his arms on a nearby chair before he cries into them. Julian falls back as he hits the wall and he slides down before he himself cries into his hands.

Then it's my turn, I feel my vision become blurry and the shock subsides only for me to let out a broken sob. I fall into Alexander's arms and he holds me close as I cry into his chest.

"Why? Why did it have to be her? Why couldn't it be me?"

"Don't say that." He says in a broken voice and I continue to sob.

"I already lost my mother to it, why my daughter? Why do I have to watch two of my loved ones suffer from that awful illness?" Nichole cries out and Blake tries to soothe her.

"You can go in and see her when you're ready." The doctor announces before he walks off and we stay in the waiting room crying for a while.

When we finally compose ourselves a little, Nichole, Blake, and Julian are the first ones to go in to see her.

After a while, Julian steps out only to call the rest of us in. Damien and I both rush in and when I look back, Alex is still seated.

"You go, I'll wait out here."

I send him a small smile and continue to make my way into the room, only to have more tears well up in my eyes at the sight in front of me.

Nichole is on the ground sobbing and Blake is mumbling words to Emily as he strokes her hair. However, that's not what gets me, but instead it's the fact that Emily's revealing skin is covered in bruises and red spots.

I slowly approach her side and she opens her eyes before she sends me a small smile. A tear slides down my cheek and she reaches up to wipe it away.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."

I feel my chest tighten at her words and more tears run down my face. "Y-you knew?"

She looks at her dad and he leans down to kiss her forehead as one of his tears falls on her head.

"I once asked my mom about my grandma and her condition. How it started and how it ended. For me, it started when I turned 16, when I started getting red spots randomly. I didn't think much of it, but then I would bruise very easily and I got infections often. These were all symptoms my mom talked to me about. I hid my condition because I didn't want to worry anyone, so I put makeup on each bruise and acted like it was all fine. The nosebleed today wasn't the first; I actually lost count."

She looks down in shame and a sob leaves my lips as I bend down to wrap my arms around her. "I thought we were best friends, we tell each other everything. We don't keep secrets from each other, remember?"

"I'm sorry...I just couldn't bring it in me to ruin your happiness..."

"My greatest happiness is you, Emily." I choke out, "Without you, I have no reason to be happy."

"You have Alex."

"He's not you. He's not my best friend since birth, and he's definitely not the one who knows absolutely everything about me." I say and I pull away when I feel her quiver.

"I'm so sorry, Courtney. The last thing I wanted was to make you sad." She cries out and I furrow my eyebrows as I watch her tears fall.

"Life without you is nothing but sadness, please don't leave me."

She looks up at me sadly and I look up to see Damien waiting patiently for his turn.

"I love you, Emily. We all do, so it hurts that you kept this from us." I let out and she looks down sadly.

"I know...and I'm really sorry but just know I love you all just as much and I am not leaving you guys yet." She forces a smile onto her features and I furrow my eyebrows.

"You're saying that like you know that you won't be with us much longer."

She frowns, "I did my research, Courtney. It's a small percentage that I might make it out of this alive."

More tears well up in my eyes and I lean down to hug her, "You'll make it out, you have to." I pull away to look into her eyes, "We promised we would graduate together remember?"

She offers a sad smile, "I'm sorry." Her eyes rake down my body and she frowns, "I'm sorry I ruined prom for you guys."

"You come above everything. Don't worry about prom." Damien says as he steps up beside me and I look sideways at him. He focuses his attention on Emily and I step back quietly.

I hang my head sadly as I walk past Nichole and Blake before I step out of the room, meeting Alex.

He notices my state and immediately walks over to me, engulfing me in his arms as I choke out a sob and let my tears fall over again.

"It's okay, let it all out."

✿❀✿❀✿❀✿❀✿❀✿

Okay, short and very depressing chapter I know but I had this planned since the beginning! I am a terrible writer but I have to show the reality of life because it is unfair. But it's fair since it's unfair to everybody. If you read Roommates you know what Emily was talking about. I'm sorry, but my stories are about showing the truths in life. I hope you still enjoyed it. I'll be back soon. Love you all!

Sorry for the mistakes.

❤︎Much Love with Hugs & Kisses❤︎

Kimmy Herz 💋