Euphoria - E.D.

6

The room was filled with a shocking silence after I'd spoken the words to Alex.

Her mouth was slightly gaped open, her eyes going wide as realization hit her with what she just heard. She looked me up and down, waiting for me to say something to her, to say anything.

I couldn't bring myself to speak though. My past was a touchy subject that I never wanted to speak of to people except Grayson. My hands fidgeted with the bracelet on my wrist, and I looked down at the ground, breaking our eye contact.

"Ethan.."she quietly said, so silent it could've been a whisper.

"When I was 9 years old, I was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma," I sighed, bringing myself to her my story.

"It came out of no where, really. When Grayson and I were younger, our dad was really into putting us into sports, so we played a lot. We played football, wrestling, and lacrosse. One day during lacrosse season, I came home from practice with really bad knee pains," I told her, "My parents didn't think much of it because Grayson and I were going through growth spurts at time. The pain continued though, and Grayson never felt any pain, so they decided it should be checked out. I had an appointment to get checked, but had a lacrosse game before that, and still attempted to play. I didn't even make it through the first part of the game when  we left the field as I cried in pain."

"When we got to the hospital I was rushed in and the doctors immediately began running all sorts of tests of me. Which was when they found my cancer in my right leg. I was in stage 1, so they thought it was caught in time, but after a few months, the cancer began to grow rapidly, and was getting pretty harsh. I had nonstop chemotherapy for months on end, all in attempt to save me."

She placed her hand on top of mine, gently rubbing small circles with her thumb.

"I felt horrible. I lost an excessive amount of weight, could never hold any food down, my hair was gone, and I was always so tired from all the treatment that I could never do anything with Grayson. It broke my heart to see my twin brother watching me wither away. He'd always come after school with my mom and older sister, and he told me about his day so I would still feel somewhat normal."

"When I was 13, they thought it was gone, and so the doctors told my parents I was in remission. I was excited because I could finally spend time with Grayson again and live like an actual kid. Yet again, we were all wrong. 6 months later, the cancer returned and I relapsed. This is when they got desperate, my parents especially. It was now life or death for me, because they didn't want to see their son go. So my doctor gave my parents our last and only option that would save me."

"What did they do?" She quietly asked.

This time, I looked back up at her, and her ocean blue orbs gave me comfort, "They went in, opened my right leg up, and cut out the part of my bone where the cancer was held when I was 14 years old. I had a metal rod put in so my leg didn't need to be amputated, and the cancer was gone. I've been cancer free for almost 4 years now," I said, concluding all I had to say.

"Oh Ethan..I'm so sorry," she softly said.

Her hand still laid upon mine, and I held hers, looking into her tired, yet bright eyes.

"Do you know what kept me from falling into a cloud of darkness and sadness during those 5 years?" I asked.

"No," she shook her head, "What?"

"I had someone who would keep me company and held me remain happy through all the needles and tests. Throughout all the nights I'd stay up throwing up, through all the days I laid in bed with no energy, not enough strength to hold a cup of water."

"That person, was Grayson. If it wasn't for him spending his days here because he wanted to see me smile, I would've lost all hope. That's what I want to do for you Alex."

"You want to help me..enjoy life?"

"Yes. I know we've only known each other for a short amount of time, but I know what you're going through. I know that having someone who helped me see what's good and important in life made a difference in me, and it want to help make a difference in you too."

"Ethan..I just- I'm not sure I'm in the proper condition to really do anything right now. I don't know Ethan. Besides, there's not much to do here anyways."

"Hey, who said we have to do anything crazy or go anywhere far? When you feel well enough to go places, we'll go places, and if we have to stay here we'll stay here. It doesn't matter where you are in order to have fun. What matters is who you're with," I told her.

She gave me a skeptical look, still not sure of my offer.

"Look, Alex- wait, what's your full name?"

"Alexandra Mae Lawrence."

"Alexandra Mae, when was the last time you went out and did something fun with someone?"

"Well...I guess that now that I think of it, I don't know," she replied.

"Then let me change that for you. Please Alex, trust me."

"What exactly is it that you want to accomplish, Ethan?"

"I'm going to show you the meaning of life again."

Authors note:
I am so so much happier with this book now. The plot is really now heading in the direction I want it to go.

Also, I know a character having cancer or some sort of illness is a common and not very original theme for books, but I have a lot of ideas for this that hopefully will make my book original.