UNEDITED
Kaleb Jones is living the dream. He's playing hockey with Shea Smith again, dating the woman of his dreams, and has a promising future ahead.
Ella Taylor's life feels perfect until she discovers her boyfriend has been cheating on her with...
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Kaleb
It's two-in-the-morning by the time I'm allowed to see Mel. Although her seizure didn't last over five minutes, the medical staff decide to do some testing. While that's going on, I have a conversation with the doctor and her neurologist.
Things aren't good.
The cancer is spreading at an alarming rate and her body isn't accepting treatment like it did last time. Therefore, reducing how much time she has left. Within a matter of weeks, I'll see her deteriorate. Maybe even turn into someone I don't remember. She'll need 24/7 monitoring if the seizure medication doesn't work, which it probably won't because the seizures are being caused by lesions on her brain. Every word that leaves their mouths makes my heart sink lower and lower. Nothing good comes out of this meeting.
When the nurse lets me through the door, I rush to Mel's side and embrace her, being careful not to disturb the wires and tubes. "Fuck, Mel," I say.
"It was in the temporal lobe," Mel recites. "I think the neurologist said it was a focal seizure. No permanent damage. I'm just having some, um, memory issues. I can't remember what happened seconds before, waking up, or the ride to the hospital."
A wave of shock radiates through me. "Do... Do you remember our conversation before?"
Mel nods. "You and Ella."
I cringe, not wanting to return to that conversation. I'm glad she remembers. I drop my head in shame.
"You didn't cheat on me, KJ. So quit mulling over it. I told you how I feel. What I've been doing." Mel pauses and scratches the area around the IV inserted into the back of her hand. "You can't blame yourself when I've played a significant role in pushing you two closer together."
"Why?" I plead.
"You know why."
I fall back into the chair, raking a hand through my hair. "Mel..."
She shakes her head. "We can talk about this another time. Maybe with Ella in the room. She needs to know, too, because she's probably feeling the same guilt. There's something else we need to discuss." Her eyes are welling with tears. I stand again, gripping her hand in mine. "Kal..." Mel continues. "I want to go through with MAID."
I blink several times. "Medical assistance in dying? But... what about..." I trail off, unable to find any words. My tongue won't function properly. Hours ago, Mel and I were fucking in the hallway. Now we're talking about the possibly of her ending her life via medical assistance.
"Treatment's not working anymore. The rate... it's unfathomable, Kal. I don't want to endure this pain again. The crappy treatments my body won't accept. This entire experience..." She gestures to the hospital room. "It's traumatic for me. I feel burnt-out. I'm tired of fighting. Tired of being strong. As much as I want to fight this, as scared as I am to go, the last move I can make where I overpower the illness is deciding when and how I go. Who I leave this world as."
