A Boy Called Noah

Chapter Twenty Five

Amalthea Galanos

"Nurse..."

"Noah?! Shit! Danny, go get your mum! Help! Nurse, someone help, please!" A bright red button drags Thea's attention and she slams her hand down on it. A shrill bell rings down the hall and footsteps come rushing towards the room. Two nurses with matching bleached uniforms burst into the room and rush towards Noah. One immediately starts working on his bleeding nose while the other tries to get his machines back to normal.

Jessica, Victor and Daniel burst into the open door moments after the shrill sound of the bell stops. Jessica quickly moves toward the nurses and the one quietly explains whatever happened. Jessica's face pales with every passing moment and when the nurse finally finishes she slumps down into the nearest chair and the nurse returns to fumbling around Noah. Both Victor and Daniel look just about ready to jump her for explanations but she merely lifts one hand, signalling for them to wait. The nurses finish up around Noah and shut the door as they leave.

Jessica clears her throat and opens her mouth to start explaining when the door opens again and a graying man peaks his head inside the door, "Ah, I see I've caught most of you still here. Mrs James, by the look on your face I suspect that Nurse Helena has filled you in on some of the details of your son's condition?" Victor quickly pipes up, "What condition?" The doctor clears his throat as if the words in his mind are hard to say. "Noah... has Acute Leukemia. That means that his body his generating way too many white blood cells. His body is basically killing itself. We don't know how it spread so fast but we're afraid that he doesn't have very long until he..." "Until he what? Until he dies? Just fucking say it." Victor's body fumes with anger. Jessica slowly moves between Victor and the doctor, "Doctor, please tell me there has been some mis..."

Thea shuts everyone's voices out and slides with her back against the wall to the ground. Leukemia. Dying. Only a few weeks to... Thea doesn't finish the thought. She doesn't allow herself to finish the thought. It wasn't fair. She and Noah finally come out and say that they like each other and now Fate is stealing him away from her?

"I'm sorry, there is absolutely nothing we can do for him. All I can recommend is, spend as much time with him as you can. Your time is limited, unfortunately. We'll be releasing him tomorrow so he can go home and be in a safe and comfortable environment that he knows. I'm really sorry, Mrs James, this can happen to anybody and there was no way of preventing it." The doctor shakes the now calmer Victor's hand and takes his quiet leave.

Victors places his arm around Jessica's shoulders and she sinks into the comforting embrace. Thea looks away from the saddening view and opens her arms for the sniffling Daniel. He practically dives into her arms and curls himself up into her lap. His little body wracks with heart wrenching sobs and Thea tightly wraps her arms around him. Without a second thought she starts rocking them both back and forth. Daniel lifts his head a fraction and stares deep into Thea's swollen eyes, "Is my brother gonna die?" Thea hugs him tighter and cries softly while still rocking them back and forth, "I'm so sorry, Danny..."