I'll Be There (Ethan Karpathy)

Chapter 10

Zoe's POV

Ethan's been here since this morning. I just don't know how I can thank him for this.

He has been here for 5 hours, just sitting beside me.

Yeah, I know that doesn't soumd so comforting, but trust me, it is.

There's one more hour until I start to get my chemotherapy.

I look sideways to Ethan, and see that he has fallen asleep. His breathing was deep and relaxed, all the muscles in his face and body were at peace. His resting body looked so calm, as if he hadn't slept properly in days.

Well I haven't slept that great for the past few days I guess.

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Claudia's POV

I have never ever seen Ethan in class these last few days.

What the hell is going on with him?

Just because a girl gets cancer, it doesn't mean he gets to miss class.

Why wasn't he like this to me when I broke my arm?

Oh, that bitch will pay. I swear.

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Ethan's POV

I wake up to see a plain white roof. It took a few seconds for me to realise where I was. Oh my gosh. Did I really fall asleep? How long have I been sleeping for?

I glance sideways and see Zoe sitting in her bed. I haven't missed out on anything so far.

"Hey! You're awake!" Zoe said.

"I'm so sorry for falling asleep. You should've woken me up! I promise I won't next time."

"No, don't you say that. I'm sorry for dragging you into this stupid mess."

"Now, don't you dare say that again." I smile. "How much did I miss?"

"Err. Not much, unless you count me watching you sleep and daydreaming something to miss out on?" she replies.

"That's just a tiny bit creepy."

"Just a bit."

"When are they starting your chemo?"

"Soon, in less than an hour I would guess."

"You'll be fine, Zoe." I say as I take her hand.

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Zoe's POV

"Thank you." I whipser.

I leaned in and I looked into his warm brown eyes. Ethan moved up the last few centimetres so our lips could touch. That kiss - hard, but soft; fiery but cool; a split second but at the same time forever.

We just sat there for the rest of the hour, my head resting on his chest.

"Zoe! Ethan!" a familiar voice called out.

We both jumped and sat up quickly.

"It's just me! Don't worry," Alysha said. "Do you want to know how chemotherapy works?"

"Okay," I reply.

"Well, chemotherapy kills cells that are in the process of splitting into 2 new cells. This is how normal body tissues grow. But cancer cells divide much more often than normal cells. So they are more likely to be killed by chemotherapy. Body tissues are made of billions of individual cells. Once we are fully grown, most of the body's cells don't divide and multiply much. They only divide if they need to repair damage." Alysha says.

We both nod.

"In cancer, the cells keep on dividing until there is a mass of cells. This mass of cells becomes a lump - a tumour. Because cancer cells divide much more often than most normal cells, they are more likely to be killed by chemotherapy."

"What exactly is the one you're giving going to do?" I ask.

"Good question, the drug we wil be giving you will kill dividing cells by damaging the part of the cell's control centre that makes it divide."

"What are the side effects?" Ethan asks.

"There are actually many side effects to chemotherapy. But don't worry, you won't be having all the side effects. Some of the most common side effects are hair loss, appetite loss, nausea, fatigue. Chemotherapy patients must take care that they do not become sick after treatment as they will not have enough blood cells to fight off the disease."

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Ethan's POV

Another nurse came in, with a trolley of equipment.

"Hello, you must be Zoe. I will be giving you your chemo drugs today. Are you ready?" she says.

"Yes," Zoe says, trying to sound confident, but it is not very convincing.

"I will be hooking you up onto a drip, which will slowly feed the drugs into your body."

There was suddenly a crash and the sound of heavy footsteps coming into the room.

"Stop what you're doing."

I looked at Zoe and her eyes widened in disbelief.

I turn my head around and see what she's looking up.

Oh.

My.

Gosh.

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Author's Note:

Long-ish chapter finally!!

Love you,

Anna xx