“Alex…” she called out. Her voice was weak.
His brows creased and his hand tightened around the handle of the luggage as Alex turned to look at her face. She was biting her lips, obviously to stop herself from crying.
Seeing her like that made Alex’s jaws clench. He hated it so damn much when she looked so hurt like that, when she cried like that. He hated it so much he wanted to slaughter anyone who caused her to be in pain.
“Tell me… as promised, I will listen.” He finally spoke. His voice sounded strained and his eyes were like a pair of black crystalized ice. He seemed to be mentally preparing himself which made Abi feel a little relieved.
She lifted her hand and held his face lovingly, with all the emotions in her heart and soul.
However, as she opened her mouth, she suddenly wobbled.
Alex was quick to let go of the luggage in his hand and wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Abigail? Are you okay?” he asked, worried. She raised her head but her eyelids only flickered, as if she was having a hard time opening them.
And then, she went limp.
Alex caught her as she passed out in his arms.
“Abi? Abigail!” he called out. His heart was like a racing chariot. His hands started to tremble. He remembered this feeling. This was the same feeling he had when he saw her on the ground that night in the forest. He felt that sickening feeling of fear and helplessness again.
This was supposed to be the time for him to act fast and think fast but whenever it came to her, he just broke down like a useless machine. He had seen countless deaths and he never cared but this person just passing out could destroy his logic, his senses, his reflexes, his everything.
“Alexander!” a voice pierced through the darkness and fear that cloaked him and he looked up. It was Abigail’s father.
“Abi is… she suddenly fainted,” he explained to Andrew, his voice hoarse with panic.
Andrew didn’t look so shocked.
“Let’s take her to the hospital. Carry her, I’ll drive.”
Andrew immediately climbed into the car and Alex finally moved, carrying her in his arms. Andrew calmly drove but he drove over the speed limit so that they arrived at the hospital in less than an hour.
Abi was immediately brought to the emergency room, leaving Andrew and Alex outside.
Alex stood by the door, head down and his fists clenched tight. Andrew moved closer to him after a long while.
“Come Alex, let’s sit here,” he told him and gladly, the young man followed him to the bench. They both took a seat, with Alex resting his elbows on his knees, fists full of his hair, looking down at the floor.
Looking at him, Andrew was heartbroken. He saw himself in the young man’s situation. He had been there, after all.
“Did Abigail already explain to you about her health condition?” he asked and Alex slowly looked at him.
“Health condition?” His devastated face frowned in confusion. Andrew was surprised and his heart was pained realizing that the young man had no idea about it yet.
“Mr. Chen, what do you mean. What health condition?” Alex began to question. He was feeling utterly devastated and guilty to his bones, blaming himself because he thought that he was the reason why she fainted. So what was this that he was hearing? What health condition did Abigail not explain to him?
Andrew held Alex’s shoulder and squeezed it slightly. He knew he had to tell him. This young man deserved to know everything. No matter how painful it was, he needed to know.
“Listen, Alex,” Andrew started, his eyes filled with genuine care. He had been in his situation before and he was going through the same thing again but at least he had been prepared for this for a long time now, unlike this young man who might be going through something like this for the first time in his life.
“Alexander… our Abi is sick,” he continued and Alex’s frown engraved itself even deeper on his forehead, obviously unable to comprehend what Andrew was trying to say. A painful look flashed across Andrew’s face as he kept going. “She’s very sick, Alex, and her disease is incurable.”
Andrew pressed his hand on Alex’s shoulder again before he patted him and let go. No words left Alex’s mouth. His Abigail was sick and her illness was…
Alex shook his head.
“T-there must be some mistake. The medical technology nowadays is incredibly advanced, Mr. Chen… t-there’s no such thing as an incurable disease nowadays…” he reasoned. He knew incurable diseases still existed despite the boom of technology in this age but he couldn’t accept it. There must be some mistake!
Andrew looked at the young man with genuine worry and concern. That was how he was back then, denying reality, and he knew all too well how that felt. But he needed to make this young man understand and accept the truth, for his own sake.
“Abigail was seventeen when she was first diagnosed with a grade 4 glioblastoma.” Andrew began to tell him everything. “She went through surgery when we first found out and it was deemed successful and because she was young and healthy, she successfully lived a healthy life without recurrence for the next three years. But she had another recurrence when she was twenty-one, following the exact pattern her mother went through. That child had to go through radiation therapy and year-long of chemotherapy. We know that patients who underwent surgery for recurrent glioblastoma exhibited a significant increase in survival compared with patients who did not but by contrast, we also know that a third surgery for a second recurrence does not contribute to any significant survival benefits. That was what happened to her mother. Because of our hope that she would survive, we agreed with a third surgery but unfortunately, my wife never woke up again after that,” he paused and lifted his face to look at Alex.
The young man’s eyes were wide in both denial and disbelief but Andrew looked up at the ceiling and continued anyway.
“We know that Abigail’s tumor was not fully removed after the second surgery and we dreaded the day they discovered a growth in her brain again. The third surgery… We all dread it…”
Alex didn’t react on what he heard, he just sat there, looking at Andrew, as if his entire being had shut down. And it was then that the emergency room’s door opened and a doctor came out. Andrew immediately stood up.
“Doctor, how is she?” Andrew asked. Alex looked at them like a broken robot, but he could still hear them.
“Mr. Chen, she will need to undergo surgery as soon as possible.”
Alex heard the doctor’s voice and he felt like his world was crumbling down into ashes, as if the sun, the moon and the stars all fell down at once. His heart, his soul, felt like it was being crushed as his whole body went numb.
.
.
.
A\\N: Glioblastoma multiforme is the most common and most aggressive type of primary brain tumors. Despite improved surgical techniques, therapies and radiotherapies, prognosis for this type of pathology remains very poor: most patients die within 12–18 months from diagnosis.
P.s. Don’t forget our goal guys ^^
Top 4= mass release
