My mouth hung open.

No fucking way this was happening to me.

Dr. Fraser was watching my expression, sympathetically. “You can speak to the cancer department upstairs. They have a doctor who specializes in such cancers.”

“Will I live?” I asked her, my eyes staring at the wall behind her.

Dr. Fraser sighed deeply. “I am in no position to say that since I am not a cancer specialist. But if you speak to the doctor in the cancer department, he will surely answer all your questions.” She finished forcing a smile on her lips.

She ripped a piece of paper from her notepad and handed it to me along with my blood report. “Just show him this along with your reports. Take care, Ruella.” Dr. Fraser said, extending her hand forward. I shook it.

An hour later, I was in Dr. Alcott’s clinic, him going through my blood reports and Dr. Fraser’s notes and the blood report with great focus. “When did you meet with Dr. Fraser?” he asked me not looking up.

“Two hours ago.” I replied, hoarsely. I cleared my throat awkwardly.

Dr. Alcott looked up for a fleeting moment, before resuming back to check the blood report. He finally sighed, taking his spectacles off his face. He set the report aside to look at me.

“Ruella, is it?” he asked.

I nodded, simply.

“I’ll get straight to the point.” He cleared his throat, before continuing. “Your cancer is very rare and due to the nature of how they occurred, you have thirty percent chance of survival.” He glanced at the table with steepled finger. “There is treatment available like most cancer treatments, and you can recover.”

I sighed in relief. That was some good news. I can keep my college studies on hold and continue later...

“But due to your low white blood cell count, it’s going to be very difficult to keep you alive.” He sighed. A thought occurred to him. “Have you been feeling unwell for long periods of times?”

I thought about that for a moment. “Not that I remember.... I don’t know.” I said shrugging. I kept my hands in my pockets to stop myself from shaking. The air conditioner was making me sick again. Stupid air conditioner.

“Any changes in food, appetite, sleeping patterns?” He asked me.

“No...” I trailed. “I eat everything.”

He chuckled. “That’s a good thing, Ruella. I’ll give you time to think about if you want to go ahead with the chemotherapy and surgery.... I don’t want to force you to do anything. But due to your age, I will highly advice you to undergo the treatment.” He said genuinely.

“Okay.” I said, giving him a forces smile.

“Should you be interested later in the surgery and chemotherapy, my receptionist will give you the detailed bills and tax invoice included.”

“I would love to.” I said, rising up from my chair.

Bills.

Tax Invoice.

Oh shit. I don’t have the money for the treatment. I looked at the cost and I felt all the air escape my lungs. My parents don’t speak to me and I’ve no extended family nor friends to help me.

How am I supposed to do this?

The whole ride home was spent lost in how I will spend my last days. How would the college dorm warden find me when I die? How do I go about doing this? What a whole tarnishing of the college’s image if they found a student like me dead in her room.

Chills ran up my body at the thought of it. Would I die in my sleep or would I just faint without anyone noticing?

That night I couldn’t sleep. It was no use studying for exams as I wouldn’t able to graduate, get a job, earn my own money...

The thought of not being able to live my life in the job I loved, made me cry. Hot tears fell down my face as I wrapped my arms around my pillows as if it were very own teddy bear.

I sobbed bitterly as my brain went through all the events of my life: happy, sad, good, bad...

What would become of my legacy? Will people forget me? Will my parents miss me? Or would my father throw curses on my grave, saying what a pathetic human being I was just because I visited a sex motel.

Wait...

Would Kay help me?

Positivity bloomed in my chest as I wiped away the tears from my face. Kay’s sexy smirk danced through my mind and I giggled at how he....

I picked my phone from the side table and searched Kay’s contact. I pressed the call button and started pacing around my room waiting for him to pick up the phone.

“This is Kay. Leave a message!”

I groaned at the ping of the voicemail, throwing my phone angrily at the wall, making it fall down with a clank. I punched the mattress several times, screaming into it.

***

I woke up groggily around three o’clock in the morning to my phone ringing.

I rubbed my face and sighed with annoyance, as I searched for my phone.

I found it nestled under the bookcase, the screen facing downwards. I picked it up and found a familiar Caller ID on the screen.

“Kay?” I said, anxiously.

“Ruella... hi...” he said with lots of heavy music filling the background. “I’m sorry for calling you this late because I was busy. So, how are you? Were you dreaming about me, love?” he chuckled.

Kay’s humor helped in partially lifting up my spirits but it didn’t stop my rambling. “Kay, I’ve fallen ill terribly.” I began.

“Okay?” He began. I heard him move towards a quieter part of the area he was in. People were speaking in the background.

“I...” My throat constricted, my tears threatening to spill. “I am diagnosed with a rare cancer.” I finished, my voice cracking.

I closed my eyes, waiting with bated breath for Kay to speak. I glanced at my phone to check if Kay had hung up on me but he didn’t.

“How did this happen?” Gone was the humor from his voice and it was replaced with a serious tone. Kay would always be serious when asking for my consent during sex, but this was a very different side of Kay I’d ever seen.

“S-so after you left, I was approached by another man to have sex. I didn’t find anything odd with him until the nipple play....” I stopped to take deep breaths and calm my quivering voice but nothing was helping.

I could feel Kay listening raptly on the other side of the phone. He was being such a gentleman in waiting for me to complete.

I continued. “He was a bit rough there and bit my nipples a bit too hard. I yelped and he apologized but I didn’t stop him right away. I-I was too ashamed to tell him to stop. He went on to satisfy me to my core but I didn’t feel anything. He then left soon after that.” My body was shaking.

He sighed deeply. “How are you feeling now? What did the doctor say?” His voice hadn’t changed.

“I visited a cancer specialist and he said since it’s a rare cancer, I’ve only thirty percent chance of surviving. He told me I can start the surgery and the chemotherapy if I want to.”

“So, have you made up your mind?”