The Heartbroken - S01 E200

Story 2 years ago

The Heartbroken - S01 E200

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 200

I’d been so busy worrying about Cedric that I’d

forgotten about the tangled mess that tied Seth to

Cedric and his dad, at least until Philip emerged from

Cedric’s room.

Seth stood up, stumbling on his words as he said a

hasty I’ll be back, and left before Philip had the

chance to see him.

Hail had questioned me, of course, on Seth’s

unprecedented retreat, but I merely shook my head

in reply, knowing that the situation between his

mom and Philip was not my secret to tell.

“The doctors are still carefully trying to monitor his

condition.” Philip’s voice was heavy with exhaustion,

but he forced out a smile that didn’t quite reach his

eyes. “Thank you for coming. It really means a lot.”

Cedric had never really looked like Philip. From what

I’d seen on the pictures, he took after his mother’s

dark hair and brown eyes, but at that moment, I

could see the resemblance in the way they tried to

smile despite the whole situation.

I wasn’t sure where his mother was, or if she even

had any idea about his condition. He rarely ever

talked about her, and I never asked him, because

then I was convinced that some things were meant

to live in the past, and his mother—after disappearing

the moment the she and Philip had a divorce—had

always been one of those.

Philip had done a great job raising him alone and I

knew that Cedric was strong enough to live without

his mother, but I could only hope he was strong

enough to get through this.

I clenched my fists together, forcing myself to speak

despite the dryness of my throat. “What happened?

Is he… is he all right?”

“He’ll be fine,” he replied and I let myself release a

breath I didn’t know I was holding. “His red blood

cell count significantly dropped since his last

checkup. There wasn’t enough oxygen in his

bloodstream and he… collapsed.”

The way he said it, it was like he was saying it could

have been worse, and that was what terrified me

most.

Hail must have noticed the way I had stiffened,

because a second later, she was prying my fist open,

slipping her hand in mine to give it a reassuring

squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” Philip told us, but I knew better than

to believe him. “It will be okay. The doctors are still

checking for other possible complications. Other…

stuff that might have caused it.”

I wasn’t sure if I was relieved to hear that or not, but

in any case, I was glad it wasn’t anything worse. It

was just a touch of anemia, and he was safe. At least

for now.

Several leukemia patients die not from the cancer

itself but because of other diseases. Their bodies

become too weak to fight whatever was attacking

them because their immune system is all f----d up,

and I couldn’t even let myself think of the same thing

happening to Cedric.

Philip retreated back into the room after thanking us

all over again, promising he’d do everything he can

to get us to see Cedric before we leave for the night.

“They won’t let non-relatives in,” he said, “but I’ll see

what I can do. I’m sure Cedric would want to see the

two of you.”

When he left, Hail and I both fell back into the chairs.

It was only a few minutes past eight, but it felt like it

was much, much later than that. Everything felt so

surreal, because just this afternoon, I had been with

Cedric, and now here I was anxiously waiting outside

a hospital room, wishing he was all right.