Sweet Illusions

"Madison, I'm sorry to say you have acute lymphoblastic leukemia, fairly advanced from your white blood cell count. I'd like to get you started on chemo as quickly as possible. It's spread to your lymph nodes, we'll have to do a bone marrow biopsy to see if it's spread to your marrow," Dr. Hutton listed off, Elliot turned to see Madison's eyes swelling up with eyes, her thin lips quivering as she tried to keep her face up and to keep tears in. Elliot was shocked when a tear came down her own cheek.

"C-c-cancer?" Madison's hoarse voice finally cracked with tears coming down her face. Her whole body started shaking and that was it, Madison Harlow cracked. Elliot grabbed her, sobbing and hugged her tightly.

"You're young, so hopefully the chemo will help your body fight this off. When is the earliest you can come for your first session. Also, if you live alone, you'll want to stay with someone; chemo can take a lot out of people. Madison, I'm sorry, but you can beat this, okay?" Dr. Hutton said grabbing her hand to reassure her.

"How am I gonna tell my mom?" Madison cried, burying her head in Elliot's shoulder. Elliot felt her heart shatter for her best friend. "Ellie, what am I supposed to do?"

"Honey, you're gonna walk out of here, you're gonna get some chemotherapy and I will wait on hand and foot for you. You're gonna go day by day and me and all your friends are gonna be standing by you. We all love you Maddie and if Dr. Hutton says you have a good outlook, you can do it," Elliot smiled, wiping her tears off with the back of her hand.

"Okay, okay, uh, tomorrow? I can come any day this week," Madison grasped on to the last shred of control she had. Dr. Hutton prescribed a multivitamin and told her what would help with chemo and scheduled an appointment. As soon as the two girls walked out to where the boys were waiting outside, they grew silent and wary.

"Mads, you okay?" Jared asked, almost sounding afraid to ask. Madison smiled and nodded; shoving her hands in her pockets.

"Leukemia," Madison let out in a single word, both boys stood up and hugged her tightly. For a second Madison felt happy and healthy, everything was fine and she was healthy.

"Have you told Kennedy?" John asked, giving Elliot a tight hug. They all stood around the sidewalk in a circle, exchanging small talk in the cooling fall sunshine. It was a beautiful day, a perfect day. There were clouds in a perfect blue sky, a soft cool wind blowing and a soft sunshine. It wasn't the day you should find out you have cancer on, and it certainly wasn't the kind of day your whole world should fall apart on.

"Alright, well I'm about to pass out, I need a nap. Can we all go home and call this a very, very long day?" Madison smiled with puffy, red eyes and a sad smile, everyone nodded as Elliot hooked elbows with Madison and they drove to the tiny apartment complex they called home.



"How do you feel kiddo?" Elliot called out, holding a bag of takeout for Madison and herself as Madison snuggled up with Kennedy on the hospital bed looking rather pale and worn-out. The drab fluorescent lighting didn't help at all, but despite the doctor's request Madison still smuggled in makeup and tried to get rid of the bags under her eyes. Elliot set aside pills that were supposed to help with the nausea, two tiny blue pills that had little to no effect on Madison.

"Like shit, how are you?" Madison chuckled hoisting herself up to see who all was coming in.

"Been better, my soul mate is in the hospital. I brought contraband for you, a double-double with a strawberry milkshake and a cup of water, a cheeseburger and iced tea for me and none for Kennedy Brock," Elliot mocked Mean Girls as she sat on the foot of the bed dispensing the food out for each person.

"Oh thank god, if I had to have one more jello cup for lunch I'd shoot myself," Madison smiled.

"Is this because I told you, you look like a pokemon when you get mad?" Kennedy grabbed one of Elliot's fries and popped it in his mouth with a bitter smile and a head tilt. Elliot punched her step-brother in the arm, they were basically blood-relatives.

"You know, I swear they do this whole IV thing to fuck with people's eating ability," Madison said with her burger in her hand and attempting to wrestle with the tangled tubes and get enough slack to reach for her drink.

"It's only one arm dude, so maybe you should hold your burger with your IV hand and maybe reach with your free hand?" Kennedy spoke with a attitude, still bitter about the fact that he was foodless, the real reason Elliot didn't get him food was because he'd had a particularly bad attitude for some reason. Madison rolled her eyes and moved her burger to his mouth kindly/

"Be nice, I have cancer," Madison jutted out her bottom lip as Kennedy and Elliot both exchanged looks and started into a laughing fit. Madison looked up, "What? What's so funny?"

"Nothing it's just that's all we've been hearing for the past three weeks, which I supposed works for you. Enough with the guilt trips, plus I wouldn't get too used to it. Soon, you won't even have cancer so I wouldn't get used to it," Elliot laughed trying to keep food in her mouth. She grabbed her iced tea to finally drown the food down.

"Whatever, yeah then I'll have to come up with a good excuse for y'all to be nice to me. So have you talked to John lately?" Madison changed the subject rather tactfully and smiled. Elliot smiled and took a bite of her burger to buy herself more time. She was practically living with John, when she wasn't at the hospital. How could she tell her best friend being home felt wrong without her and she cried knowing cancer was ravaging through her veins poisoning the rest of Madison's body.

"Have you talked to your mom lately," Elliot shot right back mocking her tone. She knew Madison didn't want to tell her mom she was in the hospital. The two weren't particularly close and that was a big can of worms Madison didn't want to open, but Elliot felt differently.

"See that's not fair and pointless because you already know the answer to my question. I don't wanna worry her about this, it doesn't really matter. So now you answer my question!" Madison ranted as Elliot sighed with disapproval, but as history could tell, they were too stubborn to argue over the little things and it was better to drop it.

"Yeah, I have. He drops me off, I'm gonna go get some coffee from the nurses' station, if they have donuts do you want some?" Elliot asked, pushing herself up from the bed trying to distract herself from the conversation.

"Hell yes, I want a donut! Thanks boo!" Madison called out after her, Elliot took a deep breath and faked a smile before walking through the halls and realized someone was following her.

"Something's wrong," Kennedy stated unsure of how else to express himself to his step-sister.

"What do you mean? With Maddie?" Elliot began to feel panic coursing through her veins but Kennedy recognized it before it got out of hand and shook his head.

"No, no. Not about Maddie- well yes about Maddie, she's not telling us something. There's this look in her eyes when she knows she should tell someone something, but doesn't. Normally, I just drop it, but I have a feeling- this is important," Kennedy ran his fingers through his hand and did his best to try and explain what exactly he meant.

"Kenny, I get it. Let's just go and ask her, come on," Elliot said looking over her shoulder and wondered why Kennedy was so shaken up, probably because he hadn't left the hospital in three weeks except to shower and get fresh clothes. He was watching the woman he loved deteriorate into a shell of what she used to be, but Elliot believed him. It didn't sound like a conspiracy of a hypochondriac loved one, it sounded like general concern.

"Madison?" Elliot spoke softly to see the girl drifting off.

"What? No donuts? You prick," Madison laughed weakly, Elliot's eye was caught by the bed pan filled with vomit and her heart broke knowing Madison hadn't kept her meal down.

"Maddie, I know there's something you're not telling us. I can tell see, right there you bite your lip. I know you Maddie and I love you, please just tell us?" Kennedy pleaded with tears lining his eyes Madison's did as well. She cupped her frail hand on his cheek and nodded and tears spilled over.

"I'm dying."