Like a Skyscraper

Slowly, the room came back into focus and Alice frowned. She rubbed her temples and sat down at one of the barstools in the kitchen. Edward soon joined her and quickly read her mind to see the flash of the future.

“That happens today, right? We need to tell him…” Edward whispered, deathly quiet.

“You know we can’t. If we didn’t have these powers, we would never know and neither would he. This is what she wants, and I don’t want to be the one to go against her wishes. Do you?” Alice asked, pain evident in her voice. She wanted to tell Emmett more than anything, but Kaelyn was clearly dying and wasn’t going to tell anyone. Who was she to stop a dying woman’s wish?

Edward tsked and jerked his head to look out the window. He knew Alice had a point, but he thought of his power as a gift used to help people. Right now he wasn’t helping anyone. Emmett was heartbroken and Kaelyn was dying alone…

“If Kaelyn doesn’t tell him soon, then I will.”

“Ed—“

“No, he deserves to know. If it looks like she isn’t going to tell him before she dies, then I’ll tell him. I’ll wait as long as possible, but I’m not going to let him suffer. And I don’t want him coming after either of us later for knowing and doing nothing to prevent it.” Alice finally nodded with a sigh.

“I know Kaelyn wants this, but she doesn’t even know that she has another option to help her ‘live’,” Edward added.

“You haven’t ever liked the idea of changing someone and damning them to eternal life,” Alice whispered, looking her brother in the eyes.

“I’ve never been faced with a situation like this. The medicine now won’t heal her, and Emmett loves her. I think the solution is obvious… That’s why I’m going to tell him. He should give her the choice before it’s too late,” Edward answered softly and turned to leave the room. He had to pick up Bella for school. Alice stared after her brother and smiled. He was right, after all.

Alice looked up and saw Emmett walk into the room. He smiled at her and moved to the sink to wash his hands and face. There were traces of blood on it from an early morning hunt.

“Did Edward just leave?” He asked, using the towel to dry himself with.

“Yeah, he had to go get Bella. Jasper and I are about to leave too.” Emmett nodded and moved to grab his keys and bag that he’d left by the back door.

“I’ll see you guys at school,” Emmett called and left to get in his Jeep. He drove to school feeling slightly apprehensive. He wanted to give Kaelyn her dog tags back to her and maybe get a word or two in before they get interrupted again. Emmett knew he deserved her anger for what he did, but he still craved being around her, and it hurt when she avoided him at every turn.

Emmett parked in the school parking lot and waited in his Jeep. All the other students slowly began to arrive, but Emmett didn’t move. He watched the cars pull in and park, but there was no sign of Kaelyn yet. He glanced at the clock and saw it was five minutes before first period began. Frowning, he grabbed his bag and made his way to the front doors. Where was she?

~*~

Kaelyn stared up at her ceiling, still in bed. She blinked back tears and tried to sit up again, but the pain in her joints made her cringe and stay where she was. She calmed her breathing and closed her eyes, trying to relax and breathe the pain away. There was a knock on her door before her mom poked her head in.

“Hey, are you getting up soon?” Lila asked from the doorway.

“Yeah, can you get my pain medicine?” Kaelyn asked softly. Lila nodded and hurried to the kitchen to grab her daughter’s pills and a glass of water. She returned to Kaelyn’s bedroom only to find her in the same position.

“Honey, are you feeling okay?” Lila asked, giving her the medicine. Kaelyn shook her head and had her mom help her sit up to swallow the pills.

“I’m tired and my body is aching,” Kaelyn whispered, letting her head drop on her mom’s shoulder. Lila bit her lip and helped Kaelyn lay back down.

“I’m going to get you an appointment with Dr. Bensen. You just rest—“

“But I have school,” Kaelyn breathed, attempting to get up again. Lila gently pushed her back onto the bed and shook her head.

“No, just rest. I’ll be back after I call the hospital,” Lila answered and left the room to get her phone. Dr. Bensen had an opening in an hour so Lila went back into Kaelyn’s room to help her get ready. As they moved around the room, Kaelyn slowly regained some of her strength, but it left her winded and even more tired.

“Is there anything else you need?” Lila asked as they headed to the front door to leave. Kaelyn just shook her head and used her mom’s arm as support while they walked to her mom’s car. Kaelyn sat in the front seat and buckled up.

“Mom.”

“Hm?” Lila asked, backing out of the driveway.

“I don’t want you to be upset with what Dr. Bensen tells us. I have a feeling the deadline is getting closer,” Kaelyn whispered, not meeting her mom’s eyes, opting to look out the window instead. Lila took a deep breath and nodded, trying to hold back burning tears.

They pulled into the hospital parking lot and walked in to be greeted by a nurse behind the front counter. Kaelyn sat down in a chair while her mom checked them in at the desk.

“Kaelyn?” The blonde looked up and saw Carlisle.

“Dr. Cullen,” She said a little surprised to run into him so quickly. Carlisle took in a subtle breath and frowned a little. Kaelyn’s scent had changed. It wasn’t as sweet as before, there was a bitterness that accompanied it now. Carlisle quickly realized that the bitterness was the smell of her disease; she was getting worse.

“Here for another checkup?” He asked kindly.

“Yeah, just feeling a little under the weather. Must be a spring bug or something,” Kaelyn replied easily. Lila rejoined her daughter, and Carlisle bid his goodbyes before leaving. He decided to talk to Dr. Bensen after they left.

~*~

Much like the first time they were there, Kaelyn was subjected to a multitude of different tests and left to wait for Dr. Bensen to look over them. Lila and Kaelyn sat in one of the hospital rooms trying to find something to talk about.

“You should date again,” Kaelyn said out of the blue.

“I’m too old to date,” Lila laughed at the idea. Kaelyn raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

“Mom, you’re not even forty yet. You’re definitely not too old to date.” Lila laughed too, and for a minute, they both didn’t think about the reason they were at the hospital. The mother and daughter kept talking about the possibility of online dating before Dr. Bensen joined them.

“Hi, Kaelyn. I’ve reviewed your tests…”

“And?” Lila asked softly, gently rubbing her daughter’s arm. Dr. Bensen tried to offer them a smile, but it came out forced.

“I know I told you that you’d probably have half a year left, but it looks like your cancer cells have migrated to your lungs. They’re multiplying rapidly… Optimistically, you might have two months before they conflict with your breathing.”

“What’s the time not optimistically?” Kaelyn choked out. Lila squeezed her arm, trying to keep it together.

“If their pace increases further, maybe a month,” Dr. Bensen said quietly. Kaelyn let out a shaky breath and nodded. She expected as much. Her symptoms had been getting worse, and she was more prone to coughing fits.

“Is there anything you can prescribe me for pain? I had trouble getting out of bed today,” Kaelyn mumbled. Dr. Bensen nodded and scribbled something down on her prescription pad.

“I don’t want you to think I’m making you do something you don’t want to, but there’s a hospital in Seattle that specializes in oncology. I can give them a call if you want to explore more options or if you want to transfer there. They can keep you comfortable,” Dr. Bensen stopped. She’s not used to talking to a young girl about types of hospice care.

“Can you give me their number?” Kaelyn asked, staring off at a wall. Dr. Bensen nodded and handed Lila the prescription and another piece of paper with the other hospital’s main number on it.

“Dr. Bensen.”

“Yes?” The woman turned back to Kaelyn and met her eyes. They were slightly glazed over and full of emotion.

“Thank you for all your help.”