Love Sick
Thirteen
Justin's Point of View
My mind rushes with thoughts. I had made an emergency flight from New York to Virginia after getting a call that Janet had been hospitalized. When I walked into her room at the medical center, I was greeted by her sisters, her father and her crush, Cameron. Cameron soon took me outside and just dropped the bomb that he plans on asking Janet on a date in the near future. I try to play it cool, like I didn't care what he did. I smile, telling him I'm sure they'd have a fun time and that Janet would enjoy his company, but as we walk back into the room, I can't begin to even fake a smile. I like Janet Maria, a lot. I mean, I thought that was pretty obvious when I hopped on a private plane and risked getting yelled at by the airline for not giving them enough notice just to check on and be closer to Janet Maria. But I guess Cameron doesn't see it that way. Either way, I may just have to deal with the circumstances of her dating him. I guess I have no right to judge what type of boyfriend he will be since I've only met him twice and he is closer to her than I am. I mean, my homes are in California and Canada, for heaven's sake! The feeling of skin touching mine yanks me from my thoughts. I look down to see Janet staring at me. I smile as best I can and take a seat beside her bed.
"How ya doing?" I ask, gripping her hand. I don't want to let go. I don't want cancer to claim her. I don't want to be so distant from her. And I don't want to see her in a relationship with someone else.
"I'm fine." She says, fiddling with the broken threads on the hospital-issue blanket. "You didn't warn me that Peter Van Houten-" She stops as a doctor in a white medical coat steps into the room. Her father stands to welcome him on his daughter's behalf. The doctor sits in the swivel chair before speaking. "Janet, the tumor is growing more rapidly than we thought. You're already in Stage II, and you're very close to Stage III. We're going to need to begin you on some form of therapy."
Tears fill her father's eyes as he turns away from the group. Another doctor enters the room. "I'm Dr. Asperson. I will explain the several different therapy routes available and which one is best in Janet's case."
"My case?" Janet squeaks.
"Each cancer patient is treated as an individual case that a specific team of doctors, therapists and specialists work to cure." Dr. Asperson explains.
Janet's Point of View
So I'm a case now? I remember that Hazel has been referred to as a case. I mean, I guess it's understandable, but they could say that I simply have a case of cancer, not I am a cancer case. I'd feel more... human. Not just a cancer case number, waiting for my reserved place in a burial ground. The doctors leave us alone and Justin sits beside me again. "What were you saying about Van Houten?"
"That you should have warned me that he's an ass."
"Janet, watch your language." Dad speaks.
"Sorry." I turn back to Justin. "But he is. Why did he have to be a drunk bastard?" I snuggle my head to his arm. "I wish he was like you."
I look up at him in time to catch his awkward glance at Cameron across the small room. I place my head back on my pillow and examine their faces. They don't look exceptionally friendly. I wonder what they aren't telling me. I open my mouth to speak when Julia wonders if anyone is hungry. My dad, sisters and Cameron leave to gather food for everyone down at the cafeteria. Justin settles beside me once again. "So, tell me more about Cameron." He begins, stating the demand as an attempt to try to fill the empty air.
Cameron. I sit back and smile. "We met at a pool party at the end of the ninth grade school year. I actually didn't like him at first. I'd seen him around school before, but he was too cocky, like he could only be around the cool kids, jocks and cheerleaders. I went ahead and introduced myself to him anyway and he kind of brushed me off. I stayed away from him for a few weeks. But then the whole school was buzzing about how his drill team girlfriend, Leanne, had dumped him in front of the whole football and cheerleading teams at practice over the weekend. His ego dropped and he wandered around the halls for days like a lost puppy. The football team constantly joked about their broken relationship and the drill team and cheerleaders all avoided him, acting like he had humiliated Leanne, not the other way around. He slipped into a deep depression and I caught him writing a suicide note after class one day. He said it wasn't serious and stuffed it into his locker, but I insisted on not letting the issue go. I kept talking to him to get his mind off the dark thoughts and we just started a friendship. He sometimes even calls me his angel and credits me with saving his life."
"Wow. So you started off supporting him and now he's here supporting you." He nods, seeming to catch on to mine and Cameron's pattern. "I agree with him; you are an angel." He turns away and whispers under his breath. "I just hope he knows how to treat an angel right."
My mind rushes with thoughts. I had made an emergency flight from New York to Virginia after getting a call that Janet had been hospitalized. When I walked into her room at the medical center, I was greeted by her sisters, her father and her crush, Cameron. Cameron soon took me outside and just dropped the bomb that he plans on asking Janet on a date in the near future. I try to play it cool, like I didn't care what he did. I smile, telling him I'm sure they'd have a fun time and that Janet would enjoy his company, but as we walk back into the room, I can't begin to even fake a smile. I like Janet Maria, a lot. I mean, I thought that was pretty obvious when I hopped on a private plane and risked getting yelled at by the airline for not giving them enough notice just to check on and be closer to Janet Maria. But I guess Cameron doesn't see it that way. Either way, I may just have to deal with the circumstances of her dating him. I guess I have no right to judge what type of boyfriend he will be since I've only met him twice and he is closer to her than I am. I mean, my homes are in California and Canada, for heaven's sake! The feeling of skin touching mine yanks me from my thoughts. I look down to see Janet staring at me. I smile as best I can and take a seat beside her bed.
"How ya doing?" I ask, gripping her hand. I don't want to let go. I don't want cancer to claim her. I don't want to be so distant from her. And I don't want to see her in a relationship with someone else.
"I'm fine." She says, fiddling with the broken threads on the hospital-issue blanket. "You didn't warn me that Peter Van Houten-" She stops as a doctor in a white medical coat steps into the room. Her father stands to welcome him on his daughter's behalf. The doctor sits in the swivel chair before speaking. "Janet, the tumor is growing more rapidly than we thought. You're already in Stage II, and you're very close to Stage III. We're going to need to begin you on some form of therapy."
Tears fill her father's eyes as he turns away from the group. Another doctor enters the room. "I'm Dr. Asperson. I will explain the several different therapy routes available and which one is best in Janet's case."
"My case?" Janet squeaks.
"Each cancer patient is treated as an individual case that a specific team of doctors, therapists and specialists work to cure." Dr. Asperson explains.
Janet's Point of View
So I'm a case now? I remember that Hazel has been referred to as a case. I mean, I guess it's understandable, but they could say that I simply have a case of cancer, not I am a cancer case. I'd feel more... human. Not just a cancer case number, waiting for my reserved place in a burial ground. The doctors leave us alone and Justin sits beside me again. "What were you saying about Van Houten?"
"That you should have warned me that he's an ass."
"Janet, watch your language." Dad speaks.
"Sorry." I turn back to Justin. "But he is. Why did he have to be a drunk bastard?" I snuggle my head to his arm. "I wish he was like you."
I look up at him in time to catch his awkward glance at Cameron across the small room. I place my head back on my pillow and examine their faces. They don't look exceptionally friendly. I wonder what they aren't telling me. I open my mouth to speak when Julia wonders if anyone is hungry. My dad, sisters and Cameron leave to gather food for everyone down at the cafeteria. Justin settles beside me once again. "So, tell me more about Cameron." He begins, stating the demand as an attempt to try to fill the empty air.
Cameron. I sit back and smile. "We met at a pool party at the end of the ninth grade school year. I actually didn't like him at first. I'd seen him around school before, but he was too cocky, like he could only be around the cool kids, jocks and cheerleaders. I went ahead and introduced myself to him anyway and he kind of brushed me off. I stayed away from him for a few weeks. But then the whole school was buzzing about how his drill team girlfriend, Leanne, had dumped him in front of the whole football and cheerleading teams at practice over the weekend. His ego dropped and he wandered around the halls for days like a lost puppy. The football team constantly joked about their broken relationship and the drill team and cheerleaders all avoided him, acting like he had humiliated Leanne, not the other way around. He slipped into a deep depression and I caught him writing a suicide note after class one day. He said it wasn't serious and stuffed it into his locker, but I insisted on not letting the issue go. I kept talking to him to get his mind off the dark thoughts and we just started a friendship. He sometimes even calls me his angel and credits me with saving his life."
"Wow. So you started off supporting him and now he's here supporting you." He nods, seeming to catch on to mine and Cameron's pattern. "I agree with him; you are an angel." He turns away and whispers under his breath. "I just hope he knows how to treat an angel right."