Damien by L.A. Casey

Author:L.A. Casey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Slater Brothers Series
Publisher: L.A. Casey
Published: 2018-02-02T05:00:00+00:00

I quickly hurried into my parents’ house, shielding the front of Barbara’s crate from the rain as best as I could.

“Ma?” I called when I entered the house.

“I’m in the kitchen, hon.”

I placed Barbara’s crate next to the radiator so she would be warm, then shrugged out of my jacket and went into the kitchen. My ma was washing a cup out in the sink, so I walked up behind her, slipped my arms around her waist and snuggled against her. She chuckled as she grabbed a tea towel and dried her hands so she could place them over mine.

“Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” I repeated. “I’m fine, Ma. Are you okay?”

“Right now, I am,” she replied.

I released her, and when she turned to face me, I hugged her without a word.

“Bear.” She chuckled. “Honey, I’m okay.”

“But you’re not, Ma,” I said, pulling back to look at her. “You’re not okay; you have breast cancer.”

Saying that and knowing it to be true was like a kick in the stomach.

“I’m not the only woman to have breast cancer, love,” she said softly, placing her hands on my shoulders. “Millions upon millions have it.”

“Yeah, and that’s awful, but you’re me ma … I can’t help how worried I am about you.”

“I know,” she frown, lifting her hand to my cheek. “I’ll put the kettle on, and we can talk about it, okay?”

I nodded and took a seat at the kitchen table. I clasped my hands together in front of me and waited. When the tea was ready, my ma placed my cup on my coaster, then took a seat across from me. I exhaled a deep breath.

“Tell me everythin’,” I almost pleaded. “I need to hear it all.”

Ma nodded. “I’ll tell you every detail.”

I took a sip of my tea to try to settle my now upset stomach.

“I have stage one breast cancer,” Ma said, and instinctively I reached over, grabbed her hand, and squeezed it. “I’m going to explain this to you as best as I can. Your da has a better understandin’ of it because I don’t know what all of the big words mean.”

“It’s okay,” I assured her. “Take your time.”

“Cancer has grown in the milk duct in me left breast,” she explained, her voice a little shaky. “Stage one means that cancer is present, but it is contained to the area where the first abnormal cells developed. The doctor has assured me because it has been detected in the early stages, it can be very effectively treated.”

I nodded but didn’t speak. I couldn’t.

“The doctor said I have stage 1A, meanin’ that it hasn’t spread to me lymph nodes, so that is really good news.”

I took her word for it.

“Within my left breast, there is a small tumour, smaller than a peanut.”

Hearing the word tumour, no matter how small it was, was sickening to me and I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from crying.

“The treatment proposed has to start immediately,” she continued. “Next week, to be exact.

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