The White Chapel: Book 2 in the Steamy New Adult Contemporary Romance Series (The Chapel Series) by Cruise Marilyn

Author:Cruise, Marilyn [Cruise, Marilyn]
Language: eng
Format: azw3, epub
Published: 2015-02-19T05:00:00+00:00

* * *

An hour later I’m at my father’s. Before I go into his room, the nurse pulls me aside. She’s back to her grumpier than ten angry hippos mode. But it’s more than that. She has a serious look on her face, even more so than normal, and my chest tightens when I approach her.

“The doctor visited your father earlier, and the news isn’t good,” she says. “Your father has taken a turn for the worse. His cancer has reached stage three.”

“What?” I feel all the blood leave my face. “But just a few weeks ago, he was stage two!”

“These things can progress really quickly sometimes. We just can’t predict how fast,” she says with far too little sympathy.

“What does all this mean?” I think about the necklace I have at home. I need to sell it so my father can live. Screw my pride about not wanting to take anything from Michael. This is about my father’s life!

“The cancer may have metastasized,” she says.

A jolt of fear shoots through me. “Metastasized?”

“It may have spread beyond the liver into other areas of his body,” the nurse says.

No. This can’t be happening. It can’t! “Is he in a lot of pain?” I ask.

“He was, but we put him on morphine so he’s not feeling it now,” she says.

“How…long…?” I can’t say the words: until he dies.

“If he has surgery, and receives treatment, the five-year survival for this type of cancer in this stage is less than 20 percent.”

I wince. “And if he doesn’t receive treatment?”

“Weeks, maybe months if he’s strong. If you can find the money, there are numerous treatment options available, and you could at least extend his life some. But I wouldn’t get my hopes up, Scarlett.”

“Yes, you’ve explained it to me before. How much will it cost now that the cancer has advanced?” I ask.

“After the surgery, he’ll need treatment for at least six months, and maybe even up to a year. I don’t know what the surgery costs, but thirty days of treatments runs you roughly 8,000 to 10,000 dollars, all depending on how many treatments his body can take each month. Is there anyone you can ask, a family member perhaps?”

“I’ve come up with the money. So just schedule everything right away,” I say.

She nods and picks up the phone to call the doctor.

I shuffle down the hallway, afraid of what I’ll see when I enter his room. It all feels so sudden even though he’s been ill for many months, and I knew full well this day would come. It’s just I’m not ready for it. Nor will I ever be.

When I arrive in his room, he’s sound asleep. I stand by the bed and take his hand in mine, holding it gently so not to wake him. His mouth is open, his breathing labored, and his hair messy.

Last time I saw him, I didn’t think he could lose any more weight, but the way his cheeks are concave, I can tell he’s disintegrated even more.

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