The Struggle For Love

Chapter 10.5

*Stacie's POV*
        “Stacie! We have an intruder! Call the police!” I hear my mom scream snapping me away from Brittany.
        “Wait! Don’t do anything! Mom, I know him! He’s my friend! Ayden, watch out! Please don’t get hurt!” I scream racing through the halls.
        “Did you say Ayden? Ayden’s here?” Brittany asks following closely behind.
        “Ma’am, may I please speak before you hit me with that lamp? I know Stacie. We used to be very good friends four years ago. I saw her earlier today, and we started catching up,” I hear Ayden saying to my mom calmly. How can he be so calm in a situation like this?
        “I don’t believe you. You heard me say my daughter’s name. That’s just a story you made up. You don’t really know my daughter.”
        I swim into our living room only to see Avery and Blythe huddled in a corner afraid for their lives. They’re not afraid of Ayden though; they’re afraid of our own mother. I watch as my mom begins to inch closer bringing our lamp closer towards Ayden’s poor head.
        “Ayden!” I scream blocking my mom’s shot. The lamp shatters against my head breaking into millions of pieces. My mom gasps in terror. I black out hearing Brittany’s snobby voice.
        “Ayden? Is that really you?”
~
        I wake up in Mermadia’s Emergency Room. Neither my mom nor my siblings are anywhere in sight. The only person in my room is Ayden. The only person who is proving he truly cares right now is Ayden.
        “Hi,” Ayden’s sweet voice soothingly says. I smile. “You freaked me out to death, Stacie. I nearly had a heart attack. I thought I’d never see you again. You shouldn’t have done that. I could have taken it,” he says rubbing his thumb against the back of my hand.
        “I’m sorry. I reacted on instinct though. They kick in anytime I see someone about to get hurt. You say you could have taken in now, but I doubt you could have. You would have ended up in this bed, and I’d be the one sitting in that chair freaking out over you. I’m fine with how things are now.” I cross my arms over my chest in triumph. Ayden frowns.
        “You don’t know what your diagnosis is; I do. With that knowledge, I’m fine with the other situation.”
        “What? What’s my diagnosis?” I ask growing increasingly nervous.
        “The doctors say you have a concussion.”
        “That’s it? That’s not that bad.” Ayden gulps. “What? Is that not it?” Ayden takes my hand in his and looks down at them wrapped around each other.
        “You have a tumor in your brain. Your mom thinks she caused it, but they tried explaining to her that it wasn’t from her blow to your head. Stacie, the tumor is deadly.”
        “How long do I have to live?”
        “The doctors predict three months.” A tear sneaks out of my eye.
        “Be strong, Stacie,” I whisper to myself.
        “Don’t,” Ayden says standing up. A look of confusion creeps onto my face. “There’s no need to be strong right now, Stacie. You can cry if you want to. I’d be surprised if you didn’t. Cry, Stacie. Cry. Let it all out. You always hold your feelings in. This time, let them out. You are such a strong person, Stacie. Now is the time to show how strong you really can be. Let all your fears, worries, and emotions fly free. Let them all out, so you can beat this tumor. I know you can do it.” I grab him and pull him close to me holding him tightly to me never wanting to let go. Tears flow out of my eyes like a dam about to burst.
        “Ayden, I can’t. If I let them go, I won’t be able control them. They won’t stop,” I warn. He begins rubbing my back.
        “I don’t care,” is all I hear.
        Tears rush out uncontrollably. As I cry my heart out, Ayden sits next to me hugging me rubbing my back. Many things pop in and out of my mind. How could I get a tumor? Why is the Ocean doing this to me? What did I do to deserve this? I’ve always tried to do the best in school and at home. I can’t really say anywhere else considering I never go anywhere besides those two places. I try to help people when I can. My grades remain straight A’s. I do as I am asked and ask for nothing in return. What else could I have done? I was always polite and kind. I was never mean. I only used force when I needed to, which was extremely rare.
        “I see you’ve told her the news.” My mom’s voice fills the air. I remain holding onto Ayden for the support I dearly need. Without him, I’d fall to the floor where I would stay until I have cried myself to sleep. “Stacie, I’m terribly sorry for what I have done. It was an enormous mistake, but I do not regret it. You see, I have done some thinking. If I never hit you on the head with that lamp, we would never have found out about all of this. We would be entirely clueless until the inevitable happens. You wouldn’t get any treatment, and your chances of survival would diminish almost entirely.” I rip away from Ayden.
        “I would rather not know! Everything is going to change now, and it’s not going to be for the better! Mermaids are going to look at me differently! Every time I swim through the halls, I’ll be greeted by stares! I’ll never any privacy ever again! I liked being alone! I don’t want to be the talk of my school! You realize I will be, right? Every day at school mermaids are going to talk about me! They’ll say mean and terrible things! You might be happy we found out early, but did you ever think about how this is going to affect me?” I scream infuriated.
        “Of course I did! I thought about all the pain you would be in during this experience. I thought about what you’re going to go through. There’s nothing I haven’t thought of! Did you think about how this is going to affect all of us; me, Avery, Blythe, Brittany?”
        “Stop it,” I demand.
        “We’re going to be crushed! I won’t be able to handle it! You only ever think of yourself and how it will affect you, Stacie! You never think of how it will affect everyone around you! Did you think about Ayden?”
        “Stop,” I demand once again.
        “I’m sure he’s going to be crushed! He explained to me your past together! He explained what you’ve been through together! He told me about how he fell in love with you at first glance four years ago! He told me about how he thought of you constantly every night before he fell asleep! You repeatedly appeared in his dreams! It sounds to me like you’re the love of his life, Stacie!”
        “Stop! Stop it! Just stop talking! You don‘t know anything about me or my life! You’re either in your room or at work! There’s so much you don’t know that happens to me that it would take a millennia to explain it all! You act as if you know everything about your children, but in all truth you couldn’t pinpoint us with our personalities if you tried!” My mom keeps silent. A look of despair comes across her face as reality hits.
        “You’re right. I don’t know anything about you or your siblings. I’m always too busy trying to provide for our family, I never think to actually be with you.”
        “I knew I lost my father, but I didn’t realize I had lost my mother too.”
        “I’m sorry you feel that way,” my mom replies looking disheartened before swimming out the hospital door. Ayden looks at me disappointed. I sigh.
        “I know. I shouldn’t have said any of that, but it’s been building up for the past decade. I couldn’t help it when it exploded out of me. It was uncontrollable.”
        “There’s no need to apologize to me. I’m not the one you said that too. I was only a witness,” Ayden says swimming out the door.
        Great. Two people have swam out on me now because of what I’ve said. I should have just bottled everything in. This would never have happened if I kept it to myself. I should never have listened to Ayden. Even though he was only trying to help, he has forced me to hurt everyone around me including him.        The next time I see my mom, I will apologize for everything I have said tonight.