Chapter 12 – A Monster In Disguise
Avery ><><
"The doctor said… your father isn't responding to treatment. He doesn't think he's going to survive the cancer."
For a second, my whole body froze.
No.
No, no, no.
My heart started pounding so loud it drowned out everything else. My chest squeezed so tightly I thought I was about to collapse right there. Breathing suddenly felt like trying to suck air through a straw.
This couldn't be real. It couldn't.
I pressed the phone tighter to my ear, my voice cracking. "W-what… what do you mean? He… he's not responding? He's not going to survive?" My words stumbled out, my tongue heavy, like I'd forgotten how to speak.
My knees felt weak. I sank onto the bed, clutching my stomach, trying to hold myself together even as my body screamed that it was falling apart.
I couldn't lose him. Not like this. Not after everything.