Samuel It's been a while since the sun rose. I never stayed in the room that long in the morning. Leaning against the closet, I drift my eyes away from the ceiling to the bed, only to find it empty. It reminds me she's not here. She hasn't been here the whole day and the night yesterday. In fact, she's not even home. As the reality of the situation sets in, I feel a knot form in my stomach. I didn't expect her to leave like that. Last night, when I had a grip on my situation, I realised how nasty things had become. And I said things I had sworn not to utter ever again. I walked out of my room and looked for Chrisanna in every single corner of the house. She was gone. I was in utter panic for a second until I got to know she went to her apartment and she's safe. Kylee came to me with a poker face to tell me not to worry. Mom had a chat with Aunt Ivanna and she sent Uncle Colton to check on her apartment. He found her asleep and fine. I would definitely call her or text her if I h
Chrisanna The whole day has been really stressful yet I had fun working with a team. Nichole joined B. Corp and it made things easy for me. I thought everyone hated me but there were only a few who were too jealous for no reason. I got along with a few people too. "It's just that Scarlett has a huge crush on Mr Vance", Kenya says, laughing as we leave the conference room after the meeting ended.Oh, bitch! I knew it."She thought she would be his favourite employee but you didn't have to make an effort to be one", Gizelle adds. "So, she was just freaking out and hating on you"I try to keep my calm with my lips pressed. Cooper is giggling in a low tone. I throw him an eye roll. "It's not like I'm his favourite", I shrug. "We don't mean in a bad way", Kenya says. "Why do all the women employees develop a crush on bosses", Henrick shrugs. "I mean they have colleagues too. Good look, what say, Cooper?""I have a girlfriend. So, I don't care", Cooper shrugs, making all laugh."I regr
Samuel As I trudge into the room, exhaustion etches onto every line of my body. The day had been long and gruelling. My eyes land on Zoey sitting at Chrisanna's side of the bed with displeasure on her face. She lets out a small meow at me. I hate it when cats or other pets are on my bed. But I don't feel any kind of frustration at this moment. I walk to the bed and slump on my side, tilting my head at her."You miss her?" I ask, knowing she can't understand a thing. However, she lets out a painful meow.Is that a yes? Maybe, I don't know the cat language. Chrisanna is good at it.I look down at the concrete floor, sighing. "I miss her too", I mutter. "More than I ever missed her. It was easy back then. Now, it feels like hell"Zoey meows again as if she's saying, "I got it, man!""She's mad at me. Wasn't it supposed to be me? I mean— I have a right to get mad at her once—" I halt. "Well, I have always been mad at her. But this is the husband-wife kind of"She again responds. I can
Samuel Chrisanna is in the ICU. She has severe head injuries and lost too much blood. She might have gotten a fracture on her leg too. At this point, her condition is serious. I'm standing against the wall facing the door of the ICU, my eyes fixed on the door but I can't see her through the small window due to the doctors surrounding her. The urge to barge inside there and watch her is killing me inside. I know how much she hates hospitals. She's anxious around doctors and obviously hospital beds due to her worst experience when she was a kid. I still remember how nervous she was when she broke her arm in school and cried until I went to her while the doctors were preparing the plasters. She kept squeezing my hand while sweating and warned me not to leave. I wish I could do that today. My shoulders feel stiff and tense as my hands tightly clench at my sides when anxiety overwhelms me. Every time a doctor or a nurse comes out of there, my heart skips and I rush for any single ne
Samuel The atmosphere is contained in comparison to how it was a couple of hours ago. My eyes avert straight to the ICU and the door is still closed."Samuel!" Mom ejaculates, walking up to me. "Where have you been?" She holds my arms. "I'm sorry I couldn't check on you. You're doing okay?""I was around. I'm— okay", I say."Well", she smiles with her eyes flickering in joy. "The doctors said Chrisanna's condition is under control. They don't know when she'll regain consciousness but she's out of danger"A wave of relief washes over me with mixed emotions flooding my mind. Nonetheless, it matters the most that she's out of danger. I feel myself smiling in disbelief, looking down. When I look up at Mom again, Uncle Scott comes forward with a mild smile. But I feel my smile fading away. It feels like a disappointment and I part my lips, looking for words to apologise but before I could say anything, he took me into a heartfelt embrace, patting my back. I remain silent, sensing the si
Samuel My eyes struggle to believe what I see— she's lying motionless and heavily bandaged on the hospital bed. She looks so vulnerable and fragile, and the severity of her injuries is evident in the numerous tubes and wires snaking around her arms. Even though she's out of danger, I don't think I wanna see her in this condition. It's been a while since I'm here, just staring at her and watching her breathe. She has movements— those muscle spasms as her eyelids quiver and her fingers move. It means nothing, but deep down it makes me feel better that she still doesn't feel the pain, does she?I badly wanna know. "Hey, firefly!" I lean closer to her face. "I'm not sure if you would want me this close to you and even if you don't want that, you can't ask me to leave"I pause for a while, wondering if I should continue. I inhale deeply. "I just wanna know if you feel the pain when you're not here mentally. Do you feel the ache when you're in another realm? If you don't, I will not ask
Chrisanna After coming home, mama and Fifi, both went on to a full-on nursing mode. They finally left me alone after feeding me the whole bowl of tasteless soup and I grabbed a magazine to kill time since Samuel disappeared again after bringing me home. So, he's still in that angry mode? Then why did he have to come here? He should have stuck with his stupid anger and let me be. I'm so frustrated that I don't feel like doing anything. Straightening myself, I toss the magazine aside and strive to get up from the couch. I just asked Mama to shift me to the couch from the bed but my restlessness won't let me stay in a place for longer.It's hard to handle yourself with a fractured hand, for sure. I struggle to get onto my feet while pressing my left hand against the wall. In the next blink of my eyes, I feel myself lifted in Samuel's arms. I was definitely not ready for this. He just appeared out of nowhere. As I keep gawking at him in disbelief, he leads me to the bed without a word
Samuel I started distancing myself ever since I was young. It was when I was ten and I got the opportunity to get into one of the most renowned schools through a sports scholarship. Spending five years of my life alone as a child was difficult but I preferred it that way. Mom would come to visit me every month, driving more than two hundred miles to spend the weekend before I eventually moved to the UK for a whole year when I was fourteen. I hadn't seen Mom for a whole year. My scholarship could be renewed since the club didn't want to lose me. But I didn't take the opportunity after I was done with the last league I played in the UK. That was the year I turned fifteen, yet to finish the tenth grade. The new school year was about to start and I was torn between the two decisions to make. Either fill in the form and stick with my life as the way it had been, or get a ticket and fly back to Texas. To mom. To everyone. I did the only thing I always did when I needed an answer. I wen
Hello, everyone. This month has been a really bad one. After I posted the previous chapter almost 10 days ago, I was doing pretty well. None of my family members nor I have ever suffered from Dengue before which is why I had no idea that after the fever decreases abruptly there is a higher chance to have a very bad fever after a couple of days. I wasn't fully recovered. Had to get admitted in the hospital. I really tried my best to use my free time to write something but it was next to impossible. It's been two days since I have come back home and doing pretty well. But due to a gap in writing, I'm unable to get motivated to write the next chapter. Must be an absurd request but please let me know in the comments how many of you are still with me, waiting for the rest of the chapters, so I can have some boost in motivation and push myself to finally get back on track. Thanks in advance for all the good wishes. Hugs?
ChrisannaYou know what's the worst part of this phase? I know every bit of change happening in my body and my mind but people around me— who love me— are trying their best to hide those changes I may not see but feel. I snuggle into Samuel's arms after breaking the kiss and exhaling deeply as his grip tightens. I feel his heart racing, faster than ever.He thinks I didn't notice anything. But I did feel everything. I felt the sudden change in his voice which he tried to hide. I felt his hands suddenly moving more gently than ever as if he was scared to touch my hair, as if he feared the more he'll mess with them the more they'll come out. He thinks he can prevent them from falling anymore. Maybe. But he can't.I know everything. I feel everything.I feel him. He can't hide. He can't lie. "You're feeling well? We can cancel the date if you want to", he asks me, squeezing my shoulders gently. "No. I wanna go""You sure""Hmm", I lift my head and smile at him. *We spent the rest of
Samuel"I'm sure I was born only to meet her", I say, smiling down, midway through my speech— among the group settling in a circle during the weekly meeting. "Every good thing that happened in my life— all revolved around her. I just don't know how that's possible. I believe that I was born for her. Just to meet her and love her. There's no damn purpose in my life. There haven't been any"My breath hitches as I look around at all the smiling faces."Do I look better to you all? Like better than how I was when I came to the first meeting?" A tinge of anticipation stirs me up. "I just don't want to go back to the worst phase of my life anymore. And I'm so fearful that it would happen if I keep watching her struggling. It's very painful—" I struggle to speak.Strangely, it didn't happen ever since I started coming to the meetings and I always talked fluently.As I struggle to speak, my phone rings. Even though it's not allowed to carry phones while in the meeting, I'm allowed as I discus
ChrisannaIt's like a script they have all memorized. "Line dance", Uncle Colton says, getting up and walking towards the music player. "Darn. I hate it!" Eric snarls. "All dancing like soldiers""It's fun. We do it every time in family gatherings", Judson says, flickering a smile. "Seriously! Are you a 50-year-old in the body of a 17-year-old?" Eric grimaces, making Judson silent."Stop bullying him, Eric", Kylee shoots him a glare."Opposite attracts— shit is real", Charlotte laughs her lungs out, taking sips from her drink."Okay, you all", Uncle Colton turns the music on. "Get into a line"As everyone takes place for a line dance, Samuel helps me to get up."You don't need to match and move that much, okay? Just enjoy", he says. "Don't stress" I nod and notice a few people from the park have also joined. The environment seems to come alive with the rhythm of the dance as I weakly copied Charlotte's steps who is standing before me and briefly look at Samuel beside me. He has a
ChrisannaThe sun-kissed park provides a picturesque setting as the sprawling green meadow unfolds in front of me. Towering trees with long branches surrounding us leaves gently rustling in the soft breeze. The vibrant colours of blooming flowers dot the landscape.I inhale deeply, swallowing the canvas before my eyes. It all seems so new and mesmerising. I haven't inhaled fresh air for months. More than half of the last five months were spent within the four walls of the hospital and I also didn't wanna step out.I miss my old life so much. I look yards away, taking every inch of the view, watching kids playing around, families conversing and groups of friends laughing aloud."It's really hot over here", Samuel comes beside me, blocking the sun rays straight hitting my face as how tall he is. I look up at him and smile, finding Zoey curled around his neck. "I missed this heat""In that case, I think you had enough of it", he slides his hand behind my back and I keep smiling at Zoey
Chrisanna Stage III. As hard as it is to accept, this is the reality. It's been weeks since I've been back to the hospital. Again.And it sucks. I'm going through radiation therapy now. Even though my breasts were removed, cancer spread beyond that area to nearby lymph nodes surrounding tissues, chest walls, and skin.My skin burns, itches, and aches most of the time. I feel tired even pushing my eyelids and sometimes it's even harder to breathe. Although my stitches are gone, leaving those lifelong scars, the soreness and fatigue still wake me up every night. But now I have learned not to cry out. I have learned how to live with this discomfort and pain. Among everything, my life is just standing still. It seems like I'm stuck in a loophole where the world is running at a fast pace and I'm just standing there. I don't feel the same anymore. I'm not the same. The changes haunt me. I find it hard to accept myself. And every time I try to speak my heart out, I can't. They don't
SamuelChrisanna had to spend the next week in the hospital. As she preferred, Aunty Ivanna was there for her most of the time. I rarely got to spend time with her as the nurses and doctors had to check on her every half an hour. She might need a few weeks to recover from the surgery before the radiation therapy starts. According to the doctors, she'll need more than a year to get past all that and it depends on her recovery whether she'd need more therapy or not. However, I'm more concerned about the woman she's turning into— completely different from what she was. She barely speaks to me. She just stares at me whenever I am there as if she's talking to me through her eyes and I feel dumb and desperate when I can't bring myself to understand what she might want to say.I try to be there for her as much as I can but I wish I could do more. To ensure I'm in a better state of mind, I regularly attend my therapy sessions. Connor introduced me to a group and I have attended two meetings
ChrisannaNo amount of willpower, confidence, and support can prepare you for this— no matter how strong you try to be— it's never that easy. The day I was diagnosed with this disease again, I was so sure that I would overcome it— again. If a seven-year-old child can fight, then a twenty-five-year-old grown-ass woman can definitely fight and win. But little did I know that, it's not the same— and never that easy.The more I was sucked into this illness, the more I realized it's not the same. It's more painful than anything else. Either I lose something that defines my identity, or I lose myself. Either way, I have to lose. Spacing out of reality, I look down at my hands, clasping and unclasping them as my eyes dart to the wedding ring, glistening on my finger. My thoughts slip away from one direction to the other one as Samuel's face flashes in front of my eyes. I haven't seen him for two days— ever since I was admitted to the hospital for surgery. I met no one as I requested them
SamuelI wasn't honestly expecting something like that. There's barely any word I can form to speak when she stares straight into my eyes with a blank face. Her voice barely shakes and her gaze doesn't even flinch.This is not anything like Chrisanna. Chrisanna is all about expressing. She doesn't believe in being or looking emotionless— cold and rough. She should have been nervous, scared, or hurt while saying such a huge thing to me. At least— to me!I had seen changes in her behaviour lately but it's something painful to watch.She keeps staring at me, waiting for an answer when I was completely spaced out. I shrug, clearing my throat."Okay""It's awful", she doesn't blink— and her voice is ice cold. She should be flinching and groaning in frustration and maybe in anger. There's nothing!"It's not awful", I exclaim, immediately sliding my palm around her jaw. "It's a way to heal you""Yeah. Just throwing away a part of my body isn't awful", she groans, making me unsettled."No.