Not Sarah's Number

Chapter 37: Cash's Secret

Sleeping in was great. Snuggling into the covers for an extra two hours was much needed to combat the stress the past week had given me. When I finally decided to wake up, it was already 11am and time to munch on some cereal. As I poured myself some milk, I got the text from Cash I was waiting for.

Here's the address. Can you be there by noon? - C

Plugging the address into my Maps, my smile dimmed and my eyebrows scrunched in confusion. This led me straight to the hospital. What was going on? Why did Cash want to meet there?

I figured I would find out. After eating as quickly as I could, I hopped into the car and drove to meet him there. Hospitals scared me sometimes. They usually had like 6 different buildings, and the arrows in the parking lot to lead you to the current place were so confusing that I usually ended up on the opposite end of where I needed to be. Luckily, when I spotted Ace's truck and Jeremiah's Jeep right next to each other, it wasn't hard to guess which building to walk into. As I walked up to the building, I spotted the sign. Oncology in big bold letters.

Oncology. Wasn't that cancer?

I headed inside, and three soccer boys were already waiting there. Ace, Jeremiah, and Chandler. When they saw me, they gave a little wave.

"Cash is heading out to meet us. He said he should be at the front soon," Jeremiah said, holding his phone outwards to show he had been messaging him.

"Okay. What's going on?"

Ace shrugged, although his face showed extreme concern. "I have no idea. He hasn't said anything to us. Just to meet us here."

"I thought he had gotten the address wrong at first. I even asked him to double check and he said it was correct," The Boar supplied.

Just then, Cash walked through the double doors. His eyes seemed tired as usual, and his hair was wild and untamed. He walked over to the nurse at the front desk, who gave him a friendly smile as if she knew him.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked, as if her and Cash were friends.

"These are my friends. Can they get the visitor forms?"

She spun her head around to greet us and gave a nod. After handing us some clipboards and pens, she asked us to jot all our information down. "These are just standard questions we ask all our visitors to fill out."

We filled it out quickly, handed it off to her, and then followed Cash past the doors. He waved at a few nurses, and they all waved back to him. Chandler and Jeremiah shared a look. Ace bit down on his lip and kept his eyes forward. We seemed to know where this was heading, and I tried to gulp the lump down my throat as my airway tightened. I really didn't want this to be what I thought it was.

Cash stopped in front of a door reading 178 and knocked lightly before entering.

"Hey mom," he said softly. I could hear the strain in his voice as he tried to keep himself together.

One by one we all entered. There was his mom, sitting in her hospital bed with a weak smile on her face. Her eyes drooped slightly, and each time she blinked, it was slow, as if she was having trouble keeping her eyes open. She had hair on her head, but what was once shiny ginger was now a dull dark orange. I tried not to stare too hard at the little bald spots I could see peeking through on her scalp. She was undoubtedly going through chemo, but I didn't know for what.

Her room had been decorated. The white walls held photos of her and Cash together, and her nightstand was stacked with letters saying "Get Well Soon."

Slowly, the pieces began to fall into place. Cash's strange behavior. Him skipping school and getting into fights.