All of this shone clearly in her eyes.
“It’s cancer, Sam.” Gran squeezed my hand tight, and I wasn’t sure if it was for her comfort or mine. “Lung cancer. Stage four.”
The world tipped on its axis. Everything fell away, and suddenly I no longer knew which way was up and which was down as my stomach fluttered and my heart pounded.
“It’s terminal. The doctors say I don’t have much time,” Gran continued in a shaky voice even though I hadn’t spoken yet and even though I didn’t want to hear any more details.
“They could be wrong,” I said, meaning it. “Doctors get things like this wrong all the time. You could have years to go still. Heck, you might not even have stage four. Have you gotten a second opinion?”
It couldn’t be so final. It just couldn’t. Her doctors had to be wrong. They had to.
“I’ve already done a lot of tests. All the results are the same. And, I know I don’t have much time left—I can feel it. So can my bear. We’ve known something was wrong for a while—”
“Then, why didn’t you go to the doctor when you first felt something? Why did you wait until it was too far gone to be able to do anything for it?” I exclaimed, feeling anger toward her and the situation bubbling inside me. “You could have had Tris heal you. She’s the Mystic of the clan, she could have done it no problem.” My face grew hot, and tears pricked the corners of my eyes.
Gran shook her head, her eyes soft. “It wouldn’t have mattered, honey. I know it wouldn’t have. This is how I go. This is how I’m taken from this Earth. It’s not something I would be able to fight, no matter how hard I tried.”
I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to keep the tears that had formed from falling. I didn’t want to break down, but the only person I had left in this world was telling me she was dying and there was nothing I could do to save her.
“Can you at least ask Tris to heal you?” My voice wavered when I spoke.
“There’s nothing she can do—nothing I’d allow her to do, anyway,” Gran insisted. I opened my mouth to argue with her, but she cut me off before I could speak. “If Tris tried to heal this, she’d be knocked out for days—maybe even weeks—and it would make her incredibly sick. I can’t ask that of her, and I refuse to see her in pain because of me. Please understand that.” She squeezed my hand again.
I moved my thumb across the top of her hand in slow strokes. “What about finding another doctor, or going to a center that helps with this type of cancer specifically?” It was so hard to say the C word out loud. It nearly got stuck in my throat. “People have beat this before. They beat it, and they go on to live an even longer, healthier life. I see stories about it all the time.”
“It’s my time, Sam. Even if things hadn’t spread far enough to be considered terminal and chemo or something else was a viable option, I’d still refuse. This is how I’m supposed to go. These are the cards I’ve been dealt. I know you don’t understand, but please respect my decision with this.”
My teeth sank into my bottom lip to keep more argumentative words from spilling free. Instead, I squeezed her hand and nodded my agreement. There was nothing more I could say, Gran’s mind was made up.
“Okay,” I whispered. “I respect your decision, even though I don’t like it.”
“Good, now eat your cobbler. It’s getting cold.” She grinned as she picked up her fork.
Once we ate, I said good night to Gran and headed to my room. I changed into my pajamas and washed my face before climbing into bed thinking I’d fall right to sleep, but I didn’t. Sleep didn’t come as easy. Instead, the tingling sensation to paint I’d felt earlier intensified.
It built in my fingertips until I gave in.
I slipped out of bed and dug my sketchpad out of my suitcase, along with a few charcoal pencils, and then situated myself at the desk in the corner. As soon as I gripped a pencil, my hand began to move across the paper on its own accord. An image formed, but I didn’t understand what I was looking at until I was finished.
It was two hands—one old, one young—directed toward one another with their fingertips nearly touching. My gaze zeroed in on the sparks of energy dancing between the fingers and I knew immediately what it represented.
Me passing my life energy to Gran.
I stared at the picture, unable to look away. My stomach dipped as hot tears formed. Once the energy stopped flowing, I knew Gran would be gone. It was the only thing keeping her here now. I could feel it.
Chapter Three
A constant buzzing woke me. It took me all of two seconds to realize that it was my alarm. I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to turn it off. My heart hammered as I bolted upright in bed to turn it off before it woke Gran.
Five am. Crap, it was early.
I clutched my cell to my chest and listened for any signs Gran might have woken. A sound in the kitchen caught my attention. I held my breath and listened closer.
A chair scraping against the floor sounded. Gran was already up, and from the sounds of it, she seemed to be cooking.
I slid out of bed and made my way to the door, ready to tell her she didn’t have to cook for me while I was here. She was supposed to be resting. The words died on the tip of my tongue when I opened the door, though because the savory scent of something hit my nose, causing my mouth to water.
“You’re up early,” I said, stepping into
