Then Came You (15 page)

I look at the clock with a growl, the numbers 12:34 flashing at me mockingly. “Great,” I grumble. “Half the day is gone already.” I roll myself out the bed with the help of Tyler, who rubs his messy hair and yawns.

“Yeah, but because we’re
the bestest
friends ever, we’ve waited until you guys got up before making a start on the cleaning. So: chop
chop
! My parents are going to get here around seven, so we’d better hurry.”

I look at Tyler and we both groan loudly. “Feel like climbing out the window?” He jokes, only half serious.

“Nah, she’s chase after us and
then
we’d be sorry,” I mumble, taking his hand and walking out the room. “I hope you’re ready for a day of scraping pizza of the ceiling and scrubbing beer off the carpets.”

He groans again, and I laugh as we head down the stairs. Unfortunately, we actually
did
have to do those things, which made me wonder what the hell actually happened at the party last night; it wasn’t that crazy, was it?

“Yes, it was.” Dana said flatly as she sipped her coffee. We were sat in the café down the street from Remy’s house, just the two of us. We’d finally finished cleaning the whole house and Joey left with Cam, Tyler had plans with some friends and Remy was spending time with her parents.
So that left just the two of us, drinking hot drinks in a red and orange café, where the guy behind the counter working the coffee machine kept scowling at us for not tipping him.

I huff. “It’s not my fault I can’t remember anything.”

“You got pissed, girl. It happens: but you do it to yourself, no matter what you say the next day. Trust me, we’ve all been there.” She sighs after another gulp of her drink. I fight back a grimace – who has
black
coffee? I take a sip of my hot chocolate with a deep breath.

“Well, I owe Tyler one for looking out for me all night. And this morning too,” I say, referring to the pain killers and him helping me clean the house. “So what exactly happened last night?”

Dana moans loudly and puts the mug down on the table not too gently, a scowl making its way on to her face. “You met Alex.”

“Alex…?” I small memory makes its way into my brain and I gasp.
“Snakebites and black hair?
That
was Alex?
Holy crud!”
And then I remember something else. “Shit! I left you on your own with him!”

“Gee, thanks for your concern,” she says dryly. “But I’m not a little kid; I can look after myself.”

I roll my eyes at her. “You know what I mean. How was it?”

“We talked.” She shrugged. “He mentioned how sorry he was, blah
blah
blah
… And then we hugged. So, basically, it was a load of bullshit, followed by a very awkward hug, and then a fake promise to stay in touch. All in all, I think it went okay.”

I laugh at that. “Nice one.” I smirk. “But was the promise really
fake
?”

She purses her lips. “Of course it
wa
-
“ Her
phone rings in her bag, and she curses when she sees the screen. “I gotta take it.” She walks off to the toilets, pressing the device to her ear.

I fall back in the orange plush couch and cradle the hot chocolate in my hands, dragging a finger in and out the whipped cream. The bell rings, meaning someone’s walked in and I look up, only to gape in surprise. Joey is standing with Cam and looking back at me in shock, his eyes wide. Cam stops and looks between us in confusion, before walking over and dragging Joey behind him.

“Hey Darcy,” he says cheerily. I nod silently at him. Joey clears his throat loudly, his gaze fixed harshly on the coffee on the table.

“Hi,” he chokes out. “
Wh
-
Who are you here with?”

I wince. “Dana,” I reply reluctantly, and his face falls.

“Shit.”

Cam rolls his eyes at us both. “You guys are so weird. Who’s this Dana chick, then?”

Just in time, Dana walks back, a troubled look in her eyes as she runs her phone over her lips. She notices the new additions to our table and smiles slightly. “Hello, people.”

Cam beams and takes her hand in his to shake eagerly.
“Hey to you, too.
Are you friends with Joey, then?”

She nods slowly.
“
Yeeeeah
.
And you’re the guy that stayed over last night, right? So how do you know Joey?”

Cam smiles at her. “Oh, I’m his boyfriend.”

Both Joey and Dana start choking on air, and I gulp in between the two, as they struggle to comprehend just what has happened.

“Oh. My. God,” Dana repeats, her mouth still refusing to close back up.

Joey sighs and runs his hands through his eyes. “I know, okay. I
know.
But Darcy said it doesn’t change anything, and you understand, right?”

Dana’s eyes shoot to me. “You knew already?” I nod slowly, and she breathes out slowly. “Huh. Well then, I’m pretty surprised your parents didn’t kill you or something.
You too, Cam; for ‘ruining’ their precious boy’s life.”

Cam chuckles, his bright eyes turning to look at Joey, but the moment he sees the boy’s face, his grin fades. Joey looks pale, like he’s going to be sick, and his Adams apple is bobbing up and down almost painfully as he gulps.

I cringe and shrink lower into the chair and try to hide behind my mug as realisation sinks in. Dana’s mouth drops open once again.

“Holy shit, you haven’t
told
them!? Joey! They
need
to know!” He shakes his head slowly and she frowns. “Dude,” she starts, quieter this time. “You can’t just leave them in the dark.”

“But they’ll
hate
me,” he groans, a pained expression on his face. “They have such high standards, and I’m pretty sure that being straight is one of them.”

“Well then,” she points out fiercely. “You’ll just have to tell them that you have your
own
standards for yourself, and that they can go and-“

“Uh, guys?” Cam interrupts Dana’s rant timidly, a blush and a bemused expression on his face. “I really gotta go. But it was great meaning you Darcy.
You too, Dana.
Joey?”

Joey nods and grins at him, taking his hand and walking him out of the café and to his car. I watch with a giggle as they share a kiss and a few words, before Cam drives off and Joey makes his way back in, pink staining his cheeks.

Dana sighs,
a fuzzy
warmth in her eyes. “Okay, so even if nobody knows yet; that was the cutest thing ever.” I laugh and agree with her, and we share a high five.

“You guys are so
sweet,
” I gush, and his blush gets fiercer, a smirk on his face.

“Shut
up,
you two,” he mumbles. I ‘aw’ and ruffle his hair playfully, and Dana finishes the last of her third coffee.

“But seriously,” she adds. “You guys make an awesome couple.”

Twenty Two

For the next couple of weeks, things get better and better. Dana and I become sisters, spending as much time as we can at her house and sometimes mine. Tyler and I get closer and closer every week, and we tell each other I love you each and every day. Remy is as crazy as always, and after the party, she was on a high for days. And Joey actually managed to tell his parents and everyone that he was, indeed, gay.

Everyone understood, and didn’t mind. Well, except for his parents, of course. Now, Joey is staying with an Uncle, who he gets along with just fine, and conveniently lives down the road from school.

And then there’s my dad. He hasn’t been home for a while, but the other day he came back sober, and he’s only been drunk a few times since. I think he’s really trying now, and I’m happy for him.

The other day, dad told me that he wanted to change, because he didn’t like the fact that he was ruining my life. I was so happy I started to cry, and he’d actually hugged me for the first time in ages. It wasn’t the same as I remember; it wasn’t familiar and it didn’t smell like mint humbugs, coffee and paper. But it was as good as it was going to get, and I could deal with that.

Things aren’t going to suddenly snap back to normal with my dad, but he’s trying, and that’s all I can really hope for.

But as for everything else; well, let’s just say I’ve smiled so much more than when I first got here. I think I’m finally coming back to life.

That day was a typical school day; Remy was bouncing in her seat in class, Joey wouldn’t look up from his phone, and Dana was making sarcastic comments about anything and everything. Tyler was with his friends a lot, because apparently they were on his back for spending all his time with ‘his chick’ and ditching them for me. Their words, he’d said, not his.

Dana sighed and stood up, her eyes focused on the phone. “Guys, I’ll be back in a bit, yeah? I need to go do something.” We all nod and watch her walk out of the canteen in a hurry, but think nothing of it. She’s been doing that a lot lately, and she just snaps if we ask her about it.

“I wonder what the big news is,” Joey murmurs, not used to being left out of the loop. Remy shrugs, her pink hair swishing in its high ponytail.

“Maybe she’s got a new mission?”

I roll my eyes at her.
“Again with the spy thing?”

“She looks like one!” She defends, and Joey smirks at me over her shoulder.

I nod slowly, and poke at the lettuce leaf with the plastic fork, my thoughts focused on Dana and what could be making her so… preoccupied. A hand reaches over and takes mine, and I look up into Joey’s kind eyes.

“Let it go,” he tells me softly. “Stop worrying so much; she’ll tell us when she’s ready.

And he’s right, of course.

Because that’s exactly what she does that next day, at precisely half past five on a Saturday morning.

Riing
,
riiiing
.
 

With a moan, I lifted my head and glared at my door, willing for the phone to stop ringing so i can get some sleep. My eyes are heavy and my mind is fuzzy as I stumble out of bed and down the cold stairs, shivering in the chilly night air. I pick up the phone with a grumble, holding it up to my ear.

“Darcy?” She says hoarsely over the phone, sounding like she’s been crying. I press it tighter to my face, immediately forgetting my irritation at being woken up so early. “I-I need you.” Her voice is shaking with tears and my heart drops at the desperation in her voice.

I don’t hesitate to reply. “Where are you?”

Twenty minutes later, wearing sweatpants, a jumper and a pair of trainers too small,  I dive out of the taxi and run up to the entrance of the hospital emergency room, panic seizing me as I look around for my friend. I've never liked hospitals - they
reak
of disinfectant and death. I always imagine that I can hear the moans of people in pain, and I hate the sight of people in waiting rooms crying over their loved ones. I just can't stand to witness people in pain.

Inside, all I can see is white walls and floors, white plastic chairs and a white desk with an old woman tapping on a keyboard behind it, a frown on her face as she purses her lips at the ancient monitor. It's silent, except for the rushing of feet and the beeping of the machines; the only other people here are the ones hunched in the uncomfortable chairs, miserable looks on their faces as they wait for a doctor to come by.

I see my friend immediately, her black outfit standing out against the pristine white of the hospital, and her sobs echoing down every hall. I edge closer and she doesn't look up as she drops her head in her hands and cries. My heart breaks as she curls into herself on the hospital bench and tears roll down her face, pain evident in her eyes. 

I wince and crouch in front of her, putting a hand on her shoulder. “H-how is she?” My voice catches in the middle, and I internally curse at myself - she needs me to be strong right now. 

“Oh God, Darcy,” she cries out scratchily, her face creasing with hurt. “She’s dying.” She forces the two words out before breaking down once more, and I fall back in shock, my face stark white.

“Oh no,” I whisper, and I try to comfort her. My heart pangs in my chest and numbness covers me like a blanket as I take care of my sister, who has just realised that her life is being torn apart.

The worst part
is,
that I have no way to fix it for her. I’m not strong enough.

Cancer, they told us. It was a tumour in her brain, and there was no way anything could be done about it. She’d apparently known about it for ages, but she’d refused to tell anyone about it. She hadn’t had treatment, either, because she didn’t want to live the rest of her life sick and stuck in hospitals. She wanted to spend it with her family and friends. She wanted to spend it with Dana.

I hold Dana’s hand and she squeezes it back tightly as the Doctor tells us all this, a sad expression fixed on his face so perfect and professional because he’s probably been through this a million times before.