"Be the bigger person." No thanks.

Chris:

I was angry.

I think.

I was probably angry.

I'm definitely sad.

Maybe?

So I was probably angry and definitely sad.

But that doesn't sound quite right either.

I felt... empty. Completely and utterly empty.

So I was probably angry, potentially sad and definitely empty.

Yes, that sounds right.

Or maybe it's the beer talking.

I don't even know anymore.

What was I talking about?

Oh right. My feelings.

The boys seemed to be taking it as hard as I was. Caleb had emptied the pot of peanuts, arranged them in size order then started counting them. What scared me was that he hadn't had a drop of alcohol- being the designated driver and all.

Nick and Ethan were glaring at each other, neither of them willing to back down from their intense competition. Issac kinda just sat there, absorbing it all in while swirling his glass.

"Why do you think she didn't tell us?" Caleb suddenly voiced the question we all feared the answer to.

"Dunno." I shrugged.

"She probably didn't trust us." Ethan said in a sad, angry growl.

"Or maybe she thought she was doing what she thought was best?" Caleb quipped, tearing his eyes away from his stack of peanuts.

"Or... maybe she's scared of us." Issac said in low tone.

We all stilled. Ethan and Nick broke their staring competition and glared at him.

"What- what are you taking about?" I finally managed to ask.

He gave a one shouldered shrug. "Remember when we- apart from Chris- met her for the first time? We killed three men in front of her. Then we kidnapped her. Any normal person would be terrified of us!"

"Yeah but Arya's not a normal person." Ethan snorted.

My phone rang and I pulled it out of my pocket with fumbling fingers. I squinted at the contact and frowned. "It's Marigold." I swiped on the green button and held the device to my ear.

"Hello?" My words were slightly slurred and I sniffed.

"I don't know what the hell you boys are doing, but you need to get your asses down to the hospital. Arya collapsed and it's not looking good."

X

Caleb neatly parked in front of the hospital and we stumbled out. I brushed myself off and strode to through the doors having sobered up during the ride.

Exhausted doctors and nurses diligently carried out their duties while crying patients sat in the waiting room.

'There is not enough funding for the NHS.' I thought sadly, watching a doctor reach his breaking point, but forced to carry on and admit the patients.

"Guys!"

We turned to see Marigold sprinting down the corridor dressed in a red dress that swirled around her ankles. Jacob was close at her heels, eyes red and puffy, but brimming with anger when he saw us.

"Hey. What happened to Arya? Is she okay? I mean, obviously not since she's in the hospital but what happened?" Ethan's words tripped over themselves and he nervously bounced from one foot to the other.

"She's not good. Arya said she told you about her cancer?" Marigold's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Yeah... did you know?"

"I found out approximately one hour ago on a date with my fiancé and my first reaction wasn't to storm off and leave her alone."

Issac scowled. "We were surprised."

"Not a excuse. She had a panic attack and that caused her to collapse. Hell when she woke up her first question was to ask if you guys were still mad." Marigold inhaled deeply and squeezed her eyes shut. "But never mind. You guys want to see her?"

"What kind of-... oi!" Ethan exclaimed as I harshly elbowed him in the gut. I gave him a look that clearly said 'Don't be an idiot'. "Yeah, yeah we do want to see her."

Marigold nodded and turned on her heels, striding down the corridor without so much as a backward glance to see if we were following.

"We really messed up this time." Nick whispered as we scampered after her.

"Oh yeah, you did." Jacob snapped.

We stood outside the door, a familiar déjà vu from a few weeks ago after Arya was kidnapped. This time, though, I pushed open the door.

Arya lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. Her chest rose and fell with each steady breath. My gaze flitted over the various instruments that were hooked into her, providing the life saving elixir.

"Hey." I choked out, taking a seat next to her. I gripped her hand and she squeezed it back weakly.

"Hi." She smiled humourlessly. "Are you- are you guys still mad at me?" She frowned. "Wait... have you guys been drinking? Did you drink and drive? Are you guys okay?"

"How can you ask if we're okay when you're the one in the hospital!" I exclaimed.

Arya laughed, but it quickly turned into a cough. Marigold quickly pressed a bottle to her lips and Arya sipped it gratefully. She pulled away and sighed, rubbing her eyes with the heel of her palm.

"I'm always worried about you guys. Honestly, you guys get injured in the stupidest ways possible. By the way, how's Sparklemuffin?" She directed the last question to Caleb.

Caleb gave a lopsided smile, eyes shining with tears. "He's- uh, he's good. Yeah. Really good. I- I think he missed you though. Yeah... whenever I enter the shed, he always looks so disappointed that it's me. I think you're his new favourite human now."

"Ha." She said weakly.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Nick asked quietly, leaning against the wall. "Did you not trust us?"

"Nick." Issac warned.

"No, it's okay." Arya smiled, but it was strained and exhausted. "I was scared."

"Of us?" Issac asked quietly.

We tensed.

Her eyes widened and she rushed on. "Not of you! God no! I was scared because... well, if I told you guys, then that would make it real. I thought- I thought I beat it last time. I really don't want to die." She sobbed on the last word and I hugged her, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"Hey, hey, it's okay Skittle. We're gonna get through this, alright?" I whispered.

"The uh, the doctor said we should start considering our options." Jacob sniffed, wiping his eyes. He didn't look at Arya.

Arya looked at him and I saw her heart break. She held out her arms. Jacob crumbled and he collapsed, sobs wracking his body.

"I don't want to lose you," he whispered, "you're my big sister. You promised you'd stay with me forever."

"Nothing lasts forever." She smiled sadly. "I think that's the easiest lesson we learn the hardest way."

Ethan snorted. "When did you become so wise?"

"I think it's the trauma."

We laughed, despite the situation not being a particularly funny one.

"How long- how long has she got left?" Issac questioned.

"One month at best." Marigold responded, her voice cracking on the words.

A determined spark lit up in his eyes. "Then it's gonna be the best damn month we've ever had. Cancel any plans you've got for tonight everyone, we've got some serious planning to do."

End.

I hope you guys liked it!

Stay safe and thanks for reading :)