We walked into the bright lights of the local hospital. I could smell the sanitation and sickness all in one. It was beyond disgusting. I hated hospitals, but I knew I needed to be her for mom. It was her fifth chemo treatment, but it wasn't helping. She was just getting worse. She was loosing weight everyday; her hair was starting to fall out, and she had no energy to do anything. Dad had taken over cooking and cleaning. He decided to take all of his vacation time at once to be with mom in this time of need. Six whole weeks he would be at home, making sure everything was neat and in place. Making sure that mom didn't have to do a damn thing around the house. I loved my dad for that. You could see how much her cared about my mom. He would do anything just to make her happy, and this was one of those things.

"Emmy, darling, could you get me a glass of water? These treatments always run me dry." My mom had such a sick sense of humor. The nurses were setting her up to the machine that would pump chemicals into her body. I could see the pain in her face every time she had to come to one of these.

"Of course, mom." I headed out of the chemo room and headed down the bright halls towards the cafeteria. A bunch of sick patients were sitting at the tables. These were the patients that could get around and move on their own. The ones that didn't have to stay in a bed all the time. I found the water station and grabbed a cup, filling it to the top with water. On my way back to the room, I thought about what Bryson was doing. He was suppose to come, but he wasn't at the house when we left. I knew that he hated seeing mom in pain. That's probably why he didn't come. I handed my mom the cup of water when I got into the room. She smiled at me and rested back in her chair.

"Mr. Carter, may I speak to you outside?" The doctor said upon entering the room. I looked at my dad.

"Can I come?" I spoke up. I wanted to know what was going on. She was my mother.

"That's fine." My dad and I followed the doctor into the hallway where he held up an X-ray. "Your wife has gone through five chemo therapy sessions, but as you see here, the cancer isn't going down any. The next thing we can try is radiation treatment." They want to pump radiation into my mothers body?

"Isn't radiation just as bad for her?" I blurted out. My dad shot me a glare, and I sent him an apologetic smile. I hadn't meant to say what was on my mind; it just popped out.

"We only use enough radiation to kill off the cancer cells. Not enough to harm your mother. It will, however, drain her energy more. She'll be more tired." I wanted to punch this doctor in the mouth. I knew he was only trying to help, but she's tired enough as it is. She's lost so much weight.

"I need to speak to my wife about it before we make any decisions." The doctor nodded and we went back into my mothers room. The look on her face said she heard everything that was said in the hallway.

"Why couldn't he tell me all that as well?" My mother asked, clearly hurt that she was included.

"Mom, he probably didn't want to worry you anymore. Doesn't it mean more to make that decision with your family?" I said. She nodded in return. I gave her a peck on the cheek which made her smile.

~~~~

"Where the fuck have you been?" I said to Bryson as he finally walked through the door.

"Out,l was all he said. I stood up from the couch, placing my hands on my hips. I tried to be intimidating, but it never worked to my advantage.

"You should have been there today. We got more news." At that, Bryson turned all his attention to me. I could tell he was hungry for the information I held.

"And?" I sighed, not wanting to be the bearer of bad news.

"Chemo isn't working. The doctor wants to try radiation treatment, but we haven't decided on anything yet." He slumped down on the couch, letting out a deep sigh.

"Shouldn't we try everything before giving up?" I sat down next to him, resting my head on his shoulder. We were all taking this hard, but I think he was taking it the hardest. He had always been a mommy's boy.

"And what if it doesn't work? We're just going to put her through all of that for it to fail? The doctor said it's going to drain her even more. She's not going to have any energy left, and she can't keep loosing weight. It's not healthy."

"But what if it does work?" He was right, but ultimately it was moms decision. She was going to do what she thought was right.

"We can't play with the what ifs. No matter what we do we're gonna question it." He let out a long sigh before standing up.

"You're right. We should let mom decide." I nodded.

~~~~

"Mom?" I asked, knocking on her door.

"It's open, sweetie." When I walked in, my mother was wearing her long nightgown, carefully tucked under the covers. She had the tv on, but muted.

"Everything okay?" I asked, sitting on the bed next to her.

"Yeah, just tired is all. All his treatment is taking everything out of me. I think the treatment is going to kill me before the cancer does." I shook my head at her sick sense of humor which made her chuckle.

"Have you decided what you're going to do yet?" I noticed she was watching the bachelor. I didn't understand how she watched that show. It was all about one guy making out with a bunch of different girls, and falling in love with more than one girl. Why would you set yourself up for heartbreak like that?

"I don't think I'm going to do the radiation treatment. I mean, look at how bad it is just from chemo. I feel like if the chemo isn't helping, then why put myself through that?" She had a point, but it still broke my heart.

"I get it. We're all here to help you through this." She smiled, pulling me into a hug.

"I know, darling. I know that you and your brother are going to do great things in life." I started tearing up at her words. It's like she knew she was going to die, and I wasn't ready for that. She wiped away the tears that were rolling down my cheeks and placed a kiss on my forehead.

"I don't want you to talk like that, mom." She sent me an apologetic smile as she relaxed back in her bed.

"No matter what, I will always be with you guys." I smiled and stood up. "I love you, sweetheart. Do you mind sending your brother up here?"

"I love you too, mom." I nodded. I couldn't help but cry uncontrollably after that. Why did I feel like she was nearing the end?

-------------------------------------------------------

Sorry for the sad chapters lately. I felt like the story was going no where now that Bryson and Riley were together. Let me know what you think!

Don't get me wrong, I love the bachelor! I just put that in there to fill space. The picture attached is of the girl I chose to play Emmy. Once again, I don't know who she is, so if you know, tell me!

Teaser: I haven't planned that far yet, so surprise!