‼️ON PAUSE‼️ 'Cause The Hardest Part Of This Is Leaving You

*Bandit's POV*
It's been two weeks since my brain aneurism. The doctor told me when I went home I couldn't sing or play the guitar or even listen to music for a couple weeks. They just called and told me that I can go to the studio and record for a little bit. We were all in the car driving to the studio. The sun wasn't shining. My head was killing me but mom gave me some Tylenol at home. We stepped out of the car onto the sidewalk. I looked down. Their was the spot in which it all happened. Chills went down my spine. We walked into the building and Mr. McGraw was standing there waiting for me. He came up to me and hugged me.
"Bandit! I'm glad to see that you're well!" He said cheerfully.
I hugged him back. "Thanks Mr. McGraw. I'm glad to see you too."
He put his arm around me and we walked up the stairs.
"So Bandit, you know the song 'S.I.N.G'?"
I nodded.
"Well I want you to sing it. There is another studio in New York who wants to hear you."
I smiled. "Oh my God, that's awesome." I jumped up and down.
"Do you need time to learn the words?" He asked.
"No, I know the song, I listen to it. It's memorized."
Mr. McGraw patted me on the back.
"You defiantly are my star client."
Mr. McGraw and I went to lunch. Mom and dad came too. We didn't go to Panera, because of.... Well.... Yeah. We went to Olive Garden. We were there for about 30 minutes when we walked back to the studio. We went upstairs and they wanted me to start recording. So I did. I walked into my little sound booth and sat down in front of the mic. Mr. McGraw started to talk on the speaker.
"You ready Bandit?"
"Ready as I'll ever be." I gave a thumbs up.
"Your head doesn't hurt does it?" Mom asked.
"No I'm fine mom." I answered.
They started the music, it sounded so beautiful. Then I started to sing.
"Sing it out
Boy, you've got to see what tomorrow brings
Sing it out
Girl, you've got to be what tomorrow needs
For every time that
They want to count you out
Use your voice every single time
You open up your mouth"
I was half way through the song. Everyone on the other side was smiling. Then the next verse came up.
"..."
I forgot the words. I didn't know what to sing. My mind just all of a sudden went blank.
"Bandit?... Aren't you gonna sing?" Asked Mr. McGraw.
"Where am I?" I asked.
"Bandit honey, are you okay?...." Mom asked worriedly.
"Mom where are you?"
"Bandit.. Were right here sweetheart." Daddy said.
"Daddy. What are the words again? How does this song sound?"
I sat down on the stool by the mic. It felt like my soul had been released back into my body.
"We've got to see what tomorrow brings
Sing it for the world, sing it for the world
Yeah, you got to be what tomorrow needs
Sing it for the world, sing it for the world."
*Gerard's POV*
She began to sing again. Like nothing happened. It was the strangest thing.
"So how'd it sound guys?"
We all just stared at her.
"Guys... What's wrong?"
"Nothing sweetheart, you did wonderful!" Said Lindsey. I was glad she was acting like nothing happened.
She walked out of the studio and came and gave me a hug.
"I'm so happy you liked it daddy."
I wrapped my arms around her. "Of course I loved it." I said slowly.
I didn't know what happened to her so I didn't know how to react, none of us did. We walked out of the office and walked down the stairs into the lobby.
"Daddy, can we go see a movie?"
I looked to her. "Not today, Bandit, why don't you hang out with your friends?"
"Like Carry, Hunter, and Danny?" She asked me.
"Sure, they can come to our house." I put my arm around her. We walked out the door and to the car. I opened the door for Bandit, and she sat down. I did the same for Lindsey. I walked around to the other side of the car. I opened the door. Then I heard a car speed by.
"Slow down, god damnit!" I shouted to the manic driver. I sat down in the car seat and started the car. I turned the radio on.
"Yeah! I loved this song!" Bandit shouted. I didn't know what song it was, but she was happy. She began to hum along to the song.
"Don't you know the words?" Asked Lindsey.
"I did, I don't really remember them. And I listen to this song like all day too!"
She said it laughing. I looked at Lindsey and put my hand on hers. She looked up at me worriedly. The rest of the time in the car, Lindsey and I were silent. The only sound we heard was Bandit humming the melody that she only half remembered.
*Lindsey's POV*
When we got home, Bandit ran up to her room.
"Mom! There gonna be here soon, I have to change!"
I walked over to the couch and sat down. I rested my head on my hands. I sighed, loudly.
Gerard came over and wrapped his arms around me.
"Lindsey, don't worry about her, she'll be okay."
"No, she won't Gerard. She losing her memory, her mind. She's not gonna be able to record like this." I said, raising my voice at every word.
Gerard hugged me, tighter and tighter. "I won't let anything happen to her. You know that."
I hugged him and put my head on his shoulder. I cried quietly into it.
"Dont cry. Please don't cry."
Then we heard the doorbell ring. Bandits friends are here. Gerard got up and walked to the door.
"Mrs. Richards and Carry! Come in, how are you guys?" He said.
"Were good, and you?"
"Great."
Carry ran up the stairs, waving at me on the way. Mrs. Richards came and sat down in the chair across from me.
"Lindsey, you look like you've been crying."
I stared at her. "Only a little..." I said quietly.
"Tell me whats wrong? Did you and Gerard get into an arguement?" She asked.
"No, we didn't. It's about Bandit." Gerard said softly.
"What happened to her? Is the recording not going well?"
"Well, not exactly. She got sick recently."
"What....? Goodness, is she alright?" Mrs. Richards asked softly.
A tear rolled down my cheek. Gerard came and rubbed my back. He spoke.
"She had a brain aneurism two weeks ago. We don't know what caused it though."
Mrs. Richards stared at us. There a no emotion in her eyes.
"Oh Lindsey, I'm so sorry." She came up to me and hugged me.
"She'll be alright, I know it, she's strong." She said to us softly.
A little while later, the rest of Bandit's friends arrived. Their parents stayed and we all just kind of hung out, like the kids were doing. It was nice to relax and have fun, not having to worry about illness or music or anything at all.
"Ya know, people really do drive crazy anywhere you go." Gerard said.
"You're right! You can't ever get away from maniacs." Mr. Gray stated.
"I almost go hit by one when taking Bandit home from the studio."
"Well gosh, I'm glad you're alright." Mrs. Gray said.
"So Angela, how has Hunter been, dealing with the Bandit?" I said, turning towards Mrs. Gray.
"Oh he's been wonderful, he has worried about her a lot. He was so excited about coming and seeing her again."
"They really like eachother, don't they?" I asked.
"Oh I'm sure of it."
After talking about our kids, their school, and things like that, it got quiet. Then we heard a loud bang.
"What the hell was that?!"
"You guys heard it too?!"
We all looked around at each other.
"Gerard..." I said slowly. I was afraid.
Gerard looked at me and then bolted for the stairs. I didn't know if someone had fallen or if it was Bandit. I ran after him. We busted through the door. My eyes grew wide. I saw my little girl sitting on the floor. She had blood on her shirt.
"Bandit!" I screamed. I ran towards her and held her in my arms.
"Someone call 911!" Gerard shouted.
Carry pulled out her phone.
"Mom..." I heard a weak voice say. I looked down to see Bandit staring up at me.
"My head hurts and I feel dizzy."
"Don't worry honey, were gonna take care of you." I whispered into her ear. I held her close to me. We heard the sound of the ambulance. They ran in the room. I laid Bandit on the ground. She looked at me again. Then she started coughing. Blood came out of her mouth. I started to cry. My baby girl is in so much danger, and there's nothing I can do to keep it away form her. I feel hopeless, helpless, weak. They picked her up and put her on the gurney. I started to cry. They wheeled her out. I heard the ambulance drive away. I looked around the room.
"Gerard?" I asked. "Where are you?"
Mrs. Gray came running into the room.
"Oh Lindsey, he went to the hospital with her." She out her arm around me. I cried more and more. The tears were just flowing out of my eyes. My make-up smearing. Mrs. Gray helped me up.
"Come on, were going to the hospital." She pulled out her keys and we ran down the stairs.
"Jeremy, you stay here with the kids!" Angela shouted.
We ran through the door and to her car. We got in and she sped off. The hospital wasn't far from our house. 15 or 20 minutes. We got there in no time. We ran into the ER. The nurse at the desk looked up at us.
"Uh, may I help you?"
"Yes, a little girl about 15 just came in here. Where is she? I'm her mother."
She pointed to a man in a chair.
"I suppose that is your husband then?" I ran to Gerard.
"Gerard!" I shouted.
He turned around and looked at me. He jumped up and hugged me tightly.
"Where is she?!" I asked loudly.
"There doing tests on her, to see if another brain aneurism happened." He said softly and slowly.
I sank down into the chair. I didn't know what to do. It was like I was losing my entire world. I out my face in my hands and started to cry. Gerard wrapped his arms around me. I hugged him and cried into his shoulder. I prayed that she would come through and be better. She had to be. She was strong.
It took about 4 hours for the doctor to figure out what the hell was wrong with my daughter. He came out into the lobby. Gerard stood up quickly. I just looked up.
"Mr and Mrs Way, it's nice to see you again." Said the doctor.
"I'm Dr. Scott. We met a few weeks ago."
"I remember." I said sharply. "What's wrong with Bandit?"
He looked down. "Um, how about I just show you.." He led us to this room that had multipule x-rays in it. Then he pointed to one on the wall.
"See that? That's Bandit's head."
I tilted my head sideways. "Well, what's the spot on it?..." I asked.
He cleared his throat. "It's a tumor."
It felt like a stopped breathing. Like the world stopped.
"She has a t-tumor?...." Gerard said, in total shock.
"Uh yes. It's on the back of her brain. It started to grow approximately 3 months ago. Then she had her brain aneurism and all the pressure caused it to enlarge."
"Well, you guys can take it out can't you?" I asked, hopeful of the answer.
"Actually no." He said. "It would cause her even more damage than it's causing at the moment."
We stood there in silence.
"Mrs. Way, could I speak to your husband in private please? Only for a moment."
"Of course, I'm not stopping you." I walked out the door slowly. I shut the door and leaned against the wall. This cannot be happening. I won't allow it. Then I heard a loud cry. It was Gerard, I could tell. I ran through the door. I couldn't take it anymore, I wanted to know what was wrong. When I walked in, Gerard was on his knees, crying into his palms. I went and put my arms around him.
"Were losing her, Lindsey. Were losing our little girl." He said to me.
"What do you mean?" I asked slowly.
I looked up to the doctor. He looked down at me.
"Mrs. Way, your daughter has cancer."
Those words stung my heart. I fell to the ground and began to cry.

Notes

Hey guys! I'm on a role, 3 days for an update. :D Today is Friday the 13th! Isn't that crazy? I don't know. Yeah, I'm totally sorry for the depressing update. :( I'm awful. See you guys next time. I have a feeling that the next update won't be for awhile... I'm sorry.

Only Time Will Tell,

R.J. Taylor