I'll be there when your heart stops beating -- Winter 2016/2017 (DONE)

I was going to check on Graham since I knew that he was having a rough time with his cancer.  I never expected to see him snogging my cousin.  "Oh..." I said quietly.  I pushed back my short red hair.  I had no idea what to do or say, so I just turned and left.

I realized that Ren and I were still holding hands.  "We need to go talk to her," I said.  I knew that Quinn was horrified.  We had been friends since that first chemo session before this schoo year.  Quinn was doing great compared to me.

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair.  "I'll go... no offense, but I can catch up to her more easily," I said to him.  He would not be able to catch his breath if he had to run.

I chuckled slightly and gave her a quick kiss.  "Go ahead, honey," I said.  "Damage control..." I could not believe that we had gotten caught.  At least it was Quinn and not another staff member.  I knew I would get fired if it had been them who had seen us.

I squeezed his hand and dashed towards my cousin.  I finally caught up to her and put a hand on her shoulder.  "Quinn, hold on," I said, wanting to at least keep this from getting out to the wrong people.

I stopped and crossed my arms.  "I didn't see anything," I said simply.  I really did nt want to get into what I saw.  Graham was my mate and Ren was my cousin.  I really wanted to avoid this.  Tuck was a handful of years older than us... and Ren was not even of age yet.

I rolled my eyes at her.  "Quinn, stop being like this," I said, wanting to explain.  "It's no big deal.  We both are agreeing to do this.  And I really do have feelings for him."  I Hated the look Quinn had on her face.  It was as if she was horrified.

I shook my head.  What would Uncle George and Aunt Lenni say if they knew?  "Serenity... it's none of my business," I aid, knowing that I had to tell someone.  It would at least stay in the family.  Someone had to talk some sense into Ren and Graham.

"Don't be like that," I requested.  I hated that my cousin was overreacting about this.  "Can I at least explain this to you?" I asked quietly.  All of us cousins told each other everything.  It killed me not to confide in all of them about me falling for a guy.

I sighed and crossed my arms.  "Okay..." I said reluctantly.  This was Serenity and Graham.  How did that even happen?  I let Ren lead me to a little bit of a quiet area so no one would overhear us.  "Ren... he's quite a bit older than us... and he's married."  I ust wanted Serenity to know what she was getting into.

I made sure no one else was around.  I took a deep breath before explaining everything to my cousin.  "I know, Quinn.  I started to help with a bit of some things at the hospital wing... and Graham and I hit it off.  We never meant for anything to really happen.  He's so... secretive or distant or something.  I got him to smile and not get all surly about everything.  Quinn, it's been going on since the beginning of school.  We don't really talk much about our feeling... but I think I love him.  He's just so hesitant about everything that I have no idea if we'll ever get to that point."

I sighed and could easily see how much.  Serenity was telling me the truth.  I felt very bad for her.  I put a hand on her shoulder.  "Ren... I sort of know why he's hesitant to show any feelings," I said quietly. I knew that Graham was quite worried about his cancer and health status.  Espeically since he had trust issues anyways.  Grham and I talked during chemo sessions.

I raised my eyebrows at Quinn.  "What is it?" I questioned.  I really wanted to know because Graham did not go into any of it.  I had a feeling that it had to deal with his canser.

I bit my lip a little bit before speaking.  I hoped that Graham would not get angry for telling Serenity.  "Honey... Graham's cancer is extremely aggressive.  He needs a new lung.... it's a long list to wait for a transplant," I explained quietly.  "I know that Graham is worried about getting seirous with people because he knows he may not make it much longer.  And the peole he puts his trust in tend to leave him... just look at his ex-wife."

That made a lot of sense.  Now I felt horrible about being a little pushy about it.  "Wow... thanks, Quinn," I said.  Then I Looked at her.  "Will you keep this between us?" I really hoped she would.