PART SIX



    It was only a short week later that the new Seventeen hit the stands and Jordan was all over the place. Her faces glowed as it sat on the shelves at supermarkets, stores, and filled the mail boxes of all the subscribed readers. Jordan now could barely go to the mall without being bombarded by people for her signature. She loved the way it felt to have these girls of slightly fourteen or fifteen looking up to her.
    Jordan remember what JC had told her about never taking her fame for granted. She knew that one day it could all be over. She planned on savoring those memories each day for the rest of her life. She never snubbed off a fan and even posed for pictures with some of them. When both her and Krista were together, it was chaos. They were both in the local paper not too long after Jordan hit fame. It said ‘Local Models Soar High’ and had a great picture of the both of them on the front page.
    Though the new fame and recognition was a blessing, it was also exhausting. It seemed like now all the local radio stations wanted Miss Seventeen to do an interview spot on their show. So, one day after signing autographs all day with Krista and going to Krista fourth special signing, she decided to go home and soak in the bathtub with lots and lots of bubbles.
    Jordan walked into her bathroom and sat on the edge of the tub. She turned on the water to fill the tub and she poured in the bath bubbles. She rid herself of her clothing and stepped into the huge array of soft bubbles. She slid to the back of the tub and leaned her head against the small cushion at the head of the tub. She closed her eyes to relax, but was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. Luckily she had brought the portable into the bathroom with her and had laid it on the soap dish.
    “Hello,” she said as she played with a bubble in the bathtub.
    “Hey you,” the voice on the other line said.
    “JC,” she said. “How are you babe, I haven’t talked to you in awhile.”
    “I know, and I’m sorry. I’m good. I’ve been over excessively busy though. How are you?” he asked back as he fidgeted with the string on his pajama pants.
    “I’m good. Exhausted. I had just gotten into the tub actually.”
    “Oh I’m sorry, am I bothering you?”
    “No, not at all. It’s just as relaxing to hear your voice.”
    “Well I am glad you think so. I like to hear yours too,” he said and then threw himself onto his bed to get more comfortable so that he could talk to her.

    The two of them had already been on the phone for almost two hours. Jordan had gotten out of the bathtub after about thirty minutes of soaking then she put on some pjs and climbed into bed to talk more with JC. She rolled over and looked at the time and then turned back onto her back.
    “I can’t wait to see you either,” JC said.
    “When did you say you were coming down?”
    “Well it won’t be for like two weeks. We have a lot to do with early promotions for the album we are going to be recording soon.”
    “It’s ok. I think I will survive two more weeks. As long as I get to talk to you at least.”
    “Well I can promise you that much,” he said back and then yawned.
    “Are you getting tired too?” she asked.
    “I think I am about to collapse on ya girl.”
    Jordan laughed a little and then said, “well I am beat too. I’ll talk to you soon?”
    “I’ll try to call you tomorrow actually. I’m gonna have a little bit of free time. Are you going to be around?”
    “Yeah, I should be around.”
    “Okay, talk to you soon,” he said. He wanted to tell her that he loved her, but he felt that it would be better for the first time he said it, for them to be face to face.
    “Goodnight JC,” she said.
    “Goodnight,” he said back and then hung up the phone.
    Both of them lay in their own beds, but think of each other. They both felt the same way about each other, they just hadn’t shared the emotions in words. Jordan couldn’t believe that she could feel so strongly about someone after only knowing him for such a short time. They had been seeing each other for barely over a month, but it seemed like so much longer. The feelings that she got from him were ones that she never wanted to go away. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted off to sleep. A couple thousand miles away, in a separate state, house, room, JC did the same.

    The next morning Jordan woke up with sharp pains again. The pains were almost so unbearable that they brought tears to her eyes. Tears of pain, and tears of fear. She leaned over and picked up the phone to call Krista.
    Krista picked up the phone after the second ring and in a groggy voice she said, “hello.”
    “Krista something isn’t right.”
    Krista could hear the crackle of a cry in Jordan’s voice. She sat straight up in her bed and said, “Jordan, what’s wrong.”
    “Those sharp pains are back.”
    “Where are the pains?”
    “Like all through my stomach,” she said and then winced in pain.
    “I’ll be right over,” she said.
    “Okay,” Jordan said with a faint voice. She hung up the phone and stumbled to the dresser to get some clothes. She got dressed and then picked up the phone again and dialed the doctor’s office.
    “This is Mary,” a kind voice said.
    “Mary, this is Jordan Mitchell. I need to make an appointment with Dr. Allen.” Jordan had known Mary for a long time. She was Dr. Allen’s receptionist way back when Jordan was there going through all her follow up appointments.
    “Jordan are you alright dear?”
    “I don’t know. I need to see him as soon as possible.”
    The lady looked on her computer screen and said, “he doesn’t have anyone coming in until ten, so if you can get here before that, he’ll be able to see you.”
    “I’ll be there in thirty minutes,” she said and then hung up the phone.

    About a half an hour later Jordan and Krista walked into the doctor’s office. The pains had gone away, but she wanted to know what was wrong. They both walked up to the front desk and Kelly paged the doctor to let him know that she was there. Not even five minutes later Dr. Allen walked out.
    “What’s wrong Jordan,” he started.
    “I don’t know,” she said. “But something isn’t right.”
    “Well come back here with me and we’ll find out what’s wrong,” he said.
    “Okay. Krista, I’ll be back.”
    “Alright,” Krista said and that sat in one of the chairs of the large room.
    Kelly leaned over the desk and said, “do you want some coffee or something?”
    “Please, that would be great.”
    “Alright, come on over here and I’ll let you fix it how you want it.”
    Meanwhile back in one of the examining rooms Dr. Allen took Jordan’s vital signs and asked her plenty of questions. “Jordan, you’re going to have to calm down. Your heart is racing like a horse on the tracks.”
    “I’m sorry she,” she said and then took a few deep and slow steady breaths to try to calm herself down.
    “Well physically you seem fine. I want to find out what those harsh pains were from though. Can you point to where it hurt?” Jordan pointed at it and then the doctor bit his lower lip. “I’m going to run an extensive lab test and see what it comes up with. I also want to do a couple x-rays.”
    Jordan took a deep breath and said, “alright.” Flashback of the previous pain she had been through shot through her mind. After about an hour of tests Jordan walked into the room where Krista still sat. “Thanks for waiting,” she said as she walked up to her.
    “What did he say?”
    “He said that we could stay around for about an hour or so and they will do a rush on the lab tests. He said that he wants me to know what is up with my body before I leave and start freaking about it.”
    “Well are you hungry?” Krista asked? “We can run downstairs to the cafeteria if you are.”
    “Yeah, it might help to get some food in my tummy.” With that the both of them walked down the hall to the elevator to go to the cafeteria. Krista put her arm around Jordan and walked side by side with her.

    About an hour and a half later the girls arrived back to the floor that Jordan’s doctor was on. They both took a seat in the waiting room and chatted while they waited for someone to call Jordan back. About ten minutes later a lady came out and called for Jordan. She led Jordan to the room and told her that the doctor would be right in.
    Jordan glanced at the desk in front of her and saw a variety of magazines, to include the one that she was on. Jordan had just leaned back against the wall when the doctor came in. He set the paperwork on his desk and sat down in the huge swivel chair. He ran his hands through his hair as he looked at the results of her tests once more.
    He cleared his throat and said, “well, Jordan the results are back and I have been over them with several other of the doctors here.”
    Jordan didn’t like the way that sounded. “What is it Dr. Allen?” she asked with fear in her voice.
    “I’m so sorry Jordan,” he said. Tears started to fill Jordan’s eyes. She sucked on her lower lip and waited for him to finish. “The tests show that you have developed cancer within your liver. The pains were because your body was trying to fight the cancer and it caused your organs to tighten up.”
    By now tears were gushing down Jordan’s face. She knew that something was wrong, but she was praying that it wasn’t this bad. She finally managed to say, “am I gonna live through this?”
    “Well we can start chemo right away and put you on the transplant list and,” Jordan cut him off.
    “I said, am I going to live through this?”
    The doctor licked his bottom lip and said, “Jordan I can’t tell you that right now. I’ll get you on the transplant list right away.”
    She broke in again, “My blood type is AB negative, you’re never going to get one.”
    “We can hope Jordan. And we will get you on chemo right away.”
    Once again she broke in, “I refuse to do chemo.”
    “Jordan, it’s the best option you have right now.”
    “Dr. Allen,” she paused for a second. “I watched my father go through months of chemo, and I watched him in pain through the whole thing,” she paused again. “And I watched my father die.”
    Dr. Allen wanted to cry for Jordan, but he knew that he had to hold strong in front of her. “Jordan this is strictly your decision, but it is something that you will want to consider, I promise.”
    “I won’t do it,” she said and then got up and walked out.
    Dr. Allen got up and went after her. He got to her before she had even made it to the next door. “Jordan, I won’t talk about that part anymore, but please come back in here.”
    Jordan turned around and it broke the doctors heart to see her face. It was all blotched and red from the profuse crying that she had been doing. She walked back to him, looked at him for a brief moment and then walked back into the room.
    “Have a seat Jordan,” he said after he saw her just standing there fidgeting. Jordan hopped up onto the examining table and leaned against the wall. “Jordan you’ve still got a little time on your hands. It is at about the second stage right now. Without any type of treatment, except for some required medicine for any type of pain, I say you have a good month, maybe two.”
    “Don’t say it like it is a lifetime,” she snapped.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “So, am I going to be really sick the whole time?”
    “No, you should be fine for the month, but eventually you will get sick. It will wear your body out. Your body is going to do everything it can to fight this off as it gets worse, and this is going to be what wears you down.”
    “Can I do normal day activities?”
    “Yes. I want you to go on doing normal activities. Just don’t go overboard with them.”
    “Nothing I have is contagious right?” she asked even though she knew that it wasn’t. She just wanted to reassure herself of it.
    “Right. You can have physical contact with whoever and nothing will come of it.”
    “It’s my liver. I have liver cancer,” she said with no real intention behind it. She just said it to hear herself say it.
    “Yes Jordan,” he said back to her. “Do you want me to call your mother?”
    “No I want to tell her,” she immediately said.
    “Do you want me to go get Krista and let you two have some time together to talk?”
    “Would you?” Jordan asked.
    “I’ll go get her right now. Jordan I want you to call me if you have any other questions. Here is the script for the meds I want you on. I’m going to put you on the transplant list and see what else I can do.”
    “Alright,” she said.
    “Okay,” he said and then headed out of the room to go get Jordan’s best friend.

    Krista walked down the hall with a lump of fear in her chest. She knew that something had to be wrong because the doctor told her to go back to talk to Jordan and when she asked if everything was okay, he just told her again to go talk to Jordan. Krista peeked in the room and saw Jordan with her head held down.
    “Jordie,” she said as she entered the room.
    Jordan lifted her head and only a few small tears fell from her eyes. Her face was still bright red and it was obvious that she had been crying. “Kris,” she said.
    Krista’s eye slowly started to water as she looked at her best friend. “Jordan, what is it?”
    “It’s cancer. I have liver cancer,” Jordan managed to say.
    “Oh my God, Jordan,” she said as she went up to her and held Jordan’s head to her chest. She stroked her hair and couldn’t think of the right words to say. “Everything will be okay,” she finally said. “Maybe they caught it early enough and the chemo will kill it off.”
    Jordan pulled her head up and looked at Krista. “It’s in the second stage and I told him I didn’t want to do chemo.”
    “But Jordan, it could help,” Krista tried to say.
    “I don’t want it Kris,” she said back with a harsh tone. She didn’t mean to, but the whole thing was just so much to take in. “I’m sorry for yelling Kris,” she immediately said.
    “No Jordan I’m sorry I tried to push the issue. This is all your decision.”
    “I just... I know what it is like. Dr. Allen said that I have a good month of normalcy. I won’t be sick and I got meds for the occasional pain that I might have. I know that chemo probably won’t help me. I know how sick it made my father. Liver cancer is strong and I would rather live a fun filled last month, than to spend it all in pain and sickness because of chemo.”
    “I understand. We’re gonna do everything you want Jordan. We’ll go wherever you want to.” Krista stopped for a second. “When are you going to tell JC?”
    “Oh my God, JC. I can’t tell him now.”
    “You have to Jordan. He deserves to know.”
    “I know... but... I can’t tell him today.”
    “I didn’t say you had to tell him today, but you need to tell him soon. Don’t you want to spend time with him before you...”
    “Before I die. You can say it. I know it is going to happen. But yea, I wanna spend as much time with him as I can,” Jordan said and then began to think about how she would ever tell him. She really didn’t want to do it over the phone.



Part Seven