Realistic or Modern Don’t Tell Me to Calm Down

[decadent-rider]

He just frowned, not having the energy to actually respond while he let her call an ambulance, not hearing her calling his name though while his vision was going fuzzy until he was passed out and still looking awful.

She frowned and shook her head, gently rubbing his shoulders. “Honey we’re gonna have him home before you know it, I don’t mean extra precautions while he’s here.” She mumbled, “I mean for the girls graduation and stuff.” She explained quietly.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Max frowned deeply as she came back finding him passed out. "Shit shit shit!" She muttered to herself while she crouched beside him and tried to get him up.

Eddie gave a small nod "Right....Shit how are we going to tell them?" He asked quietly as he did his best to stay calm "Goddamn it Carmen why did whatever god or creator do this to us?! Two fucking kids..."

 

[decadent-rider]

She frowned and shook her head, just fiddling with her hands. “I don’t know.” She mumbled, glancing at the door when Emily got back, watching her go to sit with him. “Ed you need to go home.you stink. You need some good food and a shower and some sleep.” She told him, “it’s not a question.” She pressed when he went to argue it. “I’ll call if anything happens.” She promised

Jack was the only one home when he got back and just frowned at him. He was starting to feel bad about what happened but only because he could see the toll it was taking on his parents. “How’s he doing?”

He came to the following morning in a room with other people in it, seeing max sat in a chair by his bed and Jose on her lap, frowning a little “What happened? I thought I went to bed.” He mumbled, feeling sludgy

 

[Forever6A7X]

Max frowned deeply when she heard her husband's voice that next morning "Babe you passed out...we're at the hospital. Try to stay still okay? The nurses are finishing up their tests." She explained gently to him.

Eddie looked over at Jack as he came into the room and frowned deeply "He uh.....they gave him six months to live. He had a major stroke and he can no longer move or eat on his own." He explained quietly

 

[decadent-rider]

He groaned a little and just closed his eyes again, falling straight back to sleep while his nurse signed off on his chart and turned to the wife. “We’re gonna let him get some rest now but we’re gonna take him for some more scans once he’s awake again. His blood tests have come back with an alarmingly low white blood count, so doctor is ordering an ultrasound and another MRI.”

Jack frowned and chewed on his lip, glancing down at the corner of the kitchen island where there was a small blood stain Carmen hadn’t been able to lift. “Well that sucks.” He muttered.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Max gave a small nod to the nurses "Thank you." She said quietly while she held her son close. She wasn't happy to say the least, the fact that they were back in the hospital when he had clearly needed more help just pissed her off to no end.

Eddie frowned deeply and looked at his eldest in a bit of shock "That sucks? That fucking sucks?! Is that all your brother means to you?! He is going to fucking die Jack!" He yelled shaking his head a bit.

 

[decadent-rider]

“What do you want me to say to that?! I’m not gonna start crying over him. We barely fucking know him anymore. He left! He walked out on this family! He almost strangled mom! He’s treated you like shit since you came home. Why do I care?” He muttered

He woke up shortly after and frowned as he watched her silently for a minute, smiling as Jose was sitting on the floor now to play with his colouring book. “Is it me or is it really hot in here?” He mumbled, reaching for maxs hand.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Eddie frowned deeper and shook his head some "Your brother grew up and went to love his fucking life! I know he still kept in contact with all of you so don't fucking pull that he left us shit. You two were close, some sort of fucking sympathy or emotion would be nice!" He yelled taking a shaky breath.

Max went over to him as he woke up again and shook her head some "No love, they have the AC cranked up high in here." She said before pressing a cool rag to his face that they had left for him "Your fever isn't breaking."

 

[decadent-rider]

He just grit his teeth, not thinking his dad would hear him at all “Then he shouldn’t have spoken to me like that.” He muttered, starting to walk away until he was stopped by Eddie stepping in front of him, looking up and seeing the look of shock on his dads face.

He frowned and just hummed quietly. “I don’t know why they won’t listen.” He mumbled, taking her hand for comfort. “You smell nice.” He told her quietly, “he doing okay here?” He asked as he glanced down at his son.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Eddie went wide eyed and followed after his eldest as he tried to walk away. He moved to stand infront of him the shock apparent on his face from what he said "What does that mean huh? How did he speak to you?"

Max frowned deeply and gave a heavy sigh "Because they're seeing you as a criminal and not as a fucking person." She muttered before looking down at Jose "He is doing alright, keeps wanting to go look around."

 

[decadent-rider]

He frowned and just gave her hand another squeeze. “M’sorry. I didn’t think this would be how we spent the first few weeks of me coming home.” He mumbled

Jack just scoffed and shook his head. “He thinks he can choke our mom and accuse me of killing Tilly and I’m not gonna react to that?!” He snapped. “He fuckin asked for it!”

 

[Forever6A7X]

Max shook her head softly and finally gave him a soft smile "You got nothing to be sorry for babe. Not for this." She said softly before giving him a quick peck on the lips.

Eddie frowned deeply now completely confused "Why would he say that Jack?" He asked a bit softer when he noticed Jack's breathing start to pick up "Jack? Why would Lucas say you killed Tilly?"

 

[decadent-rider]

He grit his teeth for a minute before answering. “Cause he’s an asshole. It’s not my fault that he provokes people the way he does. He started the fight.” He muttered trying to push past his dad but felt Eddie still holding him back.

He just hummed quietly, closing his eyes again while he was still this uncomfortable, content to listen to Jose babbling to himself until his nurse came in for them to run a couple more tests and eventually he fell asleep again. It wasn’t until a few hours later and twice not being able to hold any food down that his doctor finally came to talk to them both

 

[Forever6A7X]

Eddie pushed him gently to keep him in place shaking his head some "And what did you do Jack to finish it?" He asked watching his son with concerned but serious eyes.

Max frowned deeply as the doctor finally came in "What did his tests say? Whats going on with my husband?" She asked quickly hoping that someone would finally help him.

 

[decadent-rider]

He laughed then and shook his head. “I’m not gonna let him walk all over me like that.” He told him. “I gave him a couple good kicks and he went sliding across the floor. That’s how he hit his head. Tried to ask me for help then. You don’t treat people like shit then beg for their help.” He spat.

He frowned and pulled out the files, looking at them both. “Honestly I don’t know why it’s taken people so long to get you help. If I were you I’d look into suing the prison infirmary for negligence.” He muttered. “You’ve got pancreatic cancer mr. Cardenas… good news is we can remove it still with where it’s at.” He explained to them both.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Eddie went wide eyed when Jack finally told him the truth "Jack...." he couldn't even get the words out before he walked off and left to his room. He sunk to the floor trying to wrap his mind around what he was just told and how he would tell Carmen.

Max felt her heart drop when she heard what the doctor said "C-cancer? How...why....its treatable?" She asked needing him to reiterate it. She took a shaky breath and gave Clay's hand a squeeze nodding some "Is...is there a chance of it coming back?"

 

[decadent-rider]

He nodded and handed them both a leaflet of numbers and information websites. “He’s lucky. We can remove it and then there will be a course of medication to take to kill off anything left… it’s possible but not definite.” He told them. “We’re gonna schedule you for as soon as possible. Probably be a week or two. For now we’re gonna get you some meds to take home to help with symptoms.” He explained and left them to privacy for now.

Clay frowned, not saying anything yet and just holding her hand as tight as he could.

Maya walked into the room with the dog to get him a treat and frowned seeing Eddie on the floor. “Dad? You okay?” She asked him quietly, pausing to choose her words carefully. “Did Jack tell you what happened?” She asked. He’d already told her and Grace, practically bragging about it but theyd decided their parents needed to hear it from him. She sat on the floor next to him and just hugged him tightly.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Max thanked the doctor repeatedly before turning to Clay. She took a shaky breath before letting a few tears fall as she watched him "Clay? Babe?"

Eddie gulped and gave a small nod falling into his daughter as she hugged him "How....how...how could he be so nonchalant about it? Not care about the seriousness?" He asked more to himself not expecting any answer from Maya.

 

[decadent-rider]

Maya frowned and just held onto him still. “Dad, Jack hasn’t been the same since Tilly died…. We lost two siblings in that car crash. Not just one.” She mumbled, looking up when they could hear carmens voice approaching the front door and she walked into the housw

“Hey, Emily asked if she could have a night on her own with him, I said yes.” She told him quietly, frowning at them both on the floor “Ahats going on?”

He frowned and just squeezed her hand a little tighter. “What if they had kept ignoring me? We just got lucky.” He mumbled, hearing Jose starting to get really aggy about being bored but he couldn’t even look at him.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Max nodded softly and gave a heavy sigh "Yeah we did....let me take him on a quick walk to the vending machine okay? I'll call your work as well to tell them about everything." She said quietly before kissing him lovingly "I love you Clayton."

Eddie looked up with Carmen came in and took a shaky breath "I...Jack....he...shit.." he muttered not even knowing how to hell to tell her what he had just found out.

 

[decadent-rider]

Carmen frowned, feeling the panic creep in until Maya explained what had happened. What Jack had told all of them and without another word she disappeared up to his room, walking in without knocking and turning off his computer at the wall socket while he was in the middle of a game. “Don’t even think about yelling at me. You got ten seconds to explain what the fuck happened with you and Lucas and if the answer isn’t satisfactory then I want you out of this house. Permanently.” She told him.

Clay nodded tiredly, giving her hand a quick squeeze again and sighed a little at him. “If he needs to go home I’m just gonna sleep babe. They’ll probably send me home in a coupe hours and I can get w taxi.” He promised

 

[Forever6A7X]

Jack looked at his mother in shock but frowned deeply when she brought up Lucas "He was being a fucking asshole and I was tired of it! Always treating people like shit, nearly choking you out, and he never gets reprimanded!" He yelled before leaning back in his chair "I pushed him, I pushed him and he fell, then I kicked him a few times and left."

Max sighed heavily and kissed his cheek "I'm not leaving you here." She said seriously before she got up and picked up Jose to take him out for a potty break and to get a snack.

 

[decadent-rider]

Carmen frowned as she watched him. “He’s your little brother Jack…. And he’s sick. Here. This is what you’ve done.” She told him, pulling up the photo she’d taken of Lucas before leaving, showing it to Jack. “He can’t talk. Can’t swallow. Can’t move. And within six months he’s going to be gone. So get your shit together and get out of this house. Go see Leila go … I don’t care where. But you are not welcome here right now.” She told him seriously, turning to leave his room and go lay down in hers until Eddie joined her.

Clay just nodded, drifting off to sleep while they were out of the room.

Bobby was the one who answered when she called them. “Hey max, how’s clay doing?” He asked her. “If he needs anything from here we can bring it to yours. We can drop his car off if you need it too.” He told her.

 

[Forever6A7X]

Eddie came in around 10 minutes later frowning deeply "He's gone..." he whispered before curling up next to her in bed "I love you Carmen." He murmured quietly "You want a shower with me? No funny business I promise"

Max sat out in the waiting area as Jose munched on his crackers happily "Hey, uh yeah if you could bring the car it would be great. It's um....it's pancriatic cancer. They're gonna be able to remove it, but its gonna be a week or two before they get it done. He won't be able to work for a bit, please,please don't fire him for this." She begged quietly down the line.

 

[decadent-rider]

Bobby frowned and shook his head. “Hey, hey, don’t worry sweetheart. We look after our own here. I’ll see what I can do about his paycheck for now as well. Tell him to rest up and we can get the car to your place. Put the keys through your letterbox.” He assured her.

She just nodded and let him take her to the bathroom, leaning up against him once they were in the shower, resting her head against his shoulder, not saying a word and just closing her eyes. Exhausted beyond what she could manage and just holding onto him.