The Fullness of Quiet by Natasha Orme

doctor walked into the room and announced that everything was fine. He told us that the operation went smoothly and Helen is now recovering. He led us through a long white corridor into a ward where patients were sleeping in their beds. The bright white lights made everything seem surreal.
    We sat by her bed for over half an hour before the anesthetic finally wore off and Helen’s eyes fluttered open. She squeezed my hand and blinked several times. She tried to focus on us but before she could, she’d gone back to sleep.
    The doctor had her wheeled back onto the ward and we sat with her until she was fully conscious.

Chapter 14
    It was nice to finally see her awake. I helped her to sit up in bed and she chatted to us. She was still drowsy so her actions were lazy and inaccurate. That was the least of my worries though.
    Charlie dropped by sometime in the late afternoon to see how everything was and she was so thrilled to see Helen awake and looking better already. Daddy sat in the corner whilst Charlie took centre stage and told Helen some funny stories. I think both of us were very grateful. We’d been so stressed out with worry and the effort of not showing it that we were both exhausted from the past few weeks.
    After visiting hours were over we all went home and me and Daddy promised to come back the next day. Helen was perfectly happy with being on her own. The nurses had brought her some puzzle books to play with and keep her occupied whilst we weren’t there.
    The weeks after the operation were better. Relief was the strongest atmosphere in the house. Helen spent most of her time curled up on the sofa with a carton of orange juice and her favorite films. I had to go back to school but I’d been determined to try to get everything back to the way it should be.
    I came home from school and Daddy took me into the kitchen. He told me that he’d taken Helen into hospital that day for a check up.
    “The doctor said that we are going to have to keep a close eye on Helen for the next few weeks. He said that it is difficult to tell whether or not they managed to get all of the tumor,” he signed to me.
    “How will we know?” I asked.
    “He said that he would like to do another scan when she is better.” I nodded, slowly.
    “What is it, Daddy?” He was avoiding looking at me.
    “She was complaining of headaches again today,” he said.
    “That’s okay. It’s nothing terrible.”
    “I’m worried, that’s all. I have a bad feeling.”
    “It’s fine.” I gave him a kiss on the cheek and went to join Helen on the sofa. I heard Daddy rise from his chair a while later but he didn’t come into the living room. Helen told me that she was feeling sick.
    “I’m sure it will pass,” I said. I frowned, thinking about what Daddy had said.
    He had been right. Helen had to go back into hospital two weeks later. It could not get any worse. Helen was too good to be reduced to this.
    This was the point in my life when everything was too much to handle. I threw myself into my school work and did barely anything else. My grades improved and my social skills plummeted.
    Helen spent the majority of her time going in and out of hospital. Daddy went with her. His whole career had been put on hold to ensure that Helen was okay and that I could continue with school. It was tough for all of us.
    After a while, I found that just doing my school work wasn’t enough. I tried many things; after school clubs, volunteer work, writing and even started smoking. Charlie went to town on me when she found out about that one. None of them lasted very long. It was just a phase. An attempt to distract myself from the reality of what was happening. Only when I finally accepted it did I inwardly collapse. I had exhausted myself from all the activities. I spent my time moping around the house. I tried to comfort Helen when I could but my mood simply reflected itself in her.
    I kept to my room a lot.
    Daddy came to see me one evening when I was