Shock

**Response to the Daily Prompt. This is fiction.

I couldn’t believe it. Sitting there, my phone dangling in one hand, I couldn’t believe it. I turned my head slowly and locked eyes with my husband. He looked away as quickly as my eyes found his, but he squeezed my hand in an attempt to show solidarity. It was too much for him. He couldn’t be expected to even try to comfort me yet. I still wanted to hold it against him, the turning away, but I could barely think. This is what I had feared from the moment I had first discovered the bump on my skin years ago. I ignored it, convincing myself and my family that it was a scar. I ignored it because it didn’t grow. I ignored it because I was afraid of what would happen. I ignored it until I started losing weight rapidly, without dieting. I ignored it until my left arm alternated between numbness or pain. I ignored it and now… the phone call. The dermatologist had gotten back to me. Cancer.

via Daily Prompt: Shock