All Chapters of NOT A DOORMAT ANYMORE : Chapter 1 - Chapter 5

Ava's Pov: The fluorescent lights above me buzzed faintly as I stared at Dr. Kim's mouth, watching his lips move but not really hearing the words."...brain tumor...advanced stage...stress-induced growth...I'm sorry, Miss Arande, but you have approximately three to six months..."Three to six months.The words finally broke through the fog in my mind, settling heavy in my chest like stones.I blinked slowly, my hands gripping the edge of the plastic chair. My palms were sweating. The room felt too small, too bright, and too suffocating. My mind drifted far away. Like I was in a void. I could hear distant sounds, voices, and noises, but couldn't make anything out of it.Dr. Kim kept talking, saying something about treatment options, experimental therapies, and quality of life. His voice blended into the hum of the air conditioning until it was just noise.I nodded. I didn't know what I was agreeing to. I just needed him to stop looking at me with those pitying eyes. I needed him to

Ava's Pov:I jolted awake with a gasp that tore from my throat like it had been trapped there for years.My hands flew to my neck, my chest, checking for blood, for glass, for the cold emptiness of death.Nothing.Just the steady thrum of my heartbeat beneath my palm.I was breathing. I was alive.The room around me was too bright. It had white walls, white sheets, with the rhythmic beeping of a machine beside me.This was a hospital.My mind raced asfragments of memory came crashing into each other. I remembered the glass table, the blood, Vivian's smile, and Ethan walking away with Vivian by her side.I died. I know I died.So why was I here?What's going on here? Am I in the land of the dead? Or what?I threw the blankets off and stumbled out of bed, my legs shaking beneath me. The floor was cold under my bare feet as I rushed toward the small mirror hanging on the wall.My reflection stared back at me.I looked the same. I had the same face, same dark eyes, and same scar on my eye

Ava's Pov:Ethan helped me out of the car, his hand firm on my elbow as I stepped onto the driveway.I didn't need the help but I let him do it anyway because that's what he expected and right now I needed him to think everything was normal.The front door opened before we even reached it.Vivian stood in the doorway, her blonde hair was perfectly curled, her makeup flawless, wearing a dress that was too nice for just sitting around the house.She smiled when she saw us."Ava! Oh my god, we were so worried about you."Liar.She rushed forward, her heels clicking against the marble steps, and threw her arms around me in a hug that felt like a performance.I stood stiffly in her embrace, my hands at my sides.Over her shoulder, I could see Ethan watching us with that same unreadable expression.And then I saw the way his eyes lingered on her just a second too long.The way his gaze dropped to where her dress clung to her waist before he quickly looked away.Vivian pulled back, her hands