**(For the full Prequel to A Werelion For Cat, please read the free book titled Emma)**
**Indianapolis, Indiana**
Emma walked out of the doctor's office with tears running down her face. She was only twenty-three. How could she have stage four breast cancer?
She was still in shock from the diagnosis. Her entire body was numb, and she was having trouble catching her breath. What was she going to do?
Emma was a beautiful blonde with dark blue eyes and small delicate features. To some, she may give the appearance of being weak or fragile. When in reality, Emma was a strong, resilient young woman.
She was the single mother of her five-year-old daughter Caterina, or Cat as she preferred to be called. Emma worked hard at her job in the district attorney's office to make ends meet. They lived in a tiny one-bedroom apartment in Indianapolis.
Cat was the best thing that had ever happened to Emma. Even if the circumstances that brought Cat into this world were tied to the worst time in her life. Emma never regretted her decision to have her daughter.
Cat was a little bundle of energy with long black hair and pale blue eyes. Emma felt her heart fill with love whenever she thought about her beautiful daughter. She was mature and extremely intelligent at the age of five.
Cat never complained when Emma could only afford to get her one or two small presents for Christmas and her birthday. She would tell Emma that Santa should give the bigger presents to the kids who needed them. Cat always thought about others before herself, even at a young age.
Emma was overwhelmed with grief thinking about her daughter and feeling completely alone. She had a step-brother named Leo, but Emma wasn't entirely sure she trusted him to care for Cat if something happened to her. After all, his father was the cause of a lot of her trauma from her childhood. Who knew how far that apple fell from the tree. What would happen to Cat if she didn't survive?
After Emma got to her car, she started driving to Cat's school. She was going through the motions but not paying attention to where she was driving. She kept seeing Cat as a baby and then on her first birthday. The five years she'd had with her daughter flashed before her eyes, and she knew it wasn't enough. She needed more time. Five years was not enough.
Emma wanted to be there for Cat's sixth birthday, which was coming up soon, and she wanted to see her go to prom. She wanted to see her daughter fall in love and get married. Emma wanted a chance to spoil her grandchildren.
She pulled over and parked as her breathing became more rapid. She was thinking of everything she would be missing with Cat if she wasn't there. Emma was terrified of what would happen to her daughter. Why did this have to happen to her? She never hurt anyone.
Emma was sitting in her car crying in front of Cat's elementary school when she heard a knock on the window, making her jump. She looked up and saw Cat making faces at her. She quickly dried her eyes and laughed even as her heart was breaking into a thousand pieces, thinking she might not get to see Cat grow up.
"Mommy, what's wrong? Why are you sad?" Cat looked up at her mom with worry in her big blue eyes as she climbed into the car. Her mom never cried, even when they had very little food and no money. So something terrible had to have happened.
"Oh honey, I just got some bad news, but we'll talk about it later." Emma didn't know how to talk to a five-year-old about cancer. Cat reached over and grabbed her mom's hand.
"Whatever it is, Mommy, we'll get through it together." Cat looked determined when Emma looked down at her. She couldn't help smiling at what her daughter had said. Those were the exact words that Emma always said to Cat whenever she was having a bad day.
"You're right. We'll get through it together. How about we do something special today? Let's go out for pizza and ice cream." Emma glanced at Cat, who was still studying her mom's face with a look beyond her five years.
"Mommy, are you sure we have money for that?" Emma smiled.
"Yes, honey, we have money for that. Let's have some fun and forget about all of our problems for a little while. What do you say?"
"Okay, but do you promise to tell me why you were sad later?" Emma knew Cat wasn't going to let it go. For being so young, she was extremely sensitive to the feelings of others.
"Yes, we'll talk about it when we get home, okay?" Emma reached over and smoothed her daughter's long hair away from her face. Looking at her little girl, she had to bite her lip to keep the tears from falling.
"Okay, let's go have some fun." Cat could tell her mom was still upset, but she would wait to ask her about it until they got home.
Emma took Cat out for pizza at their favorite place and let her eat as much as she wanted. They even ate inside, which they never did because they couldn't afford to pay for drinks or a tip.
Before talking to her about the cancer diagnosis, she wanted Cat to have one good memory. So if things don't work out, she will keep hold of this memory after Emma is gone. She could tell that her daughter was still worried about her, and it seemed she knew this was a distraction, but Cat didn't bring it up again.
After they were full of pizza and the leftovers were packed up, they walked down the street to the ice cream shop. They both got ice cream cones with double scoops. Emma laughed as she watched Cat try to balance her big cone with her tiny hands, but she was determined to do it herself. When they got home, and the pizza was in the refrigerator, Cat turned toward her mom with her hands on her hips.
"We're home now. Why were you sad in the car?" Cat had a look on her face that Emma knew well. It was the look Cat gave her when she knew her mom was trying to keep something from her.
"Let's sit on the couch so we can talk, okay?" Cat nodded and took her hand as they walked to the couch. Cat sat on her mom's lap with her head on her chest while Emma ran her fingers through her daughter's beautiful long hair.
"Okay, Mommy, I'm ready for what you need to tell me." Emma's heart was breaking as she snuggled her daughter to her.
"You know I went to the doctor today, and he had some bad news. He said that I have a disease called breast cancer. What that means is that I may get really sick." Cat looked at her mom with wide eyes, and Emma could see the tears starting to pool in them.
"Why, Mommy? Why are you going to be really sick? Can't the doctor fix it and make you better?" Cat's small voice was breaking as she tried not to cry.
"The doctor will give me medicine to make it go away, but it might not work. We just have to hope that I'll get better." Cat started crying, and Emma cried with her. She didn't want to tell Cat that the medicine might not work and she may die. That was a reality they would face another day.
Today she would hold on to her daughter and give her as much love as possible. The thought of not being with Cat as she grew up was almost too much for Emma to bear. She would fight this cancer with everything she had.
When Cat went to bed that night, she lay next to her mother in their only bed and cried. Cat remembered hearing one of the kids in her class say that their grandma had died of cancer. She was scared that her mom would die and she would be all alone.
Emma heard Cat crying next to her and turned her over so they were facing each other. Emma wrapped her arms around her and held her as they cried together. Cat was crying at the thought of losing her mom. Emma was crying because she was scared of what would happen to her daughter if she wasn't there.
A young mother and her young daughter alone in the world, facing a difficult situation that neither could change.