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He had his arm around me, squeezing my shoulders. “So, what you got for me, Doc? Good news?”
My boyfriend wanted to jump out of his skin, and I did too. He got his bloodwork and scan results today, and those days were always unnerving. None of us knew if bad news would come, and again, Wolf’s parents were here.
He faced them, and I knew for a fact the majority of his restlessness came because they were here. He wanted them to be okay first and foremost because that was the kind of guy he was. I was learning that was typical amongst Legacy in general, and the only reason his friends and siblings weren’t here was because Wolf didn’t allow them. Very early in this whole journey, Wolf had put his foot down when it came to his appointments. His condition was already disrupting his family’s life, so he told Dorian, Sloane, and the rest of them that he wanted as few people at his appointments as possible. They didn’t always agree with that, and sometimes Wolf was hard-pressed to keep them out, but the majority of the time, they respected his wishes. They did under the caveat that he’d relay any and all information.
He always did, and as I sat next to him, I sometimes wondered why he allowed me to be there. I did until he’d lace his fingers with mine, and I’d squeeze his hand right back. He’d always relax after. His big body would settle into his chair, and something inside me would settle too. He made me at peace.
Apparently, I did that for him too.
I rubbed his arm as he squeezed my hand today. The other remained around me, and we held steadfast on to each other. His parents sat next to Wolf in a similar state. Wolf’s mom had his leg, but her other hand was with Wolf’s dad. His father, Ramses, squeezed his wife’s shoulder. I think we all waited with bated breath for another crop of results.
“I don’t know what to tell you, Ares,” Dr. Sturm said. He was Wolf’s primary doctor again. His other doctor had gone back to Johns Hopkins.
He was no longer needed after Wolf had had his surgery.
I think we’d all thought Wolf’s chemotherapy would be difficult, and it had been. Watching him suffer, lose weight… hadn’t been easy, and even worse since we didn’t know if it’d work enough for Wolf to be able to qualify for surgery. That part had certainly been difficult, but once Wolf had been cleared to remove his tumor, the true difficulty had begun. There’d been a period where reality had set in and none of us knew what kind of state Wolf would be in after he had his operation. We didn’t know if he’d be paralyzed or…
I didn’t wrap my head around the worst. During that time, I hadn’t let myself because I couldn’t break, and I couldn’t let him see me break either. Wolf needed me in those moments. He needed me during that trauma, and I was there when he ultimately did come out of that hospital room. I was there during recovery, and I was there when he did take his first steps again.
We all were.
I’d bonded with this family, Wolf’s family and friends, in ways I didn’t believe was possible for someone like me. I was too beat up, too broken after everything with my dad, but being around all that family and love gave me strength. We all got stronger after everything, and my strides hadn’t stopped there. I spoke to my mother and stepfather weekly now. They couldn’t shut me up on the phone.
I couldn’t be the only one whose heart leapt after what Dr. Sturm said, but his warm smile eased that away. He only smiled when he had good news. He cocked his head. “You continue to make my job very easy. Your scans and bloodwork look amazing. Nothing out of the ordinary is showing up. Everything looks good and perfect as it has been.”
I squeezed Wolf’s hand so tight, and at the same time, his parents released a breath. It was like oxygen was pushed into the room, and we were finally allowed to breathe it.
“So, he’s good, then?” Wolf’s dad asked even though he’d heard the news, and Wolf faced him. So much hope was in Ares’s eyes, and I knew it wasn’t for himself. He wanted his family to be okay above all else. Ramses rubbed Brielle’s hand. “He’s still good?”
“He is, Ramses,” Dr. Sturm said. He lounged back against his desk and turned, tossing a file on it. I assumed that was Wolf’s file, and when the man turned around, he was grinning. “And honestly, your son’s case has been one of the highlights of my career. To tackle all this twice and with the odds stacked against him in the way they were that second time?” Dr. Sturm shook his head. “A true highlight. I’m sure many of us in the medical community will be talking about this case for years to come.”
Because he had more years, plenty of years, and Wolf was seeing that too. His mouth parted like he was letting it hit him, and it was hitting me too so hard.
He’s okay.
He really would be, and I could breathe again. I think the reality of that collided with us the same time it did Wolf’s parents. His mom reached over, hugging him.
“He is a fighter. My baby,” she said, pulling back to look at him. She had her hands on his face, and he never fought her on such affection. He always let his family in, always.
How much he’d changed in the last year, and I got to witness that firsthand when his dad brought him and his mother into a hug. They squeezed the shit out of each other, and I wanted to cry.
Especially when Wolf grabbed me.
He brought me right into the circle. He never forgot about me, never, and his parents opened up that big hug. His dad gripped us all in that mighty embrace, but even after it released, Wolf didn’t let me go far.
“We did it, Red,” he said, his forehead on my temple. He rubbed against it. “We did it.”
He did it, and I folded my arms around his neck. “You did it.”
It all started with him, and his ability to let us all in. He’d broken down many walls this year, and I had no words for what he’d done for mine. We made each other so much better.
I felt like Wolf and I were in that moment for so long, and his parents were smiling at us when we ultimately let go of each other. This family had really allowed me to become a part of theirs.
Wolf’s mom squeezed my leg, and I got nothing but a warm expression from Wolf’s father. Ramses was probably one of the kindest people I’d ever met, and Wolf may argue that he might not be this man’s son, but I did see some of that in him. Wolf was giving and took care of others even when they didn’t know they needed it.
Even when I didn’t know I needed it.
Wolf laced our fingers once more. He kissed the back of my hand, and Dr. Sturm smiled largely in front of us all. I was sure he was used to all this. There was a lot of familial joy in this room over the course of the last year. Every time Wolf beat a hurdle or eliminated an obstacle there was joy.
