Neither Jessica nor I argue as we follow him over to the sofa.
I pull Jessica down beside me instead of into my lap because something about the look on Noah’s face makes me resist.
He stays standing and paces before stopping in front of us. His gaze flicks between the two of us.
I squeeze Jessica’s hand, my palms sweating.
“There’s no easy way to say this,” he says, swallowing hard, his Adam’s apple prominent.
He blows out a breath and squeezes his eyes closed before he opens them, but he’s staring right through us as words pass his lips.
“I have cancer.”
My ears buzz as my heart rate increases.
No, I must have misheard him, but the moment a stunned gasp escapes Jessica, I know I didn’t.
“I found out yesterday. I just…” he lets out a puff of air, his chin dropping to his chest. “I couldn’t quite process it.”
Jessicais the first to move, pushing to her feet and throwing her arms around his neck.
His arms wrap around her waist, pullingher to him.
It takes me a beat longer to get my faculties to work before I’m up and wrapping my arms around them both.
“Fuck,” I say as I breathe them both in.
And then I feel it, their combined sobs. I choke back my own, wanting—needing to be strong for the pair of them, but it doesn’t stop my own tears from falling. I quickly wipe them away.
“Let’s sit down,” I say, ushering them both to the sofa.
Aspen lays down at Noah’s feet and I move to sit on his other side.
“Tell us everything,” I say.
Jessica reaches over to the coffee table, grabbing some tissues from the box, and hands them out before wiping under her eyes.
He does the same, composing himself before he looks between the two of us.
“I have some swelling,” he says, his voice hoarse. “At first, I thought maybe I’d strained myself at the gym, but when it didn’t go away, and Aspen kept being clingy, I knew I needed to book an appointment. But I kept putting it off. I think I was in denial. Anyway, they referred me, I had a biopsy, and they confirmed it’s breast cancer. Like my mum.”
He swallows hard at the mention of his mum.
“Breast cancer,” Jessica repeats his last words.
“Yeah.”
I reach for his trembling hand, trying to offer him my strength. “Is that why you’ve been distant? Because you didn’t know how to tell us?”
He nods, his tired eyes finding mine. “I didn’t want to worry you. I hoped I was wrong, but deep down, I already knew the likelihood was slim.”
“I hate that you felt like you couldn’t confide in us,” I admit. “But I also understand.”
Those words aren’t easy for me to say given the way this man drives me to distraction, but in the best way possible. But then the last thing he needs to be worried about is my fucking ego taking a hit while he was trying to deal with all of this.
“So what happens next?” Jessica asks, her voice soft and full of concern. “Where do we go from here?”
I adore her more at this moment than I could ever imagine because we’re a team, the three of us, and we’re in this together for better or for worse.
