AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 18
Bethany
Leon didn’t bother to get permission from me when he decided to reach out to his friend for help. Normally, I’d be furious at the lack of discussion when it pertains to me. However, I can’t be angry at how he wants to help me. Or at how he wants to help me beat this.
Life has been throwing me nothing but curveballs lately, and in discovering this, I don’t know when it will let up. The only thing I know right now is that I want to fight, and I’m not ready for my life to be over.
Sure, plenty of emotions are running through my mind trying to tear me down. Between stress, anxiety and fear . . . I’m running up a constantly inclining hill. So much so that it feels as if I won’t ever get to the top, or like I may slip and fall all the way down to where I started.
I stand here overlooking the city, sipping on my hot vanilla latte. Why I chose something hot I have no clue. I’d much rather have an iced one, but I guess shock does that to you. “I was able to get you in tomorrow morning at eight. We need to get back to Anton and Natasha’s to pack you a bag and get on a flight,” he states, downing the rest of his Americano.
“Oh, wow.”
“Is something the matter?” he asks, tossing his empty cup in the trash can closest to us.
“No, I just didn’t expect it to happen so quickly. I thought we’d have to wait a week or so.”
Leon shakes his head. “No. I said what I meant, sweetheart. I will get you the best of the best, at the soonest possible time. Ion has a lot of connections, and I’m paying a hefty price to get you in this appointment as soon as I could.” He doesn’t say it in a way to rub the fact he’s using his money in my face, but it still makes me feel bad. If I were a normal girl, with no resources or anyone to help me, I’m sure I’d be waiting ages for an appointment with this specialist.
“How exactly did you get my appointment so quickly? Do you tip him really well or something?”
“Yeah, something like that. Let’s just say I was able to get in contact with him because of Ion, but I paid a pretty penny to get you in before he usually starts work for the day. His office is working on getting all of your labs and current test results from your physician’s office, and when we go in the morning he’ll have already taken a look at everything he could. It’ll give us a better idea of where to go from here.”
“How much did you tip him?” I ask, not sure if I want to know the answer.
“It wasn’t much,” Leon says, trying to not discuss it.
“Leon, I want to know what you did. Please, tell me,” I beg.
He turns his neck over and gives me a look that shows me just how annoyed he is. I’m sure he’s wondering why it’s so important to me, but the fact of the matter is I want to know. “I’m giving him five thousand dollars tomorrow in cash for meeting with us.”
“Whoa. What?!” My latte slips from my hand in pure shock, still unable to believe that things like this happen on the daily. I wouldn’t call this corruption, but it still baffles my mind that people can literally pay anything to get whatever they want.
“If you’re about to tell me it’s insane— don’t. I did what I had to do to ensure we get you the best. Now c’mon, we need to get back to the house and pack. We’re leaving in a couple of hours for the private air strip before we head to New York.”
I pick up my cup from the ground and toss it into the trash can, following him out of the café until we’re at his car.
The trip back to Natasha’s is quick, and I head straight into the guest house to get some clothes packed. I only take an overnight bag, figuring all I need is a couple pairs of clothes and pajamas. I’m sure we’ll be back in Miami in no time.
I take my cell out of my purse and video call Natasha since she’s out of town with Anton right now. The moment she answers the phone I can see her eyes are puffy, telling me she’s been sobbing her fucking eyes out. “Why do you look so upset?”
“I’m worried sick! Leon called Anton and asked him to borrow the jet to take you up to New York. Anton demanded to know why, and Leon said you have a doctor’s appointment with a specialist in the morning. Anton was being a little snickery and told him that y’all could fly first class and Leon lost his shit and told him you couldn’t because you could get sick. What in the world does that even mean? It sounds like you’re ill, Beth, and I’m so scared right now. What happened today?”
I take in a deep breath, knowing Tasha like the back of my hand. She’s an emotional creature, even more emotional than I am. I know that I have to be careful with how I break the news to her. In all honestly, it’ll probably be easier now that I’ve had time to process and digest it all.
“Tash, I want you to know I’m freaked out too and this is some scary news, okay?”
“Jesus, just tell me what the hell is going on!” She screams, a hiccup tearing through her cry.
“I went to the OBGYN this morning and met with my doctor, and an oncologist. My test results came back that I have a tumor in my uterus. Leon was able to get me an appointment tomorrow morning with a very good oncologist in New York, and that’s why we need the plane.”
“Oh my god . . .” the shock rushes through her, causing her expression to drift from worry to straight up fear. She looks so afraid that I’d swear Pennywise from It just came through the room she’s in.
“I’m freaked out about this too. Just know that Leon is making sure I have the best of the best.” The last sentence I say is nothing but the truth and also helps to calm me down with everything we’ve discovered today.
“This has to be some sort of twisted nightmare. How the hell do you of all people have cancer?”
I take in a deep breath, telling her something that I don’t think she ever knew. “Remember when we were teenagers and my mom got her hysterectomy?”
I see her nod on the screen “Yeah, why?”
“They found a tumor on her ovary. She opted to have everything removed so the risk wasn’t so great if it were to come back again.” I’ve never told anyone this. Mom never wanted me to. It’s not that she was ashamed for being sick, but I always knew to respect her wishes and the boundaries she put in place.
“Oh my god. Your mom was younger when she had the surgery too if I’m remembering correctly.”
“Yeah, you are,” I say, remembering the amount of pain she was in afterwards. I will internally pray to God that I don’t go through the same agony that she had to endure. I’m not a doctor, obviously, so whenever we do have another discussion tomorrow I hope they’ll slowly explain what’s happening to my body and the best courses of treatment. Although, I know what I’ll do — the only thing that is guaranteed to give me a future— have a complete hysterectomy.
