AllFreeNovel
Share Us
And I should be excited about getting back on the court with my teammates. Games that actually count toward our season’s stats won’t start for a while. But practice is picking up right away and we have a few scrimmages scattered throughout the fall. I won’t lose any momentum from the intense training camp I just attended.
Everything should be good. Great, even. Classes haven’t even started for me to stress about. I have three days to chill on campus and do absolutely nothing.
I can’t stop thinking about my mom, though.
The surprised, scared look on her face.
The way her skin matched the grayish hue of the linoleum floor.
The random guy with her.
I should be relieved, I suppose, that she has someone. But it’s a glimpse into her present I didn’t get the last time when she showed up alone.
How long have they been together? What did he offer her that my dad didn’t? Does he treat her well? Make her happy?
I’m the furthest thing from a medical expert—I got a C in Biology—but everything about my mom’s appearance indicated she’s sick. Really sick. That she doesn’t have long left and any chance to get those answers is disappearing fast. That any chance to talk to her at all is fading.
A knock on my bedroom door is a welcome interruption.
I drop my hand from my face and call out, “Yeah?”
“Hey, man.” Henry opens the door and peers inside, his usual friendly smile fixed on his face. “How’s it going?”
“Good.” I’m not sure if it’s a lie or not. “You?”
“Great. Good to be back.”
“I thought you weren’t coming back to campus until tomorrow?”
“What can I say? I pictured you guys having a blast without me and got FOMO.”
I snort. “We’ve just been unpacking. Nothing that exciting.”
“Yeah. Solid progress.” Henry eyes the stack I haven’t touched. I haven’t even unpacked my sheets yet. I just tossed a blanket on the mattress to sleep last night.
“Well, I’ll leave you to it. Pizza later?”
“Yeah, sounds good.”
He grins, nods, then heads toward the door.
“Wilson.”
Henry spins back around. “Yeah?”
I exhale. “What do you know about liver cancer?”
A wrinkle forms on his forehead. “Uh, it sucks?”
I stand, pushing my desk chair away. “I’m serious, man. Like treatment, outcomes. Stuff like that.”
“I’mpre-med, Adams. They teach us about cell structure and the periodic table. I’m not an oncologist.”
I deflate. “Okay. Nevermind.”
“Anything you want to talk about?”
“No. Forget it.”
