AllFreeNovel
Share Us
With that, I turn around and get the hell out.
I need to get out of here.
I need to get away from this toxic environment.
I need to get away from the memories and pain this house holds.
I need…
I need Jade.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-SEVEN
JADE
“How are you doing?” Nixon asks as he sits next to me on the couch.
My initial reaction is to say that I’m fine, like I’ve done so many times in the past, but I stop myself before voicing the words out loud.
Nixon has been even more worried about me after the incident in the bathroom a couple of weeks ago. And although Christmas has been quiet, he wouldn’t leave me for more than ten minutes, if that.
That day, after he helped me clean up and put me back to bed, I called Dr. Hale. She was the therapist I went to just after Mom died, and after explaining the situation, she agreed to meet me. I’m not sure what kind of crazy money Nixon was paying her, but she’s been meeting me every other day like clockwork since that call, and for the most part, it’s been helping.
I tug the blanket closer around myself, but even that doesn’t keep me warm enough. “Still hanging on.”
Although barely.
I was two rounds into my second cycle of chemo, and I swear some days I wish I was dead. Like yesterday. Yesterday I definitely wished I was dead. And today wasn’t much better. I’d spent the better part of the morning throwing up until nothing was left in my stomach, and now I was fighting the worst shivers in my life.
“You should be in bed,” Nixon chastises.
“I can’t lay there any longer. Besides, the TV is bigger here.”
Since Nixon didn’t have any more football games, we’ve decided to spend the whole winter break back at the house. This time it was just the three of us. Quiet. It was too damn quiet, and when I had nothing better to do than lay in bed, memories of the past found a way to sneak past my defenses.
“Need more blankets?”
“I’m… f-fine,” I stutter, closing my eyes as another shiver runs through my body. “Don’t you have better things to do?”
Nixon tugs my beanie back, so it’s not falling into my face. “Nothing more important.”
“I’d figure you’d be organizing a party for New Year’s or something.”
“Only if you’re planning to come.”
I peek one eye open to glare at him. “Do I look like I’m ready to go out and party it up?”
“With you, one can never be sure.” He nudges me gently. “But seriously, can I get you anything?”
I let out a soft groan, snuggling deeper into the blankets. “You can stop hovering and let me sleep.”
“I thought you were here for the TV.”
I glare at my brother, but he only sighs, “Fine. I’ll come back in a bit, though.”
“Didn’t even think otherwise,” I whisper dryly.
“Is Prescott coming?”
