AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Grace’s hand tightens around mine, turning my attention to her. “You know that, right?”
I let out a shaky breath. “I do.”
It’s true. I never thought my friends would turn their back on me if they found out about the cancer. Quite the opposite, really, which was why I didn’t want to tell them in the first place.
There were two kinds of pain: One from watching people leave and the other from watching them stay and worry about you. At this point, I wasn’t sure which one was the worst.
“Good.” Grace nods her head, her free hand slipping under her cheek. “Then will you finally tell me what happened at that appointment the other day? Because that’s why you’ve been acting all crazy, right? I tried giving you time to collect yourself because I know how hard this is for you, but I can’t help,wecan’t help, if you don’t tell us how.”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, please.” she rolls her eyes at me. “You never ask for a car, so I figured you were going to your doctor’s appointment in the city. You didn’t really think you could hide it from us, did you? We failed you once. We’re not about to do it again.”
“You didn’t fail me.” My tongue darts out, sliding over my cracked lips. “But you’re right; I had an appointment with my mom’s doctor. She did some tests which showed I’m stage one.”
The corner of Grace’s lips turns upward. “That’s a good thing, right?”
“Yeah, but…”
“I don’t like that word.”
I let out a small chuckle, which makes me wince when the jab of pain goes through my skull. “Me neither,butbecause of my family history, she wants to do all she can. I’m going back for more tests and an appointment with the fertility specialist next week…”
“Fertility specialist? Why would you…”
“Chemo.” That light dies in my friend’s eyes, just like it died inside me when Dr. Hendriks told me the very same thing. “She wants to do six rounds after we do a double mastectomy.”
“But that’s…” Her throat bobs as she swallows. “Wow… Is that really necessary? You’re only twen—”
“It’s necessary.” Just saying it out loud makes my heart ache, but there is no sense in hoping for the impossible. “I’m carrying the gene for breast cancer, Grace. I’ve known it since Mom got sick.”
Hurt flashes on Grace’s face at my words.
“I didn’t tell anybody. Mom and Dr. Hendriks were the only people who knew. I didn’t want to worry anybody else for nothing.”
“It’s not for nothing.”
“It was. Everything was just so raw back then. Mom was sick. Dad left. Nixon was… well, Nixon. And then they tell me I’m carrying a ticking time bomb inside me. I might have never gotten breast cancer.”
“But you did.”
“But I did,” I agree. “And now Dr. Hendriks is doing everything she can to help me.”
Grace nods. “How do you feel?”
“Angry.” My eyes burn from the unshed tears, but I blink them away. “Helpless.”
Scared.
I feel so damn scared.
“It’s going to be okay.”
“What if it isn’t?”
Grace shakes her head, her eyes shining with unshed tears, but stubbornness is also etched into every line of her face. “It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out—all of it. You’re not alone. You have Rei, Penny, Yasmin, Nixon, and me. We’ll help you through this.”
But not Prescott.
