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“That’s different.”
Jade crosses her arms over her chest. “Sexist isn’t a good color on you, big brother.”
“Couch.” Nixon points his finger at us. “Take it or leave it.”
If possible, Jade’s eyes narrow even further. “We’ll see about that.”
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
JADE
I tap my foot, anxious to get this over with. The wait is always the worst.
A hand covers my knee.
I watch it for a while. That big, steady hand that’s been my lifeline for the last few weeks. So similar to another one, but not the one I want.
Not really.
No offense to my brother.
“Calm down, or you’ll make a hole in the floor,” Nixon says quietly. “It’s going to be okay.”
“Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who’ll have a deadly medicine injected into your veins in hopes it’ll fight off the deadlier disease running in your DNA.” I tilt my head back, letting it bang against the wall. “Sorry,” I let out a heavy sigh. “I’m just nervous. I want this done with.”
“I know. But try to calm down, okay?”
Biting my lower lip, I nod and pull out my phone, checking for any messages. The corner of my mouth twitches upward, my chest relaxing slightly when I see a familiar name written on the screen.
Hotshot:
Good luck today! I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there with you.
He’s not the only one. I want him here too, but he had a lab he couldn’t miss that starts in a few minutes. Just because I was excused from going to classes didn’t mean I could destroy his future. Prescott wants to be a doctor, for fuck’s sake. And not just any doctor. He wants to be an oncologist. So he can try and save little boys like Gabriel and make up for not saving him. Not that there is anything he needs to make up for. He was just a boy himself, and cancer is an ugly, unpredictable disease.
Me:
It’s okay. I’ll see you at home?
Just as I hit send, I hear footsteps coming down the hall. I look up, noticing Dr. Hendriks walking next to a nurse. They’re whispering quietly as they come closer. I jump to my feet just as the nurse nods, sliding into one of the rooms and leaving us alone.
“Dr. Hendriks, is it tim—”
“I’m sorry, Jade,” she stops me before I can even finish. Her words are gentle, but something about the way she looks at me makes my stomach clench.
“W-what’s going on?” I ask, my voice breaking with uncertainty.
Did something happen? Are my lab results that bad? It has to be. Why else would she be looking at me with pity in her eyes? Why wo—
“We can’t start the chemo today.”
I blink, unsure if I heard her correctly. My heart starts to beat faster, sweat coating my palms.
No, no, no.I shake my head, refusing to believe this is happening.It can’t be happening.
I might not want to do this, but Ineedit. I need it to beat this thing and live.
“What do you mean you can’t start the chemo?” Nixon asks, his arm wrapping around me protectively.
