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Dr. Hendriks looks at him before returning her attention to me, and for the second time in a matter of weeks, this woman shatters my heart. “We can’t start chemo because you’re pregnant.”
CHAPTERNINETEEN
PRESCOTT
The icy air is beating my face as I hurry across the campus to my car. There is a bite to it, signaling more snow should fall soon, which will make our afternoon practice hell on earth, not that the coach will care. We had four more games, and if we won... I shake my head, not daring to even think about it, so I don’t jinx it. Giving up now—hell, losing—wasn’t an option.
Four more games.
That’s what it all comes down to.
I thought I’d feel different. More unsettled. Sad that the end is so near. Maybe I still will. Maybe it hasn’t hit me yet. But somehow, I doubt it. Not with everything happening with Jade. Hell, I was rushing across the campus so I could see her for a few minutes, and then I’ll have to hurry back to make it in time for practice, but it’ll be worth it.
Today was her first chemo session, and I remember how damn well terrifying that is. And how shitty Gabriel felt afterward. His pale washed-out skin. His hollow eyes. The puking. The shivers.
The idea of Jade going through all that alone makes the bile rise up my throat. My gut squeezes at the mere thought of it, so I hurry my steps. I get to the parking lot in record time and slide into my car. My fingers grip the steering wheel as I try to drive calmly and responsibly. The last thing I need is to get in a freaking accident.
Ten minutes later, I’m parking in the first open spot in front of Jade’s building. Thankfully, an older lady is just leaving the building with her dogs, so I hold the door open for her before slipping inside. Bypassing the elevators, I go to the stairs, taking two at a time.
Shouting greets me the moment I get to Jade’s floor. Not giving it much thought, I hurry to her door, only to realize the yelling is coming from her apartment. It’s muffled enough so I don’t hear the exact words but loud enough to be heard through the walls.
“What the—” Grabbing the doorknob, I twist it expecting some resistance, only to find it open. Shaking my head at the idiot who left it unlocked, I push inside, the voices growing louder.
“You don’t have a choice!” Nixon yells.
“Says who?” Jade asks, her voice much lower.
“Me! Says me and everybody else who’s thinking rationally. You can’t—”
I step into the doorway finding Nixon and Jade standing in the middle of the living room. Jade’s arms are crossed over her chest defensively as her brother hulks over her, his face red from yelling.
My whole body tenses at the image, fingers clenching into fists by my sides.
“Somebody care to explain what the hell is going on in here?” I ask, my voice deadly low.
What the fuck does he think he’s doing, yelling at her like that? As if Jade isn’t going through enough as it is. As if—
My best friend turns those murderous eyes toward me. Good, better to have his anger focused on me than on her.
“You fucking son of a bitch.” His words are the only warning as he leaps toward me. Before I can blink, his hands are gripping my jacket, and he has me pressed against the wall, those blue eyes the color of a storm throwing daggers at me.
“Nixon!” Jade yells, but Nixon doesn’t spare her a glance as he pushes me against the wall again.
“Give me one fucking reason why I shouldn’t kill you right this instant.”
“Me? I should kill you for the way you were talking to your sister just now.”
Jade appears behind Nixon, trying to pull him off me, but it’s useless. He’s not budging. “Nixon, let him go this minute.”
“No way in hell. This is between Wentworth and me.”
“Nixon…”
I grip his forearm, trying to push him off me. “You’ll have to be more specific than that, Cole.”
“More specific? Fine, you want specific?” His forearm digs deeper into my windpipe.
“Don’t you da—”
