AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“The last I checked, it takes two people to make a baby. It should have been me who told you. I’m never going to forgive Nixon for doing this.”
“He’s just worried about you.” I rub my hand over my face, pushing my hair back.
She might blame him, but I couldn’t. Not when I knew he was right. This is my fault. I fucked up. If she wasn’t pregnant…
I let my hand drop down as the realization hits me. “What happened with chemo?”
Jade looks away, her throat bobbing.
No, no, no.
“Jade,” I say softly. “What happened with chemo?”
“I can’t do it. Not as long as I’m pregnant.”
“Fuck!” I ball my fingers into fists, turning around, the need to punch something, to let out all this anger overwhelming me. “Please tell me you got us an appointment to take care of it.”
She opens her mouth but closes it swiftly, shaking her head.
“Dammit, Jade!”
“What? What do you want me to do, Prescott? I’m so happy that you and Nixon can jump into solution mode, but I can’t! I just found out that I’m pregnant. I can’t just unknow it. I can’t just wave my hand and schedule the abortion in the next heartbeat.”
She can’t be serious. She needs chemo. She needs it to live.
“I’m not saying you should do it right now…”
“Oh no?” Those blue eyes shine with unshed tears and anger. “Because it damn well seems like you don’t have a problem doing just that!”
“I’m studying to be a doctor, Jade. I know the risks. You said it yourself. They’re not going to do the chemo if you’re pregnant, and you need the chemo to live.”
“Don’t you think I know that? But what if this is my only chance?”
“Jade…” I try to grab her hand, try to have her listen to me, try to make her see the risks, but she pulls back.
“No, you’re the doctor. So tell me, Dr. Wentworth, what are my chances of ever having a family of my own after chemo?”
I press my lips into a tight line, refusing to give in. We both knew what her chances were. There was no sense in lying to her. There were other ways for her to have a family, but there was only one way for her to survive this.
“See?” Jade offers me a sad smile. “It’s not that easy.”
“I know it’s not easy, but we’re talking about life and death here, Jade.Your life.” I want to put my hands on her shoulders and shake some sense into her. “The longer you put off chemo, the fewer chances…” I shake my head, unable to finish it. Unable to even entertain the possibility. She’s not going to die. I won’t watch another person I love die. “You have to do it.”
“What I have to do isthink.”
“Jade, please, you have to…”
“No.” Her lips press in a stubborn line I know so well before she turns her back on me. “I’m done listening and having you and Nixon manhandle me like I’m a child. I’m sick, Prescott. I’m sick, not stupid, and definitely not dead.”
“Well, if you don’t make a decision soon, you might as well be as good as dead, but don’t expect me to stay around and watch it all play out,” I yell right back at her; the anger, the frustration, and the fear seeping right out of me.
Before she can answer or I can do or say anything else, I turn on the balls of my feet and walk away. I shut the door behind me, the echo following me all the way out, as do Nixon’s words.
“You got her pregnant, you bastard.”
I move on autopilot, barely noticing that I have less than twenty minutes to make it to practice. Maybe that’s exactly what I need. A beating so brutal I won’t be able to think, be able to feel…
Pressing my foot on the gas pedal, I drive like the devil’s at my heels, making it to the locker room just as the last of my teammates are exiting in full equipment.
