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“You’re right. I’m trying to figure out what the fuck happened. One minute she was … not fine, obviously, but eating. The next … she was struggling to breathe.”
“What happened, exactly?” I asked, propping my elbows on my knees. “I just realized I have no clue of how it all went down.”
Jace stared out of the window and shook his head. “I don’t know. After we were done playing, she dozed off. There was still an hour before I had to pick up the steaks, so I came out here and turned on the television. Chance flew out of his room a little later, fear written all over his face. He told me to stay with Brynn. I hauled ass to get to her, but I stopped once I saw her. The sound of her gasping for air was the worst thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” His shoulders slumped forward, and he wiped moisture from his cheeks. “It was fucked up. Her stomach …”
Silence fell between us. It was heavy and loud, or maybe it was all in my head. “You should crash here tonight. That way if we can see Brynn, Zayne can take us straight to the hospital.” Jace reached over and grabbed the remote control and finally turned the television on.
I removed my phone from my back pocket and held onto it. “Yeah, okay. Sounds good.”
It was nice to hear a sound other than the beating of my broken heart.
My cell rang at nearly two in the morning. Chance’s name flashed across the screen, and I answered quickly, jackknifing up in the bed.
“Hey, how’s she doing?” I glanced over at Jace, who had stretched out on the couch and fallen asleep.
“She’s finally resting. It’s been a flurry of nurses, doctors, tests, questions, and more tests. Bottom line is her cancer is much worse than they realized. Her stomach was distended from the fluid and tumors erupting inside her. There are so many of them, Holden.”
“Holy shit.” I stood, needing to pace while he updated me. “Can they operate or … ” I had no fucking clue what that treatment even looked like.
“They can’t. There’s too many and they’re small. The doctors called and the Knight Center at OHSU in Portland, Oregon has a bed for her. She’s going to be transferred by medical flight in the next few hours or so.” Exhaustion lingered in his tone.
“The hospital has an amazing reputation and cutting-edge treatment and technologies that other places in the country don’t have.” A classmate had landed a job there while she was pre-med. She loved to talk about how amazing the Knight Center was.
“Yeah, I’ve heard the same thing. By the way, thanks for telling them I was her husband. I wasn’t thinking fast enough.”
“You’re the best person to be with her, Chance. I have to deal with Tim and … Jace will help me stay sane. Plus, well, she loves you. I’m not sure she’s figured it out yet. What I do know is that you have a pretty level head and can understand the doctors, since your parents are both surgeons.”
“I’ve always resented them for putting their careers before me, but now … Now I’m grateful I can throw their names around a little bit. I think it got Brynn taken care of faster.”
“Then toss the husband card around like a motherfucker.”
“Hey, man...can you pack a bag for me and Brynn and bring it to the hospital? I’ll see if you and Jace can see her. It looks like it might be a while before we come back to Spokane.” Chance’s voice cracked. “I have no idea what to expect.”
My throat tightened with dread. “Just focus on being there with her. I can fly down any weekend to see her and I’ll bring clean clothes. Jace too. Whatever it takes, you know we’re all in this together.”
“Thanks, man. I’ll see you when you get here.”
I disconnected the call, then gently shook Jace awake. “Hey, Brynn is going to be transported to the Knight Center at OHSU in Portland. Chance is going with her. I need to pack them a bag, and we’ll take it to him. We might be able to see her for a minute before she’s transferred.”
Jace blinked at me a few times, then sat up slowly. “Okay. What do you need me to do?”
“I’ll pack their clothes. Why don’t you grab their toothbrushes and deodorant and stuff? It’ll be quicker if we do it together.”
Jace stood and stretched. “On it.”
I hurried to the front door and searched for Zayne, but I didn’t see him. Fishing for my phone in my back pocket, I typed out a quick message that we’d need to head to the hospital in a few minutes.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Zayne sped to Sacred Heart as quickly as possible. I was grateful it wasn’t winter. The hill leading up to the main building was a bitch when ice covered the road. Spokane kept it as clear as possible, but there were still spots of black ice. If you hit a patch, not even studded tires would help.
Forty minutes later, we were directed to Brynn’s room. I suspected we weren’t supposed to actually go in and see her, but we’d planned on being discreet.
“Chance,” I quietly said as we approached. The scent of disinfectant and sickness curdled my stomach.
Chance spun around and gave us a solemn wave. Since it was in the middle of the night and most patients were sleeping, I tried to be extra quiet.
Jace had his hands shoved into his front pockets, his shoulders rigid with tension. Zayne silently walked a few steps behind us. I wondered if the hospital brought up Zayne’s memories of everything he’d gone through.
