Chapter 17 #2
She hooks me up, using a Huber needle in my port, and I watch as Thorn stares at it with horrified fascination, trying and failing to hide his wince.
I know from before the good thing about the ports is everything can go in via that, so no need to keep fucking jabbing me like a pincushion.
Thorn holds my shaking hand the whole time, his thumb running over my knuckles in a soothing gesture that does help calm my racing pulse a little.
“All done, Luna. I’ll be back in about two to three hours to start the next phase. Can I get you anything?” Patty looks at me, and I shake my head, settling back against the mound of pillows on the bed.
“No thanks, I’m fine for now,” I reply, my voice steady as I prepare for what I know is coming later as soon as the chemo hits my system.
“Okay then. I’ll see you soon. Just press the button there if you need anything,” she instructs, pointing to the button beside the bed before giving my other hand a reassuring squeeze and then leaving the room.
“That was fucking intense,” Thorn says, bringing my hand to his lips, and I huff a laugh.
“Yep.” I let out a trembling exhale.
“Did I ever tell you about the time I snorted a wasp?” Thorn asks out of the blue, and I whip my head to him, my eyes wide and mouth agape.
“You did what?” My tone is a mixture of incredulousness and laughter because what the actual fuck?
He chuckles ruefully, and my stomach loses some of its tension. “Don’t get your panties in a twist, gorgeous. I was only seven at the time and it was an accident.”
“You were always so accident-prone,” Blade grumbles, but I turn to see a small smile making his lips twitch. “I lost count of how many times we ended up in the emergency room because of the shit you did.”
“Not always my fault,” Thorn says, pointing a finger at his brother. “Anyway, I was eating a chocolate ice cream, and obviously had it all around my lips.”
“Obviously,” I reply, my face scrunching up as I adjust my position, trying to find a more comfortable one.
Thorn helps to adjust my pillows. “Well, along comes Mr. Waspface and wanted some of that chocolate goodness for himself.”
“Can’t blame him really, chocolate is life,” I add, and he nods like this isn’t the most ridiculous story.
“Exactly. So he lands on my lip and I’m stock-still, thinking that he’ll just fly away, but obviously I needed to breathe and couldn’t open my mouth because he was crawling around there, so…”
“Oh my god! That’s…I have no words.” I chuckle, mildly horrified as the images flash through my mind.
“His scream was legendary,” Blade interjects, his deep voice sending shivers across me. “And his nose was pissing blood as he rushed inside.”
“Mom was so calm,” Chase adds, and I look between them, seeing that the memory of their mom is like the soft, early summer breeze that still flows in from the window.
“She made him blow his nose, then called for Percy to get the car, and we all drove to hospital, Thorn’s nose swollen to twice its size with a cloth full of ice pressed to it. ”
“The doctor had to use tweezers to get the stinger out, which tickled like a bitch,” Thorn carries on the story, rubbing his nose like the thought made it itch. “They gave me some antihistamine and sent me on my way with a sticker and lollipop.”
“Wow, that is quite some story.” I laugh, resting my head back against the bed and closing my eyes. “Have any more?”
For the rest of the morning, Thorn keeps up a stream of ludicrous stories that I know are just to distract me from the nausea building in my throat, the anticipation of the chemo looming over me like a dark cloud.
Someone delivers four lunches: grilled chicken, buttery new potatoes, and perfectly cooked veg. With Thorn’s encouragement and Blade’s death glare, I manage to eat about half before Patty returns.
“Good, you ate something, which I know isn’t easy right now but it really will help,” she says, pushing in a trolley with some pills and the bag of my first treatment on top of it.
I grip Thorn’s hand when she approaches, taking the bag of what I know is Carboplatin and hooking it on the IV stand next to the fluids, which is almost empty, so she replaces that too.
I watch, my heart in my throat, as she then attaches it to the multi-port adaptor so it can be administered alongside the fluids.
“You probably know the drill, but try to keep movement to a minimum. Obviously you can walk around and pop to the bathroom if you need to,” Patty informs me, and all I can do is nod.
“Take this anti-nausea medication, it should help a little, but I’m sure you know from experience it’s not always able to take all the sickness away. ”
I take the pills, Thorn handing me some water to swallow them down.
“If you start to get a headache or any discomfort, give me a shout and I can get you something for that too, okay?”
“Okay, thanks,” I reply, lying back against the pillows again, already exhausted by what’s happened this morning.
“I’ll be back in an hour or so for the next bit, so try and rest as much as you can.” She gives my free hand a squeeze, which again I find reassuring, then leaves the room, taking her trolley with her.
“Okay, Goldilocks?” Blade asks from his chair, and I turn my head to give him a smile, which I know doesn’t reach my eyes.
“Yes, I’m fine, Blade,” I tell him, my smile transforming into a pained hiss as the treatment hits.
The chemo burns its way through my veins, liquid fire that promises to destroy everything—cancer cells and healthy ones alike.
It’s what makes it so effective, but also so deadly, and why the guys have been researching like crazy to find everything that will help support my immune system while I undergo treatment.
Blade watches the IV drip with narrowed eyes, no doubt calculating the dosages silently. I can practically see his brain working them out, his brows furrowed deeply as he stares almost without blinking. Chase is working on his laptop, pretending not to monitor every wince I try to hide.
Thorn resumes his stories, and at some point, I fall asleep to the sound of his voice, the warmth of him at my side never leaving as I give in and let the darkness claim me.