Page 55 of Bad Blood

He humphs under his breath. “To see if it’s gone?” His chin lowers to his chest, and he squeezes his eyes closed.

“To see if the treatment is working. Are you okay? Do you need a minute?”

He shakes his head. “What does this mean?” He points toward the bottom of the second page.

“Your cancer has progressed into the pelvis and a few areas in your lungs, but it hasn’t affected your marrow,” I explain. “This isn’t uncommon. The progression is further than we’d like, but we can still work with this.”

I try to give him some hope. The odds aren’t the best, but I’ve never let that stop me before. And I don’t plan to now. Knowing when to quit has never been my strong suit, but in this case, my inadequacy definitely weighs in his favor.

“After you see the cardiologist to ensure everything’s fine with your heart, we’ll schedule surgery for the port implant. It’s a quick procedure, but you should have your brother there.”

“Maybe we should have waited for Dax.” Liam hunches forward, sagging in on himself as his chin trembles.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

“I was trying to be strong, not put too much on him in case he couldn’t handle it. I thought it was actually a good thing he was late. He has a history of running away when things get hard.” His voice cracks as he cradles his head in his hands.

I’m not sure what he means or how to respond. “It’s easier if you don’t try to go at this alone.”

“I hate to be a bother.” He hops off the table, wiping his hands on his jeans. “Is that it? When do we do the surgery?”

“Let’s start with the treatment plan.” I rifle through his paperwork, thrown off by his desire to leave. I hold out a sheet of paper.

“There’s more?”

“Only a couple of things.” I try to reassure him. “Before we start the chemo, we need to do an autologous bone marrow harvesting.”

His eyes grow large, and I can’t help but grin. He gets on the exam table and leans forward, settling his elbows on his knees as he rubs his hands together.

“It sounds like a lot, but once they’re in there, it doesn’t take long. It’s a swab for DNA testing so we can harvest marrow. You’re going to want to bring someone with you since you won’t be able to drive after the procedure.” Dax. I can tell we’re both thinking the same thing. Me out of morbid curiosity and him out of being let down one too many times.

“What’s it for?”

“In case the chemo doesn’t give us the success we expect. Using your marrow will help you recuperate quicker and reduce the chance of rejection. We have to do it as soon as possible since your marrow is still cancer-free.”

He rakes his hand through his hair. “Well, okay then.”

“Lauren can schedule this for later in the week. I want your brother to do a leukocyte antigen test to examine his genetic markers. He can do this while he waits for you. A sibling is most likely a match, and this would qualify him as a donor. If yours doesn’t do the trick, we can use his marrow after surgery. Unless you have someone else in mind?” I need him to see the reality of his situation.

He shakes his head. He pulls out his phone. “He said he’s on his way.”

“It’s a lot to process.” I wish I could say more, but I’m unsure how to reassure him. “We can wait.”

He hops off the table and leans against the door, crossing his foot over his ankle. “Why would I need his lyokecen genetic anti-thingy?”

His mispronunciation makes me smile. “Leukocyte antigen test. You need his marrow, and that test verifies genetic information. It’s a quick mouth swab.”

“Easy for you to say. Dax isn’t your brother.”

“I don’t think you see how this is affecting him. I’m not one hundred percent sure about this, but from what I gathered at your first appointment, Dax is acting like any normal person left in the dark would. I don’t think you’re giving him all the information.”

“Guess I should’ve waited for him to show. It was sorta important.” He grins, but it slides from his face as he bites his cheek.

“We can fill him in once he gets here. We’ll do the harvesting, get Dax to give a sample, and schedule the port placement. After that, we’ll start chemo treatment. We want to eliminate the cancerous lesions found in the lungs first. Once we get that out of the way, we will do another CT scan to see what’s left. With your state of progression, I’m going to assume we’re going to do the hemipelvectomy to make sure we cover all our bases.”

“When can I return to soccer?”

“I’d give it three to six months after surgery so we can finish your treatment with radiation if necessary.” I step to the side of the counter, flipping the calendar’s pages. “I’m thinking early February—if you do all your physical therapy and attend your follow-up appointments. We should schedule you with a psychiatrist for support too.”

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