Page 58 of Say I'm Yours
“What happened?” I urge.
Trent replays the scene at the pond. His voice cracks when he gets to the part about doing CPR on his father. I can’t imagine what that was like for him. He’s had to do all kinds of life saving measures as a police officer. There have been calls where he’s lost someone and times he’s saved them, but from the pain laced in his voice, this time will never leave him.
Knowing the choice that you make in a single moment will dictate if someone will live has to be scary, but knowing it could be your decision that could end the life of someone you love is terrifying.
“So, what are the doctors sayin’?” I ask, watching closely as his face falls.
“I don’t know. All Mama said is that he has stage four cancer.”
“What? When?”
“Apparently, he was diagnosed six months ago. I don’t know how the hell they could keep this from my brothers and me. It’s such bullshit!” Trent stops in front of the doors. “Everyone is tryin’ to wrap their minds around it. Zach isn’t handling it at all, and Wyatt is just Wyatt.”
“How are you handlin’ it?”
He moves closer and pulls me back in his arms. “I’m not sure. I’ve been so messed up today between him and you.” Trent lets out a heavy sigh. “I didn’t lose you, and I’m damn sure not going to lose him. I’m going to have to convince him to fight.”
We enter the waiting room hand in hand, and I hope there’s a way he gets what he wants.
Chapter 13
Trent
Every minute feels like days. We all sit quietly and wait for any news from the doctors. They’re still running some tests, so it’s a waiting game.
Grace’s mother arrives, looking frantic as she rushes over to Mrs. Kannan and Mrs. Townsend.
“Is it the cancer?” she asks and they all nod, but Grace’s head snaps in their direction, her eyes narrowing.
“Mama, you knew?”
“It wasn’t my story to tell, sugar.”
“Youallknew?” I yell. “Y’all knew that he was dyin’ and didn’t tell us? You let us go to Zach’s wedding without knowin’ it could’ve been his last? You let us skip Sunday dinners with them, and all the other things we could’ve been doin’, all the things weshouldhave been doing!”
These women are like family. They’ve been to every event in our lives. They’re my mother’s best friends, and none of them thought we should know. Not one thought it would be important for us. The time I could’ve spent with him . . . gone.
Mrs. Kannan steps forward. “We begged them to tell you, honey. Y’all had a right to know, but we weren’t going to be the ones to tell you.”
I start to pace as my mind spins. “There has to be something we can do.”
Someone coughs, and I turn to look at the doctor now standing there. “Trent,” he says, dropping a nod in my direction.
“Dr. Halpern, is he all right?” I move closer.
“He’s resting. His anemia is affecting his heart. The lack of oxygen and red blood cells in his body have started to cause other organs to struggle. We warned him this would be possible, but I think he pushed himself too hard today. He needs some other tests, and I’m recommending a blood transfusion immediately. If we can get the anemia under control we can assess what to do next.”
“What about the cancer?” Zach asks. “Is there a chance he can beat it?”
Dr. Halpern shakes his head. “Your father would need to undergo a great amount of chemo and then most likely would need a bone marrow transplant. Considering the fact that he’s allowed the cancer to grow for the last six months, I’m not sure that treatment is even an option at this point. It’s up to him now.”
Rage starts to boil in my blood. Wasted time we can’t get back. Things we can’t fix because we didn’t know about them. I can’t understand what he was thinking.
“All of this can be discussed later, right now, we need to focus on getting him stable. He needs a blood transfusion to control his anemia. I want to warn you all, this is when things start to move quickly. He’s going to need regular transfusions.”
“I want to see him,” I say quickly.
The doctor nods. “He’s exhausted and can’t handle much excitement. Just go in one at a time.”
