Page 16 of Tear Me Apart
“I’m seventeen, not seven. What about Sarah J. Maas? You could read some of that.”
“You are seventeen, going on eighteen,” Lauren sings. She has a lovely soprano, and Mindy laughs, but it is strained, weak. She is so diminished. The chemo has already stripped her of muscle, of energy, of vitality. It is slowly killing her, and they both know it. The poison runs through her veins like a raging river down a hill—unyielding, unending, without thought or remorse for its consequence.
“Maas has too much raunchy sex. Oh, don’t roll your eyes at me, little girl. What, you think I’m going to read you an adult story? How embarrassing would that be, for both of us? That’s what television is for. Your choice—Days of Our Livesor Mom tells youSleeping Beauty.”
“Ugh. I’m sick of soap operas.Sleeping Beauty.”
“Gotcha. Now, as I was saying—”
A knock at the door interrupts them. Dr. Oliver enters, and it is clear by the grave look on his face the news isn’t good.
“Do I need to get Jasper on the phone?” Lauren asks immediately, and Dr. Oliver nods.
She is grateful for his honesty, at least. Mindy made them all agree at the beginning there would be no holds barred, no sneaking off into corners to share news and updates. Everyone gets the information at the same time. It is the only control Mindy has over the process. She doesn’t want parents and doctors talking about her in the hallways, then sugarcoating the truth.
Lauren dials and Jasper answers right away.
“Everything okay?”
“Dr. Oliver has news, I’m putting you on Speaker.” She presses the button, then holds out the phone to the doctor and takes Mindy’s hand.
“I’m sorry to be the bearer of bad tidings, but the tests are back, and the cancer is more aggressive than we realized. We want to move ahead to a stem cell transplant, and we need to do it quickly.”
“At least it won’t hurt,” Mindy says with a watery grin.
They’ve already discussed all the science about this possibility. She is right, it won’t hurt her. But it could kill her.
“Take mine,” Lauren says. “Let’s go. Now.”
Dr. Oliver smiles. “We’ll test you both right away. Jasper, how quickly can you get here?”
“I’m on my way. Be there in fifteen.”
He clicks off, and Dr. Oliver hands the phone back to Lauren. He goes to the other side of the bed and addresses Mindy directly.
“We talked about this possibility. Happens a lot in these cases. AML is a bitch, and she doesn’t like to give up her hold of the body. I’ve already talked to a colleague of mine from Boston. He’s going to oversee the transplant, make sure we have exactly the right stem cells to work with. We are going to lick this, missy. You just keep fighting your tail off.”
He passes a hand over her balding head. Mindy’s eyes are huge in her thinned-out face, but they are clear, no tears, nothing but fire.
“Yes, sir. Go get me some decent blood cells and let’s kick this bitch’s ass.”
“Mindy,” Lauren scolds, but Dr. Oliver nods, clearly pleased.
“That’s my girl. You’re going to win this battle, Mindy. You’re a winner. I know it in my heart. Now, I’m going to get things moving on our end. You rest. Big days ahead!”
He nods at Lauren, who, despite a nasty look from Mindy, follows him out into the hall.
He shakes his head immediately, speaks loudly so Mindy can hear. “There’s nothing more to say, Lauren. We’re on it. But you’ll want to assemble as many close family relations as you can so we can test everyone for a match. Aunts, uncles, cousins, the works.”
“We don’t have many. Jasper’s an only child, and I just have my sister. We have no other family to speak of.”
“Well then, with any luck, between the three of you, we’ll find a good match. I just want the closest possible familial connection. Gives us a better chance of avoiding rejection.”
Lauren drops her voice. “Dr. Oliver? I need you to be honest with me. What are her chances?”
He smiles and rubs her shoulder. “They’re really good. My colleague from Boston is the best in the business. He’s created the most advanced protocols, and his success rate for ameliorating AML with stem cell regeneration is off the charts. She’s in the best hands.”
Lauren nods, unconvinced.
