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Her lips clamped shut.

I knew my brother. He didn’t take an interest in a female unless he wanted her. Tyson had taken an interest in Layla. He also had been annoying me for her number. Tyson was used to women following him.

He wasn’t used to following women.

But he was following Layla. I knew that as soon as he casually asked me for her number. He did it so smoothly, though; he even came up with the excuse that he needed it for a school question. I told him to message that question to one of the girls’ numbers he did have at the school.

“He’s taken an interest in you.” I stated the fact.

She sighed. “I won’t tell him. You come first.” She looked at me. “Anyway, he isn’t speaking to me. I’m going to make it my mission to make sure you are looked after.”

I frowned. “What do you mean he isn’t speaking to you? And I’ll be fine.” I could look after myself. But the fact she was so concerned, well, it was sweet. I don’t know how we’d become so close but she was the only one I’d trusted to tell the truth to.

“He’s acting weird…it doesn’t matter. You and I are going to be glued together from now on.” She put the car into gear. “By the way, I know who your parents are.”

I froze. Please no. I gulped. How mad was she? I glanced at her. She was calm. Well, I doubted she was going to have it out with me now. Not after finding out I had cancer. She would keep what she really thought to herself.

“I was pissed.” She glanced at me. “But not anymore.”

“Guess it’s cause I have cancer?” I felt bitter saying it. She wasn’t pissed at me because of the cancer. It was already impacting her view on me.

“No.” She took her eyes off the road to look at me, pulling out of the car park. “Because you are my best friend. And I knew you would have told me when you were ready.” She arched an eyebrow at me. “You were going to tell me, right?”

“Yeah, of course.” I blew out. I was going to tell her when it became important. “Once you told me about Cyrus, I wanted to tell you more. But I didn’t know how to bring it up.” I really did want to tell her. But saying your father was the Reaper, well, it doesn’t roll off the tongue easily.

“Your dad is intimidating.” She put her eyes back on the road.

“You have no idea.” Dad scared people away. Just his name scared people away.

“Yeah, well, he is good at what he does.” She glanced at me. “And clearly loves you.”

Yeah, Dad did love me. Which was why I was protecting him from the cancer. He couldn’t cope knowing something was hurting me and he couldn’t stop it. It would nearly kill him, making him watch me suffer. So I was going to protect him from it.

“Which is one of the reasons I’m not telling him.” I was honest with her. “Dad deals with things head on. He liked to protect me from things. This he can’t protect me from and he can’t save me from it.” I nervously played with my hands and sighed. “I can’t watch him suffer as I go through this. Knowing there isn’t anything he can do.”

She nodded her head. “I know you think you’re protecting them from it. But trust me, they will want to know.”

“I’m still not telling them, so stop trying to convince me to change my mind.”

She grinned. “I’m not going to drop it. I’m going to tell you all the time and one day you will want to tell them because you want to.”

“If you’re waiting for me to want to tell them, then you shouldn’t be reminding me of telling me.”

“I think a bit of pressure from me might help.” She kept grinning, whacking me on the arm. “Cheer up, Wilson. You didn’t get a death sentence today. Wewillget through this.”

She was right. I didn’t get a death sentence. I got a challenge. I would beat this cancer. Radiation would work. I kept telling myself that as we drove away from the hospital where I’d be going twice a day for the first week and then five times a week for another six weeks.

I swallowed hard. I had strength to face this, right? I had to have strength. I couldn’t count on my family to get me out of this. I couldn’t count on Dad scaring it away or Mum taking it off my chest, or Eve to reason with it or Tyson to punch it.

I had to face it. Myself.

I looked out the car window. I could do this.

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