Page 60 of Fractured Constellations
“My pleasure, Luna. Now, you may feel a slight pinch, followed by a cold sensation as the liquid enters your veins.” She’s quick and efficient and I do feel the tracer entering mybody. It’s a weird sensation, watching as the plunger goes down and then feeling it. “All done. Now you rest here for the next hour, and please avoid talking, reading, or electronic devices. There are blankets if you get cold.”
Giving her a nod, I watch her leave, Blade telling her he doesn’t need a chair so not to worry.
Thorn grabs a blanket, placing it over me before sitting back in his spot next to me. His hand grasps mine, the one without the IV, and we sit in silence. I try not to let my mind run away, spiraling with all the possible outcomes of the scan. It’s too much to hope the cancer is gone, but I can’t snuff that flame out, no matter how hard I blow it like a birthday candle.
Soon, Susan is back, pushing a wheelchair. “Now I hear you might not like these, but indulge me, just this once?”
Huffing a sigh, I let Chase help me into it, Thorn taking the blanket and wrapping it around me as Blade grabs the handles.
“Lead the way,” he rumbles at Susan, whose lips twitch as she does as instructed and takes us to the scanner.
The guys have to wait behind the glass separating the scanner from the technician area, and I chuckle when Blade crosses those massive arms of his, giving me his full, pissed-off attention.
“I’ll be fine,”I mouth to him as the guy helps me onto the narrow metal examination table, positioning my body how he needs it. I do get a pillow for my head, so it’s not too terrible, and I have to suppress a chuckle when I swear I hear growls coming from the other room.
Unlike an MRI scanner, the PET scanner is like a donut, open at both ends and isn’t as loud, thank fuck. I don’t know how people manage those, they’re scary as fuck looking. The scanner makes a quiet clicking noise as I lie perfectly still, the technician leaving.
The table begins to move slowly through the scanner, my breathing turning shallow as if that will somehow make a difference. Each new position is held for a few minutes as the scanner does its thing, and I’m scanned from the middle of my head down to mid-thighs, which feels like it takes hours.
In reality, it’s only twenty or thirty minutes, and soon I’m being helped back into the wheelchair, the guys all waiting for me at the door.
“Okay, Star?” Chase questions as Blade practically pushes the poor technician out of the way to take over wheeling me.
“All good. Hungry,” I reply, and he gives my shoulder a squeeze as Thorn pulls out another insulated cup.
“Luckily we packed your favorite protein shake, double chocolate flavor!” Thorn tells me, proudly handing me the shake as Susan leads us back to the room I was in before. I manage a slurp before I hand it back to him, Patty slowly taking my IV line out.
“You can resume your normal activities.” She gives me a small smile, her gaze flicking to the guys, and I can feel the blush spread across my cheeks. She definitely suspects something is going on between us all. The guys aren’t exactly subtle. “And make sure to drink plenty of fluids to flush out the tracer. You are free to go, and we will see you with the results in a couple of days.”
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Blade states, and as soon as I get up form the wheelchair, he scoops me up into his arms bridal-style. At this stage, I just roll with it. It’s not exactly a hardship being in his arms.
“A pleasure, Susan,” I hear Thorn say behind us as Blade strides from the room and heads towards the exit.
“In a rush?” I ask with a laugh as he doesn’t even wait for the guys before exiting the building, me still in his arms.
“Fucking hate hospitals,” he grumbles, a valet boy waiting by the truck, opening the back passenger door when Blade barks the order at him.
“Where’s Percy?” I ask as Blade gets in, still holding me to him, Thorn getting in on the other side, and Chase in the driver’s seat. Looks like they finally caught up.
“Told him we had you,” Blade answers, moving me so I’m on his lap, then grabbing the seat belt and placing it over both of us.
I probably should complain—this isn’t exactly the safest way to travel—but I’m enjoying being in his arms too much. So I just snuggle down, taking sips of the shake that Thorn is encouraging me to drink. The drive and exhaustion sweeps over me, causing my eyelids to flutter closed as sleep overtakes me, and I sink into my stepbrother’s embrace.
“BEAUTY AND A FREAK” BY JOHN MICHAEL HOWELL
BLADE
Luna slips into sleep, clearly much needed if the purple smudges underneath her eyes are any fucking indication. When I saw her get out of the car, alone, and stumble, I vowed I was going to have it out with my father. He promised, fucking promised, he and Lorelei would look after her, but clearly Chase is right.
Our dad is full of shit, because by the looks of it, Luna has had to fend for herself for the past two weeks and it fucking shows.She’s clearly not been eating properly, and was dehydrated earlier.
“We need to talk to Dad,” Thorn whispers, and I nod, shifting Luna so she’s wrapped more closely in my arms.
“I also want us to transfer to somewhere closer. I’m not going back to Harvard,” Chase states, and my gaze finds his in the rearview mirror. In some ways, it’s a surprise he’d say that with such finality. He’s always been the most driven of us about getting our degrees, and leaving Harvard is a big sacrifice given what doors it could open for us. But as Luna makes a small noise in my arms, I know that it’s no sacrifice at all, and it’s not really a surprise Chase has come to the same conclusion.
“Dad won’t be happy,” I warn, not giving a shit, but just so that we’re all on the same page. “Especially when we all leave.”
“I don’t give a fuck,” Chase hisses, and although it’s rare to see emotion from my controlled brother, let alone hear him curse, it’s just another thing I’m grateful to Luna for. She’s pulled him out of the box he was keeping himself trapped in. “He can’t be trusted to look after her.”
