Page 36 of Fractured Constellations
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“WITHOUT YOU” BY OMIDO
LUNA
The next few weeks pass by in, well, not exactly bliss, because the side effects from the treatment start to make their presence felt. Chills at night, nausea so bad sometimes I can’t eat, and fatigue so debilitating that I spend hours in bed only to be wide awake during the night.
The guys are there with me the entire time, no matter how much I urge them to go out and do what they would normally. They just look at me with raised brows, telling me there’s no place they’d rather be, and although I know it’s selfish, I can’t help the warmth that diffuses across my body at their care. For the first time since I was ten, I feel less alone, like it’s not just my battle to fight. Mom tried her best, but she always had work to rush to, so often I had to deal with the side effects alone as best I could, or with a sitter while she did another shift.
Richard seems to be irritable, and I can’t help wondering if it’s because his sons’ focus is on me and not what he wantsthem to do. Apparently, they usually spend some time over the summer at Banks Industries, interning in various departments and going to conferences and networking events like when I first arrived. They’ve refused this time, and I can’t miss the narrowed glares Richard sends my way every time they tell him they are focusing on my care for now.
The day of my second lot of chemo arrives, after a truly terrible night of sleep, probably made worse by the nerves I’m feeling about it all. I tried to reschedule the appointment, but Blade intervened and told me in his gruff way, “No. Not an option. The appointment is at ten. We’re leaving at nine-thirty.”
My pulse still rushes in my ears as we drive to the private hospital they have secured for me. Part of me wanted to stay at my last place because I know all the staff and doctors from my previous treatments, but I relented in the end because, as they say, this is the best care money can buy, and I can’t gamble with my life, not now that I have so much to lose.
We pull up outside what looks like an old-style mansion house and not a hospital at all. It’s got white columns holding up the front porch, beautiful grounds surrounding it with well-manicured lawns in front, and a fountain with cherubs spitting water that we drive around.
Chase puts the car into park, then we all get out, a man in a smart uniform coming over and taking the keys from Chase.
“They have valet parking here?” I ask, knowing my eyes are round and I’m acting like the poor bitch I am, but Jesus fucking Christ.
“Come on, Goldie.” Thorn chuckles, taking my hand as the valet drives the truck around gods knows where to park it after Chase and Blade take out our overnight bags.
As we enter through automatic glass doors—clearly a modern addition—there is a young-looking receptionist, who beams at usall as she greets us. “Welcome to Mount Vernon. Can I take your name please?”
It takes me a hot second to reply, because there’s a goddamn crystal chandelier in the foyer.
“Um, Luna Wilder. I’m here for my chemo,” I tell her, and her face softens, but not with pity, which I’m grateful for.
“Of course, we’re expecting you. Nurse Jacobs will show you to your room and get you all set up,” she tells me, a woman in her mid-thirties coming up the hall, smiling softly at me.
“Pleased to meet you. You can call me Patty. Yep, my parents hate me.” She chuckles as we do, holding out her arm to indicate we follow her. “You’re here for three days, the duration of the treatment, and you’ve requested for your brothers to join you?”
“Stepbrothers,” I correct her, even as my cheeks heat, because good lord, I really do have lots of kinks I had no clue about.
“Apologies, stepbrothers,” she replies, a small twitch to her lips making me wonder if I wasn’t obvious with my attraction to them. It also could be because Thorn has a tight grip on my hand, Blade on my other side, also holding my hand, and Chase hot on our heels. “Well, that’s fine, although we only have rooms that contain a double bed and then a pull-out, but there is also a couch and armchair,” she tells us, leading us down a brightly lit hallway with floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook a beautiful garden.
“We’ll manage,” Chase says, and a lump forms in my throat. I told them that I would be fine, that my mom rarely stayed with me during my treatments, but they just gave me that look, telling me with no words that this wasn’t an argument I would win.
Patty stops in front of a carved wooden door, and honestly, this place is blowing my mind. It’s not like a hospital at all, doesn’t even really smell like one. There’s a hint of antiseptic, but over the top is a delicate perfume that isn’t cloying butrefreshing. Opening the door, she stands back, and my mouth drops open when I step inside.
It’s stunning, painted a soft lilac, with a double bed that is clearly also a hospital bed, as the top part is elevated. Aside from that, you wouldn’t know because the sheets are a crisp white and so soft-looking with an extra fluffy blanket in a deeper shade of purple draped over the edge.
“I hope it’s to your liking?” Patty questions as I look around at the single pull-out bed, also with white sheets, the armchair and couch, and the lace curtain fluttering in the breeze from the open window.
“It’s beautiful,” I breathe, letting go of the guys’ hands and walking over to the curtains, parting the lace to peer out of the window. There’s a fountain almost right outside, the sound of the water calming. The summer breeze rustles through the trees, and I can hear birds singing in them.
Warmth envelops my back, muscular arms coming around me, tugging me into his chest as I let the curtains fall back into place. Blade’s smokey vanilla scent washes over me, and I briefly close my eyes, breathing it in.
“We wanted you to be as comfortable as possible, Goldilocks,” he whispers, placing a kiss on the top of my head, and I can’t even care that Patty is still most likely there, figuring out that we are more than step-siblings.
“It’s perfect,” I tell him, turning in his arms and reaching up with mine to wrap them around his neck. “Thank you.”
His lips lift in that slight smile he has, which seems reserved just for me. “No thanks required, baby.”
“Okay, well, I’ll let you get settled in, and then be along to start your treatment,” Patty says. I blush as I step around Blade, and she gives me a wink. “We’ll start with your pre-hydration fluids this morning, then a one to two-hour infusion of Carboplatin this afternoon, followed by a one-hour infusionof Etoposide, and finally this evening, a four-hour Ifosfamide infusion, and then continuous IV fluids overnight. Okay?”
My exhale shudders out of me, though why I’m so nervous is a mystery because I’ve done this before. Twice.
