CHAPTER SIX
ELLE
Every Thursday, Tassie and I have a two-hour break in the afternoon between classes, so we’ve been meeting up to jog around the track since the Texan weather is cooler this time of year. Today, though, she said she wanted to skip the exercise and meet up for coffee over in the common, where everyone hangs out to eat or study or veg. Sounds good to me because the only thing I want is to finish our conversation from Tuesday. The one where she just disappeared midsentence and then never returned. She’s been staying over at Hunter’s place, which means she’s also seen Henry. I won’t lie, I do feel a little jealous that she’s all snuggled up with a man at night, and I’m left behind in our ode-to-depression dorm room.
Toting my purple backpack, I immediately spot Tass sitting in the center of the indoor space that reminds me of a mall food court with its three-story-high ceiling, mood plants, skylights, and ocean of café tables filled with students. Around the perimeter of the first floor are the various food shacks and a convenience store. On the second and third floors—with catwalks overlooking the table area—are the various student service offices, bookstore, and student group headquarters.
Tass spots me and gives a quick wave followed by a shit-eating grin. Uh-oh… That’s the sneaky look my sister, Lana, always gives me when she’s up to something.
I weave through the clusters of tables and piles of backpacks littering the floor. “All right, what’s with the guilty smile?” I plop down in the chair across from her.
“Nothing.” She bites the inside of her cheeks.
“You’re a terrible liar.” So bad, in fact, that I’ve only known her for three months and I can spot her fibs from five light-years away.
She continues smiling, her eyes watering, but she doesn’t speak.
“Ugh. Okay, I don’t have time for this.” I start getting up from my chair.
“Wait! Okay! I’ll tell you, but…” She half-winces, half-smiles.
“But what?” I fold my arms across my chest.
“Well, there are really two parts to this. The first is hard for me to tell you because it’s so premature, but on the other hand, it looks so promising, and I feel like if you knew, it might change your bad mood, even if it’s for a few short weeks while we wait. I mean, if it doesn’t work out, at least you have that and—”
“Tassie, please. Just spit it out.”
She shows me her two palms. “Okay, okay. As you know, my mother is very well known in the cancer research arena, and after your visit the other day, she did some poking around.”
My heart starts to race. “And?” I unfold my arms and rest them on the metal table.
“And,” Tassie reaches out and grabs my hand, “there’s a new drug that’s just been approved by the FDA. It’s an immune booster that’s been very effective in treating cancers that don’t respond well to chemo or radiation.”
My heart starts to accelerate out of control, filling with a rush of hope. I want to pull it back, but I can’t help myself. This is a door that’s been welded shut for over a year and somehow Tassie’s managed to crack it open, allowing a tiny sliver of light to shine through.
“What’s the statistical data for her particular condition? What’s the relapse rate and average time for treatment validation?”
“Whoa.” Still grinning, Tassie throws up a palm again. “All great questions, and my mom is getting the data for herself to review, but that’s not the challenge.”
“What, then?” Because I would move heaven and earth to save my mom. I would auction off every expendable body part I own to an underground people chop shop, I’d write people’s term papers (I hate cheaters, but I’d do it!), and I’d even sign over my brain to the U.S. government—they already asked, but I turned them down.
“The medicine is so new that supply is very limited, and it’s definitely not covered by any insurance out there. But they do have a program where they’ll give the medicine to a certain number of people each year as part of their legal obligation to continue studying the drug’s efficacy.”
“Oh.” My heart sinks. This means two things: One, getting the drug won’t be easy. And two, if my mother did manage to be part of the ongoing study, there’s a big chance she’d be part of the control group, meaning she’d get a placebo.
“Elle, don’t give up hope. My mother is going to pull every string she can for you.” Tass squeezes my hand. “This is good news. It’s something to hope for.”
I flash a shallow smile. She’s right. Of course, I won’t tell my mom because there’d be nothing worse than getting her hopes up and this not panning out.
“Please thank your mother,” I say. “This is really, really incredible of her to do this. When will we know more?”
“Soon. My mom knows time is of the essence, so she’s calling in every favor she can.”
I start to get all teary eyed. Her mother doesn’t even know me, and for her to go out of her way like this is truly touching. “Thank you. Tell her thank you.”
“Elle,” Tassie says with a stern tone, “you don’t need to thank me. I know you’d do the same if the tables were turned.”
I bob my head, staring at our touching hands and thinking about how comforted she makes me feel. I suddenly can’t help but wonder if I’ve made a big mistake by shutting her out before. If I’d opened up sooner and invited her into my real life, maybe we would’ve found out about this drug months ago. Instead, I kept her at arm’s length and made it clear that my mom wasn’t a topic open for discussion.
What the hell is the matter with me?
“Thank you,” I say. “You’re a really good friend.”
“Hey, like I said, don’t mention it. But you didn’t ask about your second surprise.”
I don’t think anything could get better than the news she’s just delivered other than my mother getting the drug and beating this brain tumor.
“You’re getting married, and I get to sing karaoke at your wedding?” I reply snarkishly.
Tassie snorts out a laugh and then pushes her glasses up her nose. “Like I’d ever get married. That’s, like, dinosaurs and cavemen.” She swipes her hand through the air. “Thankfully, Hunter knows how silly I think marriage is. My commitment to be with him is given freely, which is way sexier and much more meaningful compared to a partnership of a legal nature.”
“Agreed. So what’s the second surprise?” I ask.
“It’s that.” She jerks her head in the direction over my shoulder.
Suddenly, the cavernous room explodes with strange music.
I turn my head and twist my body to see where this…this noise is coming from. “What. The. Fuck?”