“Yes, girl!” Emma called out, then holding her hand in the air, finished off the rest of her drink too.
“Hell, man,” Chris said to me. “We’ve been outdrank by the girls.” I laughed as Emma tossed her empty bottle at him. Chris tried to do as they had done but had to stop to fight back puking it all back up.
I curled over, laughing. “That serves you right for that shitty comment,” I said. “I’ve got two little sisters who would kick your ass for that kind of talk.”
“It was a joke! I wasjoking!” he said, attempting to drink the orange sludge again.
Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, then finished my bottle off too.
A shiver of disgust ran down my spine just as Bailey came back into the barn. “How did we get on?” he asked.
“Easy-peasy,” Chris said, his body still shuddering in the aftermath.
“How often will we be treated tothatdelicacy?” Emma asked.
Bailey grimaced. “I’m sorry to tell you this but daily. The drugs will be hard on your body, and this helps you stay strong.”
“Awesome,” Emma said, then got to her feet.
Bailey cleared the bottles and left us alone.
Emma held out her hand in June’s direction. “June?”
June lifted her head in question.
“I’ve decided, as your new best friend, that we will have girl time for an hour each day. What do you say?” Emma looked from me and Chris. “I love you guys, I do, but being exposed to too much testosterone in a day makes me twitchy.”
June laughed, then got to her feet. She grabbed her bag, and Emma linked her arm through June’s. “Boys, we shall see you tomorrow for the start of treatment. I’m taking my girl to the kitchen for something to eat,” Emma said.
My heart melted at the look of happiness on June’s face. Emma seemed really good for her. As they left, June looked back over her shoulder and met my eyes.Bye, she mouthed, and I waved, watching her and Emma fall into easy conversation as they left.
“Screwed,” Chris muttered from his beanbag, closing his eyes as if for a nap. “Completely and utterly screwed.”
I ignored my friend’s jab because it was true. I couldn’t get June from my head—her smile, her eyes, her laugh. My chest tightened recalling how much she had been through with treatment, leading me to believe that she’d been sick for a while.
But we were here now. And wewouldbe healed. There was no other choice.
And in the process, I couldn’t wait to get to know June even more. Because like Chris had said, when it came to June Scott, I was—happily—screwed.
CHAPTER 6
June
The trial’s head doc finished setting up at the front ofthe rec room.
I nervously played with the tail of my headscarf. I was sitting between Emma and Jesse, with Chris on Jesse’s other side. As if it had become a little ritual, Jesse had knocked on my door this morning. I hadn’t seen him after Emma and I left the gaming stable yesterday. I’d gone to Emma’s room, and we just hung out, ate snacks, and watched trash TV. It was heaven. But I’d often found my mind drifting to thoughts of Jesse and what he and Chris were doing.
These feelings were…new for me.
I had resigned myself to maybe never finding someone I liked. Especially while going through treatment. Now I’d found myself drawn to someone while getting a new form of chemotherapy and immunotherapy.
It was making my head spin.
Silas, Cherry, Toby, and Kate were sitting on the other side of the room. The man at the front of the room looked no older than mid-twenties. He seemed very young to be heading up the entire trial.
“Good morning,” the doctor said, starting the introductions. “My name is Dr. Duncan. I am the head doctor in this trial.” He pointed at his face. “I know, I seem young. And that’s because I am.” Muffled laughs trickled throughout the room. “I have been working on this new treatment with an extremely talented team for quite some time. And I am pleased that you are here and that, for most of you, we hope will have great success.”
There was a sudden pause in the air as those words left his mouth—for most of you, we hope will have great success.
