He clears his throat. “I’ll t-take care of it now, and you c-can pay me back later.”
“Zane! I can’t do that. I’ll be taking advantage of you. I haven’t even paid you for the last time.” My insides quiver at his proposition, which is completely inappropriate for me to consider, but at the same time, a huge relief.
“W-we are fr-riends, right?” A hint of unexpected vulnerability touches his face, and I’m taken aback by it.
Zane is one of the best people in the whole world. I’m one hundred percent confident in that fact, even after knowing him for such a short time.
“Who wouldn’t want to be your friend, Zane? I’m so thankful that you were there when I fell the first day. And I’m not saying this because you’re offering to pay my bills. I wouldn’t let you do that. But because you’re here. You don’t know how much I don’t want to be alone in this hospital.” My eyes start to tear once again.
He’s about to say something when Dr. Nelson strolls inside, along with a second doctor in blue scrubs. “How are you feeling, Mrs. Teager?”
“Fine. Can I please go home now?” I look up briefly at the IV bag to check how much liquid is left.
“Are we treating you so bad?” Dr. Nelson smiles, but I don’t find any humor in this situation. “I have a few questions for you.”
My stomach churns. “What sort of questions?”
“Do you have a family history of any illness or diseases? Have you had any head injury in the past?” His questions shred my insides, leaving me speechless, motionless, and cold.
My gaze flies to Zane, whose lips are pursed in a thin line as he glances at Dr. Nelson before looking at me. My heart aches when our eyes meet, and I don’t know why, but at this very moment, I want this person to not just be my fake husband but really someone close to me. Someone who’ll be equally affected by the doctor’s next words as I will.
I don’t know what Zane sees on my face, but he walks to me and perches down on the bed by my side. That simple act gives me enough courage to reply to the question.
“My mom had brain cancer. It was diagnosed in the last stage and…not much could be done.” My hands, hiding under the thin blanket, fist the bedsheet. “She lost all her senses in the end and couldn’t even recognize me.”
As much as I hate to look pathetic and cry again, tears race down my cheeks.
Zane’s warm hand grazes mine where it’s still tucked under the covers. My gaze shoots to him, and he gives me a compassionate smile. My stupid heart pitter-patters, repeating in a loop that I’m not alone, forgetting for a while that Zane is just playing a part.
I glance up at the doctor. “Am I dying?”
“No, you’re not dying.” Dr. Nelson’s gaze briefly slides to Zane before returning to me. “But we did find something in your scan.” He waves toward the doctor behind him. “This is Dr. Allen, our head of neurosurgery.”
Neurosurgery?
Dr. Allen takes a step forward. His face remains stoic as he says, “You have meningioma. A brain tumor.”
Tumor.
That word wrecked my life years ago and has found its way back.
My insides shake, rattle, and roll, doing all those things which aren’t natural and I can’t get my heart to beat normal. The doctor’s lips are moving, but I don’t hear a word he says. There’s a whooshing sound in my ears, like loud waves crashing on the rocks.
Those icy cold noises subside only when Zane starts to graze the back of my hand with small strokes.
“Mrs. Teager, are you listening?”
I meekly nod to Dr. Allen.
“We’d like to perform a biopsy as soon as possible,” he says. “We’ll give you a date for the coming weeks. It’ll be a straightforward procedure of a needle biopsy. We make a small hole in your skull…”
My heart lurches to my mouth, and a hiccup slips out of me as Zane crushes my cold hand.
Meanwhile, unfazed by our agony, the doctor continues in his professional tone. “The overall procedure will not last more than an hour, and you can go home the same day or the next.”
I try not to fall apart at the image of driving myself to the hospital and then leaving with an open skull.
“I know this isn’t what you were expecting to hear, but believe me, you’re in good hands.”