Beneath, You're Beautiful by Tori Madison

Author:Tori Madison [Madison, Tori]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Amazon: B00TQ5ZAJG
Barnesnoble: B00TQ5ZAJG
Goodreads: 23557022
Publisher: Tori Madison
Published: 2015-02-22T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

I AM SELFLESS

We were driving home Thursday morning after one last day of living in solitude. Leaving was bittersweet, but life was waiting for us back home, and we couldn’t ignore it any longer. My phone rang when we were about a half hour away from home. It was a ringtone I knew well, and Blake did now too.

“Hello?” I was met with sobs on the other end. “It’s cancer, isn’t it?”

Bobbie Jo managed to choke back her sobs. “Yes. It’s bad, Victoria. Like really, really bad. They’ve already classified it as advanced breast cancer. The measurements they took were around eleven centimeters, and it’s in her nodes. It doesn’t look good.” She began crying again.

“Oh my God,” I gasped as the tears began to stream down my cheeks. Blake reached for my free hand and squeezed it tightly before pushing down on the gas a bit more. “We’re almost home. Where are you?”

“I’m driving to her condo right now. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do when I get there.”

“Just hug her. Let her cry. Be there for her,” I advised with a shaky voice. “I’ll have Blake drop me off.”

Blake looked over at me. “I’m not dropping you off. I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t have to . . .”

“I want to. You girls can do what you need to. I’ll be there if you need me for anything.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Ask Bobbie Jo to put together a list of anything they might need at the store. I’m happy to help out.”

Bobbie Jo overheard our conversation. “Thank you—both of you. I’m sorry that you are coming home to this, and that I’m asking so much of you right now. You have enough going on in your life, but I really need you. I’m completely lost.”

Blake squeezed my hand in support. “We are here for you and will do whatever we can to help. I love you, Bobbie Jo.”

“Love you too. I’m just pulling up to her building. I’ll see you soon.”

“See you in a bit.” I hit end, and the stream of tears turned into a river.

“It’s going to be okay,” Blake said, trying to comfort me.

“No, it’s not,” I blubbered. “It’s spread to her nodes, and the lump is around eleven centimeters from what they could measure on the films. That’s not okay—it’s just not!”

Silence. It filled the car. I don’t think Blake expected my response. Just saying those words out loud about someone other than myself was suffocating. I could handle fighting breast cancer, but I wasn’t prepared to watch someone else battle it.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, still holding my hand.

“So am I.”

*

We arrived at Jillian’s downtown Minneapolis condo in the Warehouse District. Like most of the buildings in the area, it was an old four-story brick building that had been updated. The units were all unique with curved and glass walls. It was very chic and upscale for the area, which was close to the river. Since she worked downtown, she didn’t really have much of a commute—until now.

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