The Light We See by J. Lynn Bailey

Author:J. Lynn Bailey [Bailey, J. Lynn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: contemporary romance
Publisher: J. House Publishing
Published: 2019-11-11T18:30:00+00:00

Luke

Age Eighteen

“Ella, come on. You have to do it.”

“No, I can’t, Luke. I just can’t. Not one more round.” Her eyes filled with tears. “I’m just … I’m tired, is all.”

Ella sat there, weak, in bed, remnants of a full head of hair somehow slowly fading to nothing, and I couldn’t remember when that had happened.

I sat down next her. Her fifteen-year-old body, all skin and bones, dark circles under her eyes, her gaunt face begging for an answer she wanted, which was, Okay, stop fighting, but I couldn’t give it to her.

Ella had been fighting cancer for a year. Chemotherapy and radiation had left a wake of disaster, wreaked havoc on her body. And yet, still, the cancer wasn’t gone.

“There’s a trial in Texas we can try.”

I was eighteen, an adult. Clearly, I knew better than her. Mom and Dad were sick with worry. Just sick. So, I had to be the one to convince her to do the trial.

I was supposed to protect my sister from everything. The older brother.

I touched Ella’s hand. “With your cancer, they have a forty-two percent success rate. I spoke to the facility director yesterday.”

“You know I don’t believe in statistics, Luke.”

I knew. I remembered. But this one had to be better than the current treatment she was receiving. Ella used to be athletic, tall, blonde with legs up to her ears. She wanted to be a veterinarian. Wanted to help animals.

“Ella, please, you have to do the trial.”

“How long is it?” she whispered as she stared out the window of her bedroom.

“Eight weeks. We’ll travel to Texas once a week for treatment.”

Ella’s head whipped back to me. “Mom and Dad can’t afford that.”

“They can’t, but I can. Been saving up.”

Ella slowly shook her head. Her hands touched mine. “No, I can’t let you blow your life savings on me, Luke. I just can’t.”

I bit on my cheek. Tried to be cautious with my words. Didn’t want to hurt my little sister, but things needed to be said. “You can’t tell me what I can and can’t do with my own money, El.”

Ella smiled. Crossed her arms over her chest. “Well, guess you’re going to need my consent to do anything to my body.”

She was right. I watched her as she listened to the world around her.

“Do you hear that, Luke? The sparrows?”

I listened hard, straining to hear what she heard. But I never could. Ella listened and saw the world differently than anyone else I’d ever met in my life. She only saw the beauty—until now. Until her body slowly withered away right before our very eyes. Took away her dignity, her hope, and her faith.

“Promise me something, Luke?” Ella turned her attention back to me.

“Anything.”

“That no matter what, you take care of Mom and Dad.”

But the truth was, I wasn’t sure I could. I didn’t have the strength that Ella had. Fighting tooth and nail for her life these past twelve months had been difficult.

“What if I can’t?”

“You’ll find a way. You always do.

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