Page 10 of Write Me For You
“Okay,” June said, voice raspy. It took me a minute to realize that maybe it was because I’d moved closer to her.
“This okay?” I asked, just in case she was uncomfortable.
“Yes,” she said, pink bursting on her cheeks.
“Okay,” I said, and demonstrated how to hold the cue and position it on the table. “Just…” I adjusted her arm. “Like that,” I rasped.
June tried to maneuver the cue as I’d shown her but couldn’t quite get it. Before taking her shot, she looked over her shoulder, and said, “Could you help me do it, please?”
Standing at her side, I covered her hands with my own, my mouth close to her ear. My heart slammed in my chest at having her this close. “Draw back,” I said, “and then smoothly hit it.” When we hit the cue ball, it sailed into the striped ball. I smiled when the ball rolled into the pocket.
June turned to face me, eyes bright, a huge smile on her face. “I did it!” That beautiful smile on that stunning face was a sucker punch to my heart.
“You did,” I said, voice hoarse. I couldn’t help but add “Could your buff vampires help you do that?”
June’s threw her head back as she laughed, filling the room with the addictive sound. When she faced me again, she said, “No, Jesse. I’m not sure they could.”
“Then a point to me, I guess,” I said, just as a throat cleared.
“Chris?” Emma said from across the table. “Do you get the feeling these two keep forgetting we’re here with them?”
“Mmm,” Chris said. “Now that I think about it, yes. Happened a few times yesterday too.”
I looked up at Emma and Chris to see shit-eating grins on their faces.
Without June seeing, I flicked them the finger. Emma cackled, and June stood up, clearly embarrassed. Nervously looking back to me, she said, “I think I’ve got it from here. Thanks, Jesse.”
Nodding, I stepped back and watched June sink another ball into a pocket.
“And so the student becomes the teacher,” she said to me, shaking off any discomfort Emma’s and Chris’s comments had brought.
I groaned. “I’ve created a monster,” I announced, but secretly, my pulse was racing.
She was, showing her personality more and more the longer we hung out.
Then June missed and turned to me to say, “Or maybe not.”
I laughed at the apologetic grimace on her face and hung my head in defeat when Chris immediately pocketed the eight ball.
“Victory is ours!” Chris shouted, arms in the air. He and Emma high-fived and hugged in celebration.
I scanned the rest of the room. “Air hockey, Junebug?”
“You’re on,” she said.
I beat her five-to-one.
We had just placed down our paddles when the door to the game barn opened. Bailey, a ranch’s nurse, came in with a tray of pale orange drinks.
“Hey, guys,” he said, and placed the bottles on a table. “I have an immunity drink here for each of you. You have to take it today for the start of treatment tomorrow and the tests that will be performed for the trial.”
Chris walked over and took hold of a bottle. He brought it to his nose and quickly wrenched it away. “Nah, man, that’s nasty,” he said, and Emma, June, and I joined him. He wasn’t wrong. The liquid smelled vile.
“I know they don’t taste good, but I’m afraid they’re required.” Bailey tapped his hand on the table. “I’ll be back in thirty minutes. That’s how long you have to get it down.”
Bailey left, and Emma moved to the circle of beanbags that were set up for gaming. June sat beside her on her on another bag. I sat beside June and Chris took the last one.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I said, and forced myself to take a sip. My eyes watered as I tried to swallow the thick liquid, fighting the urge to wretch. I coughed and wiped at my mouth as it went down. “Shit,” I said. “That’s the worst thing I’ve ever tasted.”
Emma blew out a breath. “Not sure I can do this.” She brought it to her nose, and her eyes immediately watered.
“Me either,” June said, staring at the bottle like it was the most offensive thing in the world. She sighed. “Can’t be as bad as some of the other treatments we’ve all had, right?” Her brown eyes searched us all for confirmation.
“What have we all had?” Emma asked.
“I’ve got an idea,” Chris said, and I laughed when the three of us groaned at him. “No!” he said. “It’s good, I promise.” He tapped the bottle with his finger. “Never Have I Ever, AML treatment edition.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Emma said, “but it might help us get this down.” She checked her watch. “We only have twenty minutes left to get this done.”
“I’m in,” June said, then with shy eyes, said, “I’ve never played Never Have I Ever.”
“Well, it’s better with beer, Junebug, but I suppose this sewage water will have to do,” I said. June laughed. Sighing, I turned to Chris. “Okay, I’m in.”
“I’ll go first,” he said. “Never have I ever had chemotherapy.” Closing his eyes, Chris downed a mouthful, his face contorting at the taste.
“That’s not fair,” Emma said. “We all have had that!”
“Exactly,” Chris said, voice tight due to the aftertaste. “We have to get this drank at some point.”
I turned to June and, lifting my bottle, said, “Bon appétit!” I threw the mouthful in, forcing it down.
June started coughing. “Oh my gosh,” she said, and wiped her mouth.
“My turn,” Emma said, moving us quickly on. “Never have I ever had radiation.”
Once again, the four of us all drank. I looked at the bottle, and it felt like there was hardly any of it gone. “Does this bottle friggin’ refill itself somehow?”
The giggle that June let out beside me made my heart flip. “I was thinking the same thing.”
“Okay,” I said, “Never have I ever had stem cell treatment.” I raised my bottle. “But mine didn’t work!” I took another sip.
“Didn’t work for any of us!” Emma tacked on.
My friends all drank. Turning to June, I waited for her to speak. “Never have I ever had a bone marrow transplant.” June drank, but I didn’t this time. Emma didn’t either; only Chris joined in.
“You didn’t?” June said to me after she drank.
“Nope.”
June looked to Emma. “You either?”
“Nope!” Emma said, echoing my answer.
It was quiet a moment before Chris said, “Err…that’s all the treatment I had before I came here. What else is there?”
“I had targeted drug therapy. Twice,” June said, and I felt like I was seeing her for the first time. This girl had been through it.
“Whew, girl. You’ve had it all,” Emma said, and June nodded her head sadly.
“And none of it worked,” she said somberly, but then forced on a smile. “But this one will,” she said, and drank the remainder of her bottle in one go. “I can just feel it.”
“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 was joking! ” 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 to that delicacy?” 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 we would be 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.