Read A Clean Break (Gay Amish Romance Book 2) Online
Authors: Keira Andrews
A Clean Break (Gay Amish Romance Book 2) (34 page)
“Yeah, it was. Clark and Dylan and a bunch of their friends are out looking for you right now. Clark called a little while ago and said he found blood and broken glass at the workshop. The door was wide open. I’ve been checking all the ERs, and I was going to call the police soon.”
Had he not locked the door? “I just cut myself. I’m fine.” The thought that so many people were concerned warmed him despite his guilt.
“We’ve been worried sick. And then with everything else…” She rubbed her face. “Oh, David. When it rains, it pours. Isaac…”
A horrible tendril of dread spread through him into every pore. “What about Isaac? Is he all right?” It felt as though his heart was in a vise.
“He is, but David…he went back to Zebulon.”
The words were like a physical blow, and his knees almost gave out. “No. He couldn’t…he wouldn’t. Not after everything.” The thought of Isaac back home tore into him. David had only been gone a night. It wasn’t possible.
Jen gripped his shoulders. “Breathe. It’s okay. It’s not what you think. Come on, sit down.” She maneuvered him to the bottom of the stairs and knelt in front of him, her hands resting on his knees. “A nurse called late yesterday afternoon from the hospital near Zebulon. It’s Nathan. He’s sick.”
David tried to understand what she was saying. “Nathan? Isaac’s brother?”
“Yes. He has something called nasopharyngeal cancer.”
He stared at her, his mind spinning like a children’s wooden top.
This isn’t happening. I’m going to wake up, and Isaac will be here, and this will all have been a terrible nightmare
. “Cancer?”
“Yes.” Jen spoke calmly. “Cancer cells have grown in the nasal cavity and in his throat. He hadn’t been to a doctor in years, and it was metastatic. It’s rare, but when this type of cancer goes undetected, it can spread to the lymph nodes, and sometimes into the lungs and other organs. Into the bones.”
He took this in. “How did they find out?”
“Nathan collapsed on his way home from school last week.”
“Last week?” They hadn’t even known. Why hadn’t Anna called?
“He’s stable, which is good. But he’s on HDC—sorry, high-dose chemotherapy—and it’s going to take a toll. The doctors don’t think he’ll make it without stem cell transplantation. Bone marrow.”
This isn’t happening
. “Stem cell? Bone marrow?”
Jen gestured with her hands. “Basically they’re cells that can grow into different other kinds of cells. They can help sick people get better. The chemotherapy is going to leave Nathan very, very weak. With the cancer this advanced, they have to be aggressive. They need to know if there’s a matching donor in his family.”
“You mean Isaac and Aaron’s cells might match Nathan’s?”
Jen squeezed his knees. “Exactly. I’ll explain it more later.”
“They went back to Zebulon already?”
“Isaac was beside himself. He left you a dozen messages and texts, but he and Aaron had to get to the airport or they’d miss the last flight. Their parents wouldn’t come on the phone, and you can imagine how helpless Isaac and Aaron felt being so far away. They’ll get tested there to see if their cells are a match. It’s good that Nathan has so many siblings. Increases his chances.”
“His chances,” David repeated.
She brushed a hand over David’s head. “You look like hell. I know you and Isaac had a fight, but is there anything else going on?”
No point in hiding it. “He thinks that Clark and I…that we…”
“That you what?” She eyed him sharply. “What happened?”
“When we were at that dance club place, Clark kissed me and tried to…” David waved his hand around awkwardly.
Jen pressed her lips together in a grim line, her nostrils flaring. “I’m going to kill him. Are you okay? How far over the line did he go? He’s my best friend, but sometimes he’s an idiot.”
“I’m fine. He stopped when I told him to, and he came to apologize yesterday morning. He felt really bad.”
“He’d better!”
“He really does. The thing is…Isaac came to the club to surprise me. He saw us, and I don’t think he believed me when I told him I was trying to get away from Clark. That I didn’t want to kiss him.”
She swore under her breath. “I’m sorry that happened.”
“It’s not your fault.”
“It’s not yours either. Are you sure you’re okay?”
The assurance was on his lips, but as she peered at him with so much warmth and concern, the truth tumbled out before he could stop it. “There’s something wrong with me.”
Jen frowned. “Okay. Wrong in what way?”
“Sometimes I get… It feels like I’m dying. I can’t breathe, and it’s like I’m having a heart attack. It passes after a little while, but I think there’s something wrong.”
“Any other symptoms? What about vision problems? Have you ever lost consciousness?”
As Jen rattled off a list of questions, David nodded or shook his head. She told him to stay where he was, and returned with the medical device she put in her ears to listen to heartbeats. A something-scope, he thought it was called. He lifted his shirt. The metal was cold against his chest, and he breathed in and out as she told him to. She put it against his back and listened there too before hanging the scope around her neck.
“Everything sounds just fine. I think you’re experiencing panic attacks. It happens to more people than you might think, and for any number of reasons.”
“You mean…I’m not dying? Or crazy?”
She smiled softly. “Not even a little, but we’ll schedule some tests at the hospital just to be on the safe side.”
“But that’ll cost money, won’t it?”
“Don’t worry about that; I’ll pull some strings. But we do need to get you and Isaac set up with insurance now that we’ve got your birth certificates.” She sighed. “David, you should have said something.”
“I know. I…I was ashamed. Especially because… Sometimes I’ve been drinking. It seems to help when I have the attacks.”
“Oh, honey.” Jen rubbed her face. “I should have realized you were self-medicating. I’m sorry I wasn’t paying more attention.”
“But you don’t have anything to be sorry for.”
“Sure I do. When someone you care about has a problem, sometimes they need it to be noticed. I know you feel like you’re imposing here, and that we’re Isaac’s family and not yours. But we care about you very much. You’re not alone. I want you to really know that. No matter what you’re feeling you can talk about it.”
He swallowed thickly. “Thank you. For everything. I don’t deserve it. You’ve—”
“Hey.” She took hold of his arms. “You
do
deserve it. So stop that talk, because I won’t listen to it. You and Isaac had what we call a breakdown in communication. It happens to the best of us, believe me. Making a relationship work is hard, no matter how old you are, or where you’re from. But you two love each other.”
David nodded. “I love him more than anything. Have you talked to him today?”
“Not yet. I didn’t call him or Aaron this morning when I realized you hadn’t come home. I didn’t want to worry them if it was nothing. They took a redeye last night, and it’s a few hours to drive to Zebulon. They should be there now. I’ll check in with Aaron.”
The thought of Nathan being terribly sick and of Isaac being in Zebulon made David ache. “I need to get back. He needs me. I have to be there.”
“Are you sure you can handle it?”
“Yes.” He inhaled deeply. He could handle it. He
would
handle it.
She stood and put her hands on her hips. “Okay. Next step is getting flights booked. We should be able to get you on a redeye tonight. Good thing your passports came through.”
“What about you?”
“I need to work, and it’ll probably take a few days before I can clear a leave with my chief.” She blew out a long breath, her cheeks puffing. “Aaron doesn’t even know if his parents will talk to him, but he has to try. It’ll probably make it worse if I’m there, but I don’t care if they don’t like me. Aaron needs me.” She smiled ruefully. “That’s not true, by the way. I totally care if they like me.”
“You’re one of the best people I’ve ever met.”
Her smile grew warm. “Right back at you.” She held out her hands and pulled him to his feet, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You go shower and pack, and I’ll check flights.”
Flush with purpose, David took the stairs two at a time. He almost didn’t notice the piece of paper folded on his pillow. With trembling hands, he opened it, his pulse galloping.
David, you’re not answering when I call. I wish you were here! Nathan is sick. I don’t really understand it, but it sounds very bad, and I’m afraid that if I don’t go right now he’ll die before I see him again. They won’t let him talk to me on the phone. I don’t know what else to do.
Aaron’s coming with me. I know I said a lot of things, and that we still need to talk. I love you. I hope you know that.
He carefully folded the letter and focused on the penknife sitting on the side table. David picked it up and ran his fingers over the worn handle, imagining he could feel the warmth of Isaac’s touch there.
June’s purple suitcase was open by the closet, and with trembling hands he looked. Isaac had taken his plain clothes, but David’s were still crumpled inside. As he smoothed out the heavy fabric of his shirt, a lump rose in his throat.
He imagined he could smell the hay and horses in the barn. The sawdust and sweat. Echoes of the life he’d lived. He rubbed the heavy fabric against his cheek. For all his confusion here in the world, there was one certainty that consumed him now, growing steadier with each heartbeat.
Zebulon would never be his home again. But he was going back, and he wasn’t leaving without his Isaac.
THE END
Join Isaac and David as they find
A Way Home
in spring 2015
.
About the Author
After writing for years yet never really finding the right inspiration, Keira discovered her voice in gay romance, which has become a passion. She writes contemporary, historical, paranormal and fantasy fiction, and—although she loves delicious angst along the way—Keira firmly believes in happy endings. For as Oscar Wilde once said, “The good ended happily, and the bad unhappily. That is what fiction means.” You can find out more about Keira and her books at her website, and on Facebook and Twitter.
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Also by Keira Andrews
Gay Amish Romance Series
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Historical
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