Chapter 2

That afternoon, I went to West Bridge Medical Center.

The doctor stared at my results for a long time before he spoke.

"Stage four lung cancer. It's already metastasized."

My hands hung limp against my knees. My nails dug slowly into my palms.

"It's spread. So chemo won't help anymore, will it?"

The doctor nodded. "At this point, we're looking at palliative care. Medication to manage the pain. To make what's left of your time a little more comfortable."

It was strange.

Actually hearing that I was dying didn't scare me the way I'd always imagined it would.

The doctor kept scrolling through my chart. He noted the severe pneumonia I'd had at eight, and the hospitalization at fifteen for a pulmonary mold infection.

He frowned.

"Your condition is directly tied to that untreated pneumonia in childhood, and to long-term exposure to mold."

"Why are you living somewhere like that? Where are your parents?"

I opened my mouth. Nothing came out. I just asked, "How much does this kind of treatment usually cost?"

"It isn't cheap. Are you on your family's health insurance plan? With coverage, your out-of-pocket might come down to around ten thousand."

I froze for a second. The color drained from my face.

"I'm not."

Last year, when the family renewed the health plan, Mom, Dad, Ethan, and Olivia were all on it.

When they got to my name, Olivia crossed it out.

"Mom and Dad are older. They need coverage. Ethan works, so he needs it. I dance every day, so I need it."

She'd looked me up and down and let out a cold little laugh.

"You? You go to that cheap cosmetology school in town, learning how to cut hair and paint nails. What could possibly happen to you? Spending premium dollars on you would be a waste."

But by then, I already knew something was wrong with my body.

That was the first time I ever begged her.

"Olivia, please. Just this once. I've never been on it before."

She didn't even pause.

"No."

I looked at Mom, Dad, and Ethan.

They all pretended not to see. They actually praised her, said Olivia was so responsible with money, so mindful of the family's expenses.

The doctor's sigh brought me back.

"Without insurance, three hundred thousand is just the starting point. Hospitalization, pain management, nursing, follow-up—all in, five hundred thousand may not be enough."

"Go home. Talk to your family. You're only nineteen. Don't try to carry the end of your life alone."

I nodded.

"Okay. Thank you, Doctor."

I walked home. I didn't have money left for the bus.

The whole way, I turned it over in my head—whether to tell them at all, and if I did, how I'd even begin.

I opened the front door and started to speak.

A slap landed across my face before I got a word out.

Mom's face was flushed with rage. "Where have you been today?"

My cheek burned.

Olivia sat on the couch, crying, wearing her most wounded expression.

"You went to West Bridge Medical Center, didn't you?"

I held my cheek and stared at her, dazed.

"How did you know?"

Olivia's eyes were red as she looked at me.

"Your phone shares your location. I denied your check-up request yesterday, and you went behind my back and did it anyway!"

"Emily, is this how you show me how much you resent me?"

She jumped up, hurled the request form and the cash across the floor.

"Fine. I'm done managing you. So trying to save you money is a crime now, is that it?"

Ethan went straight to her and sat down, wrapping an arm around her shoulders to soothe her.

Mom rushed over on her other side, and her voice went soft in a way I'd never heard directed at me. Every trace of the disgust and anger she'd just spat at me was gone.

"Don't cry, sweetheart. You didn't do anything wrong. She's the one who broke the rules."

Olivia dipped her head, tears still streaking down her cheeks. "But right now, it looks like I've been bullying her this whole time."

Mom pulled her in immediately. "Nobody thinks that."

Then she turned to me.

"On your knees. Right now. Apologize to Olivia."

"You went around Olivia and spent your food money without permission. That gets punished. From now on, whatever she approves for you is what you get."

Ethan frowned. "Just apologize. Don't make this uglier than it has to be."

He didn't look at me again. He turned back to Olivia and murmured to her.

"Don't waste your energy on her. She's just difficult. Don't let her ruin your night."

They gathered around Olivia.

I stood there, and something in me almost wanted to laugh.

They all knew I'd gone to West Bridge Medical Center. Not one of them asked what was wrong with me.

Not one of them asked what the doctor had said.

I walked over slowly, knelt down on the scattered request forms, and lowered my head.

"I'm sorry."

Mom's voice was cold. "Say it properly."

I gripped the hem of my shirt.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. I shouldn't have spent money behind your back."

Olivia looked at me, eyes still red, and then rolled them.

"Whatever. You're giving me a headache."

She grabbed her phone and headed upstairs.

Mom and Ethan hurried after her. "Sweetheart, don't be upset."

By dinnertime, I was still on my knees.

The hundred dollars Olivia had approved yesterday was supposed to be my food money for the week. I'd spent it on the check-up. So tonight, there was no plate for me.

The table was covered in Olivia's favorites—steak, lobster, crab legs, and her beloved cream truffle pasta.

A sharp pain flared in my lungs. I lowered my head and coughed twice.

Blood hit the floor.

I was kneeling with my back to them.

Not one of them saw.