Murphy blew out a breath and shook his head. “I’m fine. Really. Just a little freaked out, but you can’t really blame me.”
“Hell, I’m freaked out.” Graham ran a hand over his big beard and sighed. “And Blake told me I probably shouldn’t say things like that in front of you right away, but hell, I’m not good at this sort of thing.”
Murphy gave his eldest brother a look. “Uh, that’s where you’re wrong. You excel at doing this sort of thing. You’re always there for us no matter what.” And given all the shit Graham had gone through before he met Blake, that was saying something.
Graham reached out and squeezed Murphy’s shoulder, though not as hard as he normally would have. The fact that everyone continued to change their mannerisms so as not to hurt him made him feel cared for and annoyed all at the same time. It wasn’t their fault that he had cancer, just like it wasn’t their fault that they were doing their best to not hurt him because he bruised so easily now, but he still didn’t like the constant reminder that he was sick. He didn’t like that since they continued to change the way they interacted with him, they must always have the idea that he was sick in the forefront of their minds. And because of everything swirling his brain into a vortex of anger and self-pity, he just wanted to scream or hit something.
Not that he would, though. He had to be tough. Showing weakness even when your body was actually weakening would only bring pity, and he wanted nothing to do with that.
“Let’s do this,” Murphy said under his breath.
Liz was already waiting for them near the front desk, her eyes going straight to Murphy’s as they walked in.
“You’re early, I like that.” She smiled as she said it, and Murphy’s stomach rolled.
Just get through this. It’s just Day One. You can do it.
“I figured the party couldn’t start without me so…”
She smiled again and lifted up a chart. “I need you to fill out some paperwork, and then I’ll get your nurse to show you into the back area where you’ll start your treatment. We’re going to do a blood transfusion today as well according to Dr. Wilder.”
He nodded and took the clipboard from her hand. “Got it.” The transfusions gave him energy since it was literally replacing his weakened blood, so he didn’t mind that part. It was the side effects from the pill that worried him.
“I won’t be your nurse, though we already discussed that.” Liz reached out and squeezed his hand. “I just wanted to be the first to see you.” She looked over at Graham. “Since it’s a shared room where there are going to be multiple patients getting their relative treatments, there really isn’t a place for you to sit. I can get you a folding chair, or you can stay out here and wait.”
Murphy glanced at Graham. “I could have driven myself, you know.”
Graham narrowed his eyes. “And you might want to do that with your next few treatments, but not today. Not for the first one.” What was left unsaid was the fact that their parents had been with Murphy for every single appointment. There was no way he would let his brothers and their families exhaust themselves because of him.
“Thanks.” He sighed. “Seriously.”
“I know.” Graham lifted his chin at Liz. “I’ll wait out in the waiting room since I’ll probably break one of those chairs.” He looked at Murphy. “You need me in there for anything, I’ll be right by your side. Got me?”
“I got you. Thanks.” He punched his brother lightly on the shoulder, then closed his eyes, and Graham brought him in for a hug.
“You’ve got this,” Graham whispered, echoing Murphy’s thoughts. “Fuck cancer.”
Murphy pulled back and opened his eyes. “Fuck cancer,” he muttered under his breath. And with that motto, he followed his nurse who had come to stand by Liz to the treatment room.
The room held ten chairs all hooked up to sensors and had IV stands attached to them. They looked like robotic recliners, though not as comfortable. Since it was still early, there were only a couple of people in the chairs getting their treatments. Some meds took only an hour to be delivered, while others could take over ten hours on a slow drip since adding IVIG or poison to your body wasn’t the easiest thing in the world. Most people also had a bag of fluid attached since many meds couldn’t be administered without it. Murphy would only be getting a blood bag that day through an IV, but he’d spent many days of his childhood with tubes in each arm and a port in his chest. Luckily—if he could be lucky about this—he didn’t need a port as of yet. Since the chemo he was taking was in pill form to be administered over a couple of weeks, he had it easy.
Not that there was anything truly easy about cancer.
His nurse sat him down on a chair next to one of the other patients and started taking his vitals. She seemed like a nice woman, but she was quiet and worked quickly. Murphy didn’t mind since that meant he didn’t have to come up with small talk. He had his phone and tablet with him, and since they were going to use his left arm and thankfully not put the IV directly in the crook of his elbow, he could move around a little more freely than he would otherwise.
“Murphy? Murphy Gallagher?”
Murphy turned to see a face he hadn’t thought of in years and broke out into a smile. “Max? Seriously? How the hell are you?” He winced and looked up at the multiple bags attached to his childhood friend’s IV. “Uh, well, maybe I should have started with something different.”
Max had been in the same treatment center as Murphy for most of their childhood. In fact, when Murphy’s cancer had returned, so had Max’s. They’d even had the same form of juvenile Leukemia and had been on pretty much the same schedule. Their parents had become friends between the hospital stays and doctor visits, but everyone had lost touch after both the teens had gone into remission. Life had gotten in the way, and Murphy was pretty sure none of them had truly wanted to continue thinking about how they’d met and become friends.
But here they were, together once again.
Seriously. Fuck cancer.
Max just shook his head and smiled. He’d lost his hair from what Murphy could tell, and had even lost his eyebrows and lashes. God, that had sucked when he was a kid, and it looked like it sucked just as much now.
“I’d say it’s good to see you, but hell, man, we weren’t supposed to come back here, you know?” Max reached around his IV tubes and held out his hand. “Hell of a long time, man. And I was actually okay with that, you know?”
Murphy shook Max’s hand and nodded. “Why couldn’t we have met over a beer or something?”
“Because, apparently, we’re cancer buddies, and God has a sick sense of humor,” Max answered dryly. “So, what are you in for this time.”
“CLL. You?”
“Same thing as before.”
Murphy held back a wince. Their form of cancer in adults was usually worse than in children.
“Don’t look like that, man. I’m good. We’re going to beat this thing, and are already well on our way.”
Murphy winced. “It just sucks that this is our third time in these chairs.”
“Tell me about it,” Max mumbled, but his eyes were still bright. “But we’ll get through it. We always do.”
The nurse came back and fiddled with the IV bags before inserting the needle into Murphy’s skin. She did it so quickly, he didn’t even feel the pinch.
“Hey, not bad,” Murphy said with a sad smile. “You’re pretty good at this.”
“You’ve got good veins, what can I say,” Mona, his nurse, said with a sad smile of her own. “And I’ve been doing this for a while. So we’re going to start you on fluids since that’s what we love to do here, and then we’ll get going. Try not to move your arm around too much.”
“Understood.”
“And here’s your pill. I want you to swallow it for me and let me know if you feel any differently throughout your time here, okay? Dr. Wilder already went through everything with you, but if you have any questions, I’m here for you.”
Knowing if
he didn’t get it over with, he’d just make the day grow longer, he swallowed the coated pill and drank a whole bottle of water. She studied his face before going to help another patient that had walked in when he and Max had been talking.
“So, how’s life been?” Max asked once Murphy was settled. “It’s been what, ten years since we last saw each other.”
Murphy frowned but nodded. “About that long, I think. And things have been good up until this.” He pointed down at the IV in his arm. “I own a restoration and construction company with my brothers, and we’re doing pretty good there.”
“I remember you saying that your brothers were thinking about opening one up when you were in high school. Glad to know they waited until you were old enough.”
“Had to get experience first. We all went to school to make sure we could actually run a business instead of running it into the ground.” It had been a close call as it was when they’d first started, but they’d eventually figured it out. Murphy just hoped his illness wouldn’t set them back. He never wanted to be the weak link in the chain, but once again, it looked like he would end up in that role.
“Got yourself a wife yet?” Max added, leaning back in his chair. The man was still built, even though cancer had ravaged his body. He had more ink than Murphy, too, and would probably fit in with his brothers and his friends—the Montgomerys—easily.
“Not yet,” Murphy said with a smile. “My brothers found theirs, but I’m still enjoying being a bachelor.”
“Ah, that’s what I used to think about myself. Then I met Abby.” Max’s smile was so bright, Murphy couldn’t help but smile back.
“Yeah? How long have you two been married.”
Max shook his head. “Not married yet. We’ve been together for five years or so now, but we’re finally tying the knot as soon as I don’t have to wear a hat to cover this bald head of mine. But now that we’re expecting, I figure I might just have to let her convince me to move up the date.”
“Congrats, man! When are you guys due?”
“Abby is five months along. So, yeah, we’re getting there. Thankfully, we don’t want a big wedding, you know?” He looked down at his IV and sighed. “No time like the present.”
Murphy swallowed hard. “Yeah. I get that. So, two of my sisters-in-law are pregnant, and my other brother’s wife just had a baby. I guess there must be something in the water.”
Max smiled widely. “That’s a bunch more Gallaghers out there. Better warn everybody.”
Murphy flipped him off, and Max chuckled, shaking his head as an older man near them huffed. “Oops,” Murphy whispered. Of course, it wasn’t like this was the first time someone hadn’t approved of what a Gallagher was doing in public. They were used to it by now.
“Are you starting trouble again?” Liz asked as she walked into the treatment room to check Max’s vitals.
“It’s what I do best,” Murphy answered. “Hey, Max, I take it you know Liz, then?”
Max grinned up at Liz. “Yep. She’s been my nurse since she started here a few weeks ago. Why?”
“She’s marrying Owen.” The world was sure damn small sometimes.
Max gave Liz’s protruding belly a look and grinned. “Ah, the bearer of the newest Gallagher. I give you my sympathy.” He winked as he said it, and Liz snorted.
“Either you two made fast friends, or you already know each other.”
“We know each other from when we were kids.” Murphy rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a little tired since he hadn’t slept the night before and now had chemicals running through his body.
Liz gave him a sad look that she quickly masked, and he figured she understood exactly what he was saying. “If you need anything, you just let me know. Mona and I are here for the rest of the day.”
Max nodded and leaned back, closing his eyes. His friend had paled a bit in the past few minutes and now looked exhausted.
“I’ll let you nap,” Murphy whispered. “It was good to catch up, though.”
Max opened his eyes and smiled again. “Let’s make sure to exchange numbers. I’m sure we’ll see each other again, but I don’t want to lose touch.”
“I think that sounds like a plan.” As Max fell asleep, Murphy picked up his phone, looking to see if he had any new messages. He didn’t know what to think about the idea that Max was here with him. When he’d been in elementary school, he’d had two friends outside of his brothers. Max had been his cancer buddy, and another kid named Hugh had been his school friend. He’d ended up losing touch with both of them as he got older and had put them from his mind. When he thought about them back then, he immediately went back to that time when he was too young to understand fully what was going on but still so afraid of death he didn’t know what questions to ask.
Now, he was older and right back where he started. He’d run from whom he was because he hadn’t been sure who he could be when he wasn’t sick.
Maybe it was time to find Hugh again and see how his old friend was doing. It had been years, and since he’d already seen Max and hadn’t had a panic attack, maybe this would be good, too.
He looked down at his phone and grinned when he saw a message from Tessa. She’d sent a photo of their fridge filled to the brim with fruits, veggies, and meats, not a sugary or fatty food to be found.
Tessa: No more carb loading for my roomie. Plus I don’t want my ass to get fat. I think I’m still full after Team Bucky.
Murphy shook his head and started typing back, careful not to jostle his IV.
Murphy: Team Cap. And you didn’t throw out the leftover pizza did you? I wanted that.
Tessa: Hell yeah I did. It was so hard that you couldn’t get it in your mouth.
Murphy pressed his lips together so he wouldn’t laugh aloud.
Murphy: You know that was too easy, don’t you?
Tessa: Shut up.
Tessa: …
Tessa: Are you doing good? Graham and Liz taking care of you?
Murphy: Yeah…
Tessa: What is it?
Murphy: Just sucks, you know? But I’ll be home soon hopefully and we’ll just order the junk food in.
It was weird calling her place home so easily, but Murphy didn’t try to think too hard about that fact.
Tessa: I’m making chicken tonight. No junk food Murphy Gallagher. Liz gave me a list.
Murphy: This is what happens when you have a nurse in the family. You lose all the good stuff.
Tessa: Are you saying my food isn’t good?
Murphy: Uh…no?
Tessa: You’ll pay for that. Now go get better and I’ll be here when you get home.
He grinned again before saying goodbye and setting his phone down on the small table next to his chair. This whole roommate thing was still a little weird, but she was making it pretty easy.
“Who has you smiling like that?” Max asked, pulling Murphy from his thoughts.
“Huh? Oh, just my roommate. She’s throwing out all my junk food.”
“She?” Max shook his head. “You don’t smile like that for a roommate.”
Murphy shifted in his seat, suddenly uncomfortable at where this conversation was heading. “Uh, I do. She’s just a friend.”
“Sure, Gallagher. That’s what they all say.”
Murphy frowned but didn’t say anything back as Max fell asleep again. Tessa was just his friend and now his roommate. Nothing more, and nothing less. And now that he had this whole new set of complications in his life, he didn’t need any more.
Thinking about Tessa Stone as anything more than his roommate would only lead to trouble.
Big trouble.
6
“Huh?” Tessa asked, truly confused. She’d had a horrible day at work where she’d wanted to quit more than once. Now, instead of heading home to curl into her couch and maybe even help Murphy if he needed it, she was standing in front of a café in downtown Denver, being dumped.
Like, what the fuck?
“You seem to b
e a wonderful person, Tessa, but it’s just not working for me.” Brent shifted from foot to foot, looking seriously stressed out and nervous. What did he have to be nervous about? It wasn’t as if she would hit him for dumping her or anything, but it sure as hell looked as if he were ready to duck from an impending fist.
“And you couldn’t have called me? You made me come all the way down here—after work, mind you—so you can say it’s over? I mean…” So, apparently, she wasn’t angry that he didn’t want to be with her anymore, but more that she’d had to drive twenty minutes through traffic to be dumped. At least, she had her priorities straight.
Brent looked pained. “I didn’t want to be rude, but I can see now that I went about this wrong.” He ran a hand over his face, looking less put-together than she’d ever seen him. “I thought doing it face-to-face would work.”
“Okay, then. Well, I’m sorry this didn’t work out. I hope you find who you’re looking for.” There, she was civil. It wasn’t as if she had been truly invested in the relationship anyway, and she figured that was part of the problem. She’d been stringing him along because she’d thought he might be good for her. But in the end, she’d been wrong.
“Uh…thanks. I guess I just couldn’t deal with all the men in your life.” He winced again. “Uh…I’ve got to go. Bye.” He fled, leaving Tessa standing behind him like she’d just been slapped.
Men? What men were in her life? She didn’t have any brothers, and she’d never introduced Brent to her family. Sure, she lived with Murphy now, but it had been Brent’s idea in the first place.
She didn’t have a man in her life. Brent had sort of been it.
Someone bumped into her from behind and kept going, practically knocking her to the ground. She couldn’t see his or her face since they had their head down, and their hoodie up, but it didn’t matter. Now she was just annoyed.
This week seriously sucked, and she wanted nothing to do with Brent or being out in the real world any more that night.
Screw Brent.
And screw thinking she could make a relationship work. She was better off with her hand and ice cream to make her feel better.
Hope Restored (Gallagher Brothers Book 3) Page 5