Together (Sequel of 'Broken Hearts')

Chapter 42: Ante

I thanked the babysitter once again and gave her a tip before watching her leave. From the entrance, I could see Nazar and Ethan sitting on the sofa with the tactile tic tac toe between them. I stayed where I was, not wanting to disturb them. Ethan hadn't talked a lot this morning and I knew it was because of the conversation we had yesterday.

"Can I ask you a question?" Ethan asked as they were playing and I paid attention.

"Sure. What is it?"

"Can I stay with you?"

"What do you mean?" Nazar asked and my heart squeezed. I knew exactly what he meant.

"Ante told me I couldn't stay here..." Ethan explained in a small voice before adding. "Can you let me stay with you?"

"I wish I could tell you yes but I can't make this decision..." He answered and I watched as Ethan's eyes filled with tears. "Didn't you like Martha and Jonathan's farm?"

"Yes but I wanna stay here..."

"You know, I would have loved to move with them when I was younger. They are so much nicer than my father ever was with me."

"Your dad was mean?" He asked, wiping his eyes.

"Very mean. I was almost never allowed outside and tons of specialists came to see if they could do something for my eyes. And when I wasn't in the hands of specialists, I had to learn how to pretend I could see. Spending time on a farm surrounded by animals and people who loved me would have been so much better."

"...What if one day they don't want me anymore?"

"You can trust Ante. He will come get you if you ever need anything." Nazar said before adding. "I know you're sad. We are too. But, believe me, a fresh start is amazing. You will be free to meet new people, make tons of new friends and no one will know your past. With Ante, we left France and moved here and, while it wasn't always easy, it was worth it."

"What if I make a mistake and they get angry with me?"

"You call us and we will get you back." 

"Promise?"

"Promise." 

Ethan smiled slightly at this and clapped in Nazar's hand. "Will you call me every nights to tell me a story?"

"Of course. Did you miss my story yesterday?"

"Yes. What did they do to your head?" 

"They checked if everything is alright."

"But you're okay?" He asked and it was easy to hear the concern in his voice.

"I will be, no worries." Nazar replied with a small smile.

I smiled at these words and went into the kitchen to prepare lunch, letting them continue their conversation in peace. Nazar was great with him and always managed to find the right words to reassure him. I decided to prepare a vegetable pie with eggplants, zucchini, tomatoes and some mozzarella. While it was cooking, I decided to busy myself by doing some housework. Today being Saturday, I was planning to enjoy this weekend as much as possible by spending time with the two most important people in my life. All while trying not to think too much of the results that would be coming in a few days...

♂+♂=♥

Five days. We had to wait five days for the results of the biopsy. Five days stressing every time my phone rang, wondering if this was going to be the news that would change our life. But on the fifth day, I received the long awaited call while I was on my break at work.

"He has Glioblastoma."

"W-What does it mean?" I asked, not knowing if it was a good news or not.

"I'm sorry to announce you this but there is no cure for Glioblastoma. But treatments can slow cancer growth and reduce symptoms. We're going to try to remove it with surgery but it might not be possible to remove everything. If there are some cancer cells left, we will do radiation therapy and chemotherapy." He explained and I was glad I was sitting as my head was starting to spin.

"So... Is he doomed?" I asked slowly in a shaky voice.

"Not necessarily. The surgery could be successful but we need to do it as soon as possible as it's a fast-growing type of tumor."

"When?"

"I need to check with the hospital when is the next availability. I will call you back as soon as I know."

I thanked him for his time and ended the call before putting my phone on my desk. I took my head into my hands, letting the tears fall. This was a nightmare. When the doctor finally called back thirty minutes later, it was to tell me that he managed to schedule a surgery for early next week. Meaning it would happen a few days before Ethan's holidays and him leaving in his new family.

I tried my best to concentrate during the few patients I needed to see this afternoon but my mind was with Nazar. I didn't know how I was going to announce it to him. Once my last patient left, I immediately went to Imogen's office to tell her I was leaving. I made sure to exit her office before she could ask if everything was alright. I didn't feel strong enough to tell her that I finally had the results. Not right now.

I walked toward Ethan's school and picked him up before going back home. I did my best to pretend everything was alright as he was telling me about his day. I watched him greet Nazar before going up the stairs to put his bag down in his room. I took this opportunity to hug Nazar, putting my head in the crook of his neck. 

He must have sensed something was wrong as he whispered a few seconds later. "Is everything alright? You seem tense... Are... Did the results arrive?"

I nodded and took a deep breath. "You need to get surgery early next week to try to remove the cancerous cells. Then you may have to do radiation and chemotherapy." I explained softly, hugging him even tighter.

"How bad is it?"

"I don't know..." I admitted before adding. "But I don't think they would schedule all this if there was no chance of it working." 

He nodded slowly, not seeming fully convinced. But how could he? I didn't even know if I believed my own words. The few things I read about Glioblastoma weren't reassuring. Less than one percent of survivors ended up living ten years or more after diagnosis. The average length of survival was around eight months only. But I refused to tell him these facts. I wanted to believe surgery would be successful and that he would be able to live a normal life again in the future. He was only forty seven after all! He was still young enough to fight against it and win. I refused to believe otherwise. I was brought back to reality when I heard Ethan's little steps come downstairs and I straightened slightly, wiping my eyes just to make sure I hadn't been crying. I needed to be strong for them...