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Copyright © 2016 by Ahren Sanders

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

Editing: Kendra Gaither at Kendra’s Editing and Book Services
Cover Photo: Wander Aguiar – Wander Photography
Cover Model: Alex Bukalo
Cover Design: Melissa @MG BookCovers and Designs
Formatting: Erik Gevers

Crenshaw

Goddammit, I hate this place,
I think to myself as I walk down the hallway. Even the dozens of pictures framed on the walls can’t mask the dread.

No one likes hospitals, but I loathe them, especially this one. They say it has the best pediatric oncology program in the area, but I want Nick to be in the best program in the country, not
the area
. My phone dings in my pocket, alerting me that it’s time for Nick’s treatment, so I move faster. My chest tightens at the thought of him sitting alone.

When I round the corner, I see one familiar face. Nurse Evie gives me a bright smile and waves me back. I scurry through the doors and stop to wash my hands before following her.

“Crenshaw, he’s been excited about you coming all morning. As soon as your mom left, he started in about you coming home from college.” She pats my arm lovingly. “He hasn’t shut up.”

“He just wants to win my money.” I take the stack of cards from my back pocket. “But today is a new game. He’s going to learn Gin Rummy.”

“He’ll love that. Really love that.” She gives me another smile.

Nick is already in his chair with a nurse working on his catheter when I walk in. He gives me a fist pump, and I run my hand over his now bald head before sitting.

“What’s up, fighter?”

“Well, I’m hoping after the treatment, you can spring me.”

“No can do. Doctor told Mom it would be at least tomorrow before you can go home. I’m here as long as you want, though. Thought we could learn some new games.” I place the cards on the table between us and lean back to slide the curtain closed.

“Leave it open today,” he tells me as another nurse comes in and starts the process of cleaning his lines and drawing his labs.

I look around, trying to find anything to watch but the woman poking and prodding him. My throat starts to close, and I swallow down the emotions swelling inside.

This is not fair.

Life is not fair.

He’s fourteen, for God’s sake. He should be worrying about what he’s doing on fall break, not cell counts and hemoglobin levels.

“If you don’t stop, you’re not coming back,” he says through clenched teeth, the nurse drawing blood.

“Stop what?” I struggle to sound normal.

“I see it, Ren. You’re easy to read. Mom and Dad can barely hold it together. I need you and Mathis to be stronger.”

“You’re our baby brother. It hurts us to see you like this.”

“I get it, but can you try?”

“Yes,” I agree, guiltily.

“Let’s get this party rollin’! Did you save me a seat?” a melodic, sweet voice sings behind me.

I turn and watch a beautiful young girl, who looks about Nick’s age, plop in the recliner next to us. She drops a bag, and Nurse Evie starts prepping her for chemo. Nick gives her a chin lift, and then she turns to me. The instant our eyes meet, my heart lurches and skips a beat. One dimple dents into her right cheek, highlighting her whole face. I can’t move. My eyes are trapped in her gaze. Never have I seen the unique color staring back at me—a mix between grey and ice blue. It’s hypnotic.

“Ren!” Nick hisses until I break the trance and look back to him. “Stop staring.”

“It’s okay, Nicky. Everyone has a different reaction. I should have worn a hat.” The girl speaks softly, the earlier joy vanished.

Nicky? Reaction? What the hell?

She moves her small, bony hand to her head, which is covered in a pink skull bandana. Then it hits me; she thinks I was staring at her lack of hair. I open my mouth to explain, but Nick speaks over me.

“No, it’s not okay. I didn’t ask him to come to be a total dickhead.”

Both the nurses shush him as the girl starts to giggle.

Finally, I clear my mind and find my words. “I wasn’t looking at your head. It’s your eyes. I’ve never seen any so unique, so incredibly exceptional.”

She starts to blush. “Which brother are you?”

“Crenshaw.”

“Lizbeth Hastings.” She offers her hand, and I shake it gently. “Nicky told me a lot about you.”

I raise an eyebrow at my brother and mouth ‘Nicky’ to him with a questioning glance. He doesn’t answer but shrugs without care and settles back as his treatment starts. I stay quiet and watch Nurse Evie do her assessments. When she’s done, she runs her hand over Lizbeth’s bandana covered head lovingly and gives her an encouraging smile.

“I’ll be around if you need me,” she tells both Nick and Lizbeth before walking away.

“We’ll be right here, kicking cancer’s ass,” Lizbeth replies, fist pumping the air.

I drop my head to hide my chuckle. Her spunk amuses me. Nick’s grin tells me he thinks the same.

“Well, Lizbeth, it’s nice to meet you,” I tell her.

She reaches in her bag then gives a little squeal.

“What’s wrong?” Nick jolts up, looking around nervously.

“I forgot my math assignment, and I’ve got a test next week.”

“I’ve got mine in my room. We can go over it later.”

“Okay.” She relaxes back in the chair.

My head spins with the fact that these two young kids are getting chemotherapy and discussing schoolwork. Who the hell cares about school when you’re fighting for your life?

“Ren, you’re doing it again. Your face is twisted.” Nick points to me, and I shake out of my thoughts.

“I’m shocked that you two are so worried about school.”

“Well, I’m actually thinking about doing the homeschool thing. We already do so many of our assignments from home since we have to watch our immune systems. Maybe I’ll make it official,” Lizbeth says but doesn’t sound convincing.

“You can’t do that. We’re gonna get through this together. I’ll be there to protect you.”

“Protect her?” I repeat, wondering if I heard him correctly. Curiosity mixes with alarm as different scenarios run through my mind.

“Yeah, some bitch in school is giving her a hard time. It’s stupid and childish. She has me now, and nothing’s going to happen.”

I don’t correct his language because I don’t give a shit if he wants to cuss.

“It’ll be harder to get away from her, especially now that all my hair is gone and they’ve prescribed the steroids. She’ll have a lot of ammunition when I look like a roly-poly.”

“What the fuck?” I swing my head in time to catch her wipe a lone tear that slipped out. Her breath hitches, and Nick reaches across me, laying his hand on her arm.

“Best friends take care of each other. I’ll take care of you.”

Pride swells inside, witnessing his first crush. He catches my eye and frowns.

“What?”

“Nothing. Just watching you and your new girlfriend,” I tease.

The air around us stills in silence until Lizbeth’s laughter cuts through. Nick follows until they’re both gasping for breath.

“No way! We’re really just friends. When I was admitted two days ago, I was originally placed in a room with her while they ran some tests. I recognized her from school, and we started talking…”

“By the end of the night, I declared we’d be best friends forever. He’s stuck with me,” she finishes his statement.

I search their faces for any sign of attraction, but there’s none there.

“Huh,” I say.

“But, like I was saying, there’s a bitch at school who’s giving her a hard time. This chick’s ex-boyfriend asked Liz to go to the homecoming game with him. That’s when it started. She’s been awful since then. But when we go back to school, I’m handling it.”

“Aren’t you guys a little young to be dating?” I cringe because I know what was on my mind in high school, and Lizbeth seems too sweet for the horny mind of teenage boys.

“It doesn’t matter because, when I started to lose my hair, he backed off. But he was gross anyway. Totally skeezer.” She scrunches her nose in disgust.

She may say he’s gross, but her face doesn’t hide the hurt. She’s a beautiful girl without hair, and he’s a fucking idiot.

“That dickhead isn’t getting near her again. He’s a loser.”

“Changing the subject now!” She huffs. “Tell me more about you, Crenshaw."

“My friends and family call me Ren.”

She squints her eyes and shakes her head. “Nah, I think I like Shaw better. It doesn’t remind me of a little shaved Chihuahua.”

“Shaw?”

“It’s sexy, too. So there you go. New nickname.”

“Exactly how old are you? What do you know about sexy?”

“Oh, please, I’m almost fifteen, and I know sexy when I see it. And you, Shaw Bennett, are ‘sexy’.” She uses air quotes with no shame.

Heat creeps up my cheeks at her statement. I can’t remember the last time I’ve been embarrassed, but this sassy little pixie has me blushing.

“Great, now you’ve given him a bigger ego.” Nick sighs. “But she’s big on nicknames, so I guess you’re stuck with it.”

“I like it, Lizbeth. To you, I’m Shaw.”

A smile spreads across her face and reaches all the way down to my soul. The light in her eyes shines so bright, they sparkle. Like my little brother, I have the crucial need to protect her from the bullies and jackasses at their school.