So Much More (Book One in the Enough Series)

35. Donor

Eden

Reed's alarm startled me out of my sex-induced slumber. I watched as he untangled himself from me, groaning as he shut it off. He quickly rolled back over, scooping me into his arms again and pulling me to him.

"I'm sorry I woke you." He mumbled into my hair. The way his voice sounded first thing in the morning was quickly becoming my favorite.

"Keep snuggling me, and I won't hold it against you." I teased.

"Oh, I'd do this all day if I could." He gave me a quick squeeze. "You going to be okay today?" Reed asked quietly.

"Yeah. Brynn is going with me, so that will help." I replied sleepily.

Reed leaned over me, rolling me onto my back. His face hovered above mine for a moment. His crooked smile sent flutters to my heart. Then, he leaned down, kissing my neck lightly, up to my cheek, and then lightly over my lips. The light kiss quickly turned passionate and deep.

"I don't want to go." He groaned. "You know I have some time around lunch if you need anything...."

"I'll be okay. Thank you, though." I gave him a quick peck.

"Will you call me? Text me? Just keep me posted." He was adorable. I reached up and stroked his face.

"Of course."

After one fantastic kiss, he finally crawled out of bed and headed out. I hated for him to leave but knew he had to get to his morning workout, and I would have to get ready for work as well.

*

I thought the morning would drag along, but it flew by. Before I knew it, Brynn was waltzing in the office, ready to go.

"Have a good night?" She waggled her eyebrows.

"I did. Did you?" I replied coolly.

"Of course." She smirked. "Now, how are you?" Brynn turned serious.

"Honestly, I'm nervous as hell." I bit my lip, looking across my desk at her.

"That's reasonable. I will be with you, though; we got this."

I watched Brynn pat her hand on my desk before standing in her jeans, heels, and black blouse. Her outfit complimented her fiery red hair. She gave me a hopeful smile as she waited for me to rise and join her.

"We got this," I repeated, trying to pep myself up for whatever was waiting for me at the restaurant.

When we arrived, the hostess quickly took us to the table Brynn had reserved and where June and Glenn were waiting. I could feel my hands starting to shake with nervous energy the closer we got. June sat close to Glenn. Her brown hair matched mine in color and length. However, she was waif thin and looked much older than she should have. Glenn didn't appear much better. They both looked rode hard and hung out to dry, as my Grammy would have put it.

"Hello." Brynn greeted. I stood awkwardly behind her, just taking in their appearance again. I still couldn't believe they were in front of me, live and in person.

"Afternoon." Glenn smiled, not fully reaching his eyes.

I took a seat across from June; Brynn sat next to me, across from Glenn. The tension in the air was palpable. I didn't know where to start. After our brief meeting yesterday, I honestly felt no connection with them. It was strange and not at all what I had expected. I had questions, of course, it was just in my nature, but if I never saw them again after today, I knew I would be fine.

The server popped up before we could speak again and took our order. I couldn't imagine myself eating anything; my nerves had caused my stomach to flip and flop.

"How are you today?" June asked, surprising me.

"Oh, um...I'm fine." I shrugged. "How are...How are you?"

"She has cancer. How do you think she's doing?" Glenn barked. I put my head down, feeling awful for not thinking of that and hurt that he would speak to me in such a way.

"Glenn, calm down." June scolded him.

"Well, since we're all here, perhaps we can discuss more of what you were hoping to get at when we met yesterday," Brynn interjected. I nodded, hoping she could help keep the conversation going.

"Eden," June began. She kept her eyes down, staring at the empty table as Glenn watched her. "I have chronic myelogenous leukemia." My insides twisted at her words; despite my feelings toward her, that wasn't something I would wish on anyone.

"I'm so sorry," Brynn spoke softly.

"I've tried treatments, but the Doctor has advised me to search for a donor." She sputtered out.

"A donor?" I questioned, looking over at Brynn. Her face went from sympathy to disgust.

"A stem cell or bone marrow donor." Glenn took over. June sipped her water, leaning back into her seat. "We're trying all options to find a match."

"Are you serious?" Brynn exclaimed. "You haven't seen her for her entire life, and you show up now because you need something." She growled.

"Needing bone marrow is a helluva lot different than needing a few dollars, honey." Glenn defended.

"Without a donor, will you die?" I asked, looking over at June.

"Yes."

"Okay. How do I go about this?"

"Eden! Are you serious? There's barely a chance you'll even be a match! That's a lot to go through." Brynn grabbed my arm in shock.

"What? I can't let someone die, Brynn. If I have something that can save her life, I have to do it." I spoke through gritted teeth, fighting the tears that were building. The last twenty-four hours had been an absolute roller coaster ride, and just when I thought it was over, we dropped off another hill.

"We have a Doctor here; Glenn has already helped organize everything in the event you would be willing. So it's a quick first appointment to swab and see if you match." June quickly explained; I noticed she had perked up since hearing that I agreed to this donor search.

"How do you already have a Doctor here? How long have you been in Seattle?" Brynn demanded.

"Our Doctor in Kansas coordinated." Glenn spat. Our server arrived, placing plates of food in front of us. I looked at my burger and fries, and a million questions flooded me.

"Do I need to be healthy? I mean, in good health? Can I eat a burger?" I rambled nervously.

"You can eat the damn burger, and you should eat it." Brynn huffed.

"A burger is fine. You look healthy, got a good color on ya." Glenn mumbled, his mouth full of food. Brynn was practically rolling her eyes out of her head. I could tell at any moment my firecracker was going to blow.

"Okay, so when can I do this swab? I'm more than willing to do the swab, and I'd like to ask the doctor some questions." I explained, giving Brynn a warning look.

"We can get in for the swab whenever you're ready." June reached across the table to touch my hand; I paused, feeling her skin against mine for a moment before pulling away.

"Today then. After lunch, is that possible? I'd like to do it right away."

"Eden Rose Gray!" Brynn gasped. "You have to give yourself some time to think about this."

"It's just a swab for now, and I can ask questions."

"Jesus." She grabbed her phone, but I quickly stopped her.

"Don't say anything to Tate yet, please." I knew if she did that, he might speak with Reed before I could.

"So we're going to a random doctor for some swab then?" She looked angry, but not at me. Instead, her fury was directed at the two people asking the favor.