So Much More (Book One in the Enough Series)

54. Lies

Reed

I'd barely slept, barely eaten, and hadn't talked to Eden nearly as much as I wanted. I was horrified at the whole process of chemotherapy. Being able to see everything that Lizzie had to go through had thoroughly broken me. Nevertheless, I tried to be strong for her, my parents, and Amy. The first day wasn't the worst, but it certainly wasn't easy either.

Tuesday, she was pale, weak, and so very sick. The Doctors explained this was due to the aggressive medications they were using, basically killing everything in her body so they could replace it with new, healthy cells. I stayed with her, doing my best to make her laugh and distract her. If I wasn't with her, then I was with Amy. I was worried she'd feel left behind, even though I knew she understood.

Dad and Marie were back to staying at the house again, helping out as well. It was only two days in, and we were already a broken mess. Lizzie was up early into the morning hours of Wednesday. She was restless and sickly. I was checking my phone after leaving her room, as Mom had gone to lay with her. I was confused when I saw the text from Bennett and a link.

When I opened it up, I was shocked. Of course, something like this never happens at a good time, but this was the absolute worst for so many reasons. Not only did I not have the time or patience to deal with a mess, but I also wasn't emotionally ready to handle it in the appropriate ways. So I immediately called Bennett, even though it was nearly one in the morning for him back on the West Coast.

"What the fuck is this shit?" I growled, stepping out onto the deck to get fresh air in a futile attempt to calm myself.

"I don't know. I have no idea. I saw it and freaked out. I already messaged the PR team to see what they could do. I'm sorry, man."

"Do you think it's true?" I tugged at my hair, pacing back and forth.

"Seriously? Fuck no. Eden wouldn't do that. Are you even considering the possibility it's true?"

"I'm not exactly in a stable emotional state at the moment; I don't know what the fuck to think."

"She wouldn't do that. I know she wouldn't do that. Take a breath, man. How's Lizzie?"

"She's sick as hell. This shit is killing her; it's like only two options, die from Leukemia or die from the Chemo. I'm going insane, and it's only been two fucking days, Bennett." I slumped down onto the top step of the deck, leaning against the rail.

"I'm sorry, bro. I'll take care of this here, I promise. I'll get it straightened out for you, okay? Please don't talk to her right now, not until you've chilled out. I know it's a bad time but talk to your folks about it too. I'm sure your Mom knows what's true."

"Thanks. Yeah, I'll see."

I ended the call, sliding my fingers over Eden's name. I wanted to call her and demand answers. I wanted to scream and punch whatever source gave them the information for such an article. But instead, I sat on the step and sobbed.

"Reed?" Marie spoke, slowly stepping toward me.

"Ugh. yea. What's up?" I wiped my face and cleared my throat, hoping the darkness didn't give away that I'd been crying.

"I'm sorry. I saw you out here and wanted to check on you. Are you okay?" She kept her distance.

"Yea, fine. I'm fine. I just wanted some fresh air, had to call Bennett. All is good." I lied.

"I don't believe you, but I won't push. You should come in, though, and try and get some rest. Everyone else is finally sleeping."

"What did you think of Eden?" I blurted.

"Eden?" She seemed surprised. "She's wonderful. A lovely young woman, I enjoyed getting to meet and spend time with her. Why do you ask?" She cocked her head to the side in confusion.

"Okay." I stood, walking toward her to head back inside.

"Are you guys okay? Is she okay? I know I read about those injections; they can be rough."

I immediately felt guilty about everything going on here and now; I hadn't even bothered to think about how she was doing; so many conflicting emotions. I didn't want to burden my parents right now with questions, but I was going to drive myself insane, so for some reason, I decided to confide in my Step-Mother, with whom my relationship had never been the best. I pulled my phone out, scrolled to the link, and handed it over to her.

"What is this?" She covered her mouth in shock as she read. "This is bullshit."

"Is it? Is it, though?"

"Soccer star Girlfriend selling life-saving bone marrow to the highest bidder." She read the headline out loud. "This article is trying to say that Eden has bargained with her family and us to give her marrow cells." Marie looked over at me, the moonlight providing the only lightning for us.

"Reed, what they're accusing her of, it's completely illegal. Not only that, it's not true. Not a word of it is true."

"How do I know? The whole thing lays out this timeline of her planning this all out. I just can't right now. So what the fuck am I supposed to think?" I pounded my first onto the deck railing.

"I sat in the dining room with your Dad, Mom, and Eden. We talked about this. Eden explained a bit of what was going on with her Mother. She said that since she was in the registry or whatever, it would be easy to check to see if she's a match. She offered that if she were a match, she would donate to Lizzie. After we met with the Doctor and went over the course of treatment, Eden said that she had spoken to the donor coordinator or whoever she contacts. Reed, she offered to give marrow all over again when Lizzie needs it. There was never a mention of money or picking who to give to; at first, yes, she did offer to provide to Lizzie over her Mother. But, again, there was no mention of money or anything. In fact, she asked us not to tell you for this very reason. She didn't want to get your hopes up if she ended up not being a match, and she didn't want you to think she had ulterior motives." Marie was mad as hell; I'd never seen her so worked up before.

I turned away from her, taking a deep breath. Deep down I knew, I knew this was not the Eden I fell in love with. Of course, this article was bullshit, but who and where did it come from? Isn't there a saying about a kernel of truth in every lie?

"Reed, calm down. I'm going to contact my colleague in the morning, or well later. Come inside, try to rest, please. This shit," she held up my phone. "It's trash, and it's not true. I'll take care of it for you and Eden."

I had forgotten that Marie was a lawyer. Her gesture of offering to help meant a lot to me. She was right, I knew it was trash, and I was acting out of lack of sleep and emotional exhaustion. I nodded toward her, and we went together back into the house. It was quiet and dark, everyone else sleeping as she said. I made my way to the couch, not wanting to be up in my room right now. As I stretched out, I noticed Marie grabbing blankets from the hall closet.

"Here, make yourself comfortable. I'm going to sleep over here. We're all in this together, everything, together." She handed the blanket and pillow to me before turning and fixing herself up on the other couch. I laid my phone on the floor, wrapping up in the blanket. I gave her a half smile, not even sure how to thank her for being there for me.