To the Highest Bidder Go the Spoils

Chapter 8

Zeke had to go out of town at the last minute so Gavin's birthday dinner had been pushed back two weeks. He didn't argue with it. He had more things going on in his head than his birthday.

He'd done a bone marrow biopsy that Friday afternoon, and the results had come back rather quickly. It was confirmed as chronic myeloid leukemia. They determined it was in the chronic phase which meant his symptoms were fairly mild. He'd been put on the bone marrow transplant list, and the doctor had started him on chemotherapy. He had opted to do the intravenous route because he didn't want to take pills.

Gavin sat in the chair at the clinic with an IV sticking out of his arm. His veins burned as the machine pumped the chemicals into his system. Never in a million years had he thought this would happen. He had only felt a little tired and had some bruises that hadn't fully healed. He hadn't thought anything about them, but yet here he was. He was sick and he needed treatment to heal him.

He looked at the little old lady sitting across from him. She was in a chipper mood as she crocheted a colorful blanket. She chattered to the woman beside her as they talked about different stitches and who the blanket was for. Each round of chemo she went through, she made a blanket and donated it to the children's hospital. It was her way of giving back.

Gavin listened to the woman next to him talk about how good her son was. He had brought her to her last treatment since she had gone into remission. The nurse cried and hugged her tightly. They had grown close over the last year since she had started her treatment, and they were excited for the next phase in her life.

"How are you doing?"

Gavin looked up as Anderson Reed walked up to him. He sat in the empty chair beside him and checked the machine. It was probably out of habit, but he was grateful for the little check.

"I'm okay right now," Gavin answered. "Why are you here? Aren't you supposed to be in your clinic?"

"I wanted to check in on you. But in all seriousness, I had a patient I was checking on. You just happen to be one floor down." He looked around. "Where's your friend?"

"She went to turn in an assignment. She'll be back shortly." He leaned his head back against the chair. "What should I expect?"

"You'll be tired. Very tired actually. And you'll probably experience some nausea. Ginger ale and Sprite will help with that. Keep hydrated and eat as much as you can. Don't overdo it. You'll feel worse if you do." He paused for a long moment. "You need to tell Zeke. You can't hide something this big from him."

"I will, but he's not in town right now. If I tell him over the phone, he's going to drop everything and come back. He may miss something."

"You're a strange kid. How can you put up with all the bullshit he puts on you?"

Gavin shrugged. "It's better than the alternative."

Anderson chewed on his lip as he watched the somewhat annoying kid. Out of all the people Zeke had dated that he had met, Gavin was by far the only one who could truly deal with Zeke and his weird idiosyncrasies. He didn't let the older man bully him too much, and he actually did as he was asked without any arguments. If Zeke took advantage of his gentle nature, he was a dumbass.

Emily returned, and Anderson said his goodbyes. The girl sat down next to Gavin and handed him his homework. She'd gotten his assignments from his professors so he wouldn't be behind from missing one day. They sat quietly and did their work while the machine pumped him full of the drugs that would hopefully save his life.

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Zeke knew it was late when he got home, but he was jonesing for some affection. He handed his briefcase off to his assistant and headed straight for his bedroom.