Free Fix You by Mari Carr Page A

Despite her fears and anxieties, she felt stronger when he was around. There was something in the way he moved that made her feel fine.

Chapter Five
    Zoey dashed by him the second he took two steps inside the townhouse. He listened as she darted up the stairs, the bathroom door slamming behind her. Loud gagging followed. Rob closed the door and tried to block out the sound. Zoey had endured her first two chemo treatments with poise, grace, courage, even humor. He’d sensed only a few moments of fear at the beginning and then, in true Zoey form, she’d beaten back the monster and tolerated what needed to be done.
    Meanwhile he’d felt like a deer in the headlights as he sat beside her watching them insert the IV into the port she’d had implanted near her breastbone a month earlier. Jesus. Every single thing about cancer fucking sucked. He’d gone to all of Zoey’s doctor’s appointments, staying with her as much as he could while she had blood drawn, attending a chemo class with her and receiving instructions regarding her diet.
    Through everything, Zoey kept a stiff upper lip, accepting her fate with a positive attitude. She’d only cried once since the night she’d told him about her cancer. During the chemo class, they’d been given a brochure about sex drive during the treatments. The pamphlet warned that it would be difficult for her to achieve an orgasm. He recalled her face as Zoey squeezed her eyes closed to hold back angry tears.
    “Goddammit,” she said through gritted teeth. “Does this fucking disease have to take away everything?”
    Rob had tugged her close, wrapping her in his embrace. He’d whispered softly, “Don’t worry, Zoey. I’ve got moves you haven’t seen yet.”
    He’d been relieved when her tears evaporated, giving way to her beautiful laughter. God, please let him be able to follow-through on that particular promise. They hadn’t had sex since she’d started chemotherapy. She’d been too sick or tired and he’d been too terrified of hurting her. He knew the port was bothering her as she struggled each night to find a comfortable sleep position.
    More retching reached his ears and he swallowed heavily. He’d vowed they’d get through this, but there were days—like today—when he felt like punching someone until they ached as much as he did.
    Zoey had been warned this particular type of chemo could make her nauseous. The nurses had given her some medicine that was supposed to alleviate it, but from the sound of things, it wasn’t working.
    He climbed the stairs slowly until he reached the bathroom door. Knocking softly, he called out, “You okay, Zoey?”
    “Don’t come in here,” she said, the last word ending on a cough, a gag.
    He leaned against the door, sliding down until his ass hit the floor. It wasn’t fair. Nothing about this shit was fair.
    Zoey continued to be sick as he sat in the hallway, feeling stupid, useless.
    Closing his eyes, he sought to find an escape. His mind landed on a memory of the night they’d graduated from high school. One of their fellow graduates decided to throw a field party. When he and Zoey got there, they discovered their friend had somehow managed to get a keg and there were lots of bottles of liquor floating around.
     
    Seventeen years earlier
    Rob wasn’t a stranger to alcohol. He’d attended more than his fair share of parties and had tried pretty much everything from beer to wine to liquor. He accepted the red plastic cup of beer from his friend and took a sip. It was warm and nasty. Since he was driving, he wasn’t looking to catch a buzz. He tipped out most of the beer and decided to walk around with the half-full cup the rest of the night to appease his friends. Knowing Jeff, he’d hound him relentlessly if he found out he wasn’t getting wasted.
    He’d lost Zoey to a couple of girls within minutes of arriving at the party, but he wasn’t surprised. She was pretty popular with their classmates. She was smart