Free Always and Forever by Lurlene McDaniel

trying to control his emotions. “I’m sorry, Jory.” He faced his sister and lifted what was left of her newly cut hair off her forehead. “Are you sure about the chemo?”
    “Dr. Rowan gave me a list of side effects to expect.” She reached for the paper on her night table. “He was very honest. But then, he told us from the start that he would be. Let’s hear it for honestly,” she mumbled under her breath. “Anyway, he said that the chemo causes lots of problems. Losing my hair is only one. But he also said that once I’m in remission and I go on maintenance therapy, my hair will grow back.”
    Michael gently stroked her head.
    “It’s only
hair
Michael,” she said through clenched teeth.
    “That’s true. And now that I see it short, I like it. Although the style leaves something to be desired.”
    His attempt at humor calmed her. “Jory insisted she wasn’t a beautician, but I made her cut it anyway.”
    “It’s not that bad,” Jory said, stepping closer to the side of the bed. “I mean, with a little mousse, a little curl, it could be really chic.”
    Michael hugged Melissa and she squeezed her eyes shut. “I’m scared, Michael.”
    “Do you want me to stay with you for your treatment?”
    She did and she didn’t. “No. It’s all right.”
    “I’ll stay,” Jory offered.
    “You’re already skipping school.”
    “So what? It’s not like I’ve never done
that
before, you know.”
    “The nurses will be with me,” Melissa hedged. She began to sense her illness and treatments as a wall rising between herself and the “well” world. She’d been thrown into a different place the others could not fully enter, and she might as well come to terms with that now. She recalled Ric’s message from the night before:
You won’t have a whole lot in common with your former world
. “You two leave and come back tonight. I’ll probably have oodles to tell you by then,” she said.
    “If you’re sure … ” She saw a guilty look of relief in Michael’s eyes. She knew that hospitals and needles scared him.
    “Go on.” He was almost to the door when she called him back. “I—uh—forgot to ask … How’s Mom?”
    “She’s pretty rung out.”
    Guilt pricked at Melissa’s conscience. “I said some things to her last night I didn’t mean. I’m so sorry. You’ll tell her I’m sorry, won’t you?”
    “You can tell her. She’s planning on coming by during her lunch hour.”
    “I really am sorry, Michael.”
    He nodded, his blue eyes holding hers. “We’re all sorry, Melissa. Everything about this business stinks. But we’re family, and we’ll make it through.”
    Once Michael left, Jory sighed. “Why do I always act like such a fool in front of him?”
    Melissa picked up a lock of hair from the bed and it fell through her fingers.
Lucky Jory
. Nothing more heavy to think about than acting silly in front of a guy she wants to impress. She asked, “Could you help meclean this up before you go? I don’t want them to bring me back to a hairy bed.”
    Neither of them spoke as they scooped up the wads of hair and threw them into the wastepaper basket. Together they brushed off the mattress until no wayward strands could be found on the clean white sheets. When they hugged each other goodbye, Melissa sensed a tension between them. Jory could walk out the door. Melissa could not. Jory had school and friends and everyday life to return to. Melissa had chemotherapy to face. She ran her fingers through her cropped hair and settled against her pillows to wait for the technicians.
    The chemo room wasn’t anything like Melissa expected. It was painted buttercup yellow, with bold graphic prints on the walls and gray carpeting. There were beige contour chairs that looked to be quite expensive. The only thing that belied the serene comfort of the room was the metal IV stand beside each chair.
    “Hi, Melissa,” a nurse said cheerfully. “I’m DeeDee Thomas, and I’ll be administering