Life Blood: Cora's Choice Book 1

"I'm glad you've got my back," I said, completely deadpan. "Otherwise, I could be in some serious trouble."

This time, the pillow was thrown at me.

After another round of hugs and threats, Emily, Hannah, Sarah, and Sabrina headed back to their rooms, and Christina and Chelsea grabbed their purses and headed out to for the frat party that they'd heard about-all the hardcore partiers started Thursday night, since that homework wasn't due until the next Tuesday.

Then Lisette and I were alone in the apartment. She looked suddenly tired, and with a jolt of guilt, I knew it was my fault. She'd borne too much of the weight of my illness. She made sure that I ate when I was too wrung out to care, coaxed me to my classes on my bad days, and even threw half a load of my laundry in with hers when my pile got too high.

If anyone deserved to know everything, it was Lisette. But I didn't know how much I could tell her. So much had happened that I didn't understand myself, and most of what I could tell her would only worry her more because none of it fit into Lisette's black-and-white world.

"What did the doctor say?" Lisette asked.

"I actually spoke to the CEO," I said. "He said I was a good candidate. He went through the procedure and outlined the risks."

"And?" Lisette prompted.

"And you were right. The risks are really high. But I'm going to tell him yes." I shrugged. "Even a slim chance is better than none at all. And I'm not ready to call hospice."

Her expression was fierce. "You shouldn't be. Well, good for you. When will the drug trial start?"

"It's more of a single-dose thing," I said. "In two weeks, I can call and make an appointment. If it works, the results should be pretty immediate."

"And if it doesn't?" Lisette asked.

I shrugged. "I'm dying, anyway. There's not much worse than that."

Lisette made a face. She hated when I talked about death. "That won't happen," she said confidently.

And however foolishly, I felt sure that she was right.

"So," I said, changing the subject, "you worried about me being gone for four hours, but you let C-and-C walk out of here dressed like that, knowing just what kind of trouble they're headed into, without a word of protest?"

"Eh," Lisette said with a dismissive shake of her head. "They went nuts the day they turned twenty-one. Worrying about them is kind of pointless now. Besides, they've got each other. More or less." She raised her eyebrows. "And if I lost you, I'd have to find another study partner."