Always: Broken Series Book Four by Annie Jocoby

talking about. Dad looked shocked when he was in the doctor’s office, but, at the ice cream shop, he was kinda back to dad. I wanted to know what he was really thinking. It was easy to know what mom was thinking – by the looks of things, it seemed that she was thinking that I was going to die. But dad…it was hard to know.
    “We’re just going to do everything we can, and not think that this is going to end up like Michelle,” dad was saying. “Please stop crying. We have to get through this, and we can’t be freaking Addison out. She wants us to be normal, and you crying all the time isn’t going to accomplish that.”
    “I can’t help it,” mom was saying between sobs. “What if we lose her? She’s my baby. I can’t watch her suffer.”
    “Who said anything about watching her suffer? She’s a fighter. She’s going to get through this.”
    “How can you say that? You don’t know that for sure. Look at Michelle. She suffered, didn’t she? And then she died.”
    “Scotty, we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We haven’t even had a biopsy yet. All we know is that Addy has a malignant tumor on her knee. That’s all we know. Maybe it’s localized. Maybe the doctor can cut it out completely, and then it’s only a matter of reconstruction around where the tumor was removed.”
    Then dad’s voice got very soft. “I know, I know. You want me to acknowledge how you’re feeling. You’re scared. I am too. But we can’t let on about that. The one thing that I learned when Michelle got sick was that attitude plays a big part in whether a person can get well or not. Addy’s attitude isn’t going to be positive if all she sees are her parents scared and crying all the time. So, please, Scotty. I know it’s hard, but try to smile. Try to be just the way you were before Addy found out about what was going on with her. And call Jack. Get him over here. That will help you more than anything else.”
    I rubbed my hands together. It sounded like Uncle Jack would be coming over soon, and I looked forward to that. He was just the coolest guy around, and so was Zane, his hubby.
    Mom nodded her head and handed the phone to dad. “Could you call him? I just think that I’m going to fall apart.”
    At that, dad got on the phone and called Jack. I heard him say “see you in a few,” which meant that Jack would soon be at our door. He only lived four houses down, so I anticipated seeing him in just a few minutes.
    I quietly creeped back up the stairs and went into my room.
    And, for the first time, it really hit me. I was sick. I was very sick.
    And I might die.

Eight
Scotty
    J ack showed up a few minutes after Nick called him, and I went over to him and wrapped my arms around his neck. I had been crying ever since I found out about Addy, but when Jack showed up, I really lost it. I don’t think that I had ever cried that much at one time. Not when Mr. Lucas was doing terrible things to me, and not when my mom was a raging alcoholic. I had never actually experienced the kind of loss that rips out your soul and makes you question everything about your very existence. Nick had experienced that kind of loss, twice, and it almost killed him. Was I going to be the same? Was I going to be a shell of myself if I lost Addison?
    One thing was for sure, Jack was going to do his level best to make sure that I kept it together. Nick was also going to help me try to keep it together, so, between the two men, both of whom were as important to me as breathing, hopefully I would be able to get through this ordeal without completely losing my mind.
    “Scotch,” Jack said softly. “What’s going on?”
    I just shook my head, unable to speak.
    Nick stepped up. “Addison has bone cancer,” he said. “The doctor found a malignant tumor on her knee.”
    “Oh my God.” Jack held me a little tighter. “I was going to bring over a bottle of tequila, but I think that this is bigger than that.”
    “Yeah. Just a little,” Nick