She’s the Obstacle, He’s the Hero, I’m Just the Plot They’re Skipping Chapter 07

She’s the Obstacle, He’s the Hero, I’m Just the Plot They’re Skipping Chapter 07

The clinical trial team had first contacted me about a year into my diagnosis.

The doctors said it was a targeted drug designed for my genotype, and the early data looked promising. But in the later stages, there was a chance it wouldn’t just stop working. It could actually accelerate the progression.

I was afraid.

If I was going to die anyway, I wanted my last days to still feel like my own, not like some lab experiment.

But I’d kept the contact information.

Ethan didn’t know about any of it.

I’d been sick for just under two years now, and I still qualified. Ethan agreeing to the nursing home stung, but it freed something in me too.

If he didn’t care that much, then at least my life was mine again. And if this was the end, I might as well make it count for someone.

The doctor’s reply came fast. The nursing home admission went through the next day.

Ethan drove me to Oakhaven, signed the paperwork himself, and was out the door before I’d finished settling in.

Once he was gone, the trial coordinator came to see me. He introduced himself as Arthur Morgan.

He looked young, barely out of grad school, if that. But according to the doctors, he was already one of the lead researchers on the project.

He spent the morning coordinating with the facility staff and came back grinning.

“They’ve got everything here, blood work, spinal taps, imaging. You won’t need to go anywhere else.”

The place really was something.

The yard was full of trees chosen to bloom in waves through the seasons, each one pruned to perfection. The windowsills sat low enough that even from my chair, the whole garden opened up in front of me.

Ethan video-called every day.

I was done pretending to be grateful so he could keep feeling like a decent person. But he was paying for all of this, so the least I could do was sit through a few minutes of conversation.

Every call, he asked if I was feeling a little better.

Every call, I told him yes.

I was lying.

Even with round-the-clock care, my body kept failing me. But Arthur said my numbers were holding steady and told me not to worry.

So I pretended it wasn’t happening.

One day, Ethan seemed hesitant on the call.

“That’s good.”

“So… I heard the facility has a lot of, uh, entertainment options.”

“Have you… looked into any of them?”

I blinked. I’d had a spinal tap a few days ago and hadn’t left my room since.

Before I could answer, the door swung open. A breeze caught the gauze curtains.

Arthur came in carrying an enormous vase of flowers.

“Olivia! Fresh lilacs, they’re handing them out to every room today.”

“I talked them into giving you three times as many stems, so when these open up, your room’s going to smell better than anywhere else in the building.”

He set the vase down, grinning wide enough to flash his dimples and those pointy little fangs.

“Oh, are you on a call? Hope I’m not interrupting.”

A few lilac petals were stuck in his hair. I couldn’t help it, I laughed and pointed.

He ducked his head, confused.

“What?”

Before I could answer, Ethan’s voice came through the speaker, tight with something close to panic.

“Olivia — who is that?”