Double Dare (Neighbor from Hell #6)(20)

“You’re late,” he said, unwrapping a deluxe roast beef sandwich with the works and took a huge bite.

“Sorry,” she mumbled, taking the root beer from him and took a sip before she placed it back on the coffee table.

“You’re pale,” Aidan noted around a fry.

“I know,” she said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

“Your blood results came in this morning,” he said, taking another sip of her soda.

Needing something to do, she picked up a ketchup packet and slowly opened it. “And?”

“And,” he said, shaking his head as put her soda back down, “it’s not good.”

She nodded slowly, hating herself for hoping for good news, something that would end this nightmare and give her the one thing in the world that she craved. “How bad?”

“We need to change your medicine for one thing,” he said, placing his half-eaten sandwich down on the coffee table and wiped his hands off on a napkin, letting her know just how bad this was.

“What else?” she asked, swallowing nervously as she stared down at the ketchup packet in her hands.

“You’ve developed pernicious anemia, Marybeth.”

“What else?” she asked, reaching up and quickly wiping away the useless tears that wouldn’t change anything.

“Your B-12 levels are too low. You’re going to have to switch to a daily injection. Your iron levels are dangerously low and so is your vitamin D and calcium levels, which would explain why you’re tired all the time,” he explained as he reached down and took her trembling hand in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

“What else?” she asked, her voice breaking, because she knew without a doubt that there was more.

There was a slight pause before he said, “Your estrogen levels are up, which means that we need to schedule another ultrasound and see if the tissue has spread.”

She nodded numbly even as she said, “I thought that it wouldn’t be able to grow as long as I was on birth control.”

“The medicine slowed it down for a while, but now-”

“Now the medicine’s not working,” she finished for him as her world came crashing down around her.

“I’m sorry, Marybeth. I wish that I had better news,” Aidan said, releasing her hand so that he could put his arm around her and hold her just as the first sob broke free. “I’m so sorry,” he said roughly as he pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. “So goddamn sorry.”

Grabbing onto his shirt, she buried her face against his shoulder and held on as she felt her heart finally break as her last hope that this was all a bad dream faded away.

Chapter 8

He closed the front door behind him and made his way to his door, wondering if he should call ahead and make reservations for dinner at Marybeth’s favorite restaurant or if he should-

“Stop being a baby and just do it!” Marybeth suddenly yelled, drawing his attention to her closed apartment door.

“Stop rushing me, woman! I’ll put it in you when I’m damn good and ready!” he heard what sounded like his brother Aidan growl, which of course had him setting his duffle bag on the floor and walking the short distance to Marybeth’s door.

“Just do it!”

“I will as soon as you stop moving!”

“Stop making excuses and do it! Put it in me!” Marybeth demanded right about the time that he sighed heavily as he slowly opened the door to find the woman that he loved bent over the end of the couch with her bare ass in the air and his brother shifting nervously behind her.            

“This is going to sting a little bit,” Aidan warned her as he placed his hand on her hip to hold her still.

“Then just do it!”

“Stop rushing me!”

“I wouldn’t have to rush you if you’d just do it and get it over with,” Marybeth pointed out with a huff as she shifted to get more comfortable while Aidan glared down at her bare ass.

“I’d be done by now if you’d stop moving! If you don’t like the way that I do this then next time schedule an appointment with Dad instead of asking me to pick up the medicine and doing it here!”

“If you don’t do it in the next minute, I’m going to-Oh, my f*cking God!” she ended on a screech as Aidan shoved the largest needle that Darrin had ever seen into Marybeth’s beautiful ass.

“You son of a bitch!” Marybeth yelled around a choked gasp as Aidan pulled the needle out.

“I told you that it was going to hurt!”

“No, you told me that it was going to sting!”

“That’s the same damn thing!” Aidan pointed out as Marybeth reached back and struggled to pull her pants back up while she muttered some rather violent threats against Aidan’s ass.

Feeling a headache coming on, Darrin decided that he’d seen enough. Rubbing his hands roughly down his face, he turned around and left, deciding that a guy’s night out was definitely in order.

*-*-*-*

“What was that?” she asked, going completely still when she heard the telltale sound of a door closing.

“I think he saw,” Aidan said, sighing heavily as she yanked up her pants, trying not to panic.

“Shit!” she groaned, fumbling with her pants button for a minute until she gave up and headed for her front door.