“What is it, Katie?” Ashley’s sitting cross-legged on my bed, facing me, but my tongue is stuck to the inside of my mouth. I can’t speak, I can’t.

What if she doesn’t want to be friends anymore? But that’s silly. I stare at the floorboards, dark brown wood speckled with dust, but all I can see is the tiled floor of the doctor’s office. I study my bookshelf, but all that I can see is a rack full of medical pamphlets.

“Ashley, I…” She leans forward, her eyes lock with mine.

“It’s okay, Katie. Whatever it is, you can tell me.”

Ashley is the girl I’ve known since kindergarten. I remember how she walked up to me that first day, asked why I crying, showed me how to use the safety scissors. How she helped me through crushes, algebra…

And Ashely is the girl who’s going to get to get married, go to college. And I’m jealous.

“Ash, I have…cancer. And I’m probably…” Even I hear the catch in my voice. “Not gonna live too long.”

Tears flow down her cheeks as she hugs me. “I love you,” she whispers. “Always.”