“Papa? And? What are the results?” I asked, now sure I was going to get a headache later on.

“Aidan, you know me…I never hide anything from you,” my father continued, only making my nervousness even worse.

“Please, just tell me,” I begged, earning a weird look from both Raine and my cat.

“I got the results back today,” dad said, “because I do an annual blood test. And the doctors found that I had an increase in white blood cells.”

My ribcage was starting to hurt, and I barely suppressed several ideas that popped into my head.

“I also have been feeling tired lately…it’s not appendicitis…I’ve also had several nosebleeds, too.”

“Dad…?”

“The doctors said it might be leukemia,” Papa said, and I could hear the tears in his voice.

I drew a sharp breath, and sat down immediately, thinking that the world would slip out from underneath my feet.

I didn’t know how to react. What was I to do? What was I to say? I took a deep breath, and opened my mouth.

“I’ll be there.”