The first thing I saw when I stepped into Bryce's hospital room was the Post-it note war on the wall.

Half of them were Kayla's, annotated legal-style, color-coded. The other half were definitely Clayton's. One read "Dawson Makes the Rules," and another simply said "FIGHT CLUB RULE #1: Chocolate Pudding Only."

Bryce was sitting upright in bed, hoodie on, IV still taped to the back of his hand. Clayton was half-sprawled in the chair by the window, one foot up on the ledge, the other bouncing anxiously. Kayla stood near the whiteboard, cross-checking something between a stack of papers and her iPad.

"Look who's back," Clayton said when I walked in. "Dr. Allen, fresh off the floor."

I held up my bag. "Let me change out of these scrubs so I don't have to answer any medical questions for the rest of the night."

Bryce offered up a wary smile, holding up a stack of paper. "Sorry, Doc. You're not off the hook yet."

"Let me rephrase," I said, bending down to give him a kiss. "So that my only focus is you for the rest of the night."

He leaned up, his lips lightly brushing mine. "Sorry. I didn't brush my teeth this morning."

"I'll forgive you just this once."

I changed into Bryce's favorite hoodie and a pair of sweatpants before plopping down in the plastic chair next to his bed. "How're we holding up?"

"Tired," he said. "Overwhelmed. Clayton's been trying to distract me by reading off fake treatments he found on Reddit."

"Bee venom therapy," Clayton offered. "It's the next big thing. Totally FDA frowned-upon."

"You'll be first in line," Kayla muttered.

I glanced around. "Where's your mom?"

"Business call," Bryce said. "Stepped out like ten minutes ago."

Kayla didn't even look up. "She's been cycling through work emails, Teams messages, and anxiety tears for three hours. The break's good."

"Also," Clayton added, "she ordered seven different types of probiotic yogurt for delivery. So things are escalating."

I let out a soft laugh before turning back to Bryce. "What paperwork do you have for me?"

He nodded toward the folder on his lap. "The plan. It's official."

It was stapled, thick, and already dog-eared. Kayla had highlighted everything. Blue for medications. Yellow for side effects. Pink for scheduling.

Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia – Treatment Protocol

Phase I: Induction.

Start date: Friday.

"They want to hit it fast," Bryce said. "Start right away. Try to get me into remission as quickly as possible."

"Dr. Chandra said this phase is usually the hardest," Kayla added, her voice even. "Steroids, chemo, lumbar punctures. Everything starts at once."

Clayton leaned forward now, elbows on his knees. "They said you'd be in-patient for how long?"

"Two to three weeks, probably. If my counts stabilize."

I kept my eyes on the packet, but the words were blurring already.

Vincristine. Methotrexate. Cytarabine.

All the drugs I'd studied in my textbooks. None of them had ever looked this real.

"They said I'll probably lose my hair," Bryce said, his voice soft.

I glanced up, my eyes traveling over his brunette, slightly curly hair. "Good news about hair? It grows back."

"Easy for you to say," Clayton huffed. "He's about to be Lex Luthor."

Bryce grabbed a rolled-up sock from the bed and launched it at his face. "Shut up."

They volleyed insults for another thirty seconds before Kayla cut in.

"Knock it off," she said, as she plopped down in her seat. "You two spend too much time together, you know that?"

"No," they said, in unison.

Bryce reached for my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. "You staying tonight?"

"If they let me."

"I told the nurse I'd stop complaining about the quality of the food around here if she looked the other way," he said. "She said no visitors after nine, but I think if you smile real sweet..."

"Consider it done."

I noticed the Play Station controller sitting next to the bed. "You guys already started playing GTA?"

"Road to Glory, actually," Clayton huffed. "We've got a season to get through."

"I'm trying to win a Heisman," Bryce added. "That doesn't stop for cancer."

"All day," Kayla said, her eyes connecting with mine. "I've put up with this all day. It feels like I'm thirteen again, living back at home with the two of them there to annoy me."

Clayton smirked. "You missed me?"

"Not even a little bit."

Bryce reached over, threading his hand through mine. "Can you go through the packet with me?" he asked. "Do you know what these meds mean?"

"I do," I said, even though I didn't want to. Because it made things that much more real.

"I'll make tea," Clayton announced, standing. "Because if one more person says the word prednisone, I'm going to lose it."

"Add honey this time," Bryce called after him.

Clayton raised a hand without turning around. "Just because you're in that hospital bed, it doesn't mean I won't punch you in the face."

"I'm gonna take the bluff on that one!" Bryce called after him.

As he disappeared down the hall, Kayla finally locked her iPad. "I'll call the insurance tomorrow. Make sure there are no surprises. And I'll go over your pre-treatment checklist tonight."

She placed a hand gently on her brother's knee. "You just focus on breathing."

"Noted," Bryce said, offering up a smile. "Go get something to eat. Take a break. You've been here all day."

"You know how I am."

"I do," Bryce agreed. "Which is why I'm telling you I'm okay. Sophie's here, I'm going to make her watch some Hairspray with me. Tap out for a little bit."

I nodded in agreement. "You need a brain break."

She laughed at that. "I do need a brain break." She glanced over toward Bryce. "Text me if you need anything. At all."

"I will. I promise. I love you."

She reached over, squeezing his shoulder. And then she left.

Bryce exhaled, sinking deeper into his pillows. "A full day of Kayla and Kathy. You have no idea what I've been through."

"It sounds like you survived a war zone."

"I did. Kayla's cross-examining the nurses and Mom's trying to replace the cafeteria food with her probiotic yogurt army."

He turned toward me, eyes tired but clear. "Don't let them kill me before I even have a chance to start the chemo."

I rested my head lightly on his shoulder. "You're safe with me."

~*~

Bryce was asleep, finally. His breathing soft and steady beneath the pale blue blanket, one arm curled around Dawson's well-worn toy that Clayton had brought by.

He said he'd forgotten it was in his pocket. But by the smile on Bryce's face, it was clear that it was fully intentional.

My phone illuminated in front of me as I stared at the screen again. I'd been up for half the night reading blogs, reddit threads, anything I could get my hands on from people who had been through ALL treatment. Who had come out on the other side.

My textbooks didn't prepare me for this part. For what it was going to feel like when the person you loved most in the world was falling apart right in front of you.

Kayla appeared in the doorway holding two paper cups.

"Decaf coffee," she said, handing me one. "They were out of tea and I figured this was better than nothing."

We both stared ahead for a moment, just listening to the beeping of monitors and the soft hum of the air vent above us.

"He looks like a little kid when he sleeps," Kayla murmured, her voice barely above a breath.

"I know," I said. "He's always had a baby face."

Kayla took a slow sip, her eyes never leaving her brother. "He used to crawl into my bed when he had nightmares. Couldn't stand being alone. He wouldn't say anything, just climb in, steal half the blanket, and fall asleep again."

I smiled at the image. "That sounds like him."

She looked over at me. "You've been good for him. I hope you know that."

My throat tightened as I stared at him. "I love him so much it hurts."

Kayla set her coffee down and leaned back in the chair. "It's okay to be scared."

"I am," I whispered. For the first time aloud.

"Me too." She paused. "I'm terrified."

The admission landed heavy. Kayla, always composed, always sharp-edged and on-task. Hearing her say it out loud made something inside me give way.

"I feel like I should know more," I said. "Like all this training, all this studying, and still ... I'm just scared. I'm not useful."

Kayla turned toward me, her voice clear. "Useful? Sophie, you understand this stuff better than any of us. I've spent hours Googling every sentence in that treatment plan, trying to translate it like it's a legal contract. You explained it to Bryce in ten minutes. And you made him feel like he could handle it."

"You're really good at keeping things together."

She smiled at that. "When your mom is Kathy, you have to be."

I glanced down at Bryce again. "I keep thinking about how easily this could've gone unnoticed."

"You caught it early. He trusted you."

"I don't think he knows how much I'm barely holding it together."

Kayla's expression softened. "He doesn't need you to be unshakable. He just needs you to be here."

Tears built in my eyes as my hands shook, aching to be intertwined with Bryce's. "I don't know how to watch someone I love suffer."

"Yeah," Kayla said, her voice soft. "Me either."

We have some Clayton. We have some Bryce. We have some Kayla. And we're coming together to get ready for the next chapter. Which starts chemo. Are we feeling ready?

Teaser: it's time to start treatment, to kick cancer's ass

This book will update again on Monday.