Read Online Fearless by Chris O'Guinn - Free Book Online

place with my doctor’s pass.
    Afterwards, as I was walking back to the car with my mom, I got a little surprise. I spotted Liam on the campus. He was there with his parents. I almost called out a hello, but something about the scene made me hold off. It looked like they were having a really serious conversation. Mike had his arm around his son’s shoulders. Liam looked grim. Anna was dabbing at her eyes with a handkerchief.
    Clearly, it was a private moment and I would be intruding.
    “What is it, kiddo?” my mom asked.
    “Nothing,” I told her, feeling a knot twisting my stomach.
    I took a note of the building they were coming out of. As I said, I have no idea what “ology” is what, but that’s what the Internet is for. So as soon as I got home I rushed to my computer and plugged the phrase into the search engine.
    Oncology, a branch of science that deals with cancer and tumors.
    I stared at the screen and tried very hard to understand what I was seeing, but no matter how much I stared, I couldn’t make sense of the words in front of me—or at least, I really didn’t want to. As the pieces fell into place, all I could do was hope that somehow I was wrong.

Chapter 7
    T HE NEXT MORNING, L IAM WAS his usual smirky self. He flashed me, just like normal, but this time I couldn’t even muster a blush, let alone a smile. I barely slept the night before, thinking about what I’d learned and what it meant. I still didn’t have it all figured out.
    It seemed like there were a lot of things I should ask him, but it also seemed like none of them were any of my business. Maybe the only thing I could do was just pretend I didn’t know, since he didn’t seem to want me to. I kind of felt like that might be the good “friend” thing to do.
    But I had no idea how I was supposed to act like nothing was different.
    In a haze, I shuffled out of the locker room, my eyes on the ground. As I passed by the coach, he gave me a frown and a weird look. “You still taking this class?”
    “Huh?”
    “I thought you were joining the team.”
    “Oh….” I shook my head. “Uh, yeah, I have the paperwork in my backpack. Sorry, I forgot.”
    The coach shrugged. “Well, you can stay if you want to, but….”
    I shrugged, not really caring. I didn’t have anywhere to be. So I just went to the bleachers and took my usual spot and tuned out the coach as he gave the class their marching orders. Since it was Friday, he basically gave them permission to goof off—diving, swimming, whatever they wanted to do.
    Liam plopped down beside me, giving me a sidelong look. “So, that was you I saw at the hospital yesterday.”
    I cringed, worried I’d pissed him off—like maybe he thought I was snooping. “I had to get a physical.”
    Liam nodded, not looking angry. He didn’t look happy, either. “So, you figured out my dirty little secret.”
    I nodded. I didn’t know what to say.
    “I was eight when I first got sick—leukemia. When I was that age, I thought it was called ‘Lou Keema.’ I would complain about Lou Keema always making me feel bad.”
    I looked down at my toes.
    “Come on, say something. You’re freaking me out.”
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Why? You didn’t give me cancer.”
    I flinched at his naked honesty. Now that the truth was out, he wasn’t mincing words. It made me squirm.
    There was a lot I wanted to know, but I wasn’t sure how to ask or even if I should. I tried to find the least offensive question in my head that felt like it was full to bursting with them. I didn’t want to say the wrong thing. It wasn’t like he had done anything bad.
    “So, the weed….”
    “Helps, especially with the chemo. But if you can believe it, I can’t get it legally because I’m underage.”
    “Why didn’t you tell me?”
    Liam actually colored and looked away. “Because I wanted you to like me before you found out. I didn’t want this to be a pity friendship.”
    I stared at him in total shock. How could anyone