Stay With Me (Come Back to Me #2)

Chapter 39

I love my friends – I really do. But I don't know if they can completely understand Justin's circumstances and accept them without making a case as to why I shouldn't date someone like him.

Sighing, I decide it's probably best to tell them. If Justin is over, along with any of my friends, and he were to have a seizure, they wouldn't know what to do. And I don't want him being rushed to the hospital unless absolutely necessary. "Justin's in Vancouver," I begin.

"Yeah, you told us that yesterday when we asked where he was," Jacey replies.

"He's visiting family members, right?" Nadira asks.

I begin to pick at my nail polish. I'm not worried about them judging me or anything like that – Justin is my boyfriend and it's a decision I will never regret making. I'm worried about them judging him. "No," I say slowly. "He's, um, having an MRI done."

The room goes dead quiet. Even Sophia has looked up from her back-and-forth texting with Zander. "What?" my cousin asks.

I sigh and set down the plastic red cup. "Promise me none of you are going to freak when I tell you this?" I eye them carefully.

They all nod.

"Okay, well, um, Justin was diagnosed with a brain tumour a few years back that had been causing partial and tonic-clonic seizures; he has epilepsy. And though the doctors say they got it all out, we have this hypothesis that they might not have. The seizures keep getting worse and stuff – that's why we missed the Winter Formal. So he's at BC Children's Hospital getting an MRI to see if the tumour is growing back or not and his appointment was yesterday and I'm freaking out because he hasn't called me yet. I really need to know what's happening with him."

The girls stare at me for a long moment after I've finished revealing the truth with nothing but their poker faces. I can't tell what they're thinking or feeling at this moment. I can only hope they don't judge Justin.

Sophia is the first one to speak. "Well...that explains a lot," she says slowly, setting her phone down. "Do these...what did you call them? Partial seizures?"

I nod.

"Do they involve him staring blankly, kind of like he's zoning out? And sometimes making weird noises?"

I nod again.

She leans back in her chair. "Huh. That explains a lot. Doesn't make him as weird as I thought."

I let loose a breath I didn't know I was holding in. No matter what my friends thought, I would still stick beside Justin. It would just make things tense if they suddenly didn't like him. I'd have to split time between them and that's something I'm not very keen on doing.

"So you guys don't mind?"

Jacey shrugs. "Justin's a nice guy and he's actually pretty funny. I like him."

"I agree," Nadira says. "I mean, sometimes he's standoffish, but now that we know about his condition, everything makes sense. That aside, he's sweet and he took a lot of interest in what was like in India and our culture; he's thoughtful. And he makes you happy."

"So you guys don't think he's something I should avoid?" I blurt before I can stop myself.

If it offends any of them, they don't show it. Sophia reaches out and squeezes my hand. "If you think you're the only one who wants to be like your parents, you're mistaken. My mom and dad never left Uncle Brett and Aunty Mira's sides when they went through what they did. Mom and Dad were the support they needed; they didn't let the amnesia or the serious infection stop them from sticking with the people they love." Sophia pauses. "Okay, I don't love Justin like you do, but I do like him a lot. I regret what I said about him being weird. If I had known...I wouldn't have said it."