"She had gallbladder surgery, too?" Britt asks while coming to sit beside me, placing her body on the arm of the chair.
"It's the surgery she had when I went to stay with her," I explain, still trying to wrap my mind around things, going over every detail of that morning.
She was smiling when I left.
"No. She had a hysterectomy," Britt argues.
My head leaves my hands as I study her. She seems certain she's right.
"No. It was gallbladder surgery. Why do you think it was a hysterectomy? Did she say something like that?"
Britt stands while shrugging. "You don't let me ask personal questions like that. I saw the scars on the lower abdomen—the two small cuts. I looked up what they could be. They fit a hysterectomy. Gallbladder cuts are higher, and there are usually more of them. And considering her mother and grandmother had endometrial cancer—or uterus cancer—it makes sense that Rain would most likely have it, too. Especially after her close call with breast cancer. And you had sex exactly six weeks after the surgery. That's the typical wait time."
Maverick and Corbin chuckle lightly at that last bit, but I'm too distracted.
I lean back, taking a deeper breath than I've had in a month as I try to digest all of this. "Why would she lie?"
Kode looks up, shaking his head. "Because it's Rain. If she had any sort of cancer, she probably wouldn't tell a soul after last time. It made her feel insecure, lost, and embarrassed. She fails to see how much we all care about her."
"Wait, Rain had cancer?" Maverick asks, finally grasping the important part of the story.
"And she didn't fucking tell us?" Corbin barks, also catching on.
"I'm kicking her ass," Dale gripes.
"I wish she had balls to kick," Corbin grumbles. "If anyone deserves a shot to the balls, it's her right now."
"That's why she left. She still has cancer," Maverick panics, and I almost throw up.
"No," Britt says quickly. "Considering Rain has an appointment book full of doctor's visits, I think she keeps a close eye on things. They would have caught it early, and the hysterectomy would have most likely taken care of it. Not to mention, she just went to the doctor a week before she left and came home in a great mood. I'm assuming all was clear on the scan. That wouldn't have changed in a week, and besides, she didn't go to the doctor after that."
My panic subsides somewhat, but everyone is still tense. "Then why?" I groan.
Kode curses as he jumps up from his chair and dashes to his dining room. He comes running back in holding his iPad. "When did that article come out on you? The one where the chick was supposed to interview all of us and Rain, but she only interviewed you instead."
"I don't know... why?"
"It came out the day Rain left," Britt says, her eidetic memory kicking in. "Do you need me to recite the article?"
Kode curses again as he hands me the iPad. "No, but thanks. I found it." He turns to me as I stare at the screen, confused. Why do I need to read my own interview?
"Read it. The part after she talks about Tag."
Lisa: What about you? Any children on the horizon?
Me: I'd love nothing more than to have a houseful of children. That's actually something I've given a lot of thought to for the past few years.
My stomach rolls with a wave of nausea, and I close my eyes as I try to get a grip.
"What? What the fuck?" Maverick prompts, taking the iPad from my lifeless hands.
"Oh shit," he says seconds later.
"Which part is disturbing?" Britt asks obliviously.
"Dane wants a houseful of children," Kode groans. "She left you because she couldn't give you kids. Rain's always wanted kids, too. Shit! She should have fucking told someone!"
He slaps the wall, and I fold over, dropping my head to almost meet my knees. She left because I made her think she wouldn't be enough. Fuck!