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"Follicular B-cell lymphoma is treatable, but it’s not considered curable It will come back…the question is when It ressive type of cancer"

"Is it treated the same?" Sutton asks hesitantly

"Maybe," Olivia says "Depends on what coain…depends on what comes back," Olivia says "He did say that if it comes back fairly quickly into thea stem-cell transplant He said there is a chance it could be eradicated that way He said that if it coressive form, that’s obviously bad, because the life expectancy isn’t as long, but in soood, because soers into the bridge ofI absolutely hate what I’rim news but the fear in Olivia’s voice And I don’t have a fucking clue what to do

"He said this is a life-li," Olivia says in almost the barest of whispers "He said the uess thatto die when I’m forty-five or so"

I shoot up out ofinto the wall Before Olivia can even gasp, I’, then I pull back slightly so she can look up at me "That is not what that means," I say fiercely "Median life expectancy only means that in twenty years, fifty percent of the patients will have died, and fifty percent will still be alive"

"How do you know that?" Olivia asks, both suspicious and hopeful at the same time

"I told you…I did some research But the point is…those are just nu You could live to be a hundred, for all we know Hell, it may not come back until you’re sixty We just don’t know, but it does not ht sheen of tears well up in Olivia’s eyes, but she hastily blinks theives me a hesitant nod and a tiny smile "Are you sure about that?"

"Yes, I’m sure Didn’t you ask your doctor about what that meant?"

Olivia shakes her head "Actually, I was so stunned by the twenty years, I didn’t think to ask hier and longer with this disease as newer and better treatently as I hold her withmore than odds They don’t take into account your spirit and your will to battle They don’t have a daht, and those numbers are too far into the future for you to even pay theht here on your doorstep You’ve got sixwhat you have now That’s all you need to worry your beautiful head about, and theto remember is you have us, and Stevie, and yourto prevail Those nu you can bet on"

Olivia’s head drops to my chest and her arms come around my waist She squeezesyou could have ever said todown pat"

All of us laugh, happy that Olivia has brought humor into the mix and relieved to have the tension broken I meant every word that I said to Olivia…that it was too pre about this stuff I hope she lets it go, because she needs to concentrate on her i about it enough for the both of us

--

I unfortunately had to bid Olivia good night as we left Alex and Sutton’s house We stood out in the driveway by her car and made out for a bit, which made my nuts ache for about an hour after we parted ways

I had a tea, so it was too difficult to stay at her place all the way over in Chapel Hill, and Olivia wanted to get in to work early since she had been out for a few days It’s the first night we’ve not slept in the same bed in four days, and I’ht…it’s felt so natural to have her fall asleep in my arms On the flipside, I’ really spend that ether Maybe I need to slow it down, as I don’t want to overwhelain, Olivia and I don’t have a norh and talk about lighthearted stuff We get to talk about cancer In sohtened our bond, but in other ways, itcrucial that sheis for sure, starting toet her back to her normal lifestyle She has two and a half weeks until her next treatular season starts, although I’ll be traveling for a few preseason games next week I want to immerse Olivia in as much fun as I can s she learned today

Chapter 16

Olivia

"Oh, my God…I can’t believe how freakin’ excited I ae Sutton on the shoulder