Hope, Levy, Marc [good summer reads TXT] 📗

front next to Luke.

“So?” she asked, leaning forward. “Did it work this time?”

“Sure.”

“What are you talking about?” Josh glanced back and forth between them.

“Nothing,” Luke said.

“What do you mean, nothing? Your buddy used me as a guinea pig. He made me do an EEG, and my brain was so powerful, it broke the machines. I was pretty proud, actually,” Hope said, and then added, “He was super mad.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Josh asked.

“I did. But you weren’t listening,” replied Luke. “It was no big deal. There was a loose connection in the headset. I repaired it before you arrived.”

Josh shot Luke a probing glance, but his friend’s eyes were riveted to the road.

They pulled up to the loft and parted ways. Luke set back off immediately, and Josh watched as the Camaro disappeared down the deserted street.

“Is something wrong?” Hope asked him.

“No. Let’s go up. It’s getting late.”

Back in his apartment, Luke turned on his computer, slipped in the USB key, and loaded Hope’s scans. He got up to grab a book from the shelf and compared the brain scans in the book to the images on his screen. He spent the night working on them, and at three o’clock in the morning, he sent Josh a text message.

9

The riverbanks were deserted, the glacial breeze keeping the runners indoors. Apart from a few brave dogs and their owners, Josh and Luke were alone.

Luke was waiting on a bench under a willow tree, wrapped up in his parka. Slowly, Josh made his way toward his friend and sat down next to him.

“What’s the emergency? I hope you didn’t go back to the lab.”

Josh put an envelope in Josh’s lap.

“Don’t open it straightaway,” he warned. “I lied to you about Hope’s EEG.”

“Why?”

“Because when I tested you straight afterward, there was no problem.”

“You said you tightened the electrodes . . .”

“Josh, they were welded, not screwed in. You know that.”

“So they were welded. So what?”

“I had my suspicions as to why Hope’s recordings went all weird.”

“What kind of suspicions?” Josh turned to him.

“I didn’t want to talk to you about it until I had checked. That’s why I wanted you to bring Hope with you last night.”

“Check what? Jesus, Luke. What are you trying to tell me? Just spit it out.”

“I don’t know how to tell you this. I haven’t slept all night. I’m no good at saying this kind of thing,” Luke sighed. “The scanner images aren’t good.”

“Not good how?”

“Not good at all. I’m no doctor, but I’ve seen enough brain images to recognize a tumor when I see one.”

“What?”

“Josh, you need to get Hope to undergo more tests. And you need to do it fast. Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe I was a little heavy-handed with the contrast, and we’re seeing an anomaly that doesn’t actually exist. I hope with all my heart that I’m wrong, but I’m worried.”

Josh’s head fell to his hands, his breathing ragged.

“How likely is it that you made a mistake?”

“This isn’t the time for pondering statistics. Get Hope to do an MRI scan with a specialist. There’s no need to worry her more than that.”

“How big does it look? The tumor?”

“Over half an inch.”

“But it could be benign . . .”

“That’s what we need to hope for.”

“If you think it’s malignant, I want you to tell me.”

“Like I said, Josh, we need more tests before we can know anything. I’m so sorry. I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”

Josh stood and began pacing.

“Wait, there’s no need to panic.” He shook his head. “You could have screwed up with the scanner. And anyway, it doesn’t mean it’s cancerous. And even if it is, they can just remove it, and everything will be okay again.”

“You need to talk to Hope as soon as you can,” Luke pressed. “If you don’t feel brave enough, I can do it.”

“No. It needs to be me. I feel like I’m in a nightmare.”

“You said it yourself. Let’s not panic until we know more. You know you can count on me. Anytime.”

“How do I tell her without freaking her out?” Josh asked. “What if we show Flinch the images first?”

“I don’t think Hope would agree to that, and you can’t talk to Flinch without her permission. She’s the only person who should decide. If she wants to, we’ll ask him. He must know some specialists.”

Luke stood up and hugged Josh as hard as he could.

“I’m here for you. Don’t forget it.”

Josh watched as Luke walked away, his hands clasped behind his back, and it struck Josh that his friend had aged overnight.

Josh didn’t know where to go or what to do with himself, and so he walked the streets, directionless. He was gripped with despair, and as he wandered through the city, he wondered how he would manage to pretend, how he could avoid telling her the truth without lying. He wanted so badly to believe that Luke was wrong, that nothing he had said could be true, or even possible. Something like this couldn’t happen to Hope.

The world was full of men and women who had accomplished nothing, who had done nothing but destroy. But Hope? Hope was destined to discover a cure for Alzheimer’s. It was impossible that she herself would fall prey to the incurable. She had a mission in life, a calling, and it would be a cruel twist of fate for a tumor to prevent her from saving millions of lives. If death wanted a soul, let it claim some other life, some darker and more twisted existence. Not beautiful Hope, so full of light and life.

When he reached the next intersection, Josh wondered why he had even thought of souls. Before his conversation with Luke, he hadn’t believed in a god or in souls. That had ended on his twelfth birthday. But now? Now he didn’t know what to think. If he lowered his guard and agreed to believe in a god, would God show mercy? Would he agree to save