-Devin-

On the drive up to Avery's family home, I couldn't seem to calm my nerves. I was self conscious about the way my clothes draped off my thin frame and the beanie I had to wear to cover my bald head. I knew I looked fragile and sick and I hated that it was the impression I'd be making the first time I met Avery's family. They already knew I was an arrogant, careless person who had hurt their son, and now I didn't even have my looks to fall back on. They'd probably wonder what Avery saw in me.

We pulled into the driveway of a small, one story house. Some of the houses around it had peeling paint and needed work, but Avery's family home was well maintained. Avery held my hand as he led me to the front door and walked right in. Before I could look around, a blonde blur flashed past me and barreled into Avery, squealing and almost knocking him over.

"I've missed you so much!" The young woman, who I assumed was his sister, hugged Avery tightly enough to lift his feet off the floor.

"I've missed you too, but I can't breathe," Avery squeaked out.

"Sorry." She released him and stepped back. "I can't believe you haven't come to see me now that you're in Bellevue!"

"I've been busy."

His sister turned toward me, her eyes wide. "Oh, right. You're Devin, the guy who's taking up all my brother's time." She smiled and stepped forward to give me a gentle hug. "I'm his older sister Kylie. I'm happy I'm finally getting to meet you! I've heard so much about you from Avery."

"Uh, I don't know if that's a good or bad thing," I joked.

Before Kylie could answer, a tall guy with brown hair stepped into the room. "Avery!" When he got closer, he grabbed Avery and ruffled his hair.

"Stop," Avery protested, which only resulted in him getting put into a headlock by his brother. He struggled to get loose and I couldn't help but laugh. I'd never seen Avery roughhousing with anyone before.

The guy let him go before turning to me and sticking out his hand for me to shake. "Ben. Avery's older brother."

"Devin."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "So you're the one who made Avery's life hell at camp and destroyed his salmon project."

Unsure how to handle this, I glanced over at Avery.

Ben laughed and grinned at me. "Just playing with you, man. All's forgiven." He motioned for me to follow. "Our parents are in the backyard."

We didn't have far to walk to get through the house, but I glanced around and tried to take everything in. Past me would have thought poorly of the tiny home with barely any room in the kitchen, and the family room and dining room blended together in the same space. But now that I'd stepped outside of my privileged world, I saw Avery's family home differently. It was warm and lived in. Pictures of Avery and his family were displayed all over and I could tell there had been a lot of love in this house.

The backyard was equally as tiny. Avery's parents were standing on a concrete patio only big enough for a grill and a small set of outdoor furniture. His dad, tall with dark brown hair and a close cropped beard, turned away from the grill to greet me.

"Devin, welcome! It's great to have you here. I'm Jerry, and this is Annie." Jerry shook my hand, but Annie surprised me by pulling me in for a hug.

"Hi, Devin." She was a petite blonde, and it was immediately obvious where Avery had gotten his looks and compact body from. "Can I get you anything? Water? A snack? Dinner will be ready in about half an hour."

"Sure, I'll take some water."

"Come on. Let's get you back inside. It's a bit chilly out here."

As I followed her back into the house, I knew her concern about me being warm enough was because of my health, but I didn't feel annoyed by it.

She sat me down on the couch with a glass of water and sat at the other end. "We've been looking forward to meeting you," she said. "I'm so grateful to you for helping Avery get a job in engineering, and to your father for taking a chance on him. I hate that he hasn't been able to finish his degree. He's so smart and should be working somewhere that can use his talents."

"That's what I thought too. He's definitely doing a better job managing the culvert project than I could ever do. Not that that's a high bar to clear."

"Well, work isn't something you need to be thinking about anyway. How is your father holding up? We should have offered before, but is there anything we can do to help out?"

I blinked. Annie had just met me and their family had far less than mine, but they wanted to help. Once again, it made me ashamed of all the times I could have put my money and resources to good use to help someone else.

"Uh, we're good. Avery's been a lifesaver. Honestly, he's done so much, both at work and at home taking care of me. I think my dad is coping a lot better with my cancer because he knows Avery is looking out for me too."

Annie's warm smile softened her face. "I wouldn't expect anything less from Avery. He's always been a caretaker and looked out for everyone around him."

"I'm really lucky to have him," I admitted. Trying to lighten the topic of conversation, I chuckled. "Although, I'm pretty sure my dad wants to adopt him. He loves Avery more than me," I joked.

Annie laughed. "We'd love to meet your father. We'll have to have him over for dinner."

"I think he'll insist on having the entire family come to his house so he can make dinner for you all. He loves any excuse to grill."

Before she could answer, the rest of the family came inside, sounding like a tornado had arrived. "We're going to your dad's house?" Kylie called out, her expression perking up.

"Not now," Avery said. "Maybe later, if they invite you."

"You grew up on Mercer Island, right?" Kylie asked me.

"Yeah. My dad still lives there."

"Holy shit dude, you're fucking loaded!" Ben said. "Avery lucked out."

Kylie smacked Ben on the arm. "Rude! You know Avery doesn't care about money and he clearly loves Devin." She turned and smiled at me. "But we're not ever gonna complain about visiting you and your dad. If you'd invite me over a few times in the summer to hang out by the lake, that'd be really nice," she hinted, wiggling her eyebrows.

I laughed. "You're welcome any time. And it won't bother my dad. He's been living alone for a while and I think he'd enjoy having people around again."

"In that case, can I move in?" Ben asked.

"Oh what, we're not good enough?" Jerry joked, playfully shoving his son.

They all continued talking a mile a minute, and I stayed on the couch and quietly observed the dynamic between them. I'd thought Avery's siblings would be smart and serious like him, so it was almost a shock to see how different they were. Avery was definitely the responsible one in the family.

Dinner was a chaotic affair, with the clatter of dishes and laughter filling the room. It helped distract me from the mild nausea I still struggled with sometimes, and I was able to eat more than usual. I was also glad that Avery's family didn't ask me a thousand questions about myself, and the ones they did ask weren't intrusive.

Ben reached over and tapped my arm to get my attention over all the noise. "Hey, does your dad have a boat? I've always wanted to waterski."

"He does."

"Let's do it! You can teach me."

I snorted. "I'm not sure I'll be a good teacher. I've only done it a few times. Working out and hitting the clubs were more my thing."

Kylie overheard our conversation and turned in my direction. "Oh my god, we should party together! My girls and I are trying out that new club on First Ave next weekend. You should join us!"

"Kylie," Avery chided, gesturing at me. "Cancer, remember? A club is the last place Devin needs to be."

She clapped a hand over her mouth. "Right, sorry. Well maybe in a few months when you're better?"

"Maybe," I said. "I've kind of left the party scene behind, but it wouldn't hurt to have one night out."

"Aww, did Avery make you boring?" she teased, a slight smirk on her face. "I only managed to drag him out to a club once, and it only worked because it was my birthday."

"Avery's not boring," I replied. "He just has a different idea of fun than you and I. He got me into hiking and I was surprised how much I liked it."

Kylie stuck her tongue out. "Eww. Bugs and dirt. No thank you."

I laughed. "How in the world did you all get along growing up?"

Avery shook his head, seeming exasperated even though he was smiling. "With a lot of patience on my part."

-

We stayed until I started getting tired and Avery noticed my eyelids drooping. I hated that he had to cut his time with his family short because of me, and I was frustrated with myself for not being able to push through my fatigue. I felt like a burden to him in every way possible.

In the car, I reached for his hand. "Your family is really nice. I had a good time getting to know them."

Avery glanced over and smiled. "See? I told you they'd love you."

I knew I should say something back, but my throat was tight and I felt tears threatening to form in my eyes. I liked Avery's family a lot. I enjoyed feeling like I was part of something and how having siblings felt like having built-in friends. His mom made me miss my own mom, but in a good way.

I wanted to spend more time with Avery's family in the future, but I wasn't sure if I was going to have a future with Avery. I was still waiting for him to eventually get tired of dealing with my cancer and leave me. It was a certainty in my mind at this point.

I pretended to fall asleep on the drive back, but in reality I was silently mourning the loss of Avery and his family from my life. Even though it hadn't happened yet, it seemed inevitable.