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the Biggest Loser campaign?”
    Great icebreaker. My anxiety is starting to show. Talking about the prick will draw my emotions elsewhere, away from what today’s about.
    “You should get to know him. He’s not that bad. His ideas are quite good. I figured out why you don’t like him, just so you know.”
    She turns down the radio.  I didn’t even realize it was playing until I saw her hand moving on the buttons.  She looks so beautiful today.  She’s wearing a long, light blue summer dress. Her hair is tied back, with a small curl bouncing around her eyes. All this shit has me feeling sentimental and mushy. I don’t fucking like it at all. I need to know everything is fine so I can get back to the Alex I do best.
    “Why are you dressed up?”
    I look like shit from lack of sleep. Only when I saw her all dolled up did I realize I was wearing the same sweats from yesterday. I didn’t even change. Shit, I don’t even remember if I ate.  I felt bad that I was at camp and she was going through this alone.
    “To make me feel better.  If I don’t have hope I might as well give up.”
    I nod, then I realize she is right. We need hope. We need to be optimistic.
    “So, why do I hate Steve?”
    Okay, so curiosity got the better of me.
    “It’s like looking in the fucking mirror.”
    I glance at her for a second and I see her with her hand over her mouth, trying to contain her laughter.  The same thing she’d done since we were kids.  In this moment I know she is okay.  I now have a spark of hope.
    Good, because I’m due at the camp tomorrow, and the way I’m feeling right now I want to cancel the whole program and just spend time with her. I don’t want her out of my sight. I can’t lose her; not now, not ever.

Chapter Five
    A s we arrive at General Hospital, I feel sick. Maybe the couple of shots I had last night to knock me out where playing havoc with my stomach since I hardly ate.  What a joke! I was supposed to be here to give Tina moral support, yet I was the one who was falling apart.
    “You okay?” she whispers as I park the car.
    I take a few deep breaths and look into her eyes and say, “Sure.”
    What else could I say?
    The confident, arrogant jerk had jumped out of the car and been replaced by a wimp. I shake my head at the thought of not being able to give Tina the moral support she needs.  She’s going through this crazy shit right now. The thoughts going through my head need to be put aside. Now.
    “If you promise to pass all the tests then I will start taking it easy on Steve.”
    She laughs at my statement, “You can’t help it, Alex. That’s why I love you.” She gives me a hug and I release my seatbelt and squeeze her tightly.
    “Alex!” she cries out.  I let her go and say the one thing I have never said to a woman, “I love you, Tina.”
    You can call it karma or something, but the words left my mouth. They had never been said, but I had to tell her how I felt about her.  Sometimes, I take people for granted, I know this, a weakness I had to work on, especially now.
    She’s fighting back the tears trying to say something back.  I grab a hold of her once again and she whispers, “I know, Alex. I know.”
    We get out of the car and I keep reassuring her that it will be Okay.  Or maybe I was telling that to myself too.  I had to be strong for her.  By the time we enter the hospital, she checks in and then she´s given some forms to fill in. We take a seat in the waiting area so she can fill them in. She quietly digs through her bag, trying to find her ID and shit. With all of the stuff she’s pulling out, she’s making a mess on the chair.
    “It´s going to be okay, you know.”
    She nods as she takes a few deep breaths and continues to fill out the forms.
    “No matter what, I’ll be here for you every step of the way.”
    There are other women in the waiting room.  I cast an eye over some of them.  They are in the same state as Tina, confused and bewildered