Finally Heaven (Room 103 Book 4) by D H Sidebottom

we done now?”
    I shook my head faintly with a small smile, amused at Room 103’s frequent mischievous activities. I didn’t envy Brent, he was constantly trying to calm the waters after one of them had caused a storm over something or other.
    “And what are you laughing at, Ink?” Daniel grinned across at me, his brow quirked playfully at my humour. His eyes studied me, a small crease playing across his brow when they landed on my knuckles.
    “FUCK IT, BABE! Just… fuck it!” Jax suddenly exploded, his fork bouncing off his plate when he threw it down. His chair flew backwards when he shot upright and stormed off, all eyes wide and following him across the room as he stormed out. I’d never seen Jax lose it, he was usually laid back and controlled.
    We all turned slowly to E. Tears streamed down her face, her hand covering her mouth as she watched Jax disappear.
    “Hot stuff?” Boss asked gently as he took Jax’s seat beside her. “What’s going on? And don’t tell me nothing again, that’s bullshit. I know you, and something is wrong. You’ve been off for weeks.”
    She squeezed her eyes closed, her chest hiccupping when she opened them and swallowed back her sobs. She blew out a breath and took his hand. His face dropped, his skin blanching when he witnessed her worry for him. “E?”
    She struggled for a moment, her mouth opening and closing as she tried to talk. She brought his hand to her mouth, giving his knuckles a soft kiss. “I have cancer, Boss.”
    He stared at her, confused, his eyes narrowing and his head shaking from side to side. “What?”
    I was wondering if I had misheard too. That wasn’t right. Not E. Not cancer. My throat hurt when I witnessed her despair and I dropped my hands to my lap trying to hide the shake in them.
    “Breast cancer.”
    He stared at her. I could feel Jen twitching beside me, her desperation to soothe her husband instinctive.
    He nodded slowly, sniffing deeply. “Okay.” He ran his tongue around his teeth and pointed to her, his narrow eyes scrutinising her. “And why is Jax angry?”
    Dropping his hand, she turned back to stare at her plate. She picked up her fork, stabbed at the yolk on her egg, and then placed it back down, picking up her knife and pushing her beans around.
    “E!” We all jolted at Boss’s harsh tone, E included. Her mouth moved and everyone leaned closer to catch her words but it seemed only Boss heard them when he glared at her, his face appearing to freeze for a moment.
    “No! That’s bullshit. Why?”
    My eyes were flicking between the pair, trying to ascertain what the hell was going on. She shrugged, still refusing to look at him. Jen shot upright when Boss grabbed E’s arm and yanked her back towards him, but he held up his hand to her. She sat back down slowly, her body still on alert as she teetered on the edge of her seat. “Who are you, your fucking Mother?”
    My jaw dropped as E’s hand shot out, the slap across his face, the bruised side, loud and sharp in the air around us. “Fuck you!” she spat, pulling herself out of his grip. “I told Jax and I’m telling you, this is my choice, no one else’s. If I don’t want treatment then I won’t have it. It is MY decision!”
    “No!” Boss countered. “That’s not a decision, that’s cowardice.”
    Her face crumpled, both hands covering her face as a distraught sob gutted us all. “Yes, I’m a coward,” she squeaked as she turned back to him. “I’m scared, alright. I saw what the treatment did to my mother. It wasn’t the cancer that destroyed her body in the end, it was the fucking drugs that broke her.” She shook her head angrily. “I’M FUCKING TERRIFIED!”
    He huddled her up quickly. Pulling her from her chair and onto his lap, his arms curled around her, his hand stroking up and down her back as she buried her face into his chest and cried.
    I excused myself, wanting to give the band privacy for a moment and made my way to the buffet table. My