Always: Broken Series Book Four by Annie Jocoby

list. Everyone. Nobody knows when they’re going to get hit by a bus on their way to work one day. Nobody knows when there might be a school shooter showing up and mowing everyone down. Tomorrow is never a guarantee, so my making a bucket list is just smart.”
    Mom hung her head, but I think that she saw my point. “You’re right. I never made my own bucket list, but maybe I should.”
    I smiled. “What would be on your bucket list? It seems like you’ve done everything that you’ve set out to do.”
    “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe learning to ski. Your dad is a great skier, but I never really learned. I was always too scared, because your dad skis the black diamonds.” She shook her head. “I could never imagine doing those black diamonds. Or any other kind of slope.”
    “Anything else?”
    “Yeah. I’d like to see New Zealand. It looks like a beautiful country. Your father and I have been everywhere else, it seems – all over Europe, Russia, Africa, China. We’ve even gone to Australia. But never New Zealand. That’s where they filmed those Lord of the Rings movies, you know. It’s Middle Earth.”
    Chloe looked up when mom mentioned Lord of the Rings. That was one of her favorite books, and I knew that she practically had it memorized. Myself, I had never read it, nor had I seen any of the movies. “I’d like to see New Zealand too,” she said. “I think we should go during spring break. With Addison. Maybe even Olivia, although she’s always busy these days. I’d like to see where they filmed those movies.”
    “Well, there we go,” I said to mom. “We have a destination for spring break. Hopefully I can hike and do all that. I might not have a leg by then.”
    Spring break was next month, so, with any luck, I would still have a leg then. But if I didn’t, I didn’t. I was going to learn to live with whatever happened to me. I was going to figure it out.
    “What about you, dad?” I asked him. “What’s on your bucket list?”
    Dad just shook his head. “I don’t really have one. I pretty much do everything that I’ve ever wanted to do. The bucket list is for people who put things off that they really want. Except for young teenagers like you – you haven’t had the chance to really do things that you really want, so a bucket list is appropriate for you.” He smiled. “And your mom and I are going to make sure that you meet your goals, whatever they are.”
    “Dad, I’m not going to die. It’s not that important that you guys take me to New Zealand right away or whatnot. I don’t want you to treat me like one of those Make-A-Wish kids or whatever.” I hated the feeling that my dad was thinking about that – as if I had a year to live, and he and mom needed to take me right away to do the things that I wanted to do.
    “I didn’t say that,” dad said. “But I overheard what you were telling mom, and you’re right – you never know if today is going to be your last. Think about all those people who went to the World Trade Center on September 11. They were just going to work, and they never came home. They probably should have all made a bucket list and made sure that they completed it.”
    “Okay then. As long as you’re not going start talking like I’m on the way out, I’m all for us doing things like going to New Zealand and me sending in an audition tape to Chopped Junior. ”
    I crossed my arms in front of me while I tried to concentrate on the TV. With every passing moment, though, I felt like the room was closing in on me more and more. When were they going to call my name? I hated having to wait, even though it was the story of my life these days. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Waiting for test results. Waiting to take tests. I just wanted to get everything over with – just find out what the damage is and get on with it. This limbo bullshit was just that - bullshit.
    Finally, my name was called, and I felt relieved and scared at the same time. What if the cancer