“So, tell me about what you’ve been dealing with,” Julian said as he pulled out his phone. “Do you mind if I take some notes? It will help me when I talk to people about what projects we have in the works.”
Amelia twisted her hands in her lap, her gaze lowered. “I’m not sure where to start.”
“Just start from when you first began to notice things changing with your health,” Julian said.
Ben knew this wasn’t about him, so he stayed quiet as Amelia talked.
As she spoke about the early days, when the pain had just started to take over her body, he could hear the fear she’d dealt with. The fear that came from not understanding what was happening.
It was painful to listen to, and he was surprised that she managed to keep it together.
“So you don’t have a definitive diagnosis?”
“No. I’m supposed to have more tests done to rule out certain things. Lupus. Rheumatoid arthritis.”
“When are you scheduled to have the tests?” Julian asked as he tapped on his phone screen. When Amelia didn’t answer, Julian looked up. “Are the tests scheduled?”
Amelia was looking at her hands. “No. Not yet.”
Julian glanced over at Ben. “Is there a reason you haven’t had the tests done yet?”
“Do you not have insurance?” Ben asked, suddenly realizing what her issue might be.
“I do have insurance,” she said. “But it’s not great. I still have to pay out of pocket, and it’s more than I can afford right now.”
Julian gave a nod. “Well, let’s take care of that soon. I’d like to be able to present a complete physical profile to the specialists we have working for us.”
“But I can’t—”
Julian held up his hand. “There is no charge for this. Think about it as if you’re part of a medical trial. In those instances, the costs of tests and medication are covered by those conducting the trial.”
Amelia glanced at Ben, and he nodded, encouraging her to accept what Julian was saying. He wanted to smack himself on the head for not being more aware of how her financial situation might have changed.
His lack of awareness frustrated him. Had he really ended up so out of touch with the average person?
“Do I need to go to the lab here?”
Julian paused, clearly thinking through the options. “Let me talk to a few people, and we’ll figure out what the best course of action will be. I’ll let you know what to do once we’ve sorted it out.”
“I really—” She stopped talking, then cleared her throat. “I really appreciate your interest in what’s going on with my health.”
Julian gave her a small smile. “You’re someone who is important to Benji, so we’re happy to help however we can.”
Amelia’s gaze flitted to Ben again, her eyes wide.
What Julian had said wasn’t wrong. The feelings he’d had for Amelia all those years ago hadn’t gone away like he’d thought. They had fallen dormant for a time, but seeing her again had brought them quickly back to life.
“I want you to have answers, Amelia,” Ben said. “You deserve them. You’ve given up so much for some unknown thing that’s impacted your health. If we can help give you some answers, I want to do that.”
“Thank you,” she said.
Ben could hear emotion in her voice, even though it wasn’t as evident on her face. She’d learned long ago to hide her emotions, but Ben wished that she’d loosen her control on them.
She didn’t need to hide how she was feeling from them. Especially from him.
“Is there anything else you think I need to know?” Julian asked, his gaze fixed on Amelia.
“No. That’s everything.”
