Wasn't my secret to tell...

Just recently I was informed by my very close childhood friend that he has cancer. We briefly spoke about chemo and treatments before he started to feel very tired. Right as I was leaving him to rest, he made sure to tell me, "Don't tell your cousin". Now, any other request would have been fine. I had no desire to tell his secret to anyone, however my cousin and I are very close, and she just happens to be his ex girlfriend. Because he was at the doctor so often and unknown to us, going through chemo every 2 weeks, we hadn't heard from him much and she had just asked about him. As soon as he told me his situation, she was the first to come to mind. Any other time, I might have felt empowerment knowing that I was the one he had chosen to tell, but this time around, I felt pure guilt. Best friend or my cousin? he had his own reason for not telling her which I agreed with completely, and it was then that I realized there was no reason to rush and tell her.

He has since told her, and luckily she wasn't upset to find that I knew before her. Clearly, the situation was not one to be envious of.