Genuine Soul

I don't know. Maybe the fact that I was nearly shot by a couple of gang members who claimed you owed them money. I could have been front page news today with a bullet to the head in some ditch. I deserve a better explanation, please, at least to explain what happened to my family and my lover.

This was way out of my hands now. I'd been up for the challenge of looking out for a young girl, but a grown woman? Not my territory. Despite her maturity, she was still a child trapped in the body of a twenty-eight-year-old woman. She had to be freaking out more than we were. I was running out of options. We needed a woman to give her some guidance as well.

Honestly, I was confident that I'd done well. Not as well as I could have done, but that was my fault since I'd spent my weekend running around. One thing I loved was that the cafeteria always served home-style cooked meals. After we'd spent an hour and a half, we filled our plates with mashed potatoes and turkey before sitting at our normal table. My brain hurt, but it was a good pain.

I agreed to everything he asked. I was curious to know what his opinion was on the situation and the more I understood about the illness inside of me, the better. The nurse who took my blood flirted with me. I left feeling a little hopeful. This doctor was going to try and get me some answers and I tried not to be too excited. I was still going to live like I was running out of time and until I was given a different opinion, I wouldn't live up to false hope.

Long after I'd hung up with him, I could still hear the devastation in his voice. He said he was going to come and that he would tell the news to save me from having to say it twice. He must have known how upset it was making me. I wondered what my dad would do with this information and whether he would believe it. It was hard enough for me to accept that my brother had done something so despicable.

He pulled out of the driveway, and we headed for the hospital. I was glad we were getting her out. She needed to be with her family, not trapped in a room that smelled like ammonia. I'd spent enough days in that hospital to know that a person could go crazy there after so long. We got there and went inside since the others were already there. I noticed there were some police cars parked near the entrance and I worried.

She wasn't sobbing, but tears escaped her eyes. I'd never thought of the possibility that my decision would make people cry. At least I hoped they wouldn't. I hated upsetting people in any way, and this is only a first reaction.

She had such a big heart and was so thoughtful when it came to others. She'd masqueraded as a hardened woman for a while, and her old self had started to take over once more. I was glad that I had put my decision to die on hold. I would have missed out on days like these where we could eat cake and share steamy kisses that were anything but appropriate for a public setting.

Of course, he planned to get hammered. It's what he did every weekend. I didn't know why he felt the need to drink excessively. He had a career, an apartment, a supposedly awesome girlfriend. What problems could he possibly have?

He didn't speak for a while, and I let him process everything. For once, I was the one comforting him. This was how it should have been. I let my little brother carry me for far too long. It was time I carried him. Micah still hadn't let go of me, but I didn't mind. If I weren't so numb, I probably would have cried because of how happy I was to see him.