Midnights Lotus.

28 - drained,

"You need help?" Gigi asked G'Daddy, as he came in with a handful of groceries.

"Naw baby, I got it. Let that girl rest, Lord knows she's been depriving herself of it." he assured her, sitting the groceries down on the counter. For the past few days, Lotus had been staying over her grandparents place. She needed to get out of the house, she didn't want to be around any of her friends, instead she felt she needed to be with her grandparents. As much as she was hurting, she knew that they knew how to make her feel better.

She would lay in Gigi's lap, as she caressed the top of her head, humming tunes to herself. It put Lotus's mind at ease, and helped her relax. The energy that surrounded Gigi, was calm and peaceful, that it was almost impossible for her to feel on edge or anxious as usual. Her grandparents knew not to push her to talk about her feelings, rather give her space and assure her that they were always there whenever she needed a listening ear.

Whenever Lotus fell asleep in her lap, Gigi would pray over her, asking the Lord to watch over her and cleanse her from any negative spirits that was trying to bring her down. She knew that death itself was enough to make a person lose their mind, and she had seen firsthand of how Reese's death effected Lotus. She witnessed what depression did to her, falling victim to demons that tried their hardest to drag her down to the point of deterioration. Although Lotus didn't go to church, and had questioned her faith and God's existence, Gigi made sure that she prayed with Lotus at least once throughout the week.

"You need to talk to her Gemma," G'Daddy stressed, calling Gigi by her government name. Gigi shushed him, waving him off, as she tried to watch her stories. "Don't shush me, we've kept enough secrets from that girl. You need to tell her as soon as possible. You owe her that, as much as she's done for you."

"For Christ sake, the girl just lost her daddy. I'm not trying to add more baggage onto the poor thing." Gigi snapped at him, Lotus stirred around in her sleep a little, Gigi glared in his direction and sighed. "Lotus baby wake up, we need to talk." she tapped her shoulder, awaking her.

Lotus's eyes fluttered open, she laid in her grandmother's lap for a few seconds, glancing around at her surroundings. She finally sat up and stretched her upper body. "What time is it?" she asked them.

"It's six,"

Lotus hummed, and turned her whole body towards Gigi on the couch. G'Daddy walked towards them, and sat down on the other side of her, grabbing her hand. Lotus looked down at his hand, before looking over at Gigi with a confused expression. "What's going on?" she questioned her, that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Gigi deeply sighed again, caressing her hand with her thumb. "The cancer is getting much worse," she revealed, Lotus tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "We went to the doctor a few weeks ago, and it's becoming aggressive Lotus."

"I know you're not trying to tell me what I think you're trying to tell me. Especially after I just lost my dad," Lotus frowned, letting go of her hand.

"Lotus we've prepared for this—"

"No," she shook her head, as her eyes became watery. "You, prepared for this, not me."

Gigi gently cupped her face with both of her hands, "I know this is hard to hear, and even grasp but I didn't want you to be in the dark about this. There's nothing more they can do, the treatment simply isn't working any more." Gigi explained. Lotus and Gigi stared each other in the eyes, before she burst into tears. Gigi cradled Lotus in her arms, and rocked her back and forth.

"I'm tired of losing people," Lotus cried, feeling defeated.

"No matter what happens, I will forever be with you and I will always love you. I know what you have been through, and I know you need me now more than ever. I'm not saying it'll be sooner, but I'm also not saying that it'll be awhile. I just want you to be aware that it can happen at any time, and I want you to know that I've fought a good fight. They told me I didn't have long, when I was first diagnosed and look, I'm still here years later." Gigi tried to calm her down. She remained quiet and silently cried in Gigi's arms.