At a young age, Loren Areno lost her mom to cancer. Not long after, her dad was sent to jail. Mrs. Curtis let her stay with them since she was good friends with her mom, but when Loren was 15, Mrs. Curtis sadly passed away too. The brothers still le...
I sat in the chair outside the room biting at my fingernails. I hated not knowing what's going on. But he's just trying to protect me. I know he is.
But a part of me knew he wasn't. He's been all out of sorts since mama got sick. Mama hasn't been home in weeks. But neither has dad. I've been on my own. Whenever dad was home, he smelled really bad. Like how my Aunt Jenna does. He's also been smoking at least 5 packs a day. Mama told me to just ignore it and things are hard right now but it's difficult to ignore something that's ruining your parents life.
"Loren." The doctor said coming out of the room. "Your mother wants to see you." He said clearing the enternace to the room.
Dad stumbled out of the room and the doctor waited for me to go inside. I sighed. I walked in and mama was sitting on the bed with something over her mouth to keep her breath steady. I wasn't sure what it was called but she was hooked up to a bunch of monitors.
She barely opened her eyes. "Hello, my sweet girl." She managed to get out. I wasn't sure what to say. It didn't even look like her anymore. "I know I don't exactly look like I used to. But I'm feeling great." I knew that was a lie. She looked horrible. Mama took the thing off her mouth and motioned to sit down next to her. I was awkward about it at first but she is my mom. "Look, I know this is hard-"
I cut her off. "Are you ever coming home?" I asked.
She sighed. "No. Not to the home you know."
"So you're gonna die?" I asked refusing to make eye contact.
She opened her mouth to say something but stopped. "Yes." She said bluntly. I felt tears forming in my eyes. "But I'll still be with you. Always." She pulled something off of the desk. "I want you to wear this. It will probably still be a bit big for you now but you'll grow into it." She said. "Think of it as an early birthday gift. Just think about it! Tomorrow you'll be 6 years old! That's crazy. I rememeber when I used to be able to hold you in my arms and now you're so big."
I hugged her unable to control my tears anymore. "I don't want you to go." I said sobbing.
"Oh, honey. It's ok. Just keep that ring with you. That way I'll always be with you. I promise."
"Pinky promise?" I asked pulling away. She held up her pinky and repeated it.
She wiped the tears off my face and pulled me in for another hug. "I love you so much, baby. And you'll always have your father." She said.
I pulled away. "He's not acting normal." I said with a frown.
"I know he's not. But things are hard right now." I wonder how many times I've heard that. "He's just trying to get his mind off of things. I know it's not ideal. But he loves you so much, Loren. And he'll always be there for you. And you always have the Curtis'. Mrs. Curtis loves you so much."
"They're all outside right now. They were waiting with me while I sat out there."
"See! They already came to make sure you were doing ok. But please give dad a chance. He's trying his best. Things are gonna be a bit weird for a while but you'll be ok. You all will. I promise."
I sighed. I remember what Mrs. Curtis told me. Put on a brave face. "Alright. I believe you. And I'll make sure everything's ok. I'll always remember you love me and I'll give dad a chance. I'm gonna stay strong."
"That's my girl." She said with a smile.
The ring was too big for my finger so I put it in my back pocket. Mrs. Curtis told me that mama will be happy forever if I put on a brave face and was strong for her. Mama's smile said it all. She looked so happy. And if she was happy in the state she's in now, I was too.
She coughed a bit. "Are you ok?" I asked softly. She kept coughing. "Mama?" I asked. I didn't see anything wrong with coughing but in her state, I wasn't sure. But then it got worse... I saw blood. I let out a scream. I wasn't sure how I was supposed to react at that but yelling probably wasn't the best idea.
Doctors ran in here and so did dad and the Curtis'. I was still standing at the edge of the bed when everyone ran in. Doctors filled in around me but I was frozen in shock. Dad grabbed my shoulder and pushed me against the wall. "GET BACK!" He yelled.
I was too shocked to react to dad's remarks. "Sir, step back." A doctor said to dad.
"THAT'S MY WIFE!" Dad yelled back.
"STEP BACK!" He yelled.
A few more doctors came running in and dad threw the bottle in a bag to the floor. I ran over to Mrs. Curtis and buried my face in her stomach. She hugged me and her kids were standing behind her.
"Darrel, take the kids out to the hallway." She said to Mr. Curtis.
It seemed like forever I was hugging Mrs. Curtis. But in reality it probably wasn't that long. "Time of death, 4:26 P.M." The doctor said.
I turned around and everyone stopped rushing around. She was gone. She was really gone this time. This wasn't a scare anymore. She really isn't coming back.
"Loren, it's gonna be ok-" Mrs. Curtis started.
I pushed her away and ran down the hallway. Things weren't gonna be ok. I'm sick of people telling me they are. They aren't. I ran and ran and ran until I came across a hole in the wall. I crawled through and it looked like a ventilation system but I wasn't sure if it was. It was like a vent but on the ground. I curled up in a little ball in the tiny room I discovered and just cried there.
Things aren't gonna be ok. She's gone... She's really gone.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
this is (will be) loren... yeah u know the jist by now lolz
