Trust And Hope

Chapter 2

I clutched the locket around my neck, feeling its cool metal against my skin. I fingered the little heart shape of it.  It was the locket Eva gave me when she died. It meant the world to me. It was the necklace the note from Eva had been stuffed in.

"I won't go, I won't go," I whispered over and over to myself. I didn't even want to think about it. A couple of weeks with Aunt Stephanie? A week is a feat for me. And I can escape to my room if I have to, here. There, I wouldn't have anywhere to hide. Nowhere to run or escape. I sat studying the photo on my headboard. It was Richelle, Gabby, Eva, and I in Eva's hospital room. Richelle's arms were wrapped around a crying, six-year-old Gabby. Eva had oxygen tubes running out of her nostrils, and multiple IVs in her arm, but her bright, amazing smile made up for it. I missed her.

"Sadie?" Richelle lightly rapped on my open door. "Can I come in or should I duck?"

I could hear a teasing tone in her voice. I wasn't in the mood for teasing. I didn't respond.

Richelle let out a soft sigh. I could feel her sitting on the bed beside me. She rubbed my back in circular motions, just like Eva used to. "Are you okay?"

I blinked back tears. "Yeah. I'm okay." I looked up at Richelle, careful not to meet her eyes.

Richelle looked at me intently. "I know you're not."

I looked at my lap, not saying anything.

"Listen," Richelle said, putting an arm around me. "You can take off your 'I'm okay' hat. It's just me. Fall apart. I'm not going anywhere."

I choked back a sob. "I love you."

Richelle took me and gathered me in her arms. "I love you too. I love you so much."

Tears spilled out onto her lap. Richelle stroked my dirty blonde hair the way Eva always used to. Sometimes the similarities between them made me ache for Eva, but it's times like these when the similarities make me feel even more at home.

"Sadie," Richelle whispered. "Remember who you are."

The words Eva always used to tell me. Eva called me God's princess, because that was what my name meant. I didn't believe it, but because it was what Eva used to say, I didn't object. The tie to Eva was enough to make me want to sob again. They were twins, after all.

"Hey Sades," Dad said, sitting next to Richelle, whose shoulder was now damp with tears.

"Dad, why do we need Aunt Stephanie?" I ask quietly. "I already have a mom. I can just keep doing what Eva would've and I'll just grow up to be like her, right?"

Richelle leaned over and planted a kiss on top of my head. "You come pretty darn close."

"See?" I blubbered. "It's fine. We don't need Aunt Stephanie. She's just so bent on changing us." Anger grips my chest. I hate this. "I have you guys. You're my family. I don't need anyone else."

"Oh Sadie," Richelle said, pulling me close. "I love you for that, I really do. But family isn't enough."

"I have Jazmine," I said, referring to my best friend.

Richelle rested her head on mine. "Sadie. You're going to have to learn to put up with difficult people. It's just part of life."

I pull away from Richelle, giving her the most scandalous look. "You're not with Dad on sending me with Aunt Stephanie and Mallory, right?"

Richelle's lips twitch. "Not even I am that cruel."

I smile a little. "Thanks."

"I wouldn't do that," Dad protested.