From The Start (1st Draft)

Chapter 39

Chapter 39

Those two days passed by pretty fast, and this was how it went. I woke up, got dressed, went to school. Jake drove us both there with our mom's car. The second after school ended, Jake met me in the parking lot and we both hopped in the car. Then, he drove me to the hospital. I spent the whole day there, did my homework and brought Alex's as well. Stephanie came by with Darlene and Jake around seven, and it was amazing how my brother treated him.

He stepped beside the bed, Alex looked up at him with a worried expression. "Hey," he quietly spoke.

"Hey, Alex," Jake smiled.

"How are you?"

"I'm great. I had work today. But who cares about me?" he chuckled, us girls staring at them in silence.

"I do," he answered. "We all do."

He grinned, taking his hand and sighing. "You kind of saved me, dude. I haven't even smoked a butt."

Alex laughed, rolling his eyes. "It's been what, a few days?" he joked.

"Shut up," Jake said, going quiet and becoming serious. "I came by to congratulate you."

He glanced over at me and I slightly smiled. Then he looked at Jacob and nodded. "Thank you."

"Don't thank me. I should be thanking you," he rushed out. "So, thank you."

"Don't thank me. You're the one who's strong enough to get back on track," Alex said.

Jake shook his head. "And you're the one who's strong enough to beat cancer. Just like you did."

Alexander said nothing. What was there to say? He was right.

The next day, the day Alex was being discharged from Dana Farber, us kids all got in Alex's car and drove to see him. Nancy was working again, at the daycare down the road from our school. She had so much pressure lifted from her shoulders that she got her head together and began to get back to work.

We all walked into the room where he was standing near the window, staring outside at the beautiful summer sky, and bright green grass. He turned to face us and smiled, his catheter hanging out of his white t-shirt. He had his black hat on again, backwards, just like the first few times I ever saw him.

Two weeks went by, and we were in the middle of October, Halloween coming up, and this time Alex would be able to celebrate it with us the right way. There was fresh fall air, smells of bonfires and old burnt leaves, on this one morning I woke up.

Alexander picked me up, Jake meeting Stephanie and Darlene in the back woods, as usual, for the past two weeks. Alex got caught up with his makeup work, and everything was going perfectly. We were driving to school, and I was really excited because he was going to take me to get my permit this afternoon, after school. The windows were rolled down and the sunroof was open, because it was so beautiful outside. I laughed when he turned on the radio, the song 'I'm going home' starting to play as soon as we stopped talking. It reminded me of my father and I, but I didn't want to explain it to Alex.

"Oh my god," I groaned, sighing deeply, not knowing if it was going to make me happy or upset.

"What?" he asked me.

"Nothing," I quietly lied.

He was driving with one hand on the steering wheel, and with the other he was holding my hand. "Rosie, I know you way better than that," he told me, humorous.