How to Save a Life ✓

XV: In Which Lucas is Alive

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

On the rare moments that my mother is sober, it can be said that she is almost caring. Stuck in bed with the flu and a terrible cough, my mom offers me a heat pack and some hot tea.

"You feel okay, Kate?" She asks as she stands above me, contemplating what to do next.

"Yeah." I choke out in between coughs. She furrows her eyebrows, deciding whether to believe me or not. In the end, she decides I'm fine and grabs her purse.

"I'm going out to the bar with some friends. Make sure you finish your chores when I get back. Don't overwork yourself." She adds at the last second. I nod in understanding. My mom is almost out the door when I say,

"Okay. Love you mom."

"Bye." Slamming the door, she leaves me alone with a small T.V playing Tom and Jerry. I lay in my bed, wanting to get as much rest as possible before I have to work. When fifteen minutes pass by and I still haven't gotten up, I force myself to stand.

A wave of dizziness passes over me as I sit up, but eventually I manage to stand. Heading to the kitchen, I grab some knock-off window cleaner and start wiping away the dusty windows. Trying not to gag at the strong scent, I cover my nose. It works well for a while and I continue wiping all the glass surfaces.

Plopping on the couch in exhaustion, I look over the rest of our two-bedroom apartment. I notice that most of the grime on the walls have been washed away and I silently thank my mother for helping out. To my right, a plate of half-finished food that hasn't been cleaned up lays right beside me. Upon closer observation, I see a cockroach wondering on top of the food.

Disgust washes over me and my gag reflexes kick in. Putting my hand over my mouth, I rush to the bathroom and deposit the tea and small sandwich I ate earlier today in the toilet. A throbbing headache soon kicks in after that and I rest my head against the cold marble floor.Extending my hand to the flusher, I flush the toilet and close my eyes.

Sweet relief fills me and I end up falling asleep near the sink. A couple of hours later, I wake up to a horrible stench in my mouth. Looking at the clock near the sink, I notice that it's ten o'clock. I widen my eyes in panic and immediately stand up. I brush my teeth quickly and leave the bathroom.

If I hurry, then it's possible that I could finish this in an hour. I decide to start in my mom's room, thinking that if her room was clean, she would be less mad if I didn't finish.

I open the door to the small room and I feel like crying out when I see the mess. Clothes were thrown around everywhere and plates of food deposited on top of the drawers. I quickly start putting everything back and half an hour later, almost everything is spotless. Sheets of papers stare back at me from her bed and I pick them up. Although everything else is messy in her life, my mom likes to keep her documents organized. I look through the different folders, my finger flipping through the different papers. When I find the folder that contains our birth certificates, I put the sheet in.

My eyes catch on to an unknown document and I pull it out. I can over it and see that it was a birth certificate.

Lucas Sterling.

My lips part as I try to identify the name to a person. Mom doesn't have any other children and the only other person that could possibly have the same last name as us is my father. Excitement shows on my face as a smile instantly appears. My mother never talked about my father, only telling me that he was dead.

Curiosity got the better of me and I take out my computer. Putting his name in on the google database, I don't know what to expect. I knew that he died when I was still a toddler but it would be great if I found anything. I don't remember anything about him.

Thousands of search results pop up in a matter of seconds and I click on the first link. It's a Facebook page and I decide to go back since Facebook didn't exist when he was alive. Before I have a chance to, the page finishes loading.

The man's profile picture stares back at me and I struggle to hold back a gasp. This Lucas looks almost exactly like me. Same shade of blonde hair, similar skin tone and as I look closer, I notice that he has a small oval shaped birthmark on the top on his head.

My gaze falls down to my ankle, where the exact same birthmark sits. The only thing different between us is that he has blue eyes while I have blue. I scroll down his feed until I see a message that was posted a couple of months ago, on my birthday.

To my daughter,

I don't know where you are, or if you are still alive, but I still love you. Today is your birthday and I want to send you so many wishes. You're a teenager now, so different from the five-year-old that I only managed to see. Your mother took you away from me so many years ago but I hope you live a wonderful life. I know you will never see this but I hope that someday we will find each other. I love you, my little Kate.

A wave of bile rises from my throat and I struggle to keep it down. I close my eyes in horror, at the message that I just read.

My father was alive.