A Boy Called Noah

Chapter Twenty Six

{Thalia's car}

Amalthea Galanos

A single tear streaks down Thea's cheek and she makes no attempt at wiping it away. Her eyes are sore and swollen from all the crying and her back aches from sitting on the floor for so long. Danny was still asleep on her lap with his small head resting on her shoulder and his tiny fist gripping her shirt. Jessica and Victor had left a few moments earlier to get coffee. Noah's face remains impassive, just as it has been for the past hour. Thea's throat clogs up when she thinks about what the doctor had said. 'He only has a few weeks to live. I'm sorry.'

Danny stirs on her lap and she turns her head to look down at him. He switches his gaze between his brother's bed and her sad face. Tears well up in his big blue eyes and Thea's heart breaks all over again. He buries his head into the crook of her neck and quietly sobs. She hugs him closer to her own shaking form and places a soft kiss on top of his head, "I'm so sorry, Danny." He cries out and tears soak through Thea's shirt. "I don't want him to die! It's not fair! He's not a bad guy!" Thea squeezes Danny's small frame tighter. Agony grips at her chest with a new intensity and she suppresses the gasp building up in her throat. She has to stay strong for Danny, he needs her right now. "Please don't leave me too..." Danny's voice trails off at the end and his body calms as sleep takes him under again. Thea's eyes well up with tears for what feels like the hundredth time today and she gently pulls him closer to her and rests her head on top of his and closes her eyes to a dreamless sleep.

***

Thea's eyes crack open and she immediately notices that Danny is no longer with her. Her eyes scan the room and she spots him kneeling next to Noah's bed. His hands are entwined at the fingers and his little head is lowered, "Please, God. Don't take away my brother. He's a good brother. He plays with me and kisses my owes when I fall. Please, I don't want him to go... I love him...and...and she loves him too. We all love him too much for him to go now... Please, God, make my brother better. Amen." A sobs escapes Thea's lips and Danny looks at her with the saddest blue eyes she has ever seen. She opens her arms and he runs straight into them, both sink to the floor and cry together, their bodies racking with the sobs.

A throat clears and Thea lifts her head to stare straight at Jessica's tear streaked face, "Your mother's here, Sweetheart. It's time for all of us to go...He'll come home tomorrow and you can come see him whenever you want...Okay?" Thea nods her head and wipes the few stray tears from her cheeks. She gently squeezes Danny once more then releases him. He whimpers and clutches at her hand. "It's okay, buddy, I have to go but I promise I'll come visit you tomorrow. Come on, Danny, you're a strong boy, right? Your mommy needs you to be the man of the house until Noah gets better. Can you do that for me?" He nods his head and lets go of her hand and moves to his mother's side, "Promise you'll come visit tomorrow?" " I promise." He wipes another tear and Thea smiles sadly at both Victor and Jessica as she exits the private room. Standing in front of the reception desk, is both Thea's mother and...Thalia. Thalia's eyes are red and puffy like she has been crying for a while. "Come on, honey. Let's go home." Thea sinks into her mother's embrace and she gently eases them into a slow walk. Thalia merely follows in silence as they make their way outside.

***

Thea's mum steers them towards a sleek black car parked a few spaces from them. "Mum?" She merely shushes her daughter as Thalia opens the drivers side door. She gracefully slips into the car and eases it into reverse gear. She reverses a few meters then stops and waits for her sister and mother to get inside. Both quietly slips into the expensive looking car. After both are seated in the back Thalia swiftly eases the car out of the hospital parking lot and a deep silence envelopes the car. Thea turns to her mother with a questioning gaze but she gestures to ask later, so Thea settles into the expensive leather seats and lets her mind settle to listening to the sound of the powerful engine purr and glide further down main street.