My Brother's Roommate

t h i r t e e n

Chapter 13 : His Story

"Ah, fine fine." He sighs and stares up into the sky. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Don't change the subject." I threaten.

He didn't look at me, he continues to stare up at the light clouds, free from their burden of rain. "This kind of weather was her favorite.

"Once upon a time, there was a prince who gave attention to no one. He didn't think he needed to, why give them a glance when they didn't spare him one back.

"He was disliked by a lot of people, especially those others his same age. They distanced themselves from him in class, at recess, even at lunch. He didn't talk much and that's what scared people, possible friends, away. His parents were disappointed in how he acted, but they couldn't do much to help, since they were always busy with their own work.

He turns over to me. "In case you can't tell, the prince is me."

I scoff a little. "Yeah, I got that, please continue."

He nods.

"One day he came home from school to news that he would have a lifelong friend. His parents were expecting a baby. He didn't know how to react since he didn't quite understand what they meant. What baby? There was no one else in the house but them.

"Months passed, and his baby sister was born. When he first met her, he asked her if she would be his friend. He frowned when he didn't get a response back. After a moment, she grabbed his finger, and he got his answer.

"The two of them grew up- I can't do this story time - fairy tale - anymore. The two of us were inseparable, we did everything together."

Did.

"On my sister's 9th birthday, she collapsed on the ground while we were singing to her. Once at the hospital we found out she had leukemia. It was in a late stage, and there wasn't much we could do besides chemotherapy. For being so young she fought so brave.

"I would visit the hospital, where she stayed, as often as I could. Sometimes I would go right after school every day for weeks. One of the last times I saw my sister, I didn't recognize her. The only thing that confirmed her identity, was her kind smile. She was very thin and pale. She could barely move her arms when I hugged her.

"The whole ordeal threw my parents lives in a spiral. It caused them to become depressed and they became distant from each other and me. In order to pay the medical bills, they had to work extra-long hours, which meant they hardly had enough time to see my sister or me. I had to learn to be responsible and live on my own; I had to be brave like my sister.

"The last time I saw my sister was a week after her 10th birthday. I got her the giant teddy bear she had been raving about for years. She was a little old for them, but she still smiled and told me it was the best present she ever got. On that day, I wasn't aware that I wouldn't see her again."

Jay swallowed hard and sighed out.

"We were talking about games we were going to play when I came to see her the next day. When it was time for me to leave, I left in a hurry and yelled 'I'll beat you at all the games tomorrow!', I didn't say goodbye. I didn't tell her I loved her. Nothing.

"In the middle of the night, my mother woke me up sobbing. She told me that my sister had been a tough fighter, but she went to sleep to ease all her pain.

"I didn't say anything. How could I? My dad was nowhere to be seen, so I just hugged my mom as she cried on my shoulder.

"Things in my family changed that day. Everyone blamed themselves for what happened. And we thought of the what if's. We questioned things but didn't have answers.