A New Precious

Chapter 8

⚠️ TRIGGER WARNING, PRECIOUS! Mention of Abuse & Suicide! ⚠️

In the morning, I slowly climbed out of bed, and tiptoed into the bathroom to brush my teeth. Then, I slowly made my way downstairs, still in my onesie, and found Aaliyah in the living room, sitting on the sofa, reading a book. "Good morning, Aaliyah," I said cheerfully as I smiled warmly at her.

"Oh, g'morning, Sméagol," she replied, seemingly still half asleep.

"Awww, are you alright, Precious?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Did you not sleep well?"

"I did. I'm just... still waking up," she said awkwardly. "I'm... not a morning person."

"Awww, I understands. May I sit with you?"

"Of course. I'm almost done with this book anyway."

I sat next to her, and waited patiently for her to finish reading.

"Okay," she said as she closed the book, and placed it on the coffee table. "I'm done."

"What was it reading, Precious?"

"It's called The Fault in Our Stars. It's a really good book."

"Oh, what's it about?"

"It's about two teenagers with cancer who meet at a support group, and they eventually fall in love."

"Awww, it sounds sweet."

"It is. It's one of my favorite books."

"What's cancer, Precious?"

Aaliyah sighed sadly. "It's a horrible disease."

"Can you dies from it?"

"Yeah, if it's serious enough. I'll explain later when I'm more... awake."

I giggled. "Alright, Sweetie. It sounds like a beautiful story."

"It is. You can borrow it anytime."

"Oh, thank you."

"No problem, Sméagol." Then, she changed the subject. "So, did you have fun last night?"

"Oh, I did, Precious! I did!"

"I was really proud of you, the way you were so nice to the waitress."

"Of course. No need there was to be hateful to her. She was nice to us."

"Yep, and she did a great job. She made sure we had everything we needed."

"That's their job, isn't it?"

"Yep, and she did it well."

I nodded.

"And, you sang so beautifully."

I smiled. "Aww, thank you, Aaliyah."

"I mean it. You had almost everyone crying, especially when you sang to Máiréad."

My heart hurt as I remembered Máiréad.

"You made her night, Sméagol."

"She didn't talk much. Only about music, but not much else."

"Well... she's been through a lot."

"I could see that. Do you know what it was?"