Fearless?

Fearless? - Chapter Thirty-Three

Fear? If I have gained anything by damning myself, it is that I no longer have anything to fear,’

- Jean-Paul Sartre

 

Chapter Thirty-Three

 

Cole was awoken by the tiny body of his younger sister, belly flopping onto his bed.

“Cole!” She cried happily, “Wake up!”. Cole’s green eyes slowly opened as the slight pain from her jumping onto him started to take full effect, letting out a loud groan as he did. 

“Lily! For God’s sake, I told you to stop jumping on me in the morning! What’s wrong with just shaking me to wake me up?” Cole cried, but not angrily, he could never be angry at his Lily, never in a million years. He was far too protective of her to do so. Lily just giggled in reply.

“Ooh you swore!” she laughed, her hazel eyes full of glee as she spoke.

“What? When did I swear?” Cole questioned thinking back through what he had said, unable to find the curse word he had said. He never swore around Lily so this must have been the first time he had slipped up with her. She lightly bit her lip as she looked around his room, as if she was checking there was nobody around to tell on her if she repeated his word. “Come on then, Monkey, what did I say?” He said using the nickname he had for her. 

“You said,” She spoke, finishing in a whisper so nobody but Cole would hear, “For God’s sake,” As soon as she said it, Cole let out a laugh, shaking his head slightly.

“That’s not a swear word!” Cole replied, rolling his eyes at his younger sister, relief filling him as he realised that he hadn’t slipped up.

“Jane said it was,” Lily answered as she jumped onto the side of the bed, and rolled over to her brother and lying down next to him.

“It’s not a swear, but it’s something that only grown-up’s get to say,” Cole explained, looking down at his sister as she lay next to him, her cute little face looking up at him. He didn’t know what he would have done if she had died when she was a child, if the cancer had taken her like it had taken Azelie’s younger sister. If Lily had died... Cole could hardly imagine it. He was sure his father wouldn’t have been able to take loosing his wife, and then his daughter a year and a half after. No sane person would be able to handle it. Cole couldn’t imagine himself without Lily. A life without her was unthinkable. She was his younger sister; he was there to protect her - no matter what.

“You’re not a grown-up!” Lily replied, a smile forming on her lips as she pushed a little at Cole.

“Well, I’m babysitting you aren’t I?” Cole smiled, knowing that it would bug her, “I’m old enough to babysit you and when you’re old enough to babysit somebody, you can say that,”

“You aren’t babysitting me, Cole!” She whined, scrunching up her nose slightly in distaste at his words, “I’m a child - you’re child sitting!”

“Same difference!”

“Is not! A baby is like 3 days old, I’m five,” Lily cried. Cole just laughed softly at his younger sister, rolling his eyes at her.

“Fine then, I’m child-sitting! Happy now?”

“Very!” She said, sticking her tongue out at her older brother. She stopped talking for a second to think. A large smile began to grow on her lips as excitement began to build inside of her, “Cole, is your girlfriend coming over today?”