Adopted by The Prom

Chapter 1

"Hi, TripHeads! Tripler here, and welcome to another video!"

I had been making videos since I was about twelve years old, the year I found out my kidneys were dysplastic. Severely dysplastic. I got an ultrasound, got the news broken to me, I started dialysis a couple of weeks later.

So here we are, four years later. Still on dialysis, still with messed up kidneys, but it's fine! I'm happy with the way I'm living. I have two amazing parents and two sisters, one twin, one older.

Oh, not to mention, I have an amazing boyfriend. His name is Cameron and he's from Australia, and we met over Discord about two years ago. I've only seen him in real life once, when my dad had to go on a business trip to Australia.

Anyway, back to the video I was making. I settled for a Q&A today, getting all the questions off of my Instagram. I was answering questions about the tube in my chest, if dialysis hurts, talking about my corny primary care doctor, what it's like living in New Zealand...there was a wide range of questions, which I liked.

"Catch ya next time, folks! Bye!" I said, turning off the camera. I opened my editing software and got to work, listening to music as I added text and sound effects to my latest video.

"Tripler?" my dad called from outside my bedroom door. "Tripler? Tripp, buddy, we need to talk to you."

Confused, I closed my laptop and slowly opened the door, making my way to the kitchen where my parents were. My parents and my two sisters, Lia and Kinsley, were all sitting at the counter, and I knew I needed to prepare myself for a serious discussion.

"What's going on?" I asked, and my parents took a quick glance at Lia and motioned for me to sit down.

My dad sighed and cleared his throat. "So, um...Tripler, as you probably know, your twin sister hasn't been feeling well these past few days...and um, we have news."

I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. This can't be good.

"Your sister has a chronic illness, Tripp. And, um...it's going to be hard to take care of two chronically ill kids, but we're going to work it out as a family, right?" my dad said.

In that moment, my heart stopped. Lia, my twin sister, my best friend was chronically ill...and with my family's money issues, I'm not sure if we're going to be able to "work it out."

There was only one thing I could do to make sure Lia led a healthy, long, fulfilled life.

"Would it help if I left the house for a bit? If I lived with Cameron or something, at least until you guys scrape up some more money and you're able to live comfortably with everything going on?" I asked, dead serious.

"Tripp- are you sure? No one's asking you to leave...you can stay here. I know how much you love New Zealand and you love your school and our culture...I'd hate to see you give it all up." my mom said.

"My decision is final. While I do love it here, family comes first, and I'd do anything for Lia and Kinsley. So...I'm leaving tomorrow morning. I'll keep in touch with you guys, and maybe I'll be back to visit every so often. But for now, I love you, and I'll see you later." I said.

_______

Three years' worth of allowance was in my hand, and I had left the doors of my house one last time. I pulled out my phone and decided to record an impromptu video, even though I had a semi-strict uploading schedule.

"Hey TripHeads, Tripler here. I know todays not my usual uploading day, but um...I guess I don't live in New Zealand anymore? I mean, I'm still here, I just need to figure out where the hell I'm supposed to go and then I'm out of here. So...yeah. I know this was a super short video, and it's not my usual content, I just wanted to let you guys know where I was in case I don't upload for a while. Catch ya next time, folks! Bye!"

I turned off the camera and sighed, sitting on a bench and kicking my feet. I waited there for a while, contemplating what I was to do about this whole thing when my phone buzzed.

Little did I know, that vibration would change my life.