Monkey

1

*SOPHIA'S POV*

June 15, 2002

"Come onnnn, Theo! Stop being so slow." I shout impatiently, grabbing his hand and pulling him towards a tree. "This is the best tree I've ever seen." I say in awe.

"It's just a tree, monkey." My best friend -Theo Raeken- said, clearly unimpressed.

I scramble up the branches, perching myself on a sturdy limb about five feet off the ground.

"Bet you can't catch me!" I stick my tongue out, looking down at the boy.

He starts climbing, almost reaching me. But I start climbing higher and higher. I'm over twenty feet off the ground.

"Sophia, watch out!" I hear right as I transfer my weight to the next branch. I feel powerless as the branch snaps off the tree, sending me plummeting to the ground.

...

I wake up in a hospital bed with a cast on my arm. My dad, brother, and Theo's family are sitting in the room.

"You have to be more careful, Soph. You could have gotten yourself killed." My dad says.

"I'm fine, it doesn't even hurt."

"That's because you're on painkillers. You were screaming in agony when they brought you in." My brother states.

"Shut up, Stiles." I flick his forehead, annoyed at his existence right now.

"Sophia, be nice to your brother." Dad scolds. "You know this is the third time you've broken your arm this year? It's only June."

"I know. How did mom's tests go?"

"We'll tell you and Stiles later tonight, okay?"

I nod in response. The doctor comes in, handing my dad some paperwork to fill out before I'm released. Theo finds some markers and starts drawing on my cast. It's pretty much a tradition at this point, every time I break a bone, he'll draw how I broke it. A couple months ago, his masterpiece was a monkey -me- standing on an old tire as if it was one of those balls the clowns roll around on at the circus.

...

A few hours later, I'm back at home, sitting next to my brother on the couch. Our parents sat across from us. I'm tracing Theo's drawing with my fingers as my parents think about how to phrase the news.

"We got the test results back, and we wanted to discuss them all together. Things are gonna change around here, and we want you to know that whatever happens, we'll always be family."

"Just tell us already!" I blurt out, interrupting my Dad. I've never been one for patience.

"I only have a year left to live." I feel Stiles tense up next to me at our mother's words. I sit there in shock, processing the information. Stiles starts to cry. I take Stiles' hand in mine, then pull him in for a hug. I shed a few tears, but nowhere near as many as Stiles. My younger brother -by 7 minutes and 12 seconds- had always been the more emotional one of us. Mom and dad join the hug, and after a few minutes, me and Stiles go to his room, still holding hands.

"Do you want me to stay?" He nods and we climb onto either side of the bed. We snuggle up in the middle, him careful of my cast. We cry a bit more before falling asleep.