Never Forget

Chapter 18

My eyes began to water and a couple tears ran down my face. I had to hold back because if I didn't I wouldn't be able to tell him everything.

"Well....when I was 6-years-old I was adopted. I don't remember much before that. All I remember is moving in with Hilary and Jackson, the couple that adopted us." I paused for a second trying to calm myself down.
"Us?" J said with a questioning look on his face. "Yes. Me and my little sister Sasha. She was 3 years-old at the time."

He nodded which signaled for me to keep going. "Hilary loved us and took care of us so well. But when I was 13 she died of breast cancer. After that my sister and I became closer than ever. Something I loved about my adopted parents was that Jackson loved Hilary with all of his heart. They were married for over 20 years and he still looked at her like she was one of the wonders of the world. After she died, he didn't know what to do with himself. He started drinking more and staying out later and he pretty much stopped taking care of us. As soon as I could I had to get a job to make sure that Sasha and I were taken care of. So I was working, going to school, and cheerlading." I paused again to wipe away some of my tears.

"I even got a full scholarship for cheerlading but I didn't want to go to college I wanted to stay home and take care of Sasha until she could handle herself but she wasn't having it. She kept telling me that I had to go to college and that she could handle herself. She was always so strong. She was the light of my life." I sadly smiled at the thought. "We looked nothing alike by the way, she had pin straight blonde hair and bright blue eyes. The only thing that we had in common was some of our facial features.

"About 3 weeks after my graduation, Sasha killed herself. Jack found her in her room on her bed with cuts all over her body. She bled out. I was a mess. I didn't know how to handle it. She was my rock. I didn't think that I could make it through life without her. The day before I met you was the two year anniversary of her death. I went out an I tried to get drunk and just forget everything but it didn't work. I still felt a hole in my heart that can't be filled.

"Today was so bad because my adopted father sent me a package an it had some of her things in it including her diary. I read it before I came here and it turns out that she was going through a really bad depression for a while that seemed to have come out of no where. All that time and I never noticed. I was too busy with work and school and cheerlading to notice. Maybe if I quit cheerlading she would still be alive. Or maybe if I just paid attention she-"

"Krista stop. It's not your fault." J said.
"But it is. I could've-"
"No. You couldn't have." He looked me in my eyes and took my hands. "It's not your fault." I began to cry some more and he held me. I knew my tears were wetting his shirt but he didn't seem to care. He held me until I was done.

I got up and wiped away my tears. "Sorry." I said. "It's okay. No need to apologize." He said. "Oh. Jackson also sent me a letter that had his number in it and told me to call him because there is something important he wants to talk to me about."
"I think.....you should call him."
"Really? Why?"
"Just see what he has to say."
"I don't know..."
"Well whatever decision you make I'll support you one hundred percent." He said matter of factly. We stood up and he reached out his hand for me to grab it and I did. We walked through the park hand in hand until I was closer to my apartment then we went our separate ways.

A/N
So I completely forgot to post yesterday. On the bright side, I got to go to my friends amazing birthday party and tonight my church is having a lock in. I'm so excited. This week has been pretty amazing I've learned a lot about art and life in general. I really want to take up photography and travel the world, take pictures, and wrote stories about the places I've been. I'm so excited for what God has in store for my life. If you read that whole thing, thanks for reading it and thanks for reading my story. You guys are truly amazing. Keep voting and commenting. Love you all.