Happier || M.H & G.D

"You haven't lost that grin off your face since you said he was here."

"Yes hon, that's fine. Be careful okay? I'll be praying." She says and kisses my cheek sweetly. I put 4 dollars down for our drinks, then rush out of the door.

--

I come through our front door quickly, running into my room and pulling my suitcase out. "Lillian, you're home early from work." I hear George call out as I quickly pass the living room.

I hear his footsteps following me into my room. "Hey why are you packing?" He asks, the sadness in his voice making me look up. He looked absolutely defeated and sad.

I didn't have time to explain, so I hurriedly shove a few more clothes in my suitcase. "Hey, stop." He demands softly, grabbing my hand lightly. "George, I don't have time to explain. I'm sorry." I say and shake his hand off mine; I zip up the bag shortly after.

"Lillian, talk to me. Please, there's time." He says, I sigh and turn towards him. "My aunt, she's really sick and I need to get home. She's asking for me." I tell him, mostly out of breath from running.

"Aunt Anna? She's sick? I'm so sorry Lill, come here." He says, he engulfs me into a big hug; my adrenaline now turned to sadness as tears prickled down my cheeks.

"I'll come with you, I'll be your shoulder to cry on. The band isn't on tour or anything, so it wouldn't be a hassle." He suggests, I shake my head. "George, don't put yourself out for me. I'll be fine." I tell him, I pull away from his embrace. "It's not like I'm moving with you there. I'm going as your guest. You don't need to be alone in a time like this." He tells me, I sigh. "Fine, but go pack quickly. I'll get the plane tickets." I say, he nods before pulling out his wallet.

"Use this, please just use it." He pleads, I slowly take the debit card. "You've got to stop treating me like orphan Annie." I tell him, he chuckles.

--

"So this is Alabama?" George asks, I nod. "Welcome to Silverhill Alabama, population of 700." I tell him, laughs. "I've been to Alabama before, but not this far out." He says, the various trees passing us quickly in the rental car.

I pull up to my Aunt Anna's house, the rustic white house looking the same as it did when I was shipped here around 10 years.

We step out of the car, George hollering that he'd grab the bags. I walk towards the house, my hand skims across the wooden porch.

I was raised here, technically. I went through a rebellious stage when I was 14, my parents weren't the best at raising me in the first place; so they shipped me out to my aunts. The 3 hour drive from my other house in Alabama led me to my home with my aunt and uncle.

The more they were kind and gentle with me, the more I fell out of my rebellion. They asked if I wanted to go home on my 15th birthday, I refused; I'd felt like they were my parents that I wanted to raise me.

I walk to the door, I decided to knock instead of barging in like I usually would. Uncle Tyler came to the door, he started growing gray sideburns, I laughed at the sight. "Uncle Tyler! I thought you said you were never gonna keep gray hair?" I ask, he tackles me into a hug. "And I thought you said you were gonna come home every now and then, but this is the first time in years!" He rebuttals, his words making my heart clench with guilt.

"I'm sorry, I really am." I say and he kisses my forehead. "It's okay baby, you've been happy out there, that's all Anna and I wanted." He tells me, I smile fondly. "What's happened with aunt Anna?" I ask, his face becomes sullen. George appears next to me with 2 suitcases, he was wearing a big frown.

"Ah, you finally brought the boyfriend home." He says, I see George turn bright red. "No, he's actually my best friend. Matty and I broke up about a month or 2 ago. This is George." I say, uncle Tyler face shows a bit of shock, then he quickly turns his attention to George. They shake each other's hand and tell their names.

"Let's go inside and talk about aunt Anna." Uncle Tyler says as he walks us inside. Literally nothing has changed in here, the same decorations were sprawled around the house. "Sweet tea?" He asks, I nod frantically. "God, please. I'm tired of hot tea from Europe." I say and George scoffs.

He sets down 2 glasses of tea, pulling up the chair next to me. "So, aunt Anna was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, she had been sick for a while. We took her to the doctor, they never checked for breast cancer because she had no signs of that cancer. So, by the time they caught it she was on the edge of stage 3, moving onto stage 4." He says, a few tears pooling in his eyes.

"So, how bad is she in there?" I ask, he puts his head down. "She's not the same, she lost all of her spirit, she doesn't look the same from all the treatment and weight loss. Her soul is still Anna, but her spirit isn't." He says sadly, my heart breaking at the seams; the one thing Anna had and used to uplift others was her spirit.

"I'm going to go see her, is that okay?" I ask, he nods frantically. "Please, she's been asking for you. She's in our room." He tells me, I make my way to the bedroom door; fear stopping me in my tracks.

I knock, even though i know she doesn't know or care. Once I open the door, her lifeless looking body rises slowly. "Lillian?" She asks weakly. "It's me Aunt Anna." I say, her face now adorning a bright smile. "My baby is back from Europe." She says, I smile back. "I am, I heard you were asking for me and I decided it was time to come. I knew it was serious if you really needed me back." I tell her, she nods; then pats the empty space beside her. I sit on the bed, making sure to face her.

"All I ever wanted for you is to be happy, even if it meant you lived across a very big ocean." She tells me, I smile. "All I ever wanted to do was make you proud." I tell her, she makes a grunting noise.

"You'll never know how much you've done to make me the proudest aunt on the planet." She squeaks out, I feel tears in my eyes threatening to spill out. "You're not an aunt to me, honestly, you're my mom that I wish had gave birth to me. I love my real mother, but you're my mom." I tell her, she starts to sob.

"I've wanted to hear that all these years, when they said they were letting you stay here, I was overjoyed. I could never have kids of my own, so you were the biggest blessing we received." She sobs out, I get further on the bed to wrap her in a hug.

"I don't want you to go, you mean too much to me." I cry onto her shoulder. "Hey, don't cry baby. I'm gonna be okay, I'm gonna get to be happier when I get where I'm going. I'm going to be okay, and so are you." She says, she rubs my back slowly.

We cry together for a few moments before she detached herself from me. "So did you bring your man?" She asks, I smile lightly. "Matty and I broke up a couple of months ago. I did bring my best friend George, you remember me talking about him when I first moved to England." I explain, she nods. "Ah, the weird coffee shop guy. I remember. He's here?" She asks, I nod. "He let me move in with him, and I got a job in a restaurant." I inform her, she nods. "So you're living together?" She asks, I nod.

"You have feelings for each other." She states, I laugh lightly. "What makes you think that?" I ask, my heart slightly fluttering. "You haven't lost that grin off your face since you said he was here." She says, I shake my head. "It's nothing, for now." I tell her, I start to see her eyes fluttering.

"We'll talk more about him tomorrow, and I'll let you meet him. I love you mom." I say, she smiles even though her eyes are shut. Oh how she changed my life.

Didn't proofread but I'm actually crying in the club.