3 Stepbrothers

The Kingdom Has Fallen

"You two need to leave." One of the nurses said to us. This was actually happening, Tori's heart stopped beating.

Blake cursed and picked me up. He took me out of the room where I found Cole pacing with his hands behind his head as tears streaked down his face. Bill was holding onto Suzie while she kicked and screamed as sobs didn't stop. Bill's face was deadly pale, he looked fatigue and weak. Finally he gave up and handed Suzie to mom who held onto her with a different strength. Bill placed his hands on his eyes trying to stop the tears.

I wasn't paying attention. There was a buzzing in my ear and I felt my stomach drop. Beads of sweat started forming on the sides of my head and back. There was a taste of bile in the back of my throat and my hands trembled slightly.

Hold it in Shawn! My voice yelled in my head.

I can't. I answered when I felt my stomach grumble. It started hurting with a pain I knew before. My eyes blinked away the tears as I felt everything rising.

Abort! Abort mission! It yelled. Find a trash can now! Eee-rrr! Eee-rrr!

Blake put me down when I squirmed out of his grip. There was a small trash beside the seats and I rushed to it. I knelt in front of it letting everything come out. My lungs screamed for me to breathe but my body kept throwing everything up. I'd choke and gag feeling my face turn red and hot. I had barely eaten but even so, bile and coffee ended up at the bottom of the trash. While I threw up, someone started rubbing my back trying to soothe my shaking body. Even after I was done, I lent over the trashcan breathing deeply as tears started to stream down my face and join the vomit at the bottom of the trash.

My arms were shaking with the nerves racking through me. I wanted to throw up again but there was nothing left. The back of my throat was dry and stung from the acid in my stomach. My taste buds were complaining with the disgusting taste that played on my tongue. I looked up at everyone and they all stared at me. "Does anyone by any chance have gum?" I asked closing my eyes and laying my head against the wall.

"You feeling ok?" Blake knelt down to eye level with me.

I shook my head squeezing my hands into fists. My nails started digging into my palms as we heard the doctors and nurses in Tori's room. Please oh dear God let her be ok. I prayed. Hiccups started forming in my mouth. Don't let this happen. Not again...

Blake sat beside me, putting the trashcan far away from us. His arms went around my shaking body, hugging me into his warm chest. I clung onto his jacket and cried on his shoulder. Part of me was crying over Tori, the other part because I could barely even remember the time Blake hugged me like this. It was after dad died. He'd do this on a daily basis where he'd just hold me and tell me the world wasn't over. It was the most comforting thing anyone could ever had done for me and I missed it. I missed having  my brother around to tell me that it'll be ok as soon as the pain goes away.

He never cried. He'd come close many times but he'd never cry. It gave me some strength to know that he was in the same pain yet wouldn't shed the tears. It made me realize that I shouldn't cry as hard. Right now was the same. Blake would rub my back until my shaking went away. I knew I couldn't look at his face, if I did I'd have a new reason to cry. He was emotionless. There wasn't a single thing that looked to be on his mind. It was like staring at a wall. 

My sobs slowed down to hiccups as I tried to regain myself. Tori died. Her heart gave out. She's dead. All the memories of her started reappearing in my head. The wedding when she was sitting alone eating the cake like she hated life. The day she moved in, with all the brown boxes. Her kindergarten explanation about how trees are miracles. When we went to lake house and had the best time ever even when we did hate ourselves. The first time I actually started warming up to her when we were doing my math. After that everything was great. The nicknames, the jokes, the laughs. When she'd play Ninja with me. I'd make her laugh with my random comments as we watched movies, TV, or games. Even with all her seriousness, she started acting a bit like me. She became more than a sister, she became my friend.