Love Hides The Truth

Chapter 5

I wake up crawled up in a ball next to the window, I glance out the window and see that its pitch black out. When I pull my phone out of my pocket it reads, 1:55am and I have fifteen missed calls from my mom. I use my phone as a flashlight and walk over to my moms room, but when I look inside its empty. I jog over to Brinley's room and it's empty too. My stomach sinks and my heart starts racing, what if they're in trouble? I dial my moms number with shaky fingers and listen to the long rings that lead to her voicemail. Tears pour down my face as I dial it three more times until finally she picks up.

"Hello?" Her voice is groggy which means she just woke up.

"Mom, where are you? Are you okay?" I muster out frantically.

"I'm at the hospital, your sister got sick in her appointment and the doctors said she needed to be hospitalized overnight."

"Is she going to be okay?" My voice cracks.

"We think so, I just need to stay here for one more night to make sure. I tried calling you, but you didn't answer."

"I was sleeping, I'm so sorry." 

"That's okay, sweetie. I'm going to run home quick and grab some clothes today, but then we won't be back until tomorrow. I'm going to get back to bed before your sister wakes up, she needs lots of rest."

"Okay, I'll see you then." 

I hang up the phone and slide my back down the wall until I smack to the floor. My bloodshot eyes sting from crying and my head is still spinning. We have these nights at least twice a month. Brinley will pass out or throw up and mom rushes her to the hospital. I used to go with, but you can only spend so many night there until it gets nauseating. Now I just stay home and wait, but sometimes that's harder. It'll start as one night in the hospital, but it can turn to a week in minutes depending on how she recovers. My mom's never home anymore, she's always running to Brinley's appointments or spending nights in hospital beds. I know I sound selfish. I know I sound disgusting, when I think thoughts like I wish Brinley wasn't ever in the picture. However, I can't stop my mind from going there. My family used to be happy, perfect even. I had a dad who loved me and a mom who was always around. Until Brinley got diagnosed six months ago with Leukemia. My family crumbled underneath my feet.

My father couldn't handle the news, I woke up one morning to screaming and watching my dad's flannel disappear out the front door for the last time. I always sat on the bottom step at the time he usually got home from work everyday after school, waiting to see his smile walk through the door. I did that for about a month, until I realized he really wasn't coming back.

My mom grew distant, quiet. She's gotten better since then, but she's not the same. She was crazy, loud and a big ball of sunshine. She'd take me on crazy adventures and tell me dirty stories of her life before my dad. I miss that her, the her who saw me. Sometimes I feel like a portrait on the wall watching everything, but never being looked at. My mom hovers over Brinley, only looking away to shower. If it wasn't for this move I swear my mom would never recover. Three months into Brinley's sickness and my dad leaving, my mom started house hunting without telling anyone. When she told me we were moving, I broke inside even more. I asked her why and she told me she just couldn't sit in this house of nightmares. I know this move was for the better for her, for Brinley, and maybe one for me. Right now it's hard not to think about how much I miss my old life, but you can't tun back the clock. I know I shouldn't be jealous of my sick sister, but I can't help it. She took my best friend, my mom and left me in pieces.