The Heartbreak Factor - Part One

Chapter Twenty-Nine.

“We weren’t expecting you yet,” mum smiled as I walked into the room where her and Michael were both sat, watching my tiny baby brother as he laid asleep in his incubator. “We were just getting ready to watch you on Xtra Factor.”

“They’ve let me miss the Xtra Factor,” I said, grabbing a chair and sitting next to them. As I took a look at my brother, I had to use all my energy to not burst out crying. He was so small.

“We watched you perform,” Michael smiled. “You did amazing.”

“Even this one woke up to watch you,” mum grinned, peering over the incubator.

“Have you thought of a name yet?” I asked, watching my baby brother’s chest slowly rise up and down.

“We were thinking you could choose,” Michael smiled to me as he grabbed hold of my mum’s hand.

“Really?”

“I think he’d love for his big sister to choose his name,” Michael laughed.

“That’s too much pressure on me,” I grinned, as I already began to think of possible name ideas. “How about ‘Sammy-is-the-bestest-big-sister-in-the-whole-wide-world-and-i-love-her-lots’? It’s original so there’s no risk of him having the same name as somebody else in his class when he goes to school.”

Mum and Michael both looked at me. You could tell they were trying hard not to laugh. “No,” they said in unison.

“How about something traditional?” mum suggested.

“Jack?” I asked.

“Jack?” mum smiled pleasantly surprised.

“Jack it is,” Michael grinned.

“We’re going to go call granddad to tell him the good news then,” mum smiled.

“You can stay here with Jack,” Michael said.

As mum and Michael left the room, I sat on the chair, looking up at Jack as he continued to lie in the incubator asleep. The whole room was in complete silence apart from the hushed beeping from the machines that were wired up to Jack. After a few moments, I stood up. Holding onto the rail around the incubator unit, I carried on admiring my new baby brother.

“I want to say something to you before you grow up and learn how to talk because I know for a fact once you learn how to talk, you won’t shut up,” I smiled. “I don’t think you realise how loved you are. Mummy and daddy obviously love you lots, but I love you even more. Remember that, okay?” I laughed. “You’re going to be such an amazing brother and I promise on my entire life that I will try my best to be the most amazing sister that I can be. No girl is ever going to hurt you – ever.”

As the nurse walked back in, I stopped talking. “Don’t stop on my account,” she smiled. “Babies love it when you talk to them.”

I smiled at her and then looked back at Jack. “Just get better quick please so I can give you a huge hug,” I said awkwardly, knowing that whatever I said to Jack, the nurse would be able to hear and she’d be secretly judging me. “I love you lots, Jack.”

“Do you want to hold his hand?” the nurse asked me.

As I nodded, she opened the latch on the side of the incubator and smiled at me. “You won’t break him,” she smiled.

Slowly, I put my hand into the incubator. Taking hold of Jack’s tiny hand was one of the best moments in my life, well that’s what I thought until his tiny hand wrapped around my finger. As I stood grinning at him, the door opened.

“Look who we found,” Michael said.

Looking up, I saw Michael and mum stood in the doorway. Behind them stood them was Josh, George, Jaymi and JJ. “We thought we’d come see Sammy and the mini-male Sammy,” Jaymi grinned.

As they all walked over to me, Jack still had hold of my finger. “Mum, look,” I grinned. “He’s holding my finger.”

“I don’t reckon life can get any better than this,” mum grinned, close to tears, as she stood next to me.

Josh, George, Jaymi and JJ all came and stood so they surrounded the incubator next to me. “I’ll leave you lot to it,” the nurse politely announced before she vacated the room, leaving us all looking down at Jack as he continued to sleep, completely oblivious to everything that was going on in the room.

“He looks like you, Sammy,” Josh grinned as we all peered over the incubator.

“He’s so cute,” JJ smiled.

“He really is,” Jaymi laughed.

“How can something that small be so cute?” George smiled.

“George, you should see Sammy’s baby photos,” Michael laughed. “You’ll change your mind then.”

I looked up at Michael. “We’ve been together for a week – chill it,” I said.

“Stop it, Michael. You’re embarrassing her,” mum laughed.

Stood around the incubator, we all carried on watching Jack. His hold on my finger was still quite strong. “When do you reckon we can take him home?” Michael asked the nurse.

“It’s hard to say, but if he carries on like this,” the nurse began. “It won’t be long at all before he can go home with you.”