FATE

72. Fine China

BROOKE

"I don't know", Hailee mumbles under her breath.

"What do you mean you don't know?"

"Can we go outside? I don't want Carmen to hear all of this"

I nod and stand. Hailee wheels ahead of me but I manage to hold on to the handles on her wheelchair.

"I'll help", I say, "I remember Jonah saying your hands used to hurt"

She scoffs lightly as I push her out of the living room.

Carmen meets us at the entrance, a quizzical look on her face. "What's wrong?", she asks.

"Hailee and I are just going outside to have a conversation", I answer.

"It won't take too long", Hailee smiles at her.

Carmen smiles back, "okay, I guess I'll settle for Francis right now then"

"What do you mean settle for Francis?", Francis peeks out of the kitchen and Carmen rolls her eyes.

"You've been spending an awful lot of time drinking water", Hailee says to him.

"I was admiring the plates in the sink", he steps out of the kitchen, "Brooke, your mom owns some fine china"

I frown slightly, "I'm going outside with Hailee now", I push the wheelchair towards the front door. Hailee opens it and we move out- to the right side of the house. There's a small bench by the front door so I leave Hailee and sit and it, clasping my hands and burying them in between my jean covered thighs.

She takes a deep breath and glances around. "It looks different here"

"It is", I nod,

"Are you planning on going back to Boston anytime soon?", she asks.

"Hopefully", I haven't asked Blake if he got the job, he was excited about yet. If he did, he would tell me but he hasn't said anything. That worries me.

"Well, I hope you do"

I glance around the quiet neighborhood, "yeah"

"Jonah wasn't always the way he is you know", she says.

"What do you mean the way he is?"

"Always so stoic", she rolls her eyes, "he was actually pretty sweet at some point. He used to like baking and gardening. I miss that side of him so much sometimes", she says, "but that was only him before Aunt Lauren died"

"His mom", I say.

Hailee nods, "she died the night of his eleventh birthday"

I stare at my lap. That's why he didn't want to celebrate it. He said it wasn't anything serious but he lied. Again.

"I don't really remember everything that happened that day. Francis and I spent it with Jonah though but he was a bit distracted because his dad wasn't home", she narrates, "then later, we had cake and I went home. Later that night, his dad showed up in my house begging my parents to go over and watch Jonah while he went to the hospital-

-we went next door and he was just there, sitting on the couch and waiting for her to come home so they could open a present together", she adds in a solemn tone, "the next day when we woke up, my mom took us to the hospital. She was dead by the time we got there"

"Oh my God"

Hailee forces a smile at me, "we don't talk about it", she says, "but something changed in him that night. He was just angrier, sadder, he stopped doing things he enjoyed doing and I should have helped but I couldn't"