Drew
Samantha's eyes were hardly opened but I managed to see her deep blue eyes.
"Hey," I said smiling at her.
"Hey," she replied weakly.
Mom looked up from her magazine and watched Samantha in concern,"How are you feeling?"
She struggled to answer but then said, "Tired."
"It's gonna be over soon, baby," Dad said from behind mom.
"Soon?" she said.
Mom nodded,"If this surgery works out--"
"When it works out," I corrected.
"Then it'll be a huge leap," mom said.
Samantha just smiled.
The door opened and Dr. Fournier entered.
My parents looked up ready to hear whatever he had to say.
"Your daughter has made good progress," he said. "We want to schedule the surgery for Tuesday morning."
"That's fine," mom said.
The doctor gave a subtle smile and said,"The nurses will be here to check on her later."
"Ok," mom said. "Thank you."
He nodded and left the room.
"Drew," I heard Samantha say.
"Yes."
"What if I..." she trailed "die?"
I was startled by her question.
"You won't," I said.
"But what if I do?" she asked.
I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion,"You shouldn't be thinking like that."
She sighed and held my hand. I kissed her on the forehead.
"You won't die," I reassured her. "Everything will be okay."
Lauren
I parked the car and got out. I had only been to this house once three years ago.
I walked precariously on the chipped sidewalk and when I got up to the door my fist hovered over it.
My mind raced and a million thoughts kept me wondering.
I sighed as I slowly rapped on the door three times.
After first no one came. Then, I heard muffled footsteps and the door opened.
A young girl who had short ginger hair and wide, blue eyes stood in front of me with an eyebrow raised.
"Do I know you?" she asked impatient.
"Um, I'm here for Cat," I said.
Her face softened as soon as I mentioned my sister's name.
"Cat?" she asked.
I nodded.
"Follow me," she said.
I obeyed and she led me through a dark corridor and into a small room.
There were three people sitting on the floor. Two were smoking.
The harsh smell wafted through the air and I struggled to get a decent breath in.
The boy who wasn't smoking turned to look at me then his eyes lit up,"Lauren."
I stayed glued to where I was,"Trey."
"Long time, no see," he said smiling. He turned to the two people and the red head and said, "I need this room."
All three of the people trampled out of the room leaving Trey and I alone.
"I'm here for Cat," I said in a monotone voice.
"Woah, woah, woah," he said chuckling. "Let's skip the business. I've missed you. You don't call me."
He was still the same: 5 foot 11 with dirty blonde hair and a pearly smile. When his green eyes weren't blood shot, they reminded me of the forest. I fell in love with that when I was fourteen and then he used me.
"That's because I don't want to," I snapped. "If you could give me whatever Cat sent me here for, I'd be ever so grateful."
"Ouch," he said. "You've changed."
"And you haven't," I shot back.
He locked his gaze on me before his eyes trailed down my body.
"Trey," I said averting his attention away from my body.
"I'll get it," he said finally.
I watched him walk into another part of the room and retrieve something.
When he returned, he handed me a small metallic box that had a latch on it.
I accepted the box and glanced at Trey once more before leaving the house.
I pulled into my driveway not too long after with the box at my side.
It was eleven when I entered the house.
"Where'd you go?" I heard from the corner of the room.
I turned my head to see my mom sitting at the kitchen table with papers set out in front of her.
She had her reading glasses on and looked concerned.
"Hanna wanted to talk to me," I said. "I didn't think it'd take long."
"Oh," she said.
I prepared to leave but she called my name.
"Yes," I said.
"I've been meaning to talk to you," she said.
I clutched the box behind my back.
"I'm kind of tired..." I said.
"It won't take long," she said smiling softly.
I sighed and approached her slowly.
"I want to thank you for understanding your sister and giving her a chance. She isn't exactly in the best of places right now," she began.
I thought of Catalina who was probably pacing right now.
"I want to be here for you three. I know I wasn't before..."
She glanced at me and gave a genuine smile,"I want my kids to be good people. So, I'm here now and hopefully for good. Thank you for understanding."
As she sat there smiling at me, I thought of the times where she wasn't, and the times where she'd be yelling at Cat or me.
When Cat ran away, I not only lost her but, I lost my mom. She would get extra hours of work, convincing herself she went somewhere wrong in raising us.
"Your welcome," I said quickly.
She nodded and turned back to her work.
I backed out of the kitchen and turned towards the stairs. I opened the door of the bedroom and saw Cat flipping through a magazine.
When I walked into her view, the first thing she noticed was the box I had in my hand.
"About time," she said reaching for it.
I watched as she hastily unlatched the box.
I peered to see what it was and saw stacks of bills. Hundred dollar bills.
"Is that yours?" I asked.
She glanced at me quickly and replied,"No."
She flipped through the stacks and began counting.
"Lock the door," she said.
I did as told and sat back on my bed.
"Nine, ten, eleven, twelve..." she mumbled.
She had counted almost fifty thousand dollars.
She counted all the bills twice then said,"I'm short."
I furrowed my eyebrows.
A little louder she exclaimed,"I'm short!"
She peered into the box and lifted up a small sheet of paper that she must have overlooked.
"Trey," she growled under her breath.
She crumbled up the paper and tossed it to me. When I unraveled it, I saw scribbled print and it read:
I'm sorry it had to come to this. Don't worry though, I don't want your money. You can get the rest at the same place. And by 'you' I mean Lauren. Can't wait to see you.
He didn't need to leave a signature for us to know it was him.
"I need that money by tomorrow," Cat said latching the box again.
I knew it wasn't up for discussion. She knew things about me that no one else needed to and she knew that.
She didn't speak anymore as she settled into the bed adjacent to mine and continued flipping through the magazine.