I went upstairs to my room. My 16. boyfriend Adam was on my bed. We began making out not talking about what'd happened. He smelled like cologne. We were still making out when we heard the front door open downstairs. We heard my 17 yr. Old sister Alexa come down the upstairs hallway and stairs. The door opening indicated that my parents were back from wherever they'd been.

"Mom," we heard Alexa say, getting her attention.

"Yes dear?" Mom replied.

There was a pause and then I heard my parents rush up the stairs followed by my 18 yr. Old sister Ashley. Something must've happened. Up untill they rushed upstairs Adam and I'd been content in my room. The rushing indicated that they were going somewhere quickly.

"mandy, we're going to the hospital," Alexa told me on her way down the narrow carpeted hall.

She was walking fast.

I knew why. My 11 yr. Old sister anna was sick, again. She'd been diagnosed w/ leukemia last yr.

Alexa was probably walking quickly in order to get to anna who was most likely in the bathroom.

This couldn't be good.

Adam and I pulled away from each other.

"This can't be good," I told him.

"Does anyone ever go to the hospital when it's good?" he told me, smiling.

We were now sitting on my bed facing each other our legs crossed. His arms were around me on my lower back.

"mandy! Now!" alexa commanded.

"Coming," I called.

adam and I stood and came out of the room his arm wrapped around my waist.

"What happened?" mom asked our 14 year old sister kate, panic in her blue eyes.

"alexa was the first to notice," my sister said looking at mom.

mom turned and looked at alexa.

We all were waiting for what alexa was going to tell us.

"I walked down the hall and heard retching. anna was bleeding, she told me when I asked."

"Omygod," Mom whispered.

She was surprised. She was whispering bc she didn't want to upset us.

"She's bruised," dad whispered.

He knew this because with the bleeding often came bruising. It was part of her illness.

We all went down the hall into the small white bathroom where anna was. They bent down and lifted her. The bathroom was cold.

"She's light," dad observed.

"Well, of course she's light! She's been sick on and off for the past week! What did you expect? If you were here more you'd know that," alexa said to mom annoyed.

Alexa was referring to the fact that because anna had been sick she'd lost weight which was why she was light.

"alexa," mom said warningly.

"Sorry."

"Go gather the others," dad said calmly to alexa.

He and mom slowly and carefully brought anna down the wide curving white carpeted stairs into the big white living room with kate following close behind.

"We can take my car," he told alexa; "it'll fit 5."

"Ok good. So that's you...the twins, rose, the twins need to be together," Ashley said.

"Ok."

"ill take kate and anna in mine," mom ssssaid.

"ok."