Chapter Four:
Tears rolled liberally out of my eyes. I had to lay my head on the steering wheel as I caught my breath. My sides were aching so badly, pain was shooting through my ribs and stomach. I'd never laughed so hard in my life. Felicia was in the passenger seat, her head thrown back against the headrest, her mouth stretched into a huge grin. It had been about two weeks since Felicia and I hooked up at that gas station, and now that we were spending most days after school together, we were having more and more fun together just hanging out and discovering more things we had in common. Today, she was teaching me the ins and outs of prank calls. When she had found out that Dad had given me a scrambled, completely untraceable cell phone, she'd just about had a heart attack. The last one had been so entertaining that I had to pull off the road because I couldn't see, I was laughing so hard. "Lovie!" She'd proclaimed in a terrible imitation of a British accent. "It's me! Gloria, from high school in England!" The worst part had been that the woman that Felicia had randomly called actually did go to high school in England, and also knew someone named Gloria.
It was a Thursday night and in about an hour Felicia had to be home. Unlike me, Felicia had to keep good grades. She was a scholarship student from a middle class family who normally couldn't afford my school's tuition, but as long as she kept a 3.5 GPA or higher, she could attend the school at no cost. If she kept a 4.0 and met several other prerequisites, the school might pay for her college education too. That was what she was hoping for, because her single father couldn't afford to put her into college and raise her three sisters on an assistant producer of the local news on a struggling television station's salary. Felicia's mother, as I had learned, died when she was eight. But after all that, she had a wicked sense of humor and we spent the majority of the time we had together laughing at some prank Felicia had just pulled.
Tonight, I had dropped by the house and found a not from Mom saying that she'd taken Leo to the doctor, and she'd be back later. I called up Felicia and we'd ended up at the Chinese buffet. When I walk into the doors of an all you can eat buffet, the owners shiver in fear.
After we gorged ourselves and driven around for a while torturing the masses with my phone, I dropped Felicia off and headed home. We had tentative plans to go to the mall and shop for a mutual friends birthday that was next week. I also wanted to get home because I was worried about Leo. He'd been really lethargic the past week and Mom was worried enough to keep him home from school and take him to the doctor's today. Doctor's were something our family avoided if at all possible.
When I parked my car, both Mom and Dad's cars were in their spots. I rode the elevator up, quietly humming to myself, a grin still plastered on my face from the fun I had been having. All that ended when I walked in the door.
"Hey! I'm home!" I called, dropping my bag next to the door. I could hear Leo playing with Dad in his bedroom and the sounds of Mom putting away dishes in the kitchen. "Hey Mom…" I trailed off as I saw Mom leaning against the sink, bent over with her face resting in her hands. When she heard me come into the room, she quickly wiped her face and turned back to me.
"Hi honey, how was your night?" She said quickly. Her face was pale, deathly pale, the only color being the red rims of her swollen eyes. The fake smile did nothing to hide her pain.
"Mom? What's the matter? You've been crying." I ask moving to take her hand. Something had to be really wrong for Mom to be crying. Her face crumbled, the fake smile falling away as her eyes overflowed again. She suddenly seemed so old, so fragile.
"Your father and I…" She broke off, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "We took your brother to the doctor today."
My throat suddenly became very tight. It was hard to breath. "Is something wrong with him, Mom?" Mom looked away. "Just tell me!" My voice was starting raise with panic.
"I don't know how to tell you this." Mom sighed brokenly.
I walked to my room, the blood roaring in my ears after Mom was done. It all made sense now, the bruises, how tired Leo had been lately. God…no. I picked up the phone and punched in Felicia's number. When she picked up the phone, I spoke. My voice sounded so detached, like it wasn't really me talking. "Felicia? I'm going to have to cancel on tomorrow night. In fact, I don't think I'll be in school for the next couple of days."
"What? Why?" She asked, surprised.
"My brother…Leo…God." I broke off as he first tear fell from my eye. It would be just the beginning, I knew, before this was over. "They think he has leukemia."
Tears rolled liberally out of my eyes. I had to lay my head on the steering wheel as I caught my breath. My sides were aching so badly, pain was shooting through my ribs and stomach. I'd never laughed so hard in my life. Felicia was in the passenger seat, her head thrown back against the headrest, her mouth stretched into a huge grin. It had been about two weeks since Felicia and I hooked up at that gas station, and now that we were spending most days after school together, we were having more and more fun together just hanging out and discovering more things we had in common. Today, she was teaching me the ins and outs of prank calls. When she had found out that Dad had given me a scrambled, completely untraceable cell phone, she'd just about had a heart attack. The last one had been so entertaining that I had to pull off the road because I couldn't see, I was laughing so hard. "Lovie!" She'd proclaimed in a terrible imitation of a British accent. "It's me! Gloria, from high school in England!" The worst part had been that the woman that Felicia had randomly called actually did go to high school in England, and also knew someone named Gloria.
It was a Thursday night and in about an hour Felicia had to be home. Unlike me, Felicia had to keep good grades. She was a scholarship student from a middle class family who normally couldn't afford my school's tuition, but as long as she kept a 3.5 GPA or higher, she could attend the school at no cost. If she kept a 4.0 and met several other prerequisites, the school might pay for her college education too. That was what she was hoping for, because her single father couldn't afford to put her into college and raise her three sisters on an assistant producer of the local news on a struggling television station's salary. Felicia's mother, as I had learned, died when she was eight. But after all that, she had a wicked sense of humor and we spent the majority of the time we had together laughing at some prank Felicia had just pulled.
Tonight, I had dropped by the house and found a not from Mom saying that she'd taken Leo to the doctor, and she'd be back later. I called up Felicia and we'd ended up at the Chinese buffet. When I walk into the doors of an all you can eat buffet, the owners shiver in fear.
After we gorged ourselves and driven around for a while torturing the masses with my phone, I dropped Felicia off and headed home. We had tentative plans to go to the mall and shop for a mutual friends birthday that was next week. I also wanted to get home because I was worried about Leo. He'd been really lethargic the past week and Mom was worried enough to keep him home from school and take him to the doctor's today. Doctor's were something our family avoided if at all possible.
When I parked my car, both Mom and Dad's cars were in their spots. I rode the elevator up, quietly humming to myself, a grin still plastered on my face from the fun I had been having. All that ended when I walked in the door.
"Hey! I'm home!" I called, dropping my bag next to the door. I could hear Leo playing with Dad in his bedroom and the sounds of Mom putting away dishes in the kitchen. "Hey Mom…" I trailed off as I saw Mom leaning against the sink, bent over with her face resting in her hands. When she heard me come into the room, she quickly wiped her face and turned back to me.
"Hi honey, how was your night?" She said quickly. Her face was pale, deathly pale, the only color being the red rims of her swollen eyes. The fake smile did nothing to hide her pain.
"Mom? What's the matter? You've been crying." I ask moving to take her hand. Something had to be really wrong for Mom to be crying. Her face crumbled, the fake smile falling away as her eyes overflowed again. She suddenly seemed so old, so fragile.
"Your father and I…" She broke off, taking a deep breath to steady herself. "We took your brother to the doctor today."
My throat suddenly became very tight. It was hard to breath. "Is something wrong with him, Mom?" Mom looked away. "Just tell me!" My voice was starting raise with panic.
"I don't know how to tell you this." Mom sighed brokenly.
I walked to my room, the blood roaring in my ears after Mom was done. It all made sense now, the bruises, how tired Leo had been lately. God…no. I picked up the phone and punched in Felicia's number. When she picked up the phone, I spoke. My voice sounded so detached, like it wasn't really me talking. "Felicia? I'm going to have to cancel on tomorrow night. In fact, I don't think I'll be in school for the next couple of days."
"What? Why?" She asked, surprised.
"My brother…Leo…God." I broke off as he first tear fell from my eye. It would be just the beginning, I knew, before this was over. "They think he has leukemia."
