Chapter 3: Syd
Syd gave a quick, comforting hug to her sister before walking into Robbie's room and quietly closing the door. She thought of all the times she had been in a hospital. Sure, hospitals were nothing new to her, but seeing your brother hooked up to what seemed to be half the machines inside Rhode Island Hospital was an entirely new experience, and one that gave her a sickening feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. She thought that nothing would ever be worse than sitting with Kyle during his cancer. She had thought wrong.
"Oh God, Robbie," she whispered, summing up everything inside her.
She sat in the chair that Joanie had just vacated and took hold of Robbie's hand. She stroked it gently with her thumb for a moment, thinking about the times she and her brother had shared. She realised that they were few, adding to her grief.
'Hey, bro,' she began, almost shyly. 'You think we should put the training wheels back on your bike?' She laughed quietly, despite the situation.
She became serious. 'I guess now is the time to say some things I should have said. I hope you're listening.' She sniffed. 'Its typical. The last thing Dad wanted to say to Mom was "I love you," but when you don't say it, you may never get to. Hey, I'm not making any sense here.' She took a moment to calm down, and move away from garbled speech. 'It's like this morning. I didn't even get to say goodbye. All I did was yell at you. And I yelled at you when it wasn't your fault.' She paused before explaining, 'Joanie remembered she'd moved the keys, and I guess Hannah found them. But, we'd have known that if we'd stopped to ask for your side of the story.'
She paused for a moment, as she was very close to crying. She moved onto a bigger topic of conversation. 'Its also the time to remember things I should have remembered. We've never been close. Partly due to the age gap, but mostly our differences. I've always been very career-minded. You know better; you know that there are more important things in life. I wish I could have realised that before now.'
She choked and broke down at the end of this sentence. Wiping away the tears, she promised him, 'When you wake up, I'll promise I'll make it up to you, whether you like it or not.' Smiling through the grief, she gave his hand one last squeeze before alighting from the chair and leaving the room.
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Syd gave a quick, comforting hug to her sister before walking into Robbie's room and quietly closing the door. She thought of all the times she had been in a hospital. Sure, hospitals were nothing new to her, but seeing your brother hooked up to what seemed to be half the machines inside Rhode Island Hospital was an entirely new experience, and one that gave her a sickening feeling deep in the pit of her stomach. She thought that nothing would ever be worse than sitting with Kyle during his cancer. She had thought wrong.
"Oh God, Robbie," she whispered, summing up everything inside her.
She sat in the chair that Joanie had just vacated and took hold of Robbie's hand. She stroked it gently with her thumb for a moment, thinking about the times she and her brother had shared. She realised that they were few, adding to her grief.
'Hey, bro,' she began, almost shyly. 'You think we should put the training wheels back on your bike?' She laughed quietly, despite the situation.
She became serious. 'I guess now is the time to say some things I should have said. I hope you're listening.' She sniffed. 'Its typical. The last thing Dad wanted to say to Mom was "I love you," but when you don't say it, you may never get to. Hey, I'm not making any sense here.' She took a moment to calm down, and move away from garbled speech. 'It's like this morning. I didn't even get to say goodbye. All I did was yell at you. And I yelled at you when it wasn't your fault.' She paused before explaining, 'Joanie remembered she'd moved the keys, and I guess Hannah found them. But, we'd have known that if we'd stopped to ask for your side of the story.'
She paused for a moment, as she was very close to crying. She moved onto a bigger topic of conversation. 'Its also the time to remember things I should have remembered. We've never been close. Partly due to the age gap, but mostly our differences. I've always been very career-minded. You know better; you know that there are more important things in life. I wish I could have realised that before now.'
She choked and broke down at the end of this sentence. Wiping away the tears, she promised him, 'When you wake up, I'll promise I'll make it up to you, whether you like it or not.' Smiling through the grief, she gave his hand one last squeeze before alighting from the chair and leaving the room.
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