The next few minutes were a blur, but before I knew it, we had moved past the crowded front lobby, down a few labyrinthian hallways, and through a faded grey door.
Arms enveloped me the moment I entered the hospital room, a familiar scent washing everything else away—my mother’s rose perfume. I sank into her arms, unable to speak.
I stood at the doorway, watching Andreas go limp in his mother’s embrace. I watched sorrowfully. I was glad I was able to give him what he needed to carry on with the surgery.
I pulled away from the soft embrace to cup my mother’s cheek and press our foreheads together. Her ginger hair was pulled back in a loose bun, stray locks framing her pale, freckled face. I was a mirror image of her; same eyes, hair, skin, and nose. My mouth and muscular figure came from my father, though, as did my height.
My mother pressed a kiss to my nose and pulled away. I was worried for her… where had the youthful happiness in her expression disappeared to? Why was her gown hanging off her slim figure as if she’d lost far too much weight? And why wasn’t she smiling?
“My son,” she signed, fingers fluttering in the air. “Mother..” I whispered in response.
I rubbed the back of my head, watching Andreas and his mother. Watching them made me miss my mother, too, so I was glad to see Andreas back with his mother. Especially since he hadn’t seen her ever since we went to the Academy. Would she be proud of the creature he bonded with? Would she dislike me for offering money?
A tear slipped down my cheek. I hadn’t seen my mother in months, and this was how we were reunited. It all felt so wrong and nauseating….
“I missed you…” I whispered, and beckoned to Kaden. “Mother, this is Kaden. My best friend.”
My heart broke seeing Andreas cry, but I couldn’t act like a lover. I was merely a best friend. I offered a small smile.
“Hello, ma’am,” I greeted her. “I wish we could have met on better occasions…”
My mother tried for a smile. ”Tell your friend that I’m happy to meet him, anyways,” she sighed in my direction. After a moment, I translated this to Kaden.
I froze at the sudden revelation. His mother couldn’t speak? Why hadn’t Andreas told me that before.
“I’m happy to meet you, too,” I replied, smiling again. “Should I let you guys catch up?”
Guilt flashed briefly across my features. I hadn’t told my own boyfriend that my mother was mute…. what kind of a person did that? But I was a selfish, awful person. I’d just wanted to forget that my family was anything but normal… Which was a horrible thing to think. And I was a horrible son.
But I shook my head and indicated towards a section of the room that was curtained-off from the rest. “I want to see her..”
I nodded, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder.
“Let’s go see the little angel then, hm?” I said gently.
Angel.
Was that what my sister was supposed to become?
I drowned the thought in a sea of false confidence, nodded, and crossed the room to where Alma was lying.
It took me a few seconds to find enough courage to pull back the curtain, but before long, the overwhelming urge to see my sister again took over. I stepped through, and my heart broke.
My blood froze when I looked at Alma on the hospital bed, though I had never met her until today. She looked extremely sick. Pale, weak, and her hospital gown seemed to be too loose on her. Her eyes had a bit of black rot in them and I nearly cried. Why was a little girl like herself suffering like this? It wasn’t fair.
“Alma—“ I choked out and collapsed into my knees at her bedside. My trembling hands found her pale ones and squeezed tightly.
“Andreas?” A weak voice reached my ears. “Y-Yes, Alma, it’s me. It’s your brother. I—I’m here.” Tears were cascading down my blotchy face by now as I struggled to keep the decimated pieces of my composure together. The strangest thing was happening—my body, rather than heating up from an overload of emotion, was cooling down. My blood turned to icy slush in my veins.
I swallowed thickly as I watched Andreas break down, and after contemplating, I decided to walk towards them and kneel down. I rested my hand on his shoulder, squeezing it to let him know I was here.
“Hey, there, princess,” I smiled towards Alma, eyes crinkling. “I’m Kaden, your brother’s best friend. How are you feeling?”
Her eyes—Her beautiful, amber eyes—were wide open, but unseeing. Glazed over. Lifeless. I shuddered, just as she spoke. “I—I can’t see you,” Alma whimpered, tightening their fingers around mine. “Or your friend. Andreas, it hurts—“
Hope, who had been on my head, cried quietly in my mind. I felt horrible, too. I didn’t know what to say, or what to do. Why was this disease still going around? Why did it exist?
I watched, completely helpless, as Alma struggled to close her eyes. But her eyelids brushed against the rot, causing her to cry out in pain. My silent sobs were growing more audible by the second, and by now, my entire body was as cold as ice. “Hey, it’s going to be okay… the doctors are going to fix you tomorrow, you’ll be fine..”
I was going to evolve more as a healer. Watching Alma in pain like this… I couldn’t bear it. This was my boyfriend’s little sister. How could I bear it? The surgery tomorrow has to be a success. She needs to be able to see again. She needs to be able to live a painless life. I was glad I was contributing to that…
I wrapped my arms around Andreas, offering him support. So what if his parents saw? My boyfriend needed me. I would do anything to make his pain lessen.
And suddenly, Kaden’s arms were around me, tugging me back, enveloping me in his familiar warmth. I turned to bury my face in his shoulder, crying more than I ever had before. My sister was suffering, my mother was wilting like a flower in the wintertime, and my father was nowhere to be seen. How much worse could the situation get?
“It’s going to be okay,” I whispered, Hope leaving my head to cuddle his stomach. “She’s going to be fine. I promise.”
Alma let out another whimper, squeezing my hand with her own. “I’m scared, Andreas..”
I could barely speak, let alone comfort her. I was a wreck, and absolute mess, leaning against my boyfriend for support when I should have been the one supporting my sister.
I reached out to gently take their hands.
“You’re going to be okay,” I said to her. Andreas couldn’t say anything, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t. “I promise, everything will stop hurting when you wake up tomorrow. You won’t have to stay here anymore.”
Alma bit back a sob. “I-I hope so. I don’t want to die— I don’t want to leave. Would you take care of him? My brother? If I—If I—“
“You are not going to die,” I said to her firmly. “You’re going to get better and you’re going to be the one to look after your silly brother.”
I could feel myself breaking to pieces in Kaden’s arms, shattering like glass—And there was nothing I could do to pull myself together. But suddenly, the door to the room was opening and a man was stepping in, a man with noisy brown hair and a salt-and-pepper beard.
Dad.