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Three Months Later

After my parents died I quit my job and moved to Los Angeles to take care of my siblings. As their caregiver I didn't want to uproot their lives and move them to New York, just for my job. Besides, I didn't want to live in New York forever.

Aleysa and Nate's lives are here and so are their friends. They need to have familiar people around them to help them through this tough time.

A couple days after my parents funeral, I moved my siblings out of the house and into an apartment building in Burbank.

The place has security measures that we need as we could still be a target from the people that murdered my parents.

There's a security lock at the entrance of the building and the only way you can enter the building is to know the code. The codes are given out weekly, to the people that live here. A security guard is placed at a desk close the lifts and he knows everyone that lives here. He uses first names as someone enters and exits the building.

I recently learnt that his name is Hans.

Hans is a huge guy. He has tanned skin, arms and legs with muscles and he is bold. He looks a bit like a WWE Wrestler.

When Aleysa and Nate aren't doing their homework they are downstairs talking to Hans. During his night shift they bring left over food to him and they keep him company until he's finished dinner.

At 7am, I walk into Aleysa's room. She's normally up and getting ready for school at this time, but when she didn't come to breakfast I started to worry about her.

I enter her her room. "Aleysa, it's time for you to get up."

She doesn't move.

Turning her on her side I see that she is pale and there's blood on the pillow case and sheets. Dried blood is on her face and around her nose. I pull the blankets off her and she's covered in bruises.

What's happening to my sister?

"Nate," I yell.

Nate runs into the room and he looks at me. "What?"

"I need you to call an ambulance. There's something wrong with Aleysa." I place my hand close to her mouth and I feel air being blown onto my hand.

She's alive.

He pulls out his phone and calls 911. He tells them what's wrong with Aleysa and he spends time walking to them.

I walk around the room and pack a bag for my sister.

I don't know how long she's going to be in the hospital for.

Aleysa's been sick for the last week and half. She was starting to feel lethargic and her appetite has been diminishing the last couple of days.

A week and a half ago I got a phone call from Aleysa's school and they told me she wasn't feeling well. I went to the school and picked her up. When we got home she went to bed.

That night I brought her some soup and she ate it.

During the night she screamed my name and I got out of bed. I ran to her bedroom and found her on the ground. I picked her up and carried her to bed. "What happened?"

She has tears in her eyes. "I was going to the bathroom, when I felt dizzy and fell."

Picking up the cup on the night stand I give it to her. "Drink this. You need to stay hydrated, sis."

Aleysa takes the cup from me and she drinks. When the cup is empty she gives it to me. She lies back in her bed. "Thanks."

I kiss her cheek. "I'm going to fill up the cup." I walk across the hall to the bathroom and I fill up the cup. I take it back to her room and find her fast asleep. "Goodnight, sis." I shut the door and walk back to my room.

Nate clears his throat. "Chloe?" I turn towards him. "The ambulance is pulling in front of the building. I'll go down and get them." He walks out of the room.

I place the overnight bag next to the front door and I wait for the paramedics to walk into the apartment.

The front door opens and Nate walks in with the paramedics.

He shows them to Aleysa's room and he gives them as much information as he can.

The female paramedic looks at me. "Who's coming with us?"

I raise my hand. "That will be me." I turn towards Nate. "You can drive to the hospital."

"Yes," Nate yells.

"The keys are on the hook in the kitchen."

He walks into the kitchen and takes the keys off the hook.

The paramedics place Aleysa on a gurney and they take her downstairs. I follow them with Nate.

Hans opens the door for them. He has tears in his eyes as he looks at my sister. "Is she going to be alright?"

Nate places his hand on Hans's shoulder. "I will call you later and let you know what's happening with her."

"Okay," a tear falls down Hans's face and he wipes it away.

I'll make sure that Nate calls him.

I climb into the ambulance and the male paramedic closes the door.

The ambulance pulls onto the road and it begins to jump as it runs over stones.

I tell the paramedic how Aleysa had the flu for a week and a half and she's been feeling tired. Then the bruises that I found on her body this morning and the blood on the sheets and pillow case.

Aleysa opens her eyes and she looks at me. "What happened?"

Tears begin to fall down my face as I look at my sister's pale complexion. I touch her hand. "You weren't waking up. I found bruises all over your body and blood on the sheets."

"Not again." She whispers.

If I wasn't sitting that close to her I wouldn't have been able to catch it. "What do you mean by not again, Aleysa?"

Aleysa pretends not to hear me. "I'm tired." she whispers.

Her strawberry blonde hair is sticking to her face and I move it off. "Go back to sleep." I kiss her cheek and she closes her eyes.

At the hospital Aleysa is taken out of ambulance and the paramedics lead us to the Children's ward. I watch as Aleysa is taken through the doors.

Nate and I are told to wait here as they look over our sister. I move over to a chair and sit.

Nate grabs my hand. "Is Aleysa going to be alright?"

I'm not going to lie to my brother. He's at the age to know the truth even if it's not what he wants to hear.

I look at him. "I don't know. We have to wait for the Doctors to come back with the test results."

***

I look at time and see that we've been here for five hours and we haven't been told anything.

What's taking them so long?

Nate begins to tap his foot as he listens to music from his phone. He taps the arm rest. "I'm hungry."

I go through my purse and find twenty dollars sitting at the bottom. I give it to him. "Go to the cafeteria and get something to eat."

Nate hugs me. "Thanks." He heads towards the stairs. He waves at me before he disappears around the corner.

A Doctor exits the staff only door and he look around the room. "I'm looking for the family of Aleysa Knight."

I rise. "That's me." I walk over to him.

"I'm Doctor Reynolds. I'll be looking after Aleysa while she's here." He takes a breath. "I ran a few tests on her and the results came back. Aleysa has acute leukemia."

No, no, no. We can't deal with this on top of everything.

Tears begin to fall down my face.

The Doctor places his hand on my shoulder. "I'm so sorry." He pulls out some pamphlets. "Here's some information you need to know about the form of leukemia Aleysa has. There's also support groups for families that are dealing with the same thing."

I take the pamphlets from him. "Thanks. When can I see her?"

He leads me over to the seats. "She's still asleep, but when she wakes I'll let you see her. I would like to discuss with you the next steps that need to be taken."

"Okay,"

Doctor Reynolds looks me in the eyes as he says. "Chemo, will be the next step we take to cure the type of leukemia Aleysa has. She's going to feel unwell when we give her, her first round of chemo. Do you know if she's had leukemia before?"

"I don't know Doctor Richards. My brother will be able to tell you."

Nate walks around the corner and he sees Doctor Richards with me. He drops the drink and sandwich he's holding on the ground. "Please, tell me it didn't come back."

I walk over to him. "What came back?"

Nate's face is pale. He looks at me. "Aleysa, had acute leukemia when she was seven. They gave her chemo and it worked for her. She had four rounds of chemo and then she was given the all clear. She was on remission for the last five years." He pulls his phone out of his pocket. "Mom and Dad were supposed to take her to the Doctors before they died to see if the cancer returned and they never did that because they were murdered the day before the appointment. I forgot about that." Tears begin to fall down his face and I pull him into my arms.

I hold my brother as he cries over our sister. My eyes begin to fill with tears and they spill over.

***

An hour later, Doctor Richards returns and he looks at me. "Aleysa, is awake and she's asking to see you both."

Nate and I follow the doctor to Aleysa room.

Doctor Richards turns towards us. "Before you enter the room I need you to wash your hands." He opens the door to the bathroom and we enter.

Nate and I wash our hands thoroughly and then we follow him to the room.

Doctor Richards opens the door and I see my sister sitting in a bed with tubes in her arm.

I take a deep breath and then release it. "You've got this, Chloe." I enter the room.

Aleysa smiles. "Chloe," she whispers.

I hug her. "Hey, princess."

She giggles. "I miss you calling me that."

Nate grabs her hand. "Leys, don't scare me like that again." He hugs her.

"I'm sorry." She mumbles.

Aleysa looks at Nate and I. "I have leukemia again?"

"Yes,"

She looks away from me and tears begin to fall down her face. "I don't want to go through this again."

I look between my siblings. "Why didn't anyone call me? I would have helped out."

"Mom and Dad didn't want to ruin your future. You know how much they care about our future. They want what's best for us. At the time education was what was best for you. We weren't going to tell you about the leukemia, Chloe. It was best that we buried it." He looks away from me. "We didn't think it would come back so soon."

I'll have to look through my parents health insurance policy and see if we're covered for this.

I look at Nate. "I need to find a job."

Nate looks at Aleysa. "I'll quit school and look after her."

"No, you won't. You're going to University in seven or eight months and I don't want you to miss out on the opportunities that comes with being a teen."

Nate climbs onto the bed with Aleysa. "It was Mom and Dad's plan for me to go to university. I never agreed to it."

I sigh.

What am I going to do with him?

***

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