Chapter Four: Sorries

"Andrew?" Tibby asked weakly.

I looked up at her. "Yeah?" I asked.

"I'm sorry," She softly told me.

Confused, I asked, "Why?"

"I'm sorry for making every family member hate you, because of my disease. Sorry for taking all the attention away from you. Sorry for making Alex glare at you. I'm sorry for making you crying at night,
even though you think nobody can hear you. I'm sorry I'm dying. I'm sorry," She choked out.

I smiled, hoping to make her feel a little better. "Every family member doesn't not hate me. There was no attention anyways, I didn't want any in the first place. Alex doesn't glare at me. I do not cry at night. And your not--"
I lied, but she cut me off when I was almost finished.

She looked up at me with tearful eyes. "Andrew, don't tell me I'm not dying. I am. You know it. I know it. I'm dying, Andrew."

I looked down at her, and I could feel tears dripping down my cheeks. I wasn't supposed to cry in front of her, I swore to myself a few days after she was diagnosed with Luekemia. I was supposed to be a big, strong brother
not somebody that cried to their little sister. But how could I not cry? I knew she knew she was dying, but for her to just come out and tell me, was horrible for me.

"Sorry," I told her.

"Don't. Don't say sorry. I don't want you to be sorry, because it was ME who made you cry," Tibby said with a smile that took a lot of effort.

As we began to smile instead of cry, mom walked in, along with dad and Alex.

Alex sat down in a hard-cushioned metal chair. I got up from sitting on the edge of the hospital bed and took a seat by Alex.

Alex leaned over and whispered, "She has to stay here for a while." I nodded sadly.
***
Mom, Alex, Dad and I left the hospital, not a second before the nurse made us leave because visiting hours where over.

Once we got home, I began walking o m room, but mom put her hand on my shoulder. "Wait," she told me gently.

I nodded.

"I'm sorry, Andrew. I shouldn't have been so..stiff," Mom apologized, trying to find the right words.

I nodded again and then turned and went to my room. Halfway up the steps, I stopped and went back down. I walked to mom and held her in a hug. We both cried, and I don't know how long we where in eachother's arms
but it was a while before she let go and looked at me. "I love you," She told me. "I want you to know that."

"I do. I love you too, mom." I told her reassuringly.