chapter 29

I sat with Philip, the stranger who drove me to the hospital, as the others were checking on Jane and asking doctors about my new brother. The shock of losing my mother was still at the forefront of my mind as I sat there.

“I can’t bring myself to go and see him” I told Philip though I doubted he really cared. It did surprise me that he had stayed this long.

“Why do you say that?” he asked as he tried to sound as soothing as possible.
I looked at him then and really took in the features I had ignored when I had asked for his help. He had black hair that brushed his ears and he had a pair of intense colored eyes they were a mix of brown and green it seemed. As I kept staring I felt I was falling deep in some great ocean and it was hard to swim out. His face was sharp yet handsome and his shoulders broad and a well-defined chest that his tight shirt showcased very well.

“If...if it weren’t for me, my brother would still have a mother.” I told him and looked down shamefully at my hands. Philip put a comforting hand on my shoulder to get my attention as well as show support.

“He has you” he said with a serious look in his eyes that could get anyone to believe in anything.

I looked into his eyes a little longer, trying to find any deception in his words but I didn’t see anything but honesty. Letting out a sigh, I leaned my head on his shoulder as I contemplated what I needed to do.

“I need to see someone. Do you want to come with me?” I asked him in hopes of being able to draw from the calm and strength he emanated. I didn’t want to be alone at this moment in time so I sought to keep his company as long as I could.

“Sure” he said with a small smile streaking across his face and giving it a much more appealing look to it.

“Thank you, you know for everything you have done for me. I know I’m a stranger which makes what you did for me mean so much more.” I told him as we walked down the hallways of the hospital towards Jane’s room. Sarah had told me earlier that I should go see her because it would do both her and me some good.

“Who we going to see?” he asked out of honest curiosity

“She is my best friend; he name is Jane and I might lose her soon too though” I told him and let a bitter sweet emotion flood me as I thought about Jane and our friendship.

“You never lose anyone” he said as if he were a wise old man.

That thought made me smile softly but the smile didn’t last because we finally came to a stop in front of a room that read number 248. This was where Jane was being taken care of and yet I knew she wanted to be out of that room more than anything.

“If I asked you to do something else would you?” I asked Philip and looked at him with mischief swimming in my eyes most likely.

“Depends what it is” he said and leaned back as if he was about to be dragged into something he was not going to like.

“We are going to give my best friend her last dying wish” I told him with a determined expression. He looked at me and smirked and an adventurous gleam came into his eyes as he nodded in agreement.

“Go down to the cafeteria and I’ll go get you when the plan is going to be put in action.” I told him and he nodded and turned to leave. I watched him go around the corner and then turned to walk into the room. Once inside I looked around the room for Jane and I found her propped up in bed watching the television intently. As I walked closer I noticed that it was a basketball game and her favorite team was playing, the Celtics.

“Never miss a game” I asked as I saw her enraptured look this caused me to chuckle and Jane turned to smile at me but her smile was tired. Her once beautiful, bright eyes were now dim and there was a sort of resignation in her eyes.

Tears burned at the back of my eyes because I knew what that look meant; she was ready to go with death. But I would not let her die in a hospital with nothing but these white walls as the last sight she sees.

“Well I am here to bust you out of here girl,” I whispered to her as I grabbed the clothes that she had exchanged for the hospital gown.

“What are you talking about?” she asked with a bewildered expression on her face.

“I want to show you something...” I paused because I couldn’t bring myself to say ‘before you die’ but she looked at me with understanding. She knew what I meant and she was all for it which she showed by grabbing the clothes and slipping out of the bed.

While we were about to head for the door someone suddenly came into the room. We froze in fear that we had gotten caught.

“Well, well, well what do we have here?” Sarah’s amused voice came flowing through the room.

“You scared me half to death woman” I whispered furiously at her as Jane just chuckled behind me.

“Philip told me you had a plan and I decided that you shouldn’t have all the fun” she smiled but I could see the same resignation in her eyes but that didn’t stop the sadness from flooding her every pore.

“Get her down to the main entrance asp and I will get Philip” I told her as Jane walked slowly towards her and I rushed to the door.

As I ran down the hallways of the hospital towards the cafeteria, I received numerous looks of disapproval. At this point I didn’t care if the cops were after me; all I knew was that I had to get Jane out of here.

My heart was beating a mile a second when I reached the entrance of the cafeteria. Philip sat at a table talking to another man. He was dark skinned and had no hair with eyes the color brown but they were on the edge of black. They stopped talking as I rushed over to the table and I was breathing heavily.

“Time for your big plan” Philip asked with a smirk on his face as he stood.

“Precisely...” I breathed out and braced my hands against my knees in attempt to catch my breath.

“So I’ll see you later then” the man told Philip and they did a strange hand shake that ended in a snap.

As we and the man parted ways my curiosity got the best of me and I looked back to the man and to Philip to try figure out what they were to each other.

“Who was he?” I asked when we were in his car and pulling to the front of entrance.

“My brother” he answered with a smile as if expecting a specific reaction.

“Wow cool” I didn’t want to sound mean and ask other questions so I just looked to the entrance and waited for Jane and Sarah.

They finally came out and I rolled down the window to motion them closer. Jane looked a little skeptical but let herself be helped into Philip’s car.

“Where to” Philip asked as he pulled the car away from the hospital and towards the road.

“the lake off of exit 20” I told him and looked back to Sarah and Jane as they looked at each other with a love that would last an eternity if given the chance.

The ride to the lake was silent but not uncomfortable so I enjoyed it. Once we were close I began to think about what I was about to give Jane. She had given me so much and though I knew it would never be enough to pay her back; I was going to give her this one moment.

“Here we are” I said into the quiet car and quickly got out to look at the empty lake. The sun wasn’t high causing the sky to burn with colors of red, orange, purple, and pink. It was reflected in the water which sparkled like a blanket of diamonds. A few stars had begun to show and the air was chilling, making me wish I had brought a blanket.

“It’s beautiful” Sarah breathed as she took in the view of the lake.

“I have a blanket in the trunk that you can lay on” Philip said as he popped the trunk

I smiled and went to get it as Sarah helped Jane out of the car and get closer to the waters. With the blanket in hand, I went to them and put the blanket down on a patch of grass. Then I turned to look at Jane and wrapped my arms around her as if I were saying good bye. Though no one had told me, I knew this was a goodbye and I was going to lose my best friend.

“Thank you” I whispered to her as I gave her a quick squeeze before pulling back.

“No, thank you” Jane said in a caring tone that held all her emotions.
She leaned down and kissed my forehead with an affection that brought tears to my eyes. I was going to miss her more than I thought I would and yet I knew she would always live in my memories.

“Take care of your brother and never let him go, okay? He needs you now just as much as you will need him. Be strong and don’t let life keep you down, okay?” she said with concern in her eyes.

I nodded and promised as buried my head in her chest while tears fell down my cheeks. After what seemed like forever, I pulled away and then turned to walk away from the two that now stood staring at each other with love. I came to stand next to Philip as we watched the sun begin to set behind Jane and Sarah.

“You did something real nice for her” Philip said as he sat on the hood of his car

“She is my best friend; it was the least I could do for her.” I said as I watched the sun set and Sarah and Jane lay on the blanket.

With her arms wrapped around Sarah, the love of her life, Jane lay there and watched the sunset as she waited for death to carry her away from this life. That day she closed her eyes and began her eternal slumber.