The Beautiful Ones

Chapter 3: The wait

We were all sitting in the family waiting room at the hospital waiting for Nicky's surgery to be done, of course he'd only been taken in about 15 minutes ago so we still had quite a wait.
I was just staring out the window when I felt someone take a seat next to me but I didn't turn around until a bag of twizlers was put in front of me, I turned around and was surprised to find Micah sitting there munching on the sweet candy, "Hey little angel."
"Hi. What are you doing here?"
He shook the bag in front of me again and I took it from him and started eating when he answered, "my dad mentioned that he was doing your brother's surgery today so I thought you could use some company."
I smiled and hugged him tight he seemed surprised by my sudden move but then hugged me back tight but at the same time he didn't squish me, he made me feel warm and safe, my parents were too occupied with themselves to pay any attention to me but that was always the case; they were too busy for me. They loved me I know but they loved Nicky more and I once over heard mum talking to her friend and she said I was an unplanned baby and that they were happy with just Nicky. But them never having any time for me never made me love them any less they were my parents after all. They always had time for Nicky though, who in turn always made time for me that's why I adored him even more.

Micah moved to pull away but I held his face and kissed his cheek and snuggled into his side, "Micah?" I whispered and looked up, he looked back down at me "yeah?"
"You said were friends right?"
"Right."
"And friends stay friends forever right?"
He smiled wider and nodded his head.
"So you'll always be my friend right? You'll never leave me alone?"
He held out his pinky to me and I hooked mine in his and he said, " I promise you Emmy I will always be here when you need it and I'll never leave."
I gave him a big smile,"you and Nicky promised you're here for me and you know you have to keep a pinky promise and now Nicky is going to be okay again and I'm so happy!" I rambled out the inconsistent sentences and thoughts but I felt so happy right now that I didn't care, my brother was gonna be okay and had finally made a friend! I go to school and I talk to people and sit with a couple of girls at recess but I didn't really have any friends.
We talked a bit but I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I know I'm being shaken awake and when I come to my head is on Micah's lap when I look up he smiles and says the surgery is over and that the doctor said we can go see him in a few hours when he wakes up. I look up smiling and looking for my parents but it's just me and Micah and an old couple in the room, "where are mama and papa?!"
Micah's smile wavered a bit but he held it up, "they went to wait by his room they didn't want to wake you."
I knew he was lying and that they probably forgot I was even with them but I appreciated the attempt so I smiled and got up off the chair "can you take me to see him?"
"Sure thing."
Just as we were exiting the waiting room my tummy rumbled and Micah laughed "how about something to eat before we go see him? He's not awake yet anyway."
I nodded and we went down to the cafeteria to grab something to eat between eating and joking and talking we'd passed a couple hours and when we went to Nicky's room he was awake.
I went in dragging Micah behind me but I didn't move towards the bed because mum and dad and the doctors were standing around it shielding me from Nicky's view so I walked back out waiting for everyone to finish. Micah. Silently followed me and waited.
The doctors came out and Eric was with them but they seemed to not notice me and Micah standing there next mum and dad came out and stopped when they saw me papa spoke first," hey Emmy were going home to grab a couple things for Nicky you want to go in and see him?"
I nodded and they both kissed me and left I grabbed Micah who seemed hesitant to go in but I gave him my best puppy face and he reluctantly followed
When we walked in Nicky was flicking through channels when he looked up at the sound of us coming in.
He noticed Micah first and frowned but then saw me and smiled not saying anything he just opened his arms wide and I ran over and jumped carefully into his arms careful not to bump his bandaged head.
When I pulled back he looked over at Micah again, "who's that Emmy?@ he asked
I turned and waved for an awkward looking Micah to come over which he did of course,"Nicky this is my friend Micah, Micah this is Nicky."
They shook hands but Nicky still looked suspicious
"Friend huh? How did you two meet? And how old are you might I ask?"
"I'm fourteen and I'm dr Eric's son, you know the one who did the operation, I met Emmy with my dad in the pharmacy when she walked in with her pascal piggy bank looking to buy a miracle." Micah said as he was looking as smiling at me the whole time.
Nicky seemed even more confused, "miracle?! Why were you looking for a miracle?" He asked with amusement in his voice
"To fix you." I said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. Nicky's eyes widened a bit and he hugged me again I giggled at the suddenness and when I pulled back he had a few tears running down his face I wiped them with a frown and told him to stop crying because then I'll cry. " your wish is my command. Say Emmy you know the nurse desk at the end of the hall can you go call a nurse for me?"
I nodded not think twice and ran out the room passed Micah down to the nurse station which was a few halls down.

MICAH'S POV

I stood awkwardly in the room after Emmy left but it wasn't long until her brother spoke, "tell me what happened in the pharmacy." He asked quietly. I pulled a chair close and told him how the little angel came into the pharmacy crying and asking for a miracle for her brother when the whole time me and my dad were listening to the conversation and that's when my dad tried calming her down and thought that he'd check up on the sick boy that was her brother and how we went home with her and her mother thought my dad was exactly the miracle they'd been waiting for and explained that their son had an advanced brain tumor and that the operation was too expensive and they couldn't afford it and it just so happened that my dad was a neurosurgeon and had been so touched by Emmy that he offered to look at the case and perform the surgery pro-bono.
He had a smile on his face a couple of years in his eyes but he was holding them back. "Yes that's my little sister, she's something else I swear." He said fondly and had a loving expression on his face, "she's special." I thought but it turned out id said it aloud and Nicky turned to look at me with a slight frown, "what makes you say that?" He asked
I got a bit flustered and stuttered, "umm I...uh I, well," I stopped and took a deep breath and tried again, "honestly I don't know I just know that I saw a little angel walk into that pharmacy and it's just something about her that makes her special I guess, it's hard to explain."
He pondered for a moment then looked back at me and spoke again." I know she's special and that she's one of a kind, but I also know you're fourteen and she's eight and this whole friendship thing is weird with a 6 year age difference, don't get me wrong I'm not trying to make look like a bad guy or anything but I don't want my sister getting hurt, you're the first person besides me she's ever referred to as a friend and to be quite frank it's unsettling..."
I stopped him before he could go on,"I get where you're coming from but I'm no teenage creep that likes breaking little girls' hearts. Your sister she's different and she's too mature for her age and I promise you my interest in her is strictly platonic I'm not a sicko I do realize she's eight and I'm fourteen, but also recognized something in her that I suffered through when I was a kid, loneliness, I talked to her a bit and I know she doesn't really have friends and I thought with what was going on with her family she's need someone to be her friend because I know what it's like to not have them." I said, I admit I got a bit angry with his indirect accusation but I also understood how this could look like.
Nicky had a small smirk on his face,"well when you put it that way I guess. But still you keep your hands off my baby sister and you be a good friend to her other wise you'll have me to deal with." He said in a deadly voice and I knew he meant it and honestly even in a hospital bed he was still a scary guy with a muscled body and the whole athlete package, and I was intimidated.

"Yes sir." I said and just then the little bundle of happiness known as Emmy walked in with a couple of male and female nurses behind her all entranced by her charm as I was the first time I met her. I moved aside and one nurse came in to check everything was okay with Nicky and then they all kissed Emmy goodbye and left she turned and smiled at me so wide I swear my breath stopped for a moment. She was an angel in every way!
After a while my dad came in and said Nicky had to rest, we've been in his room for a couple hours so we walked out and Emmy was holding my hand as we walked back to the waiting room. Nicky was actually a pretty cool guy and I think we might even become friends and it was clearly easy to see how much he loved Emmy and adored her and I didn't blame him everyone did which is why I didn't understand why her parents were so negligent with her or why she didn't have any friends. You could see her parents had affection towards her maybe even love but in all of ten or fifteen minutes I spent with them it was easy to say hey preferred their son to their daughter.

Speaking of, before we made it to the waiting room her parents stepped out the elevator greeting her and me, they told her they'll just drop the stuff off at Nicky's room and they'd be back to collect her so they could go home.
I felt a bit sad because I was enjoying her company. Ugh get a grip on yourself Mic she's an eight year old, but an adorably sweet one. God I was turning sappy for a kid!
After a few minutes they came back and collected her but before they left she hugged and kissed me good night and waved at me until I was out of her sight.
Hell if I knew the little fire cracker was gonna change my life.