One step at a time

46

Melissa Newman

"Babe come on" Blake said as he walked into my room. "I don't want to go" I whined, I had been whining a lot lately. "Everyone wants you there they want your help" I just wanted to sit here and wallow in sadness. Today was the day all my friends were picking their respective colleges. If anything there picking how far they are going to be away from me while they leave me in their dust I will just become someone of their past. Just a memory someone they will laugh about with their husbands and wives forgetting all about Melissa Newman the girl who had cancer. Lee said he had already chosen yet there he was with his mass of college applications considering if he was going to Australia or not. Is it even called college there? Or is it university? It's so confusing when it comes to different country's. Megan was considering New Zealand she heard from one of her friends that it was great there. I was the sick girl so I was stuck here in this small town until the day I died. Martin didn't mind, He might not be able to go to college but he would follow Lee anywhere. They were officially a couple.

"Just come on babe this could be the last time we're all together, They want your opinion I want your opinion I'm going to be in your future whether you like it or not so suck it up and come downstairs" Noah was laughing his ass off while my grandmother just shook her head at me and muttered. "And she wonders why I picked her brother" Okay maybe I could be a little dramatic here and there grandmother but still. Angie looked at me with sadness I didn't know if it was the situation or something she was thinking of. Angie often zoned out most of the time she was quiet. She was like Noah's trophy wife never saying anything when he was in the wrong and abided by him no matter what. If Blake talked to me the why Noah talked to her I would have cut his balls off by now.

"Don't make me drag you down there" Knowing Blake he would but before he could do anything Lee walked into the room. "Lissa it is not the end of the world come on" Lee reached out for my hand and I gave up letting him lead me down the stairs. Megan was the first to look up. She smiled at me. "Oh girl what did they do to you, You look like your going to cry" She wasn't wrong I felt like I could at any moment. "You know what I'm not going anywhere all these colleges can go fuck themselves" Casey shouted as he threw the applications on the ground causing me to laugh. "Always the fucking drama queen" Noah laughed as he flew over to Casey patting him on the head. "Noah cut it out when you do that I get chills throughout my whole body cunt" I laughed at their banter. "How did he know it was me?" Noah asked looking at me like I knew the answer.

"You are going to go far away from here Casey run while you can some of us can't get rid of your cousin you have no idea how much I've tried" Noah looked hurt then started laughing all over again. "Your the only living one that can talk back to me with my parents it's like talking to a brick wall plus I've always stayed by your side since the minute I died I'm not one to mess up my routine and you know this already" Looks like I'm going to be stuck with Noah till the day I die. "Why don't you go haunt someone who treated you wrong" Everyone was used to my banter with the dead people who filled my life. My grandfather and I are always at each other's throats only because we could. He always says it's nice to bicker with the living. or maybe he wanted a change and instead of bickering with just his wife he could now bicker with his granddaughter. "How's mum and dad?" Mum asked as she walked through the door. "Grandpa is off pouting somewhere because he lost an argument and grandma is knitting on the couch she said she hates that you got a new couch" I'm surprised I haven't come across my brother yet but hey he was a stillbirth do they even go to the same place? They never meet their family so how could they choose?. Angie was keeping a lookout for him. "You've got to help me choose" Jamie spoke up from the table. He never really spoke he was more the silent one but still meant a lot to me. He didn't have to talk to create a connection he just sat there and held me most of the time.

I looked at all his applications he had 6 acceptance letters all offering different things. NYU offered him a free dorm room while SUNY offered him a scholarship but he had to pay for his own apartment as they didn't do dorms. These were the ones he had narrowed them down to. "Dude you don't need me to help there's an obvious answer" Who would pass up a scholarship. "With the scholarship I need to decide what to major in before the end of the week" I looked at him weirdly. "Your good with numbers go as business for your major and Accounting as your minor that's what you've always wanted to do" Jamie looked at me weirdly like how could I remember all of this. I am good at absorbing information. "Well my college is sorted thank you, Melissa, I'm gonna miss you but my college isn't that far" I nodded at him. "What are you majoring in?" Lee asked me and I smiled. I had to change my plans.

"Law" I smirked at him. Law was always my backup. I took an interest in it when I was younger but was always adamant about becoming a surgeon. Lee always wanted to become a lawyer that was always his first option and we always spoke of it. Lee had hoped I would do it with him so one day we could open a firm together and call it M&L we had come up with the name when we were like 7 but it stuck. "No way" Lee jumped up off the chair he was on and ran around the room like a kid on a sugar high "Why is he so excited?" Megan asked and I laughed I was the only one who knew of this. "Us doing law together was his dream he had always hoped that I would change my mind about becoming a doctor" I only choose a major I didn't bother with a minor Law was big enough as it was. "What about you Lee what did you choose?" His cheeks lit up. "Law as my major and photography as my minor" I smiled. "We will have the same classes and sit next to each other always even when we're angry at each other okay," Lee asked. "I thought you were going to Australia?" I looked at everyone else. "The only one who was going away was Jamie the rest of us are staying here Casey was going to go but he changed his mind I didn't even fill out any applications and neither did Megan" Blake said from beside me and I was shocked and looked over at Tony. I had just realized the lack of papers on the table.

"Blake why didn't you fill out applications" I wanted to be angry but I was thankful that he decided to stay with me. "Did you really think I was going to leave you? You wish I'm not fucking going anywhere I can't trust anyone around here to look after my baby" Lee looked at him shocked, "I'm her twin brother and you don't fucking trust me?" I laughed I wouldn't trust Lee with a tree and that grows on its own. "Did you think I would leave my best friend slash sister?" Casey raised his left eyebrow like it wasn't even a question. "My siblings and family I have no problem leaving behind but you? Never" His dimples showed as he smiled.