LAST CHANCE WILL YOU SURVIVE

Are you Okay?

We got to the hospital and my aunt was sitting in one of the seats waiting. She looked at the two of us and stood up. I walked toward her with a sigh ready for the huge lecture I'm going to get from being late. Saud strayed behind me because I'm guessing he feels uncomfortable with his wet clothes in public. I feel kind of bad that I told him to come straight here instead of going to the house and changing. 

"Anne, where were you? I was worried sick." She said hugging me and I didn't hug back.

"We were twenty minutes late." I said rolling my eyes.

"We?" She looked behind me and put a hand to her chest with a dramatic gasp.

"Who is that wet boy behind you? Speaking of it you're wet too-."

"That's Saud, he's been so kind enough to let me stay with him." I said interrupting.

"But why are you all wet?"

I sighed and looked back at Saud who was sitting down in a chair bouncing his leg. 

"I don't know we're playing in the rain." I said shrugging.

She looked at me then she looked at Saud.

"This is unacceptable behavior, Anne. This is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about."

I looked at her confused.

"You're going to stay with me."

"What?"

"Anne, your mom is going to die. Your dad is dead and you have nowhere else to go. Wake up and look around you. I can't believe that you were playing in the rain while your mom is dying in a hospital bed. It's time you take some responsibility for yourself. And this is the right time to do it."

I know my aunt doesn't know about the games but I feel like I can't tell her. Even though if I did she probably wouldn't believe me.

"But you never stay in one place. You always travel."

"Then you would travel with me."

I stepped back and shook my head.

"No, I'm fine staying with Saud I'm not going with you."

"Anne, you need to make the right decision even though it's hard."

I was about to talk when I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I put my pointer finger up to tell him to wait.

"I am making the right decision for myself. You don't know me enough to make the right decisions for me."

"I can't make decisions for you. I just don't want you to suddenly realize that you don't have anyone in your life with you. Because when I leave I won't be coming back in weeks."

I felt another tap on my shoulder.

"Anne?" Saud said quietly behind me

"In a minute Saud." I said aggravated.

"If you don't want me to be alone then why leave?" I challenged.

"Because my life isn't here, Anne." She said sternly.

Saud turned me around quickly to face him. His hands were shaking on my shoulders.

"Can I please talk to you? Alone?" 

His eyes looked worried and scared. I slowly nodded and we walked to a corner.

"What is it?" I said softly.

"Well, ever since the whole cancer thing I don't like hospitals. And when I say don't like, I mean terrified and scared. I thought since we're going together it might be less scary. But it wasn't and now I think I might be having a panic attack." He said quickly.

I gave him a tight hug rubbing his back.

"We can leave right now, I'm so sorry I ignored you. I promise I'll never do it again."

I let go and took his shaking hands with me out the door. As we were walking I looked back and saw my aunt shaking her head in disappointment. There was a bench right outside the door that we sat on. It had stopped raining but everything was wet, including us. But Saud couldn't drive so we had to wait it out.

"Is there something specific that helps when you have them?"

"Distractions I guess." He said laying his head on my shoulder.

His leg was bouncing and I gently put my hand on his leg to make it stop. I took his hand which was shaking and softly brushed it trying to calm him down. I tried to think of distractions when I remembered something that might work.

"Saud?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want to hear a story?"

He chuckled and got comfortable.

"Sure."

I took a deep breath and put my head on his.

"This is a story my dad used to tell me when I was young every night before bed."

"So, it's a bedtime story."

I smiled.

"So, There was a boy who lived with his mom, dad, and little sister all in a little cabin in the woods. And he loved the woods. He loved going out in the morning to go hunting with his dad and playing outside with his younger sister. But one day his dad left to kill a rabbit that kept eating the crops outside. The boy couldn't go with him because there was a bear sighting where his father was going. The sun was setting and his father hadn't come back yet. Everybody was scared that he wasn't going to return. After a while, his mother went out to look around for him. She told them that she wasn't going to go out very far into the woods so they don't have to worry. She took a lantern and walked outside into the woods. The kids watched as the light got smaller and smaller the more she went into the woods. A long time passed and the mother didn't return. The boy got worried but didn't go outside so he could look after his sister. They ate dinner together alone and he read his sister a bedtime story. Before he fell asleep with his sister he looked out his window and saw a white rabbit munching on some grass. He got out of bed and quietly walked to the window not wanting to wake up his sister. He watched as the rabbit hopped around eating everything in its path. He wanted to catch the rabbit to surprise his dad, and his mom can make stew out of it for lunch. He thought it was a good idea and put on his coat and grabbed a lantern opening the door quietly as he walked out. He went around the house and saw the rabbit hopping around. He was setting up a snare when suddenly the rabbit lifted his ears and stood on his hind legs. After a few seconds, he started to hop off into the woods. The boy wanted to follow the rabbit to its warren and put the snare there. But he didn't want to leave his sister. He peeked into the window and saw his sister sleeping so he decided to leave and follow the rabbit. Through the leaves and bushes, he went-."

"This is a sad story your dad told you." He said interrupting.

"I-. I guess he didn't think it that sad." I furrowed my brows and shook my head snapping back to reality.

I looked at his hands, they weren't shaking anymore. I almost forgot the whole reason I was telling the story. It was getting colder out and it didn't help that we were wet.

"Do you think you're okay enough to drive?"

He nodded and we got up and started to walk to the car. Before we started to drive I looked at Saud.

"Are you okay?"

He looked at me and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm okay."