Keep Going

Third Chapter: A Promise Broken

"Yes, that's right. Yes, of course mother. That's exactly what the doctor said. Uh huh, of course, I go to see her at least five times a day! She's gonna be fine! Don't worry, Okay, love you, bye." Mom chatted nonstop on the telephone. It had been two days since we found out. Mom was still calling all the relatives to reassure them, when she should really be reassuring herself. She always tried to act calm when talking to her family, but afterwards she was a mess.

Mom curled up on the couch and sighed through tears. I watched as her confidence slowly melted away into a metaphorical chasm.

"Mom, have you told dad yet?" I asked her. My dad had left for the Marines a year ago, life was sad without him, but we all knew he was going to be fine. He doesn't go out into war, he engineered all the weapons and things to survive with, for those that did. 

She nodded slowly, "Uh huh, he didn't believe me at first. Then, he started crying and hung up. I haven't been able to contact him since."

"Oh," I regretted asking, Dad had always been hard to reach. Mom was lucky to be able to get ahold of him in the first place. Now she would be in a even bigger slump until Rayna was better.

"Knock, Knock" I turned around quickly. I recognized that knock, Shauna! Shauna had been my best friend since second grade. We loved hanging out together, but now, after the incident, I hadn't really thought about her. I wondered if Mom had told her yet.

I walked up to the door and opened it.

"Hi Brae," She smiled, hands behind her back, "I heard about, well, yeah."

"Oh, did my mom tell you?" 

"Uh, no. You see, my uncle, he's her doctor. Dr. Hampton." She explained.

I was shocked, how could I have forgotten that Hampton was Shauna's last name?! I was so sad, that when he said his name, I wasn't even listening!

"Oh my gosh. I totally blanked out when we met him!" I laughed for the first time.

She smiled, "Ha, so I brought you something to cheer you up." She handed me a bouquet of Gardenias and a hand-crafted jewelry box.

"Wow, did you make this?" I asked while opening the lid. Inside was a little porcelain ballerina, made to look like me.

"Yeah, but TJ helped a lot." She said modestly.

I stroked the beautiful piece of art, "So, do you want to come in?"

"Sure, if that's okay with you,"

We walked through the living room and down into the basement, where Shauna and I used to always hang out. She plopped down in a bean bag and turned on some music on her phone. We lay there listening to One Republic, for what seemed like hours. That's probably because it was...

We were in the middle of laughing about the time Mrs. Albert's alarm clock broke and she showed up to class three hours late, when Shauna's phone chirped.

"Who's that?" I asked.

She checked her messages, "Oh, Dad says I have to come home for dinner." She stood up, "Well, It was fun hanging out today, call me tomorrow?"

I smiled, "Yeah, sounds good."

She started to walk upstairs, "Hey Shauna, wait," I ran after her.

She turned around, "Huh?"

"You sure you don't need a ride home?'

"Nah, I'm good. I can walk from here, it's not dark yet." She assured me.

"Okay, bye." I called out.

   It was Ten at night, I was reading a book in my room when Mom walked in to say goodnight, "Brae, I need you go to bed now. We are going to go out to breakfast tomorrow morning with aunt Stacy and uncle Fredrick.

"Okay," I turned off my lamp, "Night, Mom"

"Night honey."

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The next morning I woke up to arguing, that meant family was here. I got changed and walked into the dining room. Everyone stopped debating when I walked in. You could tell that Mom just lost an argument to my aunt.

"Braelynn!" Aunt Stacy scooped me up.

"Urgh, aunt!" I squirmed.

"Sorry sweetie, I forget that you're not so little anymore," She laughed, "How old are you now?"

"Fourteen..."

"Oh my goodness! You are older than I thought!" She obsessed.

"Yea, I know I'm short for my age." I remarked.

She laughed and ruffled my hair. I fixed it after she looked away. Aunt Stacy could be a little obsessive, I mean a lot.

Uncle Fredrick handed Mom a casserole, "Please accept this, we are so sorry for you."

Mom smiled, "Thank you Fredrick, now shall we go to breakfast?" Everyone agreed.

In the car, Aunt Stacy and Mom continued to fight about politics. I just tuned it out and looked out the window. Uncle Fred just sat there, hands in his lap. He was a quiet guy, I guess it's true what people say: opposites do attract.

By time we walked into the diner, Mom and Aunt Stacey were practically screaming at each other. Ah, sibling love. We found a nice seat by a window and ordered our food. I got up to go use the restroom. When I came back, the two sisters were facing opposite directions. Both had their arms crossed, mad looks across the faces.

I looked at my uncle, he just shrugged and continued to eat his pancakes. I took a bite of bacon and eggs. Why would Mom want to go to breakfast just to argue all morning? I guess that's her problem.

I cleaned my plate and handed Mom the bill. She took it, "Thanks, well this was nice, wasn't it?"

I laughed, "Sure, if you're in debate club!"

Everyone laughed, apparently that was pretty hilarious.

After Aunt and Uncle left, Mom lied down on the couch.

"Mom?" I asked.

She turned her head to look at me, "Hmm?"

"I thought you said that we should keep our family together after Rayna was injured." I reminded her.

She looked away, "I know sweetie, but-"

"Mom, we can't let little arguments ruin friendship in our family, remember?"

"I remember," She confided, "I guess promises are harder to keep than I thought."