The Chef's Sick Mate (Book 17 of the Regal Eclipse Pack Series)

Chapter 2

"Why do they argue all the time?" Gen hated it too. She hated that they argued so much. She hated that she was the cause of it all. But how did she stop it? She was nine.

"Lots of reasons. You'll understand more when you get older. But they still love both of us so much. And they still do love each other." Ana sat down on the window seat across from her sister. "I don't fully understand it either. Maybe one day when I get old enough to get married."

"You're so smart, Ana," Genny said quietly. Her sister seemed to understand it more than she thought, but at the same time, she wondered if Ana knew it was because of her.

Ana snorted and shook her head. "Not really. I'm just older, Gen. One day, you'll know all of this stuff too."

She doubted that, but she wasn't going to say so out loud. She didn't ever talk to her family about the fact that she knew she wasn't going to ever be a grownup. She also hated when they told her she'd understand when she got older. She wasn't going to get older. Why couldn't they tell her now? "What are you going to be when you grow up?" Genny asked as she scooted across the bench to her sister. She needed to talk about something else.

"I think I'm going to be a police officer," Ana said quietly, watching her sister.

"Really?" She could see that. Ana was a superhero in her mind.

"Yeah. So I can take down the bad guys. Keep people safe." Ana smiled as she wrapped her arms around her little sister.

"That'll be so cool," Genny said wistfully. She'd never even given any thought to what she wanted to be. There was no point. Even if she somehow managed to become an adult, would she ever be well enough to have a job? Probably not.

"What about you, Genny? What do you want to be when you grow up?" Ana asked her.

"I'm not going to ever grow up, Ana," Genny told her with a little sigh. Why did everyone want to ask her that? They even did it at the hospital. She wanted to yell at them to read her chart. She wasn't going to be a grownup. She was going to die first.

Ana chuckled. "Everyone grows up."

"Not me. I'll be in heaven before that happens." She stared at her sister, daring her to disagree.

Ana grew quiet for a long moment. "Don't say that Gen," she said hoarsely.

"Why not? It's what the doctors say. Besides, if I'm in heaven, I won't be in pain anymore. And I can play with all the other kids there. I can have friends that are my own age and not sick." Genny snuggled into her big sister. It was the truth. And right now, that sounded so much better than her miserable life now. The only bad thing was that her family wouldn't be there.

Ana squeezed her. "Do you hurt all the time?"

"Not all the time," she admitted. "But most of the time."

"Now?"

"Not really. I'm okay, Ana. Truly." But she always said that whether she was or not.

She heard Ana sigh. "What are we doing tomorrow?"

"No idea. I still have a bunch of homework," Genny grumbled. She felt like she always had homework to do. Her mother didn't want her to get too far behind. Sometimes it sucked that her mom was her teacher.

"I'll help you with it. Don't worry," Ana promised. "Between the two of us, we'll get it all completed."

"Ana?"

"Yes Genny?"

"Can we go outside?" Genny stared out the window. She really wanted to go out there tonight. She wanted to see the full moon.

"Now?"

"Yes. I want to go look at the moon," Genny said quietly.

"You can see the moon from here," Ana said in protest.

"Its not the same." She looked back at her sister, and gave her the look that usually got her parents to give her whatever she wanted.

Ana sighed. "Then get bundled up. If I'm taking you out, you cannot catch a cold. And this is our little secret, Genny. If Mom and Dad find out, we will be in so much trouble."

Genny grinned from ear to ear. "Okay. I won't tell anyone."

Ana helped her off the window seat and bundled her up in an unnecessary amount of clothes, but Genny didn't complain. She knew if they got caught, Ana would get in more trouble than she did. Ana was older, and her parents expected her to be more responsible, especially when it came to Genny. Sometimes she didn't think it was fair in the way that they treated Ana compared to her. She got away with so much. But Ana never complained.

Finally, she was dressed up in the ridiculous amount of clothes that Ana deemed necessary for her to go outside, and she followed her sister quietly out the bedroom door. Ana slipped out to the back and opened the door carefully, then motioned for Genny to head on out.

Their parents were still arguing in their bedroom, their door closed tightly. Like that helped.

Genny stepped out into the cool night and looked up, her eyes on the moon. It was so big and beautiful. Her gaze darted out over the snow. Winter wonderland, she thought with a smile. "It's so pretty."

"It's such a beautiful night," Ana agreed, clutching Granny's hand tightly.

They stood out there for a good fifteen minutes, admiring it all before Ana finally ushered Genny back inside. "You cannot tell anyone I took you out, Genny. Mom will have my hide for that."

"I know. It's our secret." Genny followed her sister back to her bedroom, then began to pull off her clothes, stripping back down to her pajamas.

Ana smiled at her. "Yes," she agreed. "Our little secret."

***

A year later, their parents were divorced, and Genny watched with sad eyes as her father moved out of the home she'd grown up in. The entire thing was heartbreaking. Everyone was sad, even her mother, which surprised her. Genny sort of thought her mother was making her father move out.

"I won't be going far, my little Gennybug. I will always be here when you need me," Coleman told her quietly, cupping her cheek.

Genny had still cried though. She needed him. She needed both of her parents. This was her fault. She knew it was. She'd been so sick over the last year and had spent most of her time in the hospital. Her father had been with her through most of it, and she was afraid he wouldn't come anymore. "Will you come see me in the hospital?"

"Of course. Nothing is going to stop me from spending time with you, Gennybug. I will always be there for you." And with that, he was gone, leaving an empty spot in their home and in their lives.

It had broken her heart, knowing she was the reason that they divorced, but true to his word, her father was always there for her. If she was in the hospital, Coleman showed up and spent most of his time there. As she grew older, she could see the constant worry in his eyes. She saw it in her mother's as well, though now that they were apart, they never fought in front of her, something she was thankful for, though she still felt guilty that she was the reason they had split up.

She watched her sister, Ana, graduate from high school and go to the police academy. Genny graduated late. She was behind as she'd spent quite a bit of her teenage years in and out of the hospital. She knew college wasn't an option for her. There was no point. She probably wouldn't make it to her twenty-fifth birthday. The doctors were amazed that she'd lived this long.

Gen watched her sister become a detective, and she was so proud of her. Her father became a paramedic, and Gen secretly wondered if it was because he spent so much time at the hospital and taking care of her. She was proud of him too, though.

She was growing weaker by the day, and by the time she managed to hit her twenty-fourth birthday, she knew she wouldn't be around much longer. She was sort of glad about that. She wouldn't be a burden to them all anymore. They wouldn't have to worry about her. She knew they would be sad, missing her, but eventually, they'd be okay.

And then, one day, everything changed.