The Long Journey Home (Completed)

Chapter 15 (Edited)

The Lord brings death and makes alive;

he brings down to the grave and raises up. 1 Samuel 2:6

I knocked on the door before going into the room of the eight-year-old boy who has been in this room for about a year and a half. A half smile appeared on my face when I saw the sickly boy on the bed, and I knew that his time was almost up.

"Hey, Emmie," the young boy said, his voice cracking from the lack of use. He looked behind me, his clear gray eyes filled with wonder and shock. "You're an Angel," he whispered.

I frowned and looked behind to see that it was just Gabriel. A part of me knew that younger children could see God's Angels, but I didn't think that would apply to Gabriel. I mean, why would He waste an Angel on a female like me? There were other people that needed it

Gabriel smiled a soft, knowing smile before sending him a wink. He didn't say a word but looked at me with another smile.

"Ok..." I said, not knowing if I wanted to hurt him or not. "Gabriel, this is Morgan Rivers, or who I like to call, Morgie." I smiled at the groan that Morgan did before walking over to his bed. "Still don't like that name I see," I teased, causing him to roll his eyes.

"How would you like it if you tried to make your name sound girlie?" he replied.

I placed a hand over my heart, my eyes widening a bit. "What's wrong with being a girl?" I asked, mocked offended.

"Girls have cooties," Patrick laughed, scrambling up in the chair closer to his bed. "Isn't that right, Morgan?"

I scoffed and placed a hand over my heart. "I am highly offended, you know," I said. "I don't have cooties. I grew out of them."

Patrick and Morgan laughed and shook their heads. "No, you do have cooties," he said. "And lots of them."

I scoffed again and smirked. "You do realize that means you have cooties as well, right Patrick?" I teased. "You have touched my hands and laid your head on my shoulder."

Patrick and Morgan looked at each other, a look of disgust filling on their faces. "Eeeew," they chorused, causing me to laugh. He tried to launch himself at me, trying to wipe my "cooties" off of him and onto me. "Get them off. Get them offffff."

I laughed and dodged his hands, signaling for my dog to lay down again. I was glad that I taught my dog how to be protective of her family, even though, it sometimes was not a good thing.

Someone cleared their throat at the door, causing my brother and me to pause and look at the person.

Standing there, was Morgan's mother. She had blonde hair and the same exact shade of gray eyes as her son. Her arms were folded across her chest, and she had what looked like a bag of ice in her hands.

Her pale pink lips were pulled into a scowl, though I could see the smile that she wanted to do.

Standing at 5'7, Lea Rivers was a force to be reckoned with when she was mad. She didn't really fight that much, but her bark was definitely worse than her bite. She could do a couple of sharp words here in there and could make the other person cringe.

"Now, what is going on here?" she asked, looking at me then at my brother. "I thought I told you not to let these people in."

I placed my hand over my chest and made another huge gasping sound. My eyes were wide, and I tried to make it look like I was deeply appalled. "Well, excuse me," I said. "I thought I was visiting people that liked me. I can leave."

Lea chuckled and shook her head. "It's all right, Kiddo. I'm just playing with you."

I scowled at the use of the word "kiddo". My brother was "kiddo" and so was my little sister. "I am too old to be called "kiddo"," I said, mock pouting. "I am not a kid."

"Still act like one," Morgan chirped, causing me to throw a mock glare his one. He beamed up at me before starting to cough badly. He leaned forward, and I placed my hand on his back and rubbed.

"Did I tell you that I met a female Morgan?" I asked after the coughing had ceded. A frown was on my face, and I didn't like him having so much strain on his body. A part of me knew that it was almost time for him to go, but I wanted him to stay healthy and live a life a kid should have.

Morgan shook his head, leaning back. He closed his eyes, and I could tell that he was exhausted. "Was she pretty?" he asked.

I hummed in agreement and took the guitar that Gabriel offered me. "Now, what song do you want me to play for you?" I asked.

"Count on me," he replied. "By Bruno Mars."

I nodded and started to play the song, my leg bobbing up and down to the lyrics. "Oh uh-huh. If you ever find yourself stuck in the middle of the sea; I'll sail the world to find you."

I bobbed my head in time to the music, my fingers playing the melody of the song. I poured any emotion I had in my voice, knowing that this would be the last time that I would be able to sing for my best bud here.

The heart monitor started to flatline, and my voice broke.

A flurry of movement came into the room with people yelling at each other and trying to get it so that they could save Morgan's life.

I was pushed out of the room along with the crew that I had brought, but I still sang the song. I didn't cry, though I knew that I should with the pain and the heartache that I was feeling. However, I knew that I had to be strong for the female beside me.

"You can count on me 'cause I can count on you," I sung the last verse before going over to Lea and pulling her into a hug. No words were spoken between us, and all we felt was grief.