Glass Houses Shouldn't Throw Stones

Chapter Seven

The next few days were lonely and depressing. I made attempts to go shopping or head out to the movies with my close friends. I slapped a fake grin on my face and fought through it. Things were relatively back to normal. The only real aberrance was Adelias was having a surgery tonight. Dad was always screaming at me, but hey, thats alright. Marcia cooked her horrible Indian food. Life was remotely normal.

I would never admit it to anyone, but I missed Aaron. He was gentle and sweet. He had a killer smile and though I hate reminding myself of the instance, he called me pretty. My conscious kicks me in the shins as I say this. "He called you a slut too."

I dressed in sweatpants and a casual loose T-shirt when I drove to the hospital to visit my brother. I drove at a steady speed, but my knuckles were turning white against the black leather. I was infuriated by Aaron and the thought of seeing him there chilled me to the bone. The only plus would be that I wouldn't need to hide who my family is. I parked in a spot far away from the white-grey building. It smelled of antiseptic wipes.

Adelias had Achilles in the room already. As I jogged in, I took in my surroundings that hadn't changed in years. Sterile white walls, the smell of death, and a beige bed sheet.

The whole family should be here. My youngest brother could not catch a plane from his prep school in CA.

"Sup bros?" I joked. Achilles hugged me and said, "I'll leave you to it."

Adelias was paler than normal. In fact, he could pass for white. We were normally fairly tan and brown, but I was on the lighter side. I liked my skin tone.

Adelias' grey eyes were drained of color. His wrists were small as I held his hand. He confided in me. We were always close, but not like he and my youngest brother.

"He would want to be here." I reminded him.

"Mom is coming." We shared a grave smile. She was a lovely woman, but she attracted a lot of attention with her stature.

"Are you ready?'

"As I'll ever be."

"I'll be in the waiting room soon. But until then, let'a talk."

"How's school?"

"Same old."

"Why didn't you tell Aaron you were my sister?"

"He'd tell everyone, like you wouldn't want to happen." Adelias nodded, but I was scared he saw straight through m facade. We sat in silence for the remainder of the hour. He smiled at me like he was ready, but I knew he wasn't ready to pass away.

A man who I assumed to be Aaron's father sauntered in with the grace of an elephant.

"It's time." His lips were sealed together.

Adelias had a very rare T-Cell Lymphoma. You see, my dad has a research company where he works in pharmaceuticals to cure Adelias' disease. He was having extracorporeal photophoresis today. They would extract his blood and treat it with ultra violet light. It wasn't a dangerous procedure normally. But Aaron had so little time left.

I remember 5 years ago, coming home to a fight. My mom packed her bags and went to her home country. They had an affair. Adelias came home and a phone rang. It was too bad I answered it. I screamed at the poor man. But, it was all behind me. I was matured now.

My family laid in the green chairs overnight. Aaron walked in and out, but never noticed me. Through my sunglasses, I watched everyone's quiet motions and their terrified gazes. At 10pm, my mother arrived.

She was a beautiful woman. 1/2 Indian, 1/4 British, 1/4 Ukranian. She had crystal blue eyes, light skin, and a fit figure. She passed these traits to Achilles. They could be twins, really.