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"HEY, MOM." I spoke cheerfully while gliding down the staircase.
She chuckled. "Well, you seem awfully happy today. What's up with you?"
"Dad's taking me to the hospital again, so we can work on people's brains." I spoke excitedly.
She shook her head. "We are the only people in this town who have a thirteen year old daughter that is excited to go to a hospital and look at a human brain."
"And who did I get it from?" I asked, smirking.
"Me and your father." She rolled her eyes. "Now go to school and stop being a smart aleck."
"Bye, Mom, love you!" I shouted while walking out the door with Dally.
"Bye babies!" She yelled.
Dally and I went over to the Curtis's house and when I saw Soda I ran and gave him a hug. "Ready to go to school?"
"Yep!" He replied.
"Soda, Darry, Ponyboy come give me a hug before you leave!" Soda's mom, Eagan, shouted.
Darry was a senior in high school. I can't wait until I'm a senior. It seems so far away. We all walked to school together and as soon as the bell rang to leave, I bolted out the school door not even waiting for Soda.
I get to work with Dad today.
Soda seemed to have caught up with me. "Why are you so excited?" He asked, that same grin on his face.
"I get to work with my dad today." A smile was plastered across my face.
"Can I come?" He asked eagerly. "It would be fun."
"Sure." I shrugged my shoulders.
When we walked into the hospital, the front desk person, Sherri, already knew me and where I wanted to go. "He's up on the third floor, little lady."
"Thanks, Sherri!" I called while walking to the elevator.
Soda and I got in, and I pushed the button with the number three on it. He glanced at me. "I have a bad feeling."
"You're in a hospital of course you're going to have a bad feeling." I rolled my eyes.
"No, just a real terrible feeling like somethings going to happen." He furrowed his eyebrows trying to think.
"Soda, relax. It will be okay." I replied while patting him on the shoulder.
The elevator door opened and we walked out. There were nurses, surgeons, interns, all over the floor. They were like busy bees. I walked right to the room I knew my dad would be in. When Soda and I entered, my dad had a sad look on his face.
"Dad, what's wrong?" I rushed over to him.
He started shaking. "Baby, Mom is in the hospital."
"I know she's in the hospital. She works here." I laughed.
"No, she's...... sick. I didn't tell you and Dally because I didn't want to worry y'all. Mom.." He stopped.
"Mom what?" I was getting angry and impatient.
"Baby, your mom had cancer." Tears were falling down his face.
"Wait, why did you say had?" My stomach dropped as if I knew the answer to the question.
Dad held my hand tightly, and I held Soda's tightly. All the nurses and doctors looked at us with an apologetic face. When we entered the room, I immediately felt hot tears streaming down my face. Dally was already in there, his face drenched in tears.
Mom was laying there peacefully on the bed with three letters. One addressed to my dad, one addressed to Dally, and one addressed to me. She was not breathing. I fell on my knees and started crying. The tears wouldn't stop. Dad laid on the floor beside me and held me, with tears streaming down his face.
Soda was even crying. He sat next to me and held me tight too. I could hear him faintly whisper. "I knew something bad was going to happen."
When we got home that night, everyone visited us. They gave us the usual 'sorry's,' 'everything will be okay,' 'she's in a better place,' 'you'll see her again.' I didn't listen. I didn't want all these people in my house. The only ones that came and I wanted them to stay were the gang.
Soda held me on the couch, while Pony read me this excerpt from a book he was reading. Once he finished, we sat there in silence.
"Soda," I looked up at his face, his deep blue eyes staring down at me. "Promise me you'll never leave."
He smiled and hugged me tighter. "I'll never leave you, Blue."
//
"SKYLAR?" STEVE'S VOICE came from behind me. "You okay? I've called your name like twenty times."
I shook my head. "It's nothing. Just daydreaming."
"You still upset about Sarah not telling you?" He questioned, helping me stack packs of gum.
"Obviously. It's like Soda keeping a huge secret from you and you having to find out from me. You're close with both of us, but he told me and not you. This is my situation." I replied, finishing the last stack. Soda was in the garage room working on a car while Steve and I organized.
"I'm sorry, Skye. Just please, for me, don't say anything? She makes me happy, and I don't think I could stand it if she ever broke up with me." He looked at me with pleading eyes.
"Alright, alright I won't tell anyone." I rolled my eyes and moved over to the chocolate bars.
Soda came in from the garage room. His face had black smudges on it, his hair was ruffled, and he had sweat coming down from his face. He looked hot. I looked down and my eyes went huge. He had no shirt on either. I quickly looked away and continued stacking chocolate bars. "Hey, Steve, have you seen my wrench? It's gone."
"Nah buddy, I haven't seen it. You wanna use mine?" Steve asked reaching for his bag behind the counter.
"Yeah, I'm going to need it." Soda took a drink of water. "I have a bad feeling about today."
I immediately looked up and thought back to my flashback. "That's not good." I said with an uneasy feeling in my stomach.
