Happy Hope (Book Two)

Chapter 15:

I walked out. It was exploding. My world was being blown to shreds. I ran out. I couldn’t handle it. I needed time. My body just moved out that door without a second glance.

Yiayia wasn’t going to live. Yiayia wasn’t going to be here. My brain could not comprehend that and it shouldn’t have had too. It wasn’t fair. Why did yiayia have to die? She was the best person in the world. Possibly my favourite person. I just, I needed air.

I walked fast drawing in hagged breaths. I shook my hands, looking at the floor not paying attention to where I was going. I didn’t care. The blurred footpath moved underneath me and that was all that mattered. I saw a bird and was reminded of Pappou. He always thought that once you die you reincarnate into a bird where you can truly be free.

Thoughts kept running through my mind. We have to save her. Find her a better doctor and get a second opinion. This couldn’t be the end. She still had to see the kids grow up and see Connor on his graduation day and see Sophie before she leaves for her formal and freak out over the height of her heels and we’ll all roll our eyes and tell her they’re fine and that all the girls wear them that high. There has to be another way this can’t be the end. It won’t be the-

            “HOPE!” someone, the voice sounded familiar maybe too familiar, shouted. They sounded desperate, scared. I whirled around to see Louis and then I felt the whoosh of a nus right behind me and I realised that if he hadn’t called out my name I would be road kill. My hand swished to my chest. I checked the road was clear before walking across pretending not to hear Louis calling after me and asking me to wait.

            “Hope,” he finally managed to grab hold of my arm and yank me around.

            “What?” I snarled.

            “I,” he stuttered looking into my eyes.

            “Just leave me alone,” I said jerking my arm out of his grip. I turned and continued my walk.

            “Hope, please. I love you,” he spat out after me. I stopped in the middle of the footpath. My foot placed in front of me like I was about to take a step. I turned around lethally, my eyes sulked and my mouth was a thin line. I stalked up to him and hit him hard across the cheek. His head slashed to the side from the force. Later I’d admit that I was proud of that slap.

            “I can’t deal with this right now!” I hissed. “I have bigger issues than you treating me like I was a piece of paper!”

            “Please Hope,” he pleaded. “I still love you. I always did.”

            “Are you seriously still lying to me?” I asked quite shocked.

            “Hope I’m not lying. Just let me,” he started to say but I cut him off.

            “No. I told you to stay away.”

Amelia had tears running down her face when I walked back into the house. I immediately went up to her and hugged her. She hugged me back hard like I was the only thing in this world worth hugging. I hugged her back with equal strength.

            “Where’s yiayia?” I blubbered. Seeing Amelia’s glimmering eyes caused the first wave of tears to unravel. “I need, I need to, to talk to her. We need to find a doctor. A better one. We have to save her. We need to, to get another opinion. It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.”

            “Hope I’m going to die,” my yiayia said from behind me.

            “No,” I said whirling around, “Don’t say that. We, we can fix it. We’ll make you better,” yiayia was saying ‘no, we can’t. I’m dying,’ over the top of me and I just burst, “You can’t leave me!”