His Proposal

His Proposal - 19

Looking in the rearview mirror, I see a black SUV following 30 metres behind me. Its number plate says Jai #11.

Now, he knows where I go after I finish the shift at work.

Finding a parking spot, I park my car and grab my handbag from the passenger seat. A glance at the main road, I see the SUV parked across the road from the hospital. I step out of the car and make my way to the hospital.

As I make my way through the corridor to my sister's room, I hear laughter coming from the room. Opening the door, I see my sister laughing as Nate sucks the helium out of a balloon and starts talking funny.

The girl Aleysa shares a room with is laughing as well. As I walk past them to my sister, her parents are in a heated discussion.

Aleysa looks up as I take a seat next to her. "I thought I told you to go home after your shift?"

I take her hand. "You did, but Jai followed me from work, and I thought it would be best to show my boss where I went after the shift."

She smiles at me. "Does that mean you'll tell Jai what's happening?"

"If that's okay with you."

Aleysa hugs me. "It's perfectly fine with me, Chloe. I've been worried about you shutting people out of our lives, and now you're willing to let someone new be a part of yours. I'm happy for you."

Nate looks over at me. "I have to go."

"You're not spending the night at your friend's place. You're coming home with me, and we'll talk."

A smile spreads across his face. "Okay, I'll let my friends know I'm going home with you."

"Okay,"

Nate hugs Aleysa. "I'll see you tomorrow, sis." He ruffles her hair.

She pushes him away. "Stop it, Nate."

Nate stops ruffling her hair and then heads to the door. He turns around and looks at me. "I'll meet you in the car." He runs out of the room.

Kissing Aleysa's cheek, I say. "I'll see you tomorrow. How about I let Nate take the day off to do something together?"

She nods. "Can we make flower crowns? I want to be a princess for a while."

"Sure, I'll buy the stuff before I visit you tomorrow." I stand up and head for the door. Turning around to my sister, I say. "Goodnight, Aleysa. Don't let the bed bugs bite."

She laughs. "They already do." She's quiet for a moment before she says. "Goodnight, Chloe."

I walk out of the room and head toward the parking lot. As I approach, I see Nate leaning against the car. I hit the alarm, and Nate climbs in.

Jai is still in his SUV across the street. His arm is sticking out the window, and I see a tattoo on it. It looks like a tribal sign, but I'm not 100% sure.

The SUV door opens, and Jai steps out. He heads toward me.

I stop next to my car and open the door. "Stay in the car, Nate. I'll be right back. I need to talk to my boss."

He looks out the window and sees a male figure close to us. "That's your boss?"

"Yes," I shut the door and moved to the front of the car. "Jai,"

He looks at me. "Is everything okay with your brother? Is he why you keep avoiding the cars I send after you?"

Nodding, I say. "I don't want anyone to know where I go, but tonight, when you followed me, I wanted you to know what's happening." He remains quiet, waiting for me to continue. I place my hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going to tell you what's going on today. Can you meet me here tomorrow at around three?"

"Okay," he places his hand on the small of my back. "Are you going to tell me who's in the hospital then?"

"Yes,"

"I'll see you then, Chloe. Have a good night." Jai walks away from me, climbs into his car, and drives away.

I open the door to mine and climb in.

It feels good to have some weight lifted off my shoulders.

Nate looks at me. "Are you going to tell me who your boss is?"

Shaking my head. "You'll meet him eventually, Nate."

"Good, 'cause I have a few words about him trying to date my sister."

I slap his arm. "He's not trying to date me, bro. He's been kind to me since I blew into his bar like a bitch in heat."

Nate laughs. "You could never be that. Chloe, what made you want to take me home tonight?"

Looking at him, I say. "We need to talk, and I don't want to keep relying on your friend's parents to take care of you when it's my job."

"Can we talk about it while you drive home?"

Starting the engine, I pull out of the hospital parking lot. "I'm sorry for mistreating you after Aleysa was diagnosed with cancer. I should have checked on you after that, but all I could think about was our sister."

Nate places his hand on mine. "It's not the first time our family has been through this. The last time, I was a distant thought, too. Dad was the one that checked on me from time to time, but he was also having a hard time with Aleysa's diagnosis." He's quiet for a moment. "Why does the world hate us? Haven't we been through enough with the death of our parents?"

I sigh. "For us, it comes in three's. I'm not sure if Mom and Dad's death counts as one and two or just one, but I can tell you right now I don't want to deal with any more deaths. With what Aleysa's going through, I want to think positive cause if I don't, I'll have a huge meltdown, and I can't have you watch me go down that road."

He places his hand on top of mine. "It's okay to show vulnerability at times."

Shaking my head, I say. "It's not an option for me."

For the rest of the ride home, we remain quiet.

Five minutes later, I'm pulling the car into the driveway of our tiny apartment complex. I grab my bag from the back seat. I open the door and step out of the vehicle.

Nate and I walk over to the lift, and I press the button to get it.

The doors open, and we enter the lift, which takes us to our floor.

When we get to the apartment, I open the door.

Nate heads straight to the TV and watches the football game. "Chloe, can I have some popcorn?"

Looking at the clock, I see that it's after twelve. "No, you should be heading to bed. Tomorrow, you'll take the day off school and come with me to the hospital to spend the day with Aleysa."

He looked at me. "Okay, but what about football practice after school? If I don't attend school, the coach won't let us play."

"Coach will bend the rules for you. As long as your grades stay where they are, you'll have no problems playing. Is there any work that you need to hand in?"

"Yeah, I do. I will fail that class if I don't hand it in."

"You're not going to fail. We'll see your teacher in the morning and hand it."

"Okay," he turns the TV off and walks to his room.

I head to my bedroom not long after Nate. Before I fall asleep, my phone goes off. When I picked up my phone, I saw a message from Jai.

Jai: I'll see you tomorrow: goodnight, Chloe.

Me: Yes, you will. Night, Jai.