See you again

Chapter 22

While undergoing surgery, the surgeons were notified that Elina was having multiple organ failure and it would take a lot more than a heart to save her. They stopped the surgery right away. He woke up with his sister, Melanie, beside him. She broke the news to him and of course he was crushed. And on top of that, his parents were absolutely furious with him.

"How could you try and waste your own precious life on a girl you thought you were in love with? You're only fourteen," they told him. Later that year, his mother got diagnosed with brain cancer and ironically enough, his father told Melanie to give their mother her brain. Brain transplants had never been done before, but his father, a prestigious brain surgeon, was willing to try to save the love of his life. Of course Melanie didn't want to do the surgery. No one in the world had ever successfully accomplished brain transplanting.

She was young. She didn't want to give up her life like that. But their father was persistent and it eventually pushed Melanie over the edge. She committed suicide. Drove her car straight into another, with her mother also in the car. She figured they were both going to die anyway and it was the only way she could defy her father. The people in both vehicles died on the scene. The people in the other vehicle just happened to be my parents. Aaron had fallen asleep by the time he finished talking. I didn't blame him and I didn't tell him that I knew that his sister unintentionally killed my parents. He already had enough of a rough day. He revealed more to me in one sitting than he had to anyone in his entire life. It was also a rough day for me. My grandmother was gone. I was going to have to deal with funeral arrangements and inheritance issues pretty soon. It wasn't something an 17 year old girl really wanted to deal with, but being the only one left in my family, I didn't really have a choice.

So, how exactly did I know that his sister hit my parents' car? Well, after the accident happened, the police spoke with me about the accident. They told me that there was a mother and a daughter in the car and that's basically enough to connect the two together. But if that isn't enough, the crashes just happened to be on the same day: June 27. Aaron told me that June 27 was also Elina's birthday. The day after, June 28, was my brother, Birthday . It was also the day he killed himself.

Lots of concurrences, huh? I knew there was a reason why Aaron was so intriguing to me. With a sigh, I sat up in Aaron's bed, careful not to wake him up, and walked down to his kitchen. I figured I could find something to eat down there. Opening up both the fridge and freezer door, I was faced with stacks of frozen pizzas and microwavable food. It was then that I wondered how often He came home and ate his instant meal by himself. How often did Aaron felt lonely? Sure, he had plenty of friends and he was probably one of the most popular guys at school, but under that happy façade was someone who was actually miserable and lonely.

As I threw a pizza into the oven, I heard the doorknob jiggle and my head shot towards the front door. The man, who I assumed to be Aaron's father, walked through the door.

"Who are you?" he asked, placing his keys on the rack by the door. "I'm, uh, Aaron's friend," I introduced myself with a quick smile. "Oh really? That's interesting. He never brought anyone home before. Not since Eli-ah never mind," he said, quickly dropping the subject.

"Is Aaron home?" he asked, walking into the kitchen."He's asleep in his room," I said, feeling immediately intimidated by his father's presence. He was basically a much taller, older version of Aaron. I expected his father to just go straight upstairs, but he lingered in the kitchen."Does Aaron ever talk about me?" His question caught me off guard. I didn't know how to answer that question. Especially after all that Aaron had told me about him."Sometimes," I said. The answer was simple and satisfying enough for him to drop the subject.

His expression didn't show much, but I could tell he was more than satisfied with my answer. I knew Aaron and his father hardly ever talked, so of course his father was curious of his son's opinion. Aaron was all he had left.

"Well, I'll leave you to your pizza," he said, leaving the kitchen with a little bounce in his step. A small smile appeared on my face. Sure, Aaron's father did a kind of horrible thing, but he's only human. And although he is the reason that Aaron is without a mother and sister, he deserves more than Aaron is giving him. I woke up on the living room couch the next morning with a blanket on top of me and a fluffed pillow under my head.

As I opened my eyes, I was faced with the bottom view of Aaron's face, which was strange because I don't remember him being there when I fell asleep. His head tilted down as he realized that I was awake and he said, "Why didn't you come back upstairs and sleep in my room? Still feeling too tired, I brought the blanket higher up my chest as I snuggled into what was probably Aaron's stomach. I felt his laugh vibrate through his stomach as I felt his arm wrap behind my head.

"It's already noon. Wake up." I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. "You know, I'm missing school because of you." "You could've just left me here. I think I would have been fine," I said with a hoarse voice.

He chuckled. "Your voice is so cute after you wake up." The butterflies in my stomach erupted and I was finally fully awake. I pulled the blanket down and kept my head on his lap. "I met your dad last night," I mentioned, looking straight up at him."Really?" he said with an unreadable expression on his face."Mhm. He looks like an old version of you." I saw him smile slightly before he took the blanket and pulled it back over my head. "I liked you better when you were sleeping." He said and kissed my forehead.