Fearless Beings

Chapter 2

Tom's POV
~~~~~~~~~~
I have been awake for a while now, but I can not find then motivation to leave the warmth of my bed. In fact, right now, I do not think I have found the ceiling more interesting. I gaze, blinking, at the lights, like I have never seen them before.

Of course my trance is cut short when James, my eight-year-old half brother barges into my room, a skip in his steps. Where do children get their energy from?

I tilt my head to the side and face a grinning James. He flashes me his dimples and crawls into bed beside me. "Morning," I say.

James scrunches his nose. "Go brush your teeth."

I laugh and sit up, pulling him into my lap. "What did you want?"

He draws his eyebrows together, trying to remember what his ulterior-motive was. His eyes widen. "Oh yeah! Rianna's downstairs."

My expression mirrors his, only mine is dampened in horror. "What?"

"Your girlfriend," he repeats, struggling with the r's. "She's talking to Mummy."

I jolt out of bed and grab the nearest pair of pants. I rush to the bathroom and brush my teeth in record time before running down the stairs in a speed that would put Usain Bolt to shame.

I narrow my eyes in Karen's, step mum's, direction. What are they talking about? I step forward and clear my throat, making my presence known.

"Tom!" Berianna squeaks, and she has never looked so relieved to see me in her entire life.

I smirk and kiss Karen's cheeks. "Hey, Mum."

"Hello. I suppose you're leaving?"

Berianna smiles and squeezes my hands, a silent threat. If you dare raincheck...

Thankfully, I get the hint easily and nod. "Yup. I'll be back around four."

Karen does not look pleased, but she does not comment, instead, she says, "Alright. We'll catch you at the hospital, then?"

I bob my head again. "Yeah." Not wanting to stick around for more questions, I practically drag Berianna out of my house. When we are a good meters away, I open my mouth. "What the hell?"

Berianna frees her hand from my grip to open her purse. She retrieved a gum and pops it into her mouth. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Not really. Unwanted guests interrupted my routine, you see," I say, but I am only teasing.

Catching on to the sarcasm, Berianna flashes her whites, her dimples in view. "Awww." She pinches my cheek and stands on her tiptoes, giving me a loud peck.

•••

By five, I am at the hospital, crossing my fingers and hoping I make it in Hanna's visiting hours. I smile at the receptionist as I pass by. Thankfully, when I enter the hospital room, Dad, Karen and James are all huddled around Hanna, laughing. My father is the first to notice me, but when does, he ushers me in quickly and retells the joke for my sake.

"Wassup," my step sister asks. "Heard you missed me." she wiggles her eyebrows, grinning.

"Did I?" I tease, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead.

Hanna fakes irritation, scowling. "Ouch, Thom-ass."

I lean back and laugh, then I stop abruptly. "Gosh, did you put on some weight?"

She echoes my prediction. "I did? Oh my God..." I can't keep my face straight for longer, before another fit of laughter barks from my throat. "Tom! Mum, did you see that?"

Karen smiles at us and nudges Dad, whose eyes were slowly drooping.

Sick or not, Hanna's top priority was and still is appearance. However, sometimes she takes it up a notch whenever someone tells her that she's gained weight, which is silly, since she never does due to her condition.

The autumn before Hanna got sick, at Thanksgiving, we had our grandparents from Karen's side over along with Mum's.

Thanksgiving was like cheat day, according to Hanna. She doesn't have to worry about food portions and calories and fat. Of course, Karen's parents expected nothing less than a perfect granddaughter, so they set it their life goal to point out Hanna's mistakes.

"No, honey, don't hold the fork like that."

"You're getting chubbier, just one look at your cheeks gives you away."

"Dear, I think you've had enough sauce, you'll get sick if you have any more."

"Your hair needs a trim, Hanna, doesn't it, Karen?"

You get it. Luckily, Hanna never took their comments to heart, God forbids she does. If she had, it would have been a living hell in the Cantor household for the next three weeks or so.

"Thom-ass?"

I look up, a little bit startled. "Huh? Yeah? What?"

Three pairs of eyes blink at me dubiously, before James speaks up. "We have to go back."

"We'll drop by tomorrow, honey," Karen says and kisses both of Hanna's cheeks.

Her response comes out quieter than usual, gone the enthusiasm. "Okay."

We bid her good bye and file out of her room, fully knowing we'll be here  tomorrow again.

I take a deep breath and ask the inevitable. "Did the doctors say anything?"

Dad gives me a side-ways look and nods slowly, his eyes leaving mine and connecting with Karen's. "Yeah, actually. She's..." there is a long pause before he figures what word to settle on for, "improving."

I crack a smile and bump my shoulder against Karen's. "Told you she'd be fine."