Finding Drew

Round Two

 "We have to find a bone marrow match," the doctor was saying when I walked into Drew's hospital room. Drew turned and grinned at me, and I hurried over to my spot on the bed next to him. After I was snuggled into him, the doctor smiled at me quickly before continuing. "And then, and only then, will we be able to do the surgery. Any questions?" Mr. and Mrs. Roberts were silent, and Ty shook his head, before looking at me and wiggling his eyebrows. I snorted, and then tried to cover up my laughter with a cough. Ty grinned triumphantly, and the doctor rolled his eyes before leaving the room. "Hey baby girl," Drew said finally. I sighed and kissed his cheek. "Hey D, how are you feeling?" I asked. He groaned and rolled his eyes. "If I have to answer that question one more time," he said. I laughed. "Do you want a cookie?" I asked in my best nurses voice. "Or maybe a lollipop? Oh! How about a glass of water?" Drew cracked up and his parents laughed softly. I grinned and looked at Ty, sticking my tongue out at him. "Damn, Brooks, you just get more and more mature, don't you?" he said laughing. I rolled my eyes at him and Drew snorted. "My brother's an idiot," he whisper-yelled. I laughed, and then looked up at Drew. "They still haven't found a match?" I asked softly. His eyes were tired and he smiled quickly. "Don't worry baby girl, they're working on it," he said. I nodded and snuggled into him more. Suddenly, a thought hit me and I grinned. "Drews, remember when you came to visit me in the hospital when I jumped off the swing and broke my leg?" I asked. Drew tried to keep a straight face as he nodded, but then Ty burst out laughing, and soon both of them were cracking up. I glared at them until they stopped laughing, and I rolled my eyes. "Anyways," I said grumpily, "you said that you didn't think you'd be able to stand it if I lost my leg, right?" he nodded, and I continued. "Do you remember what I said to you?" he was quiet, and I knew he remembered. "Whatd you say Brooks?" Ty asked. I smiled at Ty before responding. "I said; sometimes bravery is nothing more than gritting your teeth through the pain and work of every day," I said softly. Drew nodded and laced our fingers together. I leaned against his shoulder. "But you also said something else," he said softly. I looked up at him, and he smiled down at me. "You said that we lose people and then we find new ones, that's how it works," he said quietly. I squeezed my eyes shut and swallowed back a lump in my throat as he continued. "So Brooks, you'll find new people, okay? Soon you'll be forgetting I even existed." I knew he was joking, but I almost threw up. "Is that some kind of sick joke?" I whispered. He winced and opened his mouth to speak, but I didn't let him. "I'd be lying, Drews, if I said losing you was something I could handle. Because it's not. And even if you die-" he cut me off. "When. It's when I die," I rolled my eyes. "Even when you die, I won't forget you. You might not be the world, but you're my world. And nothing is ever going to change that, you know that." Drew swallowed, and I wiped away the tears from my cheeks. Drew sighed, and wrapped his arm around me, hugging me against him. "You know I love you, right?" he asked gently. I nodded and smiled up at him quickly. He grinned and pulled me closer to him. "Remember when I first met you, and you had this permanent scowl on your face?" I cringed, not wanting to remember the days after my father died. Drew touched my cheek gently. "Well, I wanted to ask you why, but I couldn't because you were a girl, and I didn't want cooties." I giggled, and I heard Tyler groan. Smirking, Drew rolled his eyes at his brother. "Anyways, it was like that for the next four years. No matter how close we got, I couldn't bring myself to ask you what I wanted to ask." I nodded, and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue. He tugged on his hair and blushed. "Well, one night when Sam was at our house, I decided to take a chance, and talk to him. And trust me, talking to Sam is a lot scarier than cooties." I rolled my eyes, but I was smiling. "You want to know what he told me, babygirl? He said; 'Just be you around her. You're doing fine already man," Drew paused and swallowed hard. "Then he said; 'trust me, I've seen how much she needs you. How much you need her." he didn't meet my eyes as he took a stuttering breath. "And you know what I said? I said, she might love me, but she isn't strong. She lets people bully her and she doesn't stand up for herself." I swallowed, and tried to hide my tears, as he continued. "But then Sam told me that a woman's strength isn't about how much she can handle before she breaks. It's about how much she can handle after she's broken." I nodded and Drew smiled at me. "I love you, Brooks. You will always be my person, okay? Nothing will ever change that." I nodded and swallowed, taking a deep breath. "What am I going to do if you die, Drews?" I whispered. He looked at me for a long time, and for an instant, it was like we were the only ones in the room. Finally, after a quiet sigh, he spoke. "When I die, Brooks, don't come near my body, because I won't be able to wipe away your tears anymore." I lost it and collapsed against his side shivering as tears overcame me. Drew hugged me against him and sobbed uncontrollably. I don't know how long it was until the rest of his family realized I wasn't going to stop crying, but somehow, Tyler knew. I felt strong arms lift me out of the bed, and clasp underneath my knees. I sagged against Ty's chest, and slung one arm weakly around his neck. Neither of us spoke until we were completely out of the room. "Brooks, you have to stop crying, please." he said gently. I took several deep breaths, trying to control myself and pressed my face against his chest.

 After a few minutes, I was calmer, and we sat down together on the small couch. He sighed softly, and wrapped his arm around me. "I don't know what to do," I admitted quietly. Ty bit his lip. "What do you mean? You don't have to do anything. There's nothing you can do, Brooklyn." he said. I shook my head. "So what, I just stop fighting? I just give up and watch my best friend die?" I said, narrowing my eyes. Ty groaned and scrubbed his hand over his face. "I'm not saying that, Brooks. But when you get to the end of your life with Drew, the apartment you shared, the college frat parties you went to, none of that will matter anymore," he paused and tilted my chin so I was looking at him. "What will matter, is that he had you, and you had him." I nodded, and squeezed my eyes shut. "I just don't want to lose him, I can't lose him." I said softly. Tyler nodded and kissed my head softly. "And I get that, I do. But it's inevitable, Brooks. But trust me, I've never been so scared to lose something in my life. Then again, nothing is as important as my brother is."