Living Or Dying

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Byern doesn't know how to flirt with a girl."

I know that. Byern felt that thought pass through his mind for the umpteenth time that day. He silently cursed at his mom's brashness. But all he could really do was hope that Sherry didn't hear her.

A little farther up, Sherry hobbled into the cafe. It was getting cooler, so everyone had decided to go back. And so Sherry was trying her best to get back inside.

Come on, she thought. It's a flat surface! There's no reason for me to struggle with this! But with one hand holding the door open, she couldn't really move both her crutches. Struggling as she was, it was Marcus who first moved to help her. He grabbed the door and held it open for her. With a small smile, Sherry thanked him.

"Thank you, Marcus."

Marcus nodded back to her, but his eyes weren't really looking at her. He was glaring at Byern. And it didn't take much for everyone else to know what he meant. You should have done this.

Byern shuffled past his dad and after Sherry. He didn't need to see the faces of his family. He bet that they were the same as his dad. So he quietly followed Sherry through the cafe and into the back rooms. Sherry stopped just short of the stairs. She turned to look at Byern — a pitiful look on her face.

"Could you help me, Byern?"

He nodded, with the faintest of smiles on his face. Sherry set aside her crutches, barely balancing on one foot long enough for Byern to pick her up. And when he did, she clasped her arms around his neck tightly. Byern grinned at this.

"Do you think I'm going to drop you?"

Sherry shivered. "Please don't!"

Jokingly, he loosened his hold on her just enough that she began to slip. With a screech, she held tighter onto his neck. He laughed, bubbling over in a smile. Byern held her tighter as he turned to face the stairs. Sherry looked down at her chest. She could feel the heat rising in her face. Not wanting Byern to see her, she squished her face into his chest.

"Don't do that." She whined.

"I can't promise anything." Byern stated.

He didn't know why. But something in him simply wanted to tease her. Plus, it worked out quite well this time. Here she was, clinging tightly around his neck, with her face buried in his chest. He was glad that she couldn't see his grin. He was sure he looked stupid. But it didn't matter. Inside his chest there were butterflies - happy little fluffy butterflies.

From over his shoulder, Sherry peeked at the others. The mothers — now quite close friends — were giggling to each other. Ebony simply rolled her eyes as she followed to two up the stairs. Marcus, however, wasn't showing his face. He had gone to the front of the store to

open for a few more hours. Sherry hugged Byern's neck tighter.

With an inaudible chuckle, Byern opened his room's door. It only needed a gentle nudge from his toe for it to open. As soon as he could, Byern sat Sherry down on the bed. Her hair flopped over her eyes with a swish. Sherry looked carefully through her bangs, confident now that Byern couldn't see her face. Unfortunately, Byern was still staring at her.

"What?" She whispered. "Why are you staring at me?"

Byern grinned even wider, watching the red flush her face through her bangs. "Why are you staring at me?"

With a sigh, Sherry turned her face away. "Who said I was looking at you?"

"Sure. Keep telling yourself that, Sherry." Byern rolled his eyes as he turned back around. "Get changed for bed — I'll go grab your crunches while you do that."

Sherry watched as he closed the door behind him. As soon as she heard it click, she flipped back onto the bed, covering her cheeks with her hands. They were really warm. Sherry mentally scolded herself.

What am I getting worked up for? I don't have time for this! Breakup, pregnancy, and now the police. I really shouldn't be worrying about this... As Sherry tried to calm her raging mind, slowly, quietly, the exhaustion took over her. She was right — she had a lot on her plate. And she was tired from it all. In no time at all, her eyelids closed shut on their own. A few moments later, Byern opened the door.

"Hey Sherry, my parents wondering if you-" He stopped when he saw her asleep on his bed.

Sherry's arms were stretched above her head, lifting her shirt up the smallest amount, exposing her stomach. Her face was peaceful — it was rarely like that when she was awake. Her eyelids were closed, and so her light eyelashes brushed the very tops of her cheekbones. Looking closer, Byern could see the imperfections on her face. A blemish here, a black head there. But overall, her skin was smooth. And her hair, despite part of it being restrained in a half-ponytail, was laid out above her almost in a halo. Byern couldn't help but stare at her.

In all honesty, it was her stomach that caught his eye first. It looked so smooth, unlike all the pregnant stomachs Byern had seen at the care center. Sherry's bump was unnoticeable. In fact, there wasn't one. Byern guessed because she was at most a month along. But it didn't stop there. There were no stretch marks, no mars of age on her. Byern had to admit — Sherry was one of the youngest he'd ever seen at the care center. And he often forgot that. After watching so many girls grow up into women and give birth, Byern forgot how young Sherry really was. She was almost his age — a year younger.

Carefully, Byern sat next to Sherry on the bed, his back facing her. He felt the tightness in his chest, and his stomach doing flip-flops. But as he looked at her, his own stomach calmed down, and he realized just how small Sherry was, and how large he was compared to her. If he wanted to, he could lay down next to her, and curl her in his arms. There was plenty of room on the bed — Sherry didn't take much room. But all Byern did, was gently, softly, slowly, reach out and touch her exposed stomach.

There's someone in there — a tiny Sherry. A baby.

Quickly, Byern shot off the bed. He mumbled to himself as he shook his head out of the clouds. "That wasn't good. Imagine if Sherry had woken up..." Besides, his mind continued. She's too busy to be thinking of all that.

Quietly, Byern shut the door of the room as he left. He couldn't stay long — his family was waiting for an answer. He'd just have to tell them that Sherry wasn't joining them for supper that night.