Promises...

Chapter 3

My life gets so complicated during the most amazing times of my life. I think that I have everything figured out, then something has to go and mess it all up. My mother called me this morning to tell me that my sister, Hannah, cracked her head open and has to go into immediate surgery for her spine. She said that my dad was watching Hannah practice her routine on the bars when her wrists locked up half way through a double turn, leading to her losing her grip and falling to the ground. I guess she entirely missed the mat and hit her head on the carpeted platform and severely injured her neck. My mom said that she was rushed out of the gym as quickly as possible and to the nearest hospital, twenty minutes away. When they got to the hospital, the doctors said that they would do all things humanly possible to keep her mobility up, but there are no promises. Hannah was then rushed into the operating room and my parents were told to hang tight. I asked my mom if I should meet them at the hospital, but she said that I need to stay with someone who is emotionally stable that can help guide me through what is going on with Hannah. She also told me that she would keep me posted, but I haven't heard anything from her in three hours. Three, long hours of me bawling my eyes out into Adam's chest, him telling me that everything will work out exactly how it's supposed to, but I can't make myself believe that. I can't wrap my head around my nine year old sister having to give up her dreams to be an Olympic gold medalist for gymnastics. I can't take the fact that she could suffer from severe brain damage and not be able to communicate the same way for the rest of her life. It would kill me to have to watch her be paralyzed after injuring herself doing something she loves. She's my baby sister and everything just needs to be okay with her.

Two more hours pass and I get a call from my mom. I wipe my tears and answer the phone, waiting for her reply.

"Mom, is everything okay?" I ask her, very concerned.

"She would have lived entirely paralyzed, unable to breathe or eat on her own, and would never be able to communicate with words again," I hear her sniffle. "The doctor said that she flatlined and the only way she would have still been kept alive is if we kept her on monitors, and I knew she wouldn't want to be a vegetable." I try so hard to keep myself together, but my tears fall, hundreds of drops per second.

"So... my sister is... dead?" I weep.

"I'm afraid so, honey." I fall back into Adam's arms and cry even more.

"We will be home in a few hours and start funeral arrangements." I can tell that my mother is trying to hold it together as much as possible to keep me strong, but it's not working. I hang up the phone without saying another word and sob violently.

"Baby, it will all be okay!" Adam informs me.

"How do you know?" I say, breathless.

"She is in a better place now. She doesn't have to worry about not being able to talk or eat or do gymnastics again, because she can now. Her nine years on earth could not have been any better because she had such an amazing sister to look out for her."

"Adam, you don't understand the bond that we had. We were the two closest sisters ever, we never fought or yelled at each other. We were always there for each other to give a smile when it was needed. She was my best friend, hands down, and I don't have her anymore."

"Listen, Steph," he pushes me up so I am looking directly at him. "She may not be here physically, but she will always hold a special place right in here," he touches the left part of my chest, right above my heart. "And, guess what."

"What?"

"You have all of you memories to hold on to forever." I embrace him in a hug.

"I am so lucky to have you here!" I tell him.

"I will always be here for you, I promise."