(Nick's pov)
"I don't want that though!" She yells. "I just want to go to the game."
"Bri, I already told you that I can't make that work," I say. "You don't have a ride home."
"Uncle Zion can pick me up afterwards," she says. "I know he would get me."
"Bri, don't bother your uncles," I say as I start to feed Abigal, "They have enough things going on. You can go next Friday."
Bri instantly throws her purse on the ground and then storms off to her room. I knew she would be pissed, but there isn't anything I can do about it.
"Dad, Colton won't give me my spider-man toy back!" Denton yells from the living room.
"Colton give it back to him," I say back. Both of them start yelling at each other which causes Abigal to start crying. I swear I can't ever win with these kids.
"Holy crap, what is happening?" I look over at the door to see my four best friends standing there. We have been best friends for about fifteen years now. I lived with them for five years, but moved out when I got married.
"My insane children is what is happening," I say. "Colton and Denton won't stop fighting which is causing Abigal to cry and Bri is all mad at me."
"Why is she mad?" Austin asks.
"I wouldn't let her go to the game because I wouldn't be able to pick her up afterwards."
"I'll take her and then pick her up afterwards,"Zion says. "Is she in her room?"
I sigh, "Yes, but you don't have to take her. I told her she could go next Friday."
"It's fine," he says walking down the hallway, "I got it."
"I'll go fix the mess with the other two," Edwin says as he starts to walk to the living room.
"Thank you," I say to him. I give Abigal another bite of her food and she instantly starts to eat it.
"Bad day?" Brandon asks.
"You don't even know," I say. "It's been an awful day."
Bri and Zion walk down the hallway together and Bri looks so excited. "I told you he would take me," she says to me.
"Yea," I frown. "Have fun." They both walk out of the house together and I quickly sit down in my chair. "I swear she hates me."
"She doesn't hate you," Austin says. "She's a teenage girl. She's going to act that way towards you."
"Well I wish she wouldn't. I'm tired of the way she acts towards me. I feel like we are always fighting."
"She loves you," Brandon says. "Just be patient with her."
"I know," I say quietly.
"We will help you clean up," Austin says as he starts to grab some of the dishes off of the table.
"You don't have to," I say.
"We got it," Brandon says as he grabs dishes too. I'm really glad to have their help on somedays. It's hard to do it alone everyday.
If someone would have told me that I would be doing this alone at the age of thirty seven then I probably wouldn't have done it.
My wife, Sadie, died two years ago giving birth to our youngest child, Abigal. There were a lot of complications with her pregnancy which caused her to hemorrhage. Abigal was perfectly healthy, but Sadie bled out too fast.
That day was supposed to be the next best day of our lives, but it turned out to be one of the best and one of the worst. Bringing a baby into the world is beautiful, but losing your wife in the process isn't.
Bri is thirteen years old. She's really the only one that remembers her mom. Denton and Colton are twins. They were five when she died which means they are seven now. Abigal was born the day she died, so she is only two years old.
Therefore, I'm raising four kids on my own in this really nice house I bought with Sadie. I thought we would live in this house together forever, but I was so wrong.
My children are my greatest blessings though. I wouldn't trade any of them for anything. I love all of them with my entire life and I thank God for them every single day.
"Dad, he gave it back," Denton says holding up his toy.
I smile, "I'm glad he did. Now go play with him or else I'm going to come and take him next."
"Okay, dad," he starts laughing and runs away to his bedroom to play with his toy.
***
"Ready for your appointment?" I ask Bri as she starts to put her shoes on.
"No," she mumbles.
"Why not?" I ask. "We get new scans today. Hopefully it's all good news."
"It probably won't be," she says. "I don't have that type of luck."
"Hey, don't say that. You are going to be just fine. You have to have some type of hope."
"I would if mom were alive," she says.
"Why do you say that?" I ask .
"If she wouldn't of died then I would have hope that I would still be alive, but now I know death can happen to anyone. It happened to mom, so it could happen to me. It's hard to have hope, dad."
"I know," I say quietly. "I have hope though. I have hope that you'll be okay."
She smiles lightly, "Thanks, dad."
We found out about a year ago that Bri has Leukemia. It wasn't easy at all to find out about. I had just lost my wife and I was raising four children on my own. It wasn't easy to find out your oldest child could die of cancer.
"I love you, Bri."
"I love you too."
[At the hospital]
The doctor walks in with the new scans and puts them up on the light box for us to see. He doesn't look too happy, but maybe it's because of something else. It's hard to read doctors.
"It's not looking any better," he says. "I think we are going to have to start on chemotherapy and radiation."
"What?" Bri asks. "That means I'm going to lose my hair."
I start to rub her back as tears start to spill out of her eyes. I knew this was one of the things she was so scared about. She told me she didn't want to lose her hair because kids would make fun of her. I told her that she would be beautiful no matter what, but she didn't believe that.
"Maybe, but you most likely will. I'm sorry, Bri. I didn't think you would need it. You were doing so good, but now it's not getting better. This is a life or death situation. You need this."
"How long with chemotherapy last?" I ask.
"She will have about six treatments which will take about three months if all goes well."
"Can she still go to school and play sports or does she need to stay home as much as possible?" I ask.
"School is a yes, but I would say no to sports," he says. "And the farther you get along with chemo you should stay home as much as possible. After about your second session I wouldn't go to school unless you feel one hundred percent. This will take a big toll out of your body."
"Okay," Bri says.
"I'll have the receptionist set up a date for your first session," he stands up from his chair. "I know it's not easy, but you are strong."
"Thank you," Bri says.
"Thanks," I say as he walks out of the door. He nods his head and shuts the door behind him.
Bri instantly breaks down into tears and I wrap my arms around her. She buries her face in my chest while I hold her so tightly.
Nobody said being a parent would be this hard sometimes. Seeing your own child like this is the worst feeling in the entire world.
