My Brother

"Ganna...wake up!" Leigh said, shaking me awake. I groaned and opened my eyes.

"Why? What time is it?" I said, trying my hardest not to fall back asleep.

"It's 9:30. You were gonna go see Sterling with us, remember?"

"Oh yeah. You think he's up by now? He likes to sleep as late as I do."

"Probably not. But we'll wake him up. Now get dressed and come eat some cereal, we're leaving in 30 minutes."

"Okay."

Leigh left, and I dragged myself out of bed. I put on my black shirt that said "FLIGHT CREW" (it came from my school's cheerleading team, since I'm one of the flyers), and light skinny jeans. I also put on my pink checkered Vans. After brushing my teeth, then brushing my hair and pulling it into a high ponytail with a bow around it (I'm such a cheerleader), I went downstairs and to the kitchen. I poured myself a bowl of Captain Crunch cereal and ate it while watching Made. When I was done, I put my bowl and spoon in the dishwasher. Dad and Leigh walked in.

"Ready to go?" Dad asked.

"Yup," I said, and we all walked out to Dad's dark red SUV.

After a 30 minute drive to the hospital, which I miraculously stayed awake for, we made it to the Vance General Hospital. We got out and walked inside, getting on the elevator and pushing the button for the 3rd floor. I held onto my dad's arm for dear life, since I'm absolutely terrified of elevators.

The doors opened on the 3rd floor, and we walked out and to Sterling's room. He was awake, laying on the bed and watching Jackass.

"Really Sterling? Jackass?" I said, smiling.

Sterling turned. He smiled when he saw me. "I guess I never learn, huh?" he said, with that strong Alabama accent that we all shared.

"No. And you never will. But that's okay cuz I'll always love you."

"That's good. Whatever would I do without the love of the almighty Morganna Cameron?"

"I don't think you'd know what to do with yourself."

"Probably not."

"Aww, that's so cute. I wish Alex and Seth loved each other the way you two do." Leigh said, laughing.

"We have more of a love/hate relationship." Sterling and I said at the same time. We both started laughing when we realised that.

A nurse with blonde hair walked in, carrying a clipboard. "All ready to go home, Mr. Cameron?"

"Definately. I hate hospitals, and my bed's alot more comfortable than this." Sterling said. The nurse laughed.

"Well I'll go get your discharge papers. Your doctor will bring them in with him, and he'll discuss the care of your arm with you all."

"Okay. Thanks Miranda."

"No problem. I hope you feel better Sterling, and I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you too. And don't worry, I'll be back sooner than you think."

"You better not." Dad said.

We all laughed. Miranda gave Sterling a hug, being careful not to touch his left arm. She left, and we all kind of just stood around in silence. Eventually, Dad's cell phone rang. He looked at the caller ID.

"It's my boss. I'm gonna go out to the hall to answer it. I'll be right back." he said.

"Kay. Take your time." Sterling said. Dad glared at him, and Sterling just smiled. Leigh went over and sat on the couch in the room, and I layed beside Sterling in the bed.

Dad came back in the room and sat beside Leigh on the couch. No one talked for awhile. Then, a male doctor with gray hair walked in. I completely tuned him out (and I think Sterling did too) as he discussed how to take care of his arm. Finally, the doctor gave Dad the discharge papers to sign, and he left. Dad signed everything, and Sterling had to sign something too. The doctor came back in, we gave him the discharge papers, and we left.

When we walked through the front door, Sterling collapsed on the couch. As usual. I headed back in my room, but Leigh stopped me on the way up there.

"You've got cheer in an hour, Morgan!" she yelled after me.

"Oh yeah! I'll go take a shower then get changed."

"Okay, be ready in an hour."

"Sure thing."

~~

After taking a shower, I changed into my red 'Hillcrest Cheer' shirt and black short shorts. I dried and brushed my hair, and pulled it back into another high ponytail with my school cheer ribbon. I ran downstairs where Leigh was waiting with the keys. As we were heading out to the car, Sterling (who was still on the couch) spoke up.

"Hey...can I come with you guys?" he asked.

"To cheer? Why?" I asked.

"I don't know...cause I'm bored?"

"Sure. But hurry up and get in the car, we have to be there in 30 minutes." Leigh said.

"Okay." Sterling said, getting up and walking with us to Leigh's car. 25 minutes later, we got to Hillcrest High School. Leigh left, and Sterling and I walked into the gym, where the other girls were warming up. He sat in the bleachers and I walked over to my best friends, Beverly, Cayla, Ashlynn, Briana, Alexis, and Molly. I sat down with them, and started stretching.

"Hey girl!" Briana said.

"Hey guys! Hows your summer so far?" I asked.

"AWESOME. I'm planning on throwing a pool party in a few weeks, you there?" Molly said.

"Duh! You inviting Christian?" I asked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? Can't separate Critt and Ganna."

I laughed. "Of course not."

"Why did Sterling come?" Beverly asked, smiling, looking in Sterling's direction. He waved, and she waved back at him.

"He was bored sitting home alone. And he likes to watch me cheer, even though he's majorly jelous of my mad skill."

The girls laughed. "And what happened to his arm?" Ashlynn asked.

"He broke it, trying to do his own Jackass stunt." I said, rolling my eyes. The girls groaned.

"With Matt, Austin, and Trey?" Cayla asked.

"Yup. Who else?"

"Wow. He's crazy. But he's cute." Beverly said.

"Eww, Beverly. Eww." I said. The girls laughed.

"And it's creepy because he looks so much like Morgan!" Alexis said. We busted out laughing at that one too.

"Okay girls, get into position! We're starting practice!" our coach yelled.

We all got into our rows on the blue cheer mat. First, we did all our jumps, then tumbling, our chants ("HHS, GO BIG RED!" and "F-I-G-H-T, FIGHT, DOGS FIGHT!"), our cheer ("Bulldogs, we're here to fight! Everybody yell, red and white! Red, and, white [Let's hear it!], red, and white! We're here to rock, to take back the top! 2010, it's our year to win! HHS! HHS! HHS! HHS!"), and our dance. When practice was over, me, Briana, Beverly, Cayla, Ashlynn, Alexis, and Molly all hugged each other. I ran off to where Sterling was sitting. He handed me my bottle of red Gatorade.

"Practice over?" he asked.

"Yup. Ready to go?"

"Yeah."

We walked out the front door together. We leaned against one of the brick podiums, waiting for Leigh to come back.

"Were you bored?" I asked.

"No. I like watching you cheer. You're really good."

"Thanks. When does football start up again?"

"Not until the month before school starts."

"So you'll be able to play?"

"Should, unless I break something else."

"You better not."

Sterling laughed. We were the only ones left, and it was getting dark.

"Don't the lights look really pretty at night? I love the city." I said.

"You notice everything, don't you? Yeah, I guess they kind of do."

"I want to live in the city when I move out."

"You do live in the city."

"I live in suburbia."

"Whatever. Always so complicated, aren't you?"

"I'm a little sister. It's my job."

Sterling smiled. "I'd rather live on the beach."

"That would be fun too." I agreed.

He stared off into the city. "Remember Dad and Leigh's wedding?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah." I whispered.

"And playing in the water while everyone packed up?"

"I'll never forget. That's when things were simple, huh?"

"Yeah. Before Krystle and Justin started fighting and contemplating divorce, before Alex got pregnant and miscarried..."

"Things are hard."

"Yep. I think that's a reason why we're so close. You're the only thing that's ever been completely consistant in my life."

"Same with you."

We both smiled. "Oh, come here," he said, pulling me into a hug. I laughed and hugged him back. We heard a car horn, and saw Leigh pulling up in her car. She pulled up in front of us, and we both got in. Sterling in the front, and me in the back.