Status: Sorry to leave you hanging guys! The keyboard on my laptop is malfunctioning.
Stop Pretending That You're Sorry
59
Two years prior to our meeting, Dawn, Julia’s mother, had been in a terrible car accident and sustained a substantial amount of brain damage. Her car had flipped over one night and it was hours before anyone came to her rescue.
Dawn was helpless. She could barely form coherent words and often forgot the names of her own daughters. There wasn’t much she could do on her own, she could barely even breath let alone eat or use the bathroom. She had to be helped at all times.
Julia lived with her grandparents as well, they helped care for Dawn as did Julia. Ellie was too young to really understand, she was only 3 and a half and barely said a word herself. Ellie mainly just giggled and swung around on people.
The little girl had taken quite a liking to me, and I became the preferred human jungle gym. When I finally managed to pry her off of me, I headed down to the basement with Julia and Katie, much to Ellie’s disappointment.
I felt bad leaving her alone upstairs so I snuck up, saying I was getting myself a glass of water. I found Ellie in her room curled up on her bed. Her room was all pink with purple and magenta butterflies stenciled on the wall with paint. Surrounding her bed was a fancy pink net, complete with fake flowers, sparkles, and fairies.
I sat at the foot of her bed, her whole face lighting up as she saw me. I grabbed the brush sitting nearby on the bookshelf and began to brush out her long, blonde hair, pulling it into a messy braid. Some of the fake flowers got plucked off the net and added to the braid.
“See? Now you’re a fairy,” I smiled. She curled up in my lap, resting her head against my chest.
“Regan, where the hell are you- oh.” It was Julia. She’d come looking for me after about half an hour of my absence.
“She’s so sweet,” I said, gesturing to the sleeping little girl resting in my lap.
“Yeah, when she’s sleeping,” Julia scoffed. “Come on, we’re going to watch a movie.”
We ended up watching Mean Girls which I hadn’t seen in years. Julia fell asleep towards the end, her snores filling the basement. Katie and I stayed up snuggled in our sleeping bags, talking about anything and everything. Around one in the morning, sickness struck and I found myself leaning over the toilet bowl. Little did I know Katie hadn’t fallen asleep like I had assumed.
“Regan?” She asked, her voice soft in the darkness. “It’s not the flu, is it?” By the tone of her voice I could tell she knew, somehow she’d figured it out.
I squeezed my eyes tight shut willing the tears not to fall and nodded, confirming her suspicions.
Dawn was helpless. She could barely form coherent words and often forgot the names of her own daughters. There wasn’t much she could do on her own, she could barely even breath let alone eat or use the bathroom. She had to be helped at all times.
Julia lived with her grandparents as well, they helped care for Dawn as did Julia. Ellie was too young to really understand, she was only 3 and a half and barely said a word herself. Ellie mainly just giggled and swung around on people.
The little girl had taken quite a liking to me, and I became the preferred human jungle gym. When I finally managed to pry her off of me, I headed down to the basement with Julia and Katie, much to Ellie’s disappointment.
I felt bad leaving her alone upstairs so I snuck up, saying I was getting myself a glass of water. I found Ellie in her room curled up on her bed. Her room was all pink with purple and magenta butterflies stenciled on the wall with paint. Surrounding her bed was a fancy pink net, complete with fake flowers, sparkles, and fairies.
I sat at the foot of her bed, her whole face lighting up as she saw me. I grabbed the brush sitting nearby on the bookshelf and began to brush out her long, blonde hair, pulling it into a messy braid. Some of the fake flowers got plucked off the net and added to the braid.
“See? Now you’re a fairy,” I smiled. She curled up in my lap, resting her head against my chest.
“Regan, where the hell are you- oh.” It was Julia. She’d come looking for me after about half an hour of my absence.
“She’s so sweet,” I said, gesturing to the sleeping little girl resting in my lap.
“Yeah, when she’s sleeping,” Julia scoffed. “Come on, we’re going to watch a movie.”
We ended up watching Mean Girls which I hadn’t seen in years. Julia fell asleep towards the end, her snores filling the basement. Katie and I stayed up snuggled in our sleeping bags, talking about anything and everything. Around one in the morning, sickness struck and I found myself leaning over the toilet bowl. Little did I know Katie hadn’t fallen asleep like I had assumed.
“Regan?” She asked, her voice soft in the darkness. “It’s not the flu, is it?” By the tone of her voice I could tell she knew, somehow she’d figured it out.
I squeezed my eyes tight shut willing the tears not to fall and nodded, confirming her suspicions.