Starting Over

He almost threw up when he saw her, but somehow he choked it all down and gave her a smile as he waved her over from the terminal.
“Milan!” She exclaimed as she ran into his arms, happy to be with her ‘older brother’. Milan immediately felt the vomit come back up as he wrapped his arms around her too thin body. Pulling away, he eyed her with such a fine eye that it probably made her uncomfortable. The only thing about her that looked the same was her beautiful brown, wavy hair that currently fell loosely around her sickly thin shoulders. Her clothes, which were probably made in the smallest size possibly, still managed to look one size to big on her and her once, beautiful, sparkling, brown eyes were dull and lifeless with big, dark bags underneath them. Her face was drawn gaunt but the smile on her face somehow managed to make one be found on his. Though, it quickly dropped when she saw the way that he was looking at her.
“Look, Milan, I know what I must look like to you but I swear I’m getting better. That’s why I’m here.” She said to him, holding out her twig-like arm that looked like it could be snapped by his own baby girl and placing her small hand on his large bicep in attempts to assure him.
“Right, um, we should probably get going. Brittany is waiting in the car with Val and I believe she made reservations at some restaurant for us.” Milan muttered, not wanting to have this conversation with her in public, and definitely not before he was able to rehearse what he was going to say at least five more times.
“Um, ya, you’re probably right. Let’s go.” Kaylee mumbled, feeling the awkwardness at the mention of her disease.
“Sweetheart, when are you going to learn that your big bro is always right?” Milan laughed, ditching the awkwardness and falling easily back into the role that he played when he was younger.
“And when are you going to realize that you are a cocky little bastard?”
“Shut up. And just so you know, there will be no swearing in front of my daughter.” Milan informed as he picked up the two bags that held all of her possessions. Kaylee silently nodded as she followed Milan out to his car where his wife and daughter were waiting.
“So, Kaylee, are you looking forward to staying in Boston?” Brittany asked her new house guest as she took a sip of her wine. Looking up from the salad in front of her, Kaylee answered enthusiastically,
“Very! It will be so great staying with Milan again and I’ve heard such wonderful things about the city. It will also be a great new start for me so that will be good.”
“That’s great to hear! It will be so great having someone helping me with Val here, especially since Milan is going to be so occupied with playoffs.” Brittany commented with a smile. Kaylee graciously offered one back, overwhelmed by how nice Brittany was being to her. Milan watched the whole exchange with a smile. He knew his wife was apprehensive about having Kaylee staying with them and their daughter, but seeing her interact with her made his worries about her not treating her nicely went away.
“I hope you don’t mind having random, crazy hockey players using our house as a pit stop though.” Milan joined into the conversation, not wanting to miss a moment of catching up with the girl he viewed as his little sister. By the way she laughed; Milan never would have guessed she was previously ill.
“So, how did you two meet? Like, I knew you were best friends when you were younger but I never quite learned how you guys met.” Brittany curiously asked.
“Oh, um…” Milan started, not sure if their new house guest wanted him to reveal how the two met. Realizing Milan’s hesitation and dilemma knowing that he was waiting for her approval to divulge their meeting to his wife, Kaylee said,
“His parents used to be foster parents and for about a year I stayed with them until I was moved again.” Brittany, taken back by the answer, said,
“Oh, Milan I had no idea that you’re parents hosted foster kids.”
“Yeah, they did it for about four years. Kaylee was the last one to stay with us. She was also the longest.”
“Because I was the only one he and his brother’s didn’t scare off.” Kaylee said with a laugh. Everyone at the table joined in. There was a small silence once the laughter died down, a silence that lasted only until Milan noticed something that upset him.
“Kaylee! Why aren’t you eating your food? You NEED to eat!” He all but screamed when he saw that the nineteen year old girl was just pushing her barely touched salad around the bowl that it was in.
“I...” Kaylee didn’t know what to say. Her recovery was one of the hardest things she has ever endured, and there were days were she was still having difficulty.
“Kaylee this isn’t something you can screw around with. You could die! Now we are not leaving until you finish eating.” Feeling anger well up in her, Kaylee got up from the table and left the restaurant. Milan, without hesitation followed her. Thankfully, Kaylee didn’t know the city so the bench outside of the restaurant was the farthest she could get. Sitting down next to her, Milan started to feel slightly bad when he realized she was crying.
“You know I only said something because I care about you right?” He asked softly. When she gave a small nod, he continued.
“When I got that call from my mom after that first time she saw you since after you left, I nearly dropped everything and went back to see you and help you get better. Kay, you’re my little sister. I would die if something were to ever happen to you. And then I find out that you have an illness that could lead to your death, I don’t know, Kaylee I am so scared for you it’s not even funny. You do realize you can die right?” Milan ranted, tears started to well up in his own eyes.
“I know Milan, and I swear I am trying to get better. It’s just so hard sometimes. Like today for instance, I see Brittany and I see how beautiful and thin she is, even after having a baby and it just made me feel so ugly and fat, I felt like how I originally felt when I started to…you know…” She trailed off not knowing how to continue.
“Gosh, Kaylee, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine how you feel and I am sorry. And you have my word that I will do everything in my power to help you get back to that girl you used to be, the girl who would help me mercilessly prank my brothers, the girl who immediately became my younger sister, the healthy girl that you used to be.”
“You all talk about helping me and I really appreciate it but I don’t think you get how long and hard this will be. I am sick Milan, with a disease that I am going to be battling with my whole life, no matter how well I restore myself back to good health.”
“I know sis, and I am going to be with you every step of the way I promise. I won’t let you leave this family again.”
‘Thank you.”
“Just promise me that you’ll try hard to beat this. That you won’t give up on yourself and that you won’t let anyone let you feel ugly and fat ever again. That I will never have to find you in the condition that my mom found you in.”
“I think that your mom finding me was my second chance at everything Milan. And I give you my word that no matter how hard it gets I won’t screw this one up. I can’t afford it.”
“No, baby, you can’t because I think that if you do, the next place we will find you is in the morgue.” Milan muttered, the tears finally escaping his eyes at the thought.
“I know. That’s what scares me the most. I don’t want to die Milan, I don’t want to die.” Sobs engulfed the small, weak girl. Pulling her into a hug, Milan did his best to comfort her.
“Hey, is everything alright out here?” Brittany asked, interrupting the moment between Milan and Kaylee.
“No,” Kaylee answered, pulling away from Milan and wiping her tears away. “But they will be in good time.” Milan gave her a smile and together the three walked back into the restaurant.