Page 96 of Fight for Me
I huff with a smile, thinking of how much she’d love that.
Ellie turns to me. “Call me if anything changes?”
“I will.”
She comes to my side and kisses my cheek. “At the least try to eat something. You’re no good to her if you’re worn down.”
I don’t say anything because food is the last thing I care about.
More hours pass, but nothing changes. All I can do is sit, waiting for any movement that doesn’t come. I watch, thinking maybe her eyelids will flutter. Maybe her fingers will twitch, but they don’t. I beg, plead, and bargain with her, but she doesn’t move.
I lean back in the chair, defeat filling my body and leaving my limbs heavy. The doctor explained to Sierra and me this morning that they’re going to run another battery of tests because this is definitely abnormal.
Something is wrong, and they have no idea where to start.
Everything about this situation, from the time I got to New York all the way until this moment, has been surreal and abnormal. I need the universe to get its act together and straighten up before I lose my mind because I don’t know if I can take much more.
My brothers call, but I don’t answer, there’s nothing to say, and I can’t explain the situation again.
I close my eyes for just a second as the heaviness weighs me down. I’m exhausted, but I can’t give up.
“Will you love me forever?”
“Forever and always,” I reply as Sydney gives me a sly smile and dips her toes into the pond.
“Good answer.”
In just a few weeks, we’ll both head off to college. It’s been a summer that neither of us will forget. After as much bad shit as I’ve endured, each moment with her is heaven. Sydney is the best thing in the world.
“What about you?” I ask her back.
Syd shrugs with a gleam in her eyes. “Depends on if you deserve it.”
I clutch my chest, falling back to the ground. “You wound me.”
She rushes over, her hands covering my mock wound as she kisses me. “Never. I would save you.”
“You already have saved me.”
“Yeah?”
More than she can ever know. Just her smile makes it easier to breathe. Her touch soothes the bruises and pain inflicted by my father’s hands, and her love reminds me that there is good in the world.
“Everyday.”
Syd lies beside me, both of us now facing the summer sky. Her fingers entwine with mine. It’s a simple touch, but it feels like everything.
“Do you think we’ll get married?”
I turn to look at her. “I know we will.”
“Have kids?”
“If that’s what you want …”
Syd’s blue eyes meet mine. “I want to have kids with you. Two boys and a girl.”
“Are you placing an order?” I laugh.
