Page 10 of He Saved Me

My eyelids become heavy, and I fight to stay awake, but the pain medication starts to work its magic.

“Jo?” I let out a yawn.

“Yeah, sis?”

“Please be here when I wake up.”

Silence.

Dread surges through my body.

A few minutes later, he says, “Yeah, I’ll be here. Go to sleep.” He rubs my head and kisses my forehead.

A relaxed smile forms on my lips, remembering how we would lay together as children until one of us fell asleep.

Releasing another yawn, I give in to sleep, but not before I hear Josiah say, “I love you.”

He kisses my head. “Always.”

Chapter 3- Sadie

Iwoke up alone, and a wave of pain rolls through me.

Josiah left without saying goodbye.

Chapter 4- Donovan

“How can something so disgusting come out of such a small person?” Ash makes gagging sounds while holding Sophie’s dirty diaper at arm’s length.

Sophie lets out a high-pitched giggle, pulling on her little feet. I stand over Sophie, putting on a clean diaper and her baseball onesie set that says, “out of your league.”

“Is Uncle Ash being dramatic?” I grin down at her. She puts her fist in her mouth and babbles incoherent baby talk.

Picking her up into my arms, I walk out of the room towards the kitchen. “Are you hungry, baby girl?” She continues to babble, a spit bubble.

Turning the corner into the kitchen, I grab the bottle of milk I prepared for Sophie. I sit at the table, hold Sophie close to my chest, and give her the bottle. She takes it like a pro while staring at me while she sucks on it.

“All right, so while you play father, I’m going to take the trash out and fix Abuela’s back screen door,” Ash says as he strolls into the kitchen.

I ignore his “father” comment.

Ash grabs a bottle of water from the fridge and leans against the counter.

Since Shorty and her mom have been in the hospital, we’ve been taking care of Sophie after school, and helping Abuela with house chores, and fixing things that need to be replaced.

Instead of accepting the money she has been trying to force us to take, we sit and eat dinner with her as payment. Even though we have no idea what she says in Spanish, it can’t be anything terrible since she always has a big smile whenever we’re around.

“Have you been to the hospital?” Ash asks, taking a drink of his water.

I pull Sophie’s bottle from her mouth and put her over my shoulder, patting her back until she let out a loud milky burp. “That’s a good girl,” I praise her before telling my brother “No.”

“Not recently.” It’s not that I didn’t want to, but the coach has been working us hard before the new season starts. By the time I make it to the hospital, she’s already asleep.

It’s been driving me insane not being able to be near, unable to comfort or hold her. I can’t imagine what she must be going through, the pain, the devastation that her mother nearly left for dead by her father—who was shot and killed by her brother.

The whole situation is like a horror movie.

Being with Sophie brings me closer to Shorty. I pull Sophie back until she’s sitting on my lap facing me. She has Shorty’s coffee-brown eyes that twinkle like stars. I lean forward, kissing her against her wild curly hair tied halfway up with a red and white bow.

---