After we returned home from Paris Aleysa took a turn for the worst. She's been sleeping more and she's had difficulties swallowing. She's even gone off eating and drinking.

I feel helpless watching her like this.

I sit next to her and hold her hands. They are cold to touch. "Aleysa, thank you for staying well while we were in Paris. I know that was the last thing you wanted to do before you die." Tears begin to fall down my face.

She opens her eyes slightly and she looks at me. "Sis, I wanted to see you move on with your life. After I'm gone you will have someone to help you through my death. I love you, Chloe."

Hugging her, I say. "I love you, too."

"When is Nate's graduation?"

"On Friday, why?"

"You have to go to it. Record it for me."

"I will." Looking at the door, I add. "I have some people coming here to help me take care of you. They will take care of you on graduation day."

A nurse walks into the room and she hooks the IV up and puts a needle in Aleysa's arm. She falls back to sleep.

Rising I walk out the door and head to my bedroom. I sit on the bed, with my head on my hands,

Jai walks into the room and sits next to me. He kisses my head. "I'm here for you, Chloe." He rocks us.

Tears begin to fall down my face as I cry in Jai's arms.

He whispers soothing words to me. "Mom and Dad are on there way here. They want to help out."

Wiping away the tears, I say. "They don't need to help. They've done more than they need to."

"Mom would kick your arse if she heard you say that."

There's a knock on the door and it opens.

Gerald and Nate walk into the room. Without waiting for us to tell them to enter. They were lucky that Jai and I weren't doing anything.

Nate looks at me. "You don't need to come to my graduation if you don't want to. I know you're going to be worried about our little sister."

Lifting my head I look at my brother. "I will be there. If I stay here Aleysa would be pissed. She wants me to record the whole thing. Then we're all going to sit in Aleysa's room and watch it together." I look at Gerald. "You have to be there too Gerald."

Gerald smiles. "I'll be there."

I hear loud moaning coming from Aleysa's room. I am about to run in there until Jai catches my arm. "The nurses are with her. They will make her comfortable."

Moving toward the door, I say. "I'm going for a walk. I need some time alone." I walk out of the house and follow the path until I reach a park at the other end of the street. I walk over to a bench and sit.

There's a pond with ducks in it. A little boy is standing beside the pond and he's throwing bread in there. He slips on a rock and he falls into the pond.

Rising from my seat I run over to the pond.

The boy lifts his head up. "Help," he yells.

I jump into the pond and pull him out.

He's got blood dripping down his face. He looks at me and starts coughing.

"Samuel," a woman screeches and she runs over to us.

I give the woman her son.

She scolds her son. "What have I told you about playing near the pond?" The boy doesn't say anything. "I told you not to. I was afraid this was going to happen to you."

Kids will be kids. They hardly ever listen until something happens. I was that way when I was growing up.

The woman turns to me. "Thank you for saving my boy."

I give her a weak smile. "You're welcome." I rise. "I should be going. I'm glad that your son is alright. I hope he listens to from now on."

She laughs. "Me too."

I walk away from the mother and child.

"Chloe?" I turn towards the voice and see Jai standing with Gerald. "Come home?"

I nod.

Jai runs over to me. He takes in my clothes. "Why are you wet?"

I giggle.

Damn, I have to get my head out of the gutter.

"Uh," I look at the pond and see ambulance officers looking over the boy. "Some kid fell into the pond and I pulled him out."

Gerald and Jai look at the action happening by the pond.

All I want to do now is go home and get changed. Maybe, go to sleep with my little sister.

"I need to get changed. I'm feeling a bit cold."

We walk back to the house. When we get there I make my way straight to the bathroom.

Near the bathroom, my brother's bedroom door opens and he looks at me. "What happened to you?"

"I rescued a little boy from the pond."

"Do you know whose kid you saved?" I shake my head. "You saved the President's Grandson son."

Huh, who would have thought that I would save a kid as important as him?

"I bet they're going to look for you."

Well, I'm not going to make it easy for them to find me.

I begin to shiver. I open the door to the bathroom and step inside. I peel off my clothes and put them on the ground. I turn the taps on before I step into the shower.

The water warms me as it runs down my body. I wash my body and hair before I step out and wrap a towel around me.

Opening the door the bedroom and walk over to the closet. I pull out a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. I put them on and then make my way to the door. I open it and walk to my sister's room. I crawl in bed next to her and close my eyes.

***

Someone shakes me and whispers. "Chloe, its dinner time. You need to come downstairs."

I ignore the person and keep my eyes closed.

I don't want to eat anything. I'm happy being in bed with my little sister.

The person kisses me on the lips. "Aleysa, wouldn't want to see you like this. Please, come downstairs and have dinner with us."

I sigh. "Can you carry m?."

Jai lifts me up and he carries me down the stairs to the kitchen.

Nate looks at me and says. "Lazy, bum."

"You don't need to be jealous little brother. You'll have someone to carry around one day."

Nate shakes his head. "I don't want to think about the future. I like to concentrate on the here and now. It's better to live like this than have your hopes up for the future and die. It's unfair that Aleysa doesn't have a future now. Yet you and I do." He looks away from me. "I don't like seeing her like this."

***