"Hey," I said, sitting down next to Richelle on the couch.
Gabby sat opposite her, reading exercises off of her physical therapy pages.
"Hi," Richelle said, gritting her teeth as she tried to raise her leg. She got about an inch or two off the ground before letting it plop back down on the couch.
"What're you doing?" I asked.
"Physical therapy," Richelle said. "It sucks."
"Oof," I snorted.
"Sadie," Mom said seriously. "Now."
"Oop," Richelle mouthed with a 'you're in trouble' look that big sisters always have mastered for condescending younger siblings.
"You're so dead," Gabby mouthed, smirking.
I made a face at both of them and followed Mom out to the car.
We went to pack a bag and grab a booster seat for Charlotte, then I made Gabby find one of her old toys for us. Mom made Richelle come with us just to get her out of the house. So at the end of the day, Mom pulled into the church.
"Richelle, go in with her," Mom said.
"I don't wanna go in with her," Richelle complained.
"Do it, Richelle," Mom said. "I know it hurts, but you need to move a little bit today."
"I did the stupid physical therapy stuff earlier," Richelle protested.
"That's not enough and you know it," Mom said. "Get out and go with your sister. You have five seconds before you're grounded."
"Fine," Richelle growled. "Whatever." For someone who could be so funny and sweet, the girl had a bad teenage attitude.
"Can you come with me to find her?" I asked, opening the door.
Richelle hobbled in after me. "Do I have a choice?"
"Yes," I said. "But I'd really like you to. You know a lot of what Charlotte's going through."
Richelle paused and looked at me for a second. "What do you mean?"
I looked at her mysteriously. "You'll see."
Richelle sighed. "Of course."
I could hear her crutches tapping on the wood floor behind me as I searched for Charlotte.
I could feel my sister shifting uncomfortably beside me as I told Charlotte about the sleepover. She hadn't been in public since she lost her leg, and perhaps a room full of kids who aren't scared to point it out wasn't the best debut.
Charlotte watched me intensely with those bright blue eyes. "It's because Cici's getting sicker, isn't it?"
I took a deep breath. "Yes. Your parents are staying with her overnight."
Charlotte nodded knowingly. "I knew it."
"Sicker?" Richelle mouthed to me.
I didn't respond. I could explain it all to my sister later.
"I had this feeling," Charlotte said. "That she was... I don't know, not as good as before, you know? Did my parents say what happened? Did the cancer spread or something?"
My breath caught in my throat. There was the word. I glanced up at Richelle, who inhaled sharply. I let out a slow breath. "No," I said. "Cici's been having chemotherapy, right?"
"Yeah," Charlotte said.
"Well, she doesn't have white blood cells left to fight off an infection," I said.
"She caught a virus, didn't she?" Charlotte asked. Her eyes said she already knew, but every child wants confirmation, so I nodded.
"Okay," Charlotte nodded. "Let me go to the bathroom, and then we can go?"
I nodded. "Yeah, that's good."
Charlotte ran off, and I prepared for the onslaught of questions from Richelle.
But instead of spouting comments, she just looked at me. "You didn't tell me," she said.
I shrugged. "Sorry. I didn't have time before we left."
Richelle sighed, rocking back on her foot. "And Cici has...?"
"Leukemia," I said.
Richelle sighed, looking in the corner. "And-" her voice broke. "And Cici is how old?"
"Nine," I said.
Richelle let out a shaky breath. "A virus. That was how..."
"Yeah," I mutter, looking at the ground. "How Eva died. I know." I reached over and touched my sister's hand. "Are you okay?"
Her hand curled around mine and held fast. "I don't know." I could hear her swallow. "Nine is so young."
"Eva was nine," I said.
Richelle nodded. "Yeah. Eva was nine. That's too young. That's too young for someone to have to go through that and that's too young to have to watch someone go through that."
"You were that young," I said.
"Exactly," Richelle said. "That's why I know it's too young. Because I could barely handle it." She shifted her weight on her crutches and glanced at Autumn, who was staring at her. A woman next to her, probably Autumn's mother, nudged her and whisked the girl away.
"Okay, I'm ready now," Charlotte said, smiling as she walked up. "Your house now?"
"Yep!" I smiled at her. "Oh, and this is my sister, Richelle."
Charlotte smiled at Richelle, and her dazzling blue eyes met Richelle's sparkling green ones. They locked on for a second or two, then they tore away.
"I like your legs," Charlotte said, matter-of-factly. "They're different. And you're pretty." Then she smiled and skipped ahead of us.
I glanced at Richelle, whose face was practically glowing.
"You good?" I asked.
Richelle nodded. "Yeah. I'm really good. She's the first person who's called me pretty since I lost my leg. I've kind of been struggling with that. Body image, I mean."
I watch my sister closely. "You're beautiful, you know that? With or without two legs."
"Thanks," Richelle said, placing her crutches in front of her. "But it means more coming from an eight-year-old. They're more honest." She swings her legs forward to meet her crutches and glances behind her. "But it means a lot coming from you too."
The minute Shasta laid eyes on Charlotte, she was all over her. Her red body wriggled with excitement as she bounded over to us, pacing around Charlotte to examine her. She licked Charlotte all over, panting.
"Hey, Sadie do you-"
"Oh Charlotte, this is Gabby, my younger sister," I explained.
"Hi Gabby," Charlotte said absent-mindedly.
"Hi Charlotte," Gabby turned to me. "Anyways, can you do the dishes for me?"
I rolled my eyes. "No. I've got a friend over. Why don't you do the dishes yourself?"
"Whatever," Gabby walked off.
"You've got a friend over," Richelle said, snapping her fingers at Shasta. "I'll take care of the dog tonight." She walked off with Shasta following her.
I raised my eyebrows at Charlotte. "Can you tell who's the better sister yet?"
Charlotte laughed.
"Well, actually, she normally has a heck of a lot more teenage attitude," I said. "She must be in a good mood today."
Charlotte laughed awkwardly again.
"Oh, I got Gabby to lend me her Chinese jump rope," I smiled. "You wanna try?"
Charlotte nodded vigorously. "Yeah! That sounds fun!"
God, please help Charlotte. She shouldn't have to go through this. She's so young. She's basically living out Richelle's life and no one should go through that. God please just keep Charlotte safe from disease and sadness and especially pain. Please.