Toxic

I woke up to the sound of rain pounding on the roof. My alarm clock read 6:30 in red, glowing numbers. My alarm would be going off in 30 minutes. I flipped the switch that turned off the alarm. The wood floor creaked as I swung my legs off the bed and got up. After I got up, I made my way to the dresser in my room and got out clothes for today.

            I decided on my favorite pair of skinny jeans, my blue and white tank top, and a light grey jacket. I walked down the hall to the bathroom. I grabbed my brush and styled my blond hair. I went downstairs after that and got a bowl out of the cabinet above the sink and made myself a bowl of my favorite cereal.

I sat at the kitchen table for a while staring off into space and eating my Lucky Charms cereal. When I heard someone creeping down the stairs, I looked up to see my six-year-old brother, Tyler, who was to smart for his age.

“Good morning sleepy head” I said. As soon as he heard me, he got a bright smile on his face.

“Good morning big sis!” he said. The little boy had ash blonde hair and big blue eyes.

“You hungry Tyler?”

“Yes I am; can you make me something?”

“Sure.” I said as I got up and pulled out a frying pan. He sat at the table and watched me make his eggs. After a while, I set his food in front of him. I watched him for a while with a smile. Little did I know that my smile would soon fade.

2 weeks later….

I sat by the hospital bed waiting for him to wake up. I’ve been waiting for 3 hours just sitting by his hospital bed hoping and praying that he would be ok. His eyes opened and I automatically burst into tears.

“W- what’s wrong big sis.” Tyler groaned.

“I’m fine, how are you feeling?” I managed to say between sniffles.

“I’m ok, I think,” he said. I sat there and smiled sweetly at him. At the same time I was thinking why? Why him? It should have been me. Please let this be a dream. He sat there staring at me.

“Really I’m ok Tyler no need to worry” I said as tears started to fill his eyes.

“Your lying to me sis, I can tell because I can see it in your eyes.” He said to my surprise.

“Tyler, I’m so sorry this happened to you.” I said as I began to cry again.

“Don’t cry big sis, I hate it when you cry.” He said with tears now falling. I pulled him into a bear hug and said, “Don’t cry for me Tyler I’m not the sick one.

“But sis I hate to see you sad.” He said whimpering.

“It’s ok Tyler.” I said trying to calm him down, even though inside I knew that it wasn’t ok. He fell asleep crying in my arms. I laid him down back in his bed; I looked down to see my Shoulder soaked in his tears.

I looked at my brother. He had red puffy eyes and his ash blond hair was gone. At that moment I realized that this wasn’t a dream as I sat there looking at him with tears soaking my face. He had this deadly sickness and I have no way to help him. That’s when I decided to devote my life to find a cure for his illness.

I promise myself I will. I will cure my brother. I will make it so no one has to go through this. I will find the cure to cancer. My brother was diagnosed and given his first treatment on October 3. On that day, I vowed that I would cure him and anyone else who had to go through this.

It had been nearly one year since that day. I went to go see him every day. It was September 3, and I was on my way to see him. I walked in to the room to see my now 7-year-old brother reading his favorite book, The Hobbit.

“Isn’t that the fifth time you’ve read that book Tyler?” I said to him. He looked up and got a wide smile on his face. During the year he was sick, he stopped calling me big sis. Now he used my name.

“Hi Jade!” he said happy to see me.

“How are you doing Tyler?” I asked him.

“I’m feeling ok, the doctors say I’m making good progress!” he answered.

“That’s really good Tyler, I brought you something to play with.” I said to him.

“Really, you didn’t have to Jade.” He said.

“I wanted to, and I have good news!” I said to him.

“Ok then what is it!” he said.

“First the present!” I said pulling out a giant robotic puppy.

“Wow! I love it Jade!” he said happily.

“Now for the good news!” I told him.

“Ok what is the good news? He asked.

“Ok, I have finally been able to start researching for a cure.” I told him. His smile grew bigger and bigger. He started to cry.

“Tyler, are you ok?” I said giving him a hug.            

“I’m ok, I’m just so happy!” he said smiling up at me.

“Good!” I said.

“Hey Jade, I’m a little sleepy.” He told me.

“Ok Tyler I’ll go.” I said to him. As I got up he grabbed the sleeve of my shirt.

“Stay until I fall asleep, please.” He said.

“Ok Tyler, I will stay.” I said. I had only stayed about 30 minutes until he fell asleep; before I left the room I kissed him on the forehead.

“I’ll see you tomorrow Tyler.” I said as I walked out of the room. I left the hospital, but I didn’t bother hailing a cab. I walked home, but before I got there the tears started falling, I still wish it had been me instead of Tyler. I walked onto my porch and opened my door. I walked in and saw my mother sitting on the couch with a friend from work.

“Hey mom.” I said hoping she couldn’t tell that I was crying.

“Welcome back Jade, how’s Tyler?” she asked.

“Why don’t you go visit him yourself, I’m sure he would like to see you mom.” I said.

“You know that I don’t have a license or the time to go see him,” she said.

“You should still go see him.” I said as I walked up the stairs. I got into my sky blue room. I lay on my bed, and turned on my MP3 player. I started listening to “Shake it off” by Taylor Swift. I Just listened to the song on repeat trying to forget, wanting it all to be a dream. I fell asleep thinking if had only been me, but I knew it wasn’t me it was Tyler, the poor, sweet, and innocent boy.

The next morning I woke up and got dressed. Today was the day I would start researching for a cure. I had strait A’s in school and I was really good about working with chemicals. I put on my pink tank top, my blue jeans a pair of sneakers, and a brown leather jacket. I hurried down the hallway, and down the stairs.

When I got outside I decided I would take my late grandma’s car. I went to McDonalds and got a breakfast meal then drove to the research facility. When I got there I was told to fill out a sheet of information. It wanted to know my name, number, qualification, etc. After I finished filling it out and gave it back to the receptionist, she told me to follow her and I did. I was finally going to help my little brother get better.

                                                                                                To be continued…