1 P R O L O G U E

|J U N E|

*PAST*

"Come on Juju! We are going to be late!" I heard my little sister yelling as she shook me out of my sleep.

I just groaned and slapped her hand away. I peeked at her from under my duvet and smiled when I saw her frustration. She left after a while and came back with a bucket of water. I shot up from under the covers and yelled, "I'm up! I'm up!" I heard her laugh as she put the bucket down.

"That's what I thought. Now, you should get ready or Mom and Dad are going to be mad." She smiled and walked out.

Joan is my little sister, well by an hour anyways. Yes, we are twins and unlike others, we are very close. We've never had a fight, well, only once where she didn't speak to me for days and then I learned to never mess with her again. She can hold a grudge longer than the movie screening.

That's not important. I thought.

I got in the shower and quickly washed and got ready. I don't exactly remember where we were going that day but it was supposed to be a family outing. Which I didn't like but Joan and Julia, my other younger sister, did. They seemed to like it when we hung out as a family and I did too. It was fun, sometimes.

As I pulled on my pants over my boxers, the door opened and my little sister, Julia walked in. "Hurry up Ju!" She yelled impatiently.

"I'm almost done, tell Mom to get my breakfast ready," I answered as I pulled on a shirt.

"Okay!" She yelled and slammed the door shut and ran downstairs.

I walked down the stairs and saw my parents in the kitchen where Joan sat on the stool near the island, drinking her coffee. That girl couldn't survive without her coffee. One time she didn't have time to drink it and I think she broke mom's favorite vase that was from my great great great great grandfather. Mom was so mad that she was grounded and couldn't hang out with her friends. All she did that month was study, sleep, eat and go to school. It was torture for her but I, enjoyed her suffering.

"Are you guys ready?" Dad asked as he put the magazine he was reading down.

"Yes!" Joan and Julia yelled. I rolled my eyes and sat at the table. I am going to finish my breakfast before I left and they are going to have to deal with it.

"Oh come on!" Joan yelled.

"Shush and let me eat my breakfast in peace." I glared at her.

"Why don't you girls go start the car. The moment he finishes, we'll drag him there." Mom smiled and held up the keys. Joan and Julia left, and I thanked my mother, for doing me a favor.

I quickly finished my breakfast and cleaned up the dishes. We loaded the car and set out for our destination. We were all happy and bubbly, well, I kind of was. We sang in the car and spoke about random things. That was the best memory of my family together because after two months, everything changed. And it was for the worst.

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*PRESENT*

"Mr. Anderson?" A nurse called and I looked up to see her carrying a bundle. "Congrats, you're a father."

"Uncle," I said and looked down at the pink bundle.

"Well, congrats. You can hold her, the doctors are working on her now. Since she lost a lot of blood, they need to make sure she's okay." The nurse explained as she carefully handed me the baby.

I won't say I'm an expert but I've held my youngest sister before. Julia was three weeks by then and I was still scared that I would hurt her however, my mom said that it was okay. She was so fragile and light. I shook my head and looked down at the baby girl I was holding. I carefully sat down and moved the blanket away from her face. The baby was pale and had a hint of pink on her cheek. "Odette," I said. Joan had picked that name and I was going to go with it.

We waited for hours and I was getting worried. I picked up my phone and called Wendy, my friend, to tell her about the baby. She was excited and she told the rest of our friends in the group. "We'll be right over," she said and hung up.

Another hour or so had passed when Wendy, Kennedy, and Andy showed up. "Oh my gosh! She's so cute." Wendy squealed and sat beside me. "What's the status on Joan?" She asked as she smiled at the baby.

"I don't know," I answered. "I'm worried."

"Don't worry, these things happen all the time." Andy patted my back. "So have you picked out a name for her?"

"Odette Bella Anderson," I answered.

"Cute." Kennedy smiled.

We all sat down and waited. This worried me even more. The nurse said there were complications and in the back of my mind, I felt like something bad was about to happen. Not to the baby but to Joan. I sat there praying and when the door finally opened, I got up with the baby in my arms.

The nurse, who handed me the baby before, and a doctor came in. They seemed to be discussing something very serious. "Is she okay?" Wendy was the first to ask.

They both looked at us and then each other. "Mr. Anderson, your sister, she didn't make it." The doctor answered and I stared at him, shocked.

"What?" Kennedy asked. He seemed shocked too. "What do you mean?"

"We tried everything. She was losing blood, again, and then her breathing was uneven and her blood pressure was high, too high to put her on medication. I am very sorry." The doctor explained.

"Everything will be taken care of since your sister has donated her body to science." The nurse answered as she looked down at the clipboard. "We're sorry for your loss, Mr. Anderson."

With that, they both walked away. I looked down at the baby when she started crying. I sobbed and pulled her closer to my face. "I am so sorry baby, I couldn't do anything for your mother." I apologized.

"It's not your fault." Wendy rubbed my back and hugged me, Andy and Kennedy followed.

We stayed there until I was able to walk away. We went home while, Wendy and Andy went to buy things for the baby. I laid Odette in her crib that Joan chose and watched her fall asleep again. Kennedy was busy making the formula for her. "We're going to be okay," I whispered to the sleeping baby.

This is going to be different and difficult but I can handle it. I thought Joan was going to be here with me and the baby.