Annie

The chilly air woke Rachel up this bright October morning. Blankets were tightly wrapped around her small and bare body. She opened her eyes and unwrapped herself from her blankets, noticing it was 6:00 am the time for her to get ready. She took a breath and got out of her bed. Rachel could hear the birds chirping from miles away, it was pleasant but somewhat aggravating. This morning felt different for Rachel, a feeling she couldn't seem to describe. Putting on her outfit for the day, she felt fine, there was nothing to worry about. Rachel finishes her daily routine when she hears a quiet knock on her bedroom door.

"Can I come in?" She hears. Rachel smiled and opened the door for her little sister Annie. Annie was 7 years old, a very quiet and innocent girl who had the purest soul someone could ever possess. Rachel sometimes took her sister for granted, she would speak to her with anger even when she didn't mean it. It brought pain to Annie's eyes, something a young child shouldn't have to experience.

"Have a good day at school Rachel. I love you" Annie said with a smile. Her smile could light up a room.

"Thank you, Annie, I love you too" Something felt weird when Rachel said this to her. You know that feeling where something just feels off, you can't really explain it because there are no words to even describe it? That's how she felt.

Rachel gave Annie a hug as they both walked down the stairs to the kitchen. Rachel could smell the aroma of coffee and bacon. She pulled out her phone to text Manny.

"Hey.. are you coming to my house this morning?" Rachel quickly typed and slipped her phone into the pocket of her black Columbia sweater.

"Yeah of course," He said. She smiled. The hot coffee dripped down her throat, burning but soothing her cold esophagus.

"Gotta go," Rachel said as she opened the front door. The sun pounded on her forehead, warming her. She sat on her steps as she waited for Manny to arrive. 3 minutes later, she sees Manny running towards her house. Rachel laughs.

"YOU DON'T HAVE TO RUN" She yells as she stood up from the steps, slowly approaching him. They were pretty close by now, it's been 2 weeks since they "met". Manny wrapped his arms around her and locked them around her shoulders. They walked to school talking about how horrible school was and their awful elementary school experiences. Sooner or later, they could see the big highschool in front of their eyes. Manny walked her to her locker and stood beside it still managing to make conversation with her. He never failed to make sure she wasn't bored.

"Now you must leave me" Rachel frowned and hugged him tightly. He also frowned and held her until the bell rang. This was the saddest part of their day, they hated having to leave each other every morning.

"Bye Ray" He said as he walked away from the entrance of her classroom. By the time she wanted to say goodbye, he was already gone. She sighed and walked into her math class. Emma was already sitting in her chair, taking down her notes.

"You're a minute late" Emma whispered as Rachel began to get her things out of her backpack.

"I know," Rachel responded. She took out her notebook and began to pay attention to the board. As Rachel wrote the sloppy notes in her notebook, she hears her name on the intercom.

"Can Rachel Marie please come down to the main office with her belongings?" She tilted her head in confusion, she was never picked up early. Emma waved goodbye as she fled the classroom. Once she got to the main office she was told to sit and relax for a minute. Rachel saw her mother walk through the doors in tears. Her mother signaled her to come over. Rachel stood up from the red chair and slowly crept towards her mother. Something told her that something was wrong. Andrea put her arm around Rachel and whispered into her ear.

"....Annie is sick and she isn't looking good" Rachel teared up almost instantly. Thoughts flowed throughout her brain, she thought the worst. Annie is the closest thing Rachel has to her. It's her younger sister, the light of her life. The one person she was terrified to lose as she lost the 2 closest people in her life.

Rachel said nothing as they walked home, she felt lost and alone. Silenced by the pain in her head, her thoughts took over. They walked home in complete silence, not one word was said. It was awkward but the most heartbreaking walk she has ever taken in her entire life. As soon as they walked through the door, Rachel ran upstairs and slammed the door behind her just as she did when her brother died. She remembered every single detail of that day, the pain she felt, and the sorrow and emptiness that lingered in her mind and body.

"Why?" She asked herself over and over. Rachel could feel the cold breeze rub against her feet from the end of her bed. Hours passed by, Rachel just sat on her bed, sobbing. As she was trying to calm her nerves, she looked down at her phone to see a missed call from Manny. She didn't feel like speaking in fear her words would not be understood but she called back. The phone rang for a second, and then she heard Manny his voice being stressed.

"Ray..are you okay? Why did you leave early?" She sobbed into the phone before she could say a word. He heard her pain, she couldn't even say a word.

"I am coming over" The phone call suddenly ended. She cleaned herself up by wiping off her eyeliner so she didn't look disgusting. Minutes later Andrea yells from downstairs.

"RACHEL, YOUR FRIEND IS HERE" Rachel grinned.

"Oh my gosh. Are you okay?" Manny walked towards her and sat down beside her holding her for comfort.

"No...There are a lot of things I haven't told you" She whimpered. Rachel proceeded to tell him everything about her dad, brother and sister. All Manny could say was "I'm sorry".

It was 3 in the morning, quiet as a mouse in her home. Manny spent the night comforting Rachel, being by her side. Rachel was happy to have him there, it made her feel even the slightest bit better. Suddenly, her feelings changed ever so fast when she heard the screams of her mother from downstairs. Rachel jumped up, and ran towards the door, opening it quickly. Andrea heard the door open and walked to the bottom of the steps to look up at Rachel.

"What happened?" Rachel asked. Andrea looked at her, with a face of pure despair.

"We have to go right now," Andrea said. Rachel went back into her room and shook Manny softly, waking him up.

"Please come with me" She whispered. Manny nodded his head and got up slowly, tripping over her clothes. He followed her down the steps and out of the house. Time felt so slow.

"Where are we going?" Manny asked Rachel.

"Hospital" She responded. It was quiet for the rest of the drive there. Her heart felt so full.

Andrea drove very fast, obeying the law but barely going below the speed limit. With every left and right turn, there was a feeling of nausea in Rachel's stomach. She didn't feel okay with this, she was uncertain like never before.

"Hold my hand" Manny said as he opened his hand out and moved it towards her. She looked at his hand and quickly grabbed it, locking her fingers into his. She squeezed his hand, but he said or did nothing.

"I'm sorry" She whispered to him as she felt his hand cramp up.

"No it's alright" He responded with a smile. She smiled back and continued to watch the cars speed by. Andrea made a right turn into the driveway of the hospital, not caring where she parked. Everyone exited the car at the same time, and ran up to the doors of the hospital. Rachel hated hospitals, she feared them so deeply. Andrea talked to the lady at the front desk while Manny and Rachel stood next to each other, holding hands. She felt calm by his side, but not calm enough. Andrea looked back at them and nodded for them to be able to go up the elevator. Andrea handed them guest passes and they stuck them on their t-shirts. The elevator was creepy, brown, covered in wood, and didn't look so stable. Manny pressed the buttons and cornered himself. He hated elevators, everything about them gave him a sense of anxiety and overwhelming fear. They sat there for a minute, staring at random things in the elevator. Rachel stood so close to Manny to where she could feel his body heat radiating onto her. The elevator doors opened and they walked down the hallway as fast as possible to the room Annie was located in.

"Room 318"

"Annie!" Rachel walked towards her, seeing in her such a poor condition broke her heart.

"Hi Rachel" Annie whispered as she grabbed Rachel's hand and held it tightly. Manny looked at her with sadness, a small tear forming in his eyes. Andrea sat down in the chair next to Rachel's. After minutes of sadness and sobbing, the doctor walked in holding a brown clipboard. The doctor explained to them the severity of her condition called Enterovirus D68. Annie had a staph infection, and the combination of both conditions limited her life to only 24 hours maximum. The news of this was heartbreaking to everyone in that room, even the doctor. Rachel just watched as the life was taken away from her sister every minute that passed by.