Lara rested her head on her desk chair, her thoughts filled with Moses.
"What's wrong, Lara? You've been resting your head on your desk for a long time. Or is there something you're not telling me?" Lilith asked.
Lara raised her head and stared hard at Lilith. Feeling uncomfortable under her intense gaze, Lilith blinked rapidly.
"What?" she asked. "If you want to speak, then speak, and stop looking at me like I did something wrong."
Still staring, Lara sighed and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she continued staring at Lilith, though not as intensely.
"I'm going outside since you don't want to say what's wrong with you," Lilith said angrily. She stood up and headed toward the classroom door.
Before she reached it, Lara jumped up and followed her with long strides. She caught up with her outside, but Lilith ignored her and kept walking. She stopped by a tree close to their classroom and sat down. Lara followed and sat beside her, looking at Lilith, who still refused to look at her.
"What's wrong with you, Lilith?"
"I'm the one who should be asking you that. You've been acting strange, and I don't understand this attitude of yours. If something is wrong, aren't you supposed to tell me? Or don't you trust me enough? Shit—I'm sorry for saying that," Lilith added, looking at her pleadingly.
She rested her head tiredly on Lara's shoulder and said, "I don't understand you lately. Have your nightmares started again?"
Lara shook her head. She stretched her legs to get comfortable before replying, "I'm really sorry for how I behaved earlier."
"I've been occupied with thoughts of my brother."
"Which of your brothers, Lara? Is there a problem?"
"It's Moses. He fainted last night. When he was rushed to the hospital, the doctor said he has blood cancer."
"Holy moly! For real? How did that happen?" Lilith exclaimed.
"I don't know what's wrong with my family anymore. I'm tired, Lilith. Kyle is twenty-three and has never dated a girl. Jayden can't see a girl without thinking about sex. Dante barely speaks to anyone. I've been having different kinds of nightmares since I was ten. Now Moses has cancer. Mom fainted yesterday when the doctor told us," Lara said dejectedly.
"I'm so sorry, Lara. I thought it was your nightmare again, not knowing it was something worse. How is he doing now? And how's your mom?"
"My mom, dad, and I left this morning, leaving Dante to take care of him before they returned with his food. I had to come to school because of the test we had this morning; otherwise, I would have stayed. I'll be going there later—would you come with me?"
"I'd love to, Lara. I think I just heard the bell ring. Let's go to class."
Later, when school was over, Lara and Lilith went to the hospital. At the entrance, they saw Mrs. Williams coming out.
"Mom, you're going home? How's Moses? Where's Dad?" Lara asked all three questions at once.
"No. I need to attend to something at the supermarket. I'll be back before nightfall. Moses has been sleeping, but he's awake now, and your dad went to the office for an important meeting. He said he'll be back tomorrow evening.
"Please, Lara, spend a little time with him. Then go home, freshen up, and come back to look after Moses so Dante can go home. He has been here all day."
"Alright, Mom."
"Hello, Mrs. Williams," Lilith greeted.
"Hi, Lilith. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing great."
"Alright, girls. See you later."
"Bye, Mom," Lara waved.
"Bye, Mrs. Williams," Lilith added.
The girls entered the hospital and walked toward Moses' ward. Lilith winked at Lara, smirking.
"What is it, Lilith? Why are you smiling at me like that?"
"Your mom still looks young and fresh—like she's in her twenties," Lilith said, her smirk stretching into a wide grin.
"Are you okay, Lilith?" Lara half-yelled. "There's a serious situation going on, and you're talking about my mom looking like she's in her twenties. Do you even know what my mom looked like back then?"
"You have no sense of humor, Lara, and you're too gloomy. I'm trying to lift the mood, and instead of being thankful, you're getting pissed," Lilith retorted, rolling her eyes as she walked past her.
"The way you're walking ahead, I believe you know the way to Moses' room," Lara said with a small smile.
Lilith slowed down, allowing Lara to catch up. When she did, Lara placed a hand on Lilith's shoulder.
"Your joke got me, Lilith."
"Shut up, Lara."
"Angry bird," Lara muttered.
"Shut the fuck up, Lara. Your brother is sick, so let's focus," Lilith said firmly.
"I know," Lara replied quietly.
Both girls fell silent as they continued walking.