"Here you go Tommy, now if there is anything else you need press the button there on your remote and I'll come right over to assist you." The nurse said as she handed him some water and readjusted his bed for him.
"Thank you."
As soon as the nurse left the room Tommy and I went back to watching the tv at the top corner. I looked away from the tv and noticed my mom pacing back and forth the side of the room.
"Mom sit down please." She stopped but ignored me as she walked over to the other side of Tommy's bed instead.
"Sweetie how are you feeling, does your head still feel hot? Are you tired?Dizzy? Did they give you your antibiotics?" My mom started to ask as she practically hovered over him.
"Mom breathe!" I said so she can back off a bit.
"Mom I'm fi-" Tommy started to say before he gets cut off. I turn around to find him shaking his head in search for something. I notice his expression and quickly grab the trash can before handing it to him just in time. I get up from my seat and walk towards the door as my mom starts to hover over Tommy once again as he continues to puke inside the can. I take one last look and walk out of the room, making my way to the nurse station. I pull down the hood of the suit and take off the mask as I waited for the nurse to look up.
"I think my brother needs you in there, he started to throw up." I tell the nurse from before making her quickly get up from her seat and head into the room. I take a peek in the small window on the door and I find everyone surrounding Tommy's hospital bed. I let out a sigh and take off the suit completely and throw it away before squatting down to the floor, drawing my head towards my knees. I let out a few unsteady breaths and close my eyes to try to get back to normal.
"Lauren?" I hear making my head snap back up. I blink a couple of times to get rid of the spots in my vision and I finally see him clearly.
"Hi Jaime."
"Are you alright?" He asks as he extends his hand out to help me up. I get up with his help and take a quick look at the door.
"Do you want to get out of here?" I ask him, gaining a surprised look on his face.
"Uhm, sure." He smiles and nods before we both head out towards the elevators.

Once reaching the main floor we head straight to the automatic doors and walk on out. As soon as I feel the sun and cool San Diego weather hit my skin I let out a sigh of contentment. "My car is over here." Jaime says as he taps my arm and leads me over to a row of cars and stopping besides a black truck. I walk over to the passenger side as I hearthe car unlock and hop inside. I hear the truck rumble to life before he backs out of his parking spot and drives away from the hospital. Once we reach the stop light at the corner he turns to face me. "Where do you want to go?" I stare straight ahead as I think about it for a minute then smile when it hits me.
"I know just the place." I tell him the directions and sit back in my seat as I stare out the window besides me and wait to arrive.

Normally I wouldn't have wandered off with some stranger - no matter how desperate I was- but after talking with Jaime a couple of times during the rest of the week I felt almost comfortable around him. He was nice, he didn't try to pry on trying to know everything but he was also there when I needed someone to talk to and I found that it was becoming pretty often.
"Turn in here." I said fifteen minutes later as we started to arrive. Jaime nodded and started to drive the gravel road before finally stopping on the makeshift parking they had. He turned off the car and we both hopped off. I walked ahead after closing my door and started to walk the familiar route at the empty park. I hear Jaime's footsteps shortly behind me as we walk through the grass and finally stop at the little hill with the huge tree in the middle. I run my hand across the rigid bark with a smile on my face just as Jaime stops to stand besides me.
"I used to come here all the time growing up. Just me and this tree." I turned to face him as he looked up at the height of the tree. I sat down on the patch of grass, leaning my back against the tree and patted the space besides me so he can sit as well.
"Lauren are you ok?" He asked, finally speaking up.
"What do you mean? Of course I'm fine."
"I don't know I might be wrong but when I saw you at the hospital you worried me a bit."
"Oh." I hung my head down and shrugged my shoulders at the reminder. "I think I was starting to have an anxiety attack. I used to get them a lot during high school and this is where I would end up to clear my mind."
"Do you know what caused it?Today's I mean."
"I don't know I think just seeing my mom hovering over Tommy, not really giving him his space then seeing him getting sick."
"How is he doing?"
"I want to say he's getting better but I don't even know the answer to that. No one will tell us anything. All I see is nurse after nurse give him antibiotics and take more tests but still nothing." I let out a sigh as I let my shoulders go limp and messed with the leaves around me. I feel his hand hesitantly press against my back then move it side by side to make me feel better."It's just tough juggling all these things. I have my dad who is too busy to bother even being here then when he's at home he's giving me the cold shoulder because I won't go back to school like he's forcing me to. I mean I understand that it's money being thrown away but it's my brother you know, I think this is more important then money!"
"What about you mom? Have you tried talking to her?" I let out a snicker as I shake my head.
"My mom is way to emotional for this. At the sight of Tommy or even the mention of his name she wants to break down and cry and if she's not crying she does what she was doing today." I let out a sigh again before leaning back against the tree and resting my head on Jaime's shoulder.
"Don't try to carry all this on your shoulders, it's not good."
"It's hard not to, I feel like I'm the only one strong enough to be there for him and here I am falling apart." I brushed at the random tears in frustration that hovered at the corner of my eyes.
"Lauren you are strong I can see that. It's ok to have these little moments, you're human. Just remember that it will get better. Don't let this take you down. Your brother will get better in no time don't worry." I lifted myself up a bit and turned to face him.
"You really think that?" He nodded and pinned the hair from my face back against my ear.
"Yes Lauren, have a little faith. I know things will be looking up." I gave him a half smile just before he pressed his lips against my warm forehead and I closed my eyes to take in his words. He was right, I couldn't, scratch that, I shouldn't be focusing on the negatives. I had to remind myself that things were in fact going to get better in time. My eyes fluttered open and his brown eyes met my blue ones as he looked at me. "I know you have people depending on you right now but I just want you to know that you have me here ok. Don't feel like you're in this alone. You know where to find me whenever you need it." I felt a tear escape from my eyes and crawl down my cheek as I took in his words. He cupped his hand on my cheek as he wiped away the few tears with the pad of his thumb as he stared at me intently. I see his face get closer to mine but then stop before letting go as he realized what he was doing, unsure if I would be ok with his next move. I sat up on my knees and finished the distance as I placed my lips on his warm ones. I feel him hesitate at the unexpected move before he places his hand on my back and shifts his head a bit to give me a kiss. About a minute later both our eyes flutter open as the kiss ends. I sit back down on my feet and rest my head on his shoulder as we remain chest to chest. I feel him place his other hand on my back to meet the other. He gives my body a slight squeeze in his hug before getting close to my ear to speak.
"I'll be your strength."