Liam and I, Elaina H [best feel good books txt] 📗

“What’s out there? Is it boring?”

“No, it’s the most exciting place here!” Liam didn’t give me a chance to say anything before he drug me outside into the hot, sticky, southern air.

He dropped my hand once we got outside, and I chased him to the back of the garden.

Out of breath, I said, “You’re going to kill us both!” Liam just blew me off, and got down on his hands and knees.

He began crawling in to a little whole in a bush, and I followed him immediately, interested in what could possibly be underneath there.

His floppy blonde hair was full of leaves and sticks after we got through the thick of it. Liam sat down, and at the center of the bush, there was a little open area surrounding the stem of the plant.

“Wow!” I exclaimed as I glanced around the interior of the bush. It was the perfect little hiding spot. “How’d you find this?”

Liam smiled at me, “I don’t know, I just came across it a couple days after I met you. Ain’t it cool?”

“Yea! I wish I had a secret hide out at my house!”

Liam frowned and dug his pointer finger into the mulch. “I wish I had a hide out at my house too.”

“This is your house silly!” I shoved his shoulder lightly. “You live here!”

Liam glared at me, “I have a home, and I have parents. I just got to be here a lot, but when the doctors fix me I’ll get to go home.”

Before I could ask Liam why he had to be fixed, and tell him that he seemed fine to me. I heard someone shout my name.

Liam stared at me wide-eyed, “Uh-oh.”

“Yea, uh-oh,” I told Liam to go first, and he scurried out from underneath the bush.

The person called my name again, and I followed him out.

I noticed something gold shining in the bush, but I didn’t take the time to look at it since I had to hurry up and find my worried Mom.

Liam and I ran around the corner, and found the unknown person calling my name. It was a nurse. Specifically the nurse who had promised Mom nothing would happen to me. “Oh thank God!” she shouted when we ran up to her. “You’re Mom about killed me young lady. Why’d you go running off like that?”

Liam spoke up, “Sorry, ma’am, it was my fault. I didn’t know we were gone so long.”

The nurse grinned at Liam, “Oh, go ahead, and run along, Liam. I heard they’re showing Lilo and Stitch at the Kid’s Center!”

Liam glanced at me and wrinkled his nose. I giggled; Liam hated the Kid’s Center.

“Oh, dear Lord child! I am going to kill you!” Mom came running into the courtyard with little Jack on her hip and a stern frown on her face.

“Mommy, I’m sorry, I was playing with Liam.” I snatched up her hand, and played with the ring on her finger.

Mom glared at me, “Who the heck (I pretty positive she didn’t say heck) is Liam?”

“Mom!” I pointed to the bashful boy next me, and my mother’s eyes softened.

“Oh, I see. Hi, Liam, I’m Isabel’s mom,” she stuck her hand out to him like she always did when she was meeting someone new.

Liam took her hand, and shook it. “Hello, ma’am. It’s real nice to meet you.” Liam’s southern charm flowed off his tongue easily, and my mother squeezed his hand.

“You’re a real sweet kid, Liam, and I forgive you for stealing my daughter,” she said the last part teasingly, but Liam gulped.

“Alright, we got to go Izzy. Your father said your grandparents are coming over for dinner tonight, and I haven’t any clue what to make!”

I grabbed her hand, “Okay. Bye, Liam.”

Liam waved good-bye, and said something to the nurse, who laughed and led him in the opposite direction.

As Mom buckled me into my car seat, I realized the gold in the bush was a chunk of Liam’s hair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Three

It wasn’t until four weeks later that Jack finally got his cast off, and I got to go back to the hospital.

This time, Mom had to work late, and Dad was off work because it was one of those random half days where for some reason everyone doesn’t have to be at school all day, including me.

It was the beginning of a new school year; it had just started a little over a week ago. This was Jack’s first year of school, and he wasn’t too keen on it. So any time he didn’t have to go, was a great time.

Last Friday, Mom had informed my brother he was getting his cast off today. Mom told me I had to go with Dad and Jack, but it didn’t bother me since I figured I’d get to see Liam again.

Except, I didn’t.

When we arrived at the hospital, we were immediately ushered in to see the doctor, and he said Jack was definitely getting his cast off today.

Jack smiled and giggled, “Sissy! Sissy! I’m all better!”

I half-grinned and told Jack how exciting it was, but really I was searching for Liam. I was waiting for Liam to come, and take me to our secret hiding spot.

It took a little over an hour for the doctor to take Jack’s cast off, and Liam never showed up.

We left the hospital, the doctor told Jack to be more careful, and that was that.

Dad buckled Jack and me into our car seats and noticed the plain, obvious grimace on my face. “What’s the matter, Izzy?” Dad teased. “Are you going to miss Jack’s cast?”

I crossed my arms over my chest and humphed loudly, informing Dad I was not in the mood to talk about it.

Dad started the car up and back out of our parking spot, leaving the hospital parking lot behind forever.

During the car ride home, I continued to stare out the window with a pout on my face until Dad asked me one more time what was wrong.

“Why wasn’t Liam there?” I finally said after I got over my temper tantrum.

Dad sighed, and his eyes looked tired, “Well, sweetpea, maybe he was just busy.” Something about the way he said those few words made me think my father was a liar or at least just a liar this one time.

It didn’t upset me then, but it upset me later when I found out the truths about hospitals, sickness, death, and divorce. Then, it made me think about what else my parents had lied to me about.

But I never thought that when I was younger.

“Daddy!” Jack’s screeching voice tore me from my deep seven year old thoughts. “Let’s go get ice cream!”

I was ready to be home, but I always knew never to turn down ice cream. Ice cream was a big deal when you were little.

Almost as quickly as the thoughts of Liam came, I forgot about him. Dad didn’t bring him up again because I think he knew I would forget about him, he knew Liam would become something of the past.

I remember digging the spoon into the soft, creamy, strawberry ice cream and smiling up at Dad, thinking I had the best Dad in the world.

I didn’t exactly remember when my perfect parents started to crumble apart, it could have been happening all along or it could have started later.

I didn’t know, and I didn’t ask.

I just dealt with it like everything else.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Four

“Mom! You forgot to get me notebooks for class!” I shouted down the hall. “Mrs. Yokley said you had to have notebooks for fourth grade! She said it was important.”

I stomped into the kitchen, and mother made breakfast, pancakes and bacon. “Isabel, you better not shout at me,” she demanded. “I didn’t forget them; I just forgot to give them to you last night. There on the table in the foyer.”
Jack who had just turned seven two days prior bolted into the kitchen. “I’m in second grade!” Jack had started second grade two weeks ago just like I had started fourth grade two weeks ago.

I picked up my backpack, and brought it over to the table. I always had Mom check my homework before I left for school in the morning. It was our little morning ritual.

“Alright, these here are wrong and that one there is wrong too. Just change those and you’re good to go,” she said as she poured the pancake mix onto the skillet.

The sun shone through the windows and the light bounced into my eyes making me rub them. Jack ran around the kitchen like a madman, screaming he wanted pancakes.

When Mom had finished the pancake, she set them on plates and set the plates on the table.

Jack and I took our respective seats across from Mom and Dad’s seats. “Go get your father, Jack,” Mom instructed.

He whined, but finally left to go get Dad. “Anything exciting happening at school today, Izzy?”

“No,” I said as I shoved a large bite of pancake into my awaiting mouth. “I think we are practicing more multiplication tables.”

Mom nodded her head, but said nothing. I guess what I had said wasn’t that interesting.

Jack raced back downstairs after another moment, and said Dad would be down in a minute.

We waited for Dad, but he didn’t come downstairs until we were headed out the door for school. Dad leaned down and kissed our heads, “Be good.”

Mom mumbled, but I heard her, “If you’d have come down earlier, you could have talked to us.”

With that, Mom slammed the door behind us, and ushered is into the car.

I didn’t have to ride in a car seat anymore, but Jack did, and he hated it because it seemed unfair I didn’t have to ride in one.

I rubbed it in his face all the time back then that I didn’t need one.

Mom drove us to school, it felt like we got there sooner than usual, and she left with a quick goodbye.

“Hey!” Jack shouted. “There’s Connor!” he ran off toward his red-haired friend, and left his older sister standing by herself.

During third grade my only two friends, who happened to be twin sisters, moved north to Oklahoma. I was mad at them, but in the end it didn’t matter because I don’t think we were close anyways.

Like I had the previous fourteen days, I wandered the playground searching for anybody to play with.

Most of the kids in the fourth grade were nine, but a couple had already turned ten. I wasn’t part of the small group of ten year olds.

I say by myself for a while before I heard someone behind me say my name. “Isabel?”

My name came out like a question, and I turned around as fast as I could without getting dizzy. “Hi.”

The bald-headed boy smiled, “You remember me? I’m…”

I laughed, “You’re Liam. You look,” I paused, “different.”

Liam stared at me for a moment before he walked over and took the seat next to me on the bench. “You go to school here too?”

“Course I do! What else would I be doing here?” I kicked my blue tennis shoes around in the dirt. “Why ain’t you in the hospital anymore?”

Liam shrugged, “Doctors said they fixed me up.”

“That’s good,” I said simply. What else was I supposed to say?

By this point in time, I was at a place where I knew you only went to the hospital if you were really sick or hurt real bad like Jack was once upon a time. So I figured Liam was the first one, and later I found out I was right.

“Who you got for a teacher?” Liam finally said after a long period of silence.

I waved my hand in the air, “Mrs. Yokley. How about you?”

“Mrs. Smith, I don’t like her that much. She’s mean.” Liam never said another word, and we both just sat there until the bell rang.

He waved goodbye, and I waved back. I headed to my classroom after I hung up my backpack and lunch box on my assigned hook.

Mrs. Yokley bellowed out to the class to take our homework out from last night,