Chapter 41
“Well your brother actually had this idea a while ago but the timing hasn’t been right until now. We made it to the elevators and everyone squeezed in. I saw the nurse hit the button for the basement and I was very confused. She saw my face and let out another chuckle. “Just wait.” We finally made it to the basement and my eyes widened at the scene. The basement was set up with a race track. It had everything as if someone was racing go-karts in here. The sides had bumpers and the floor was slick for the wheelchairs to glide faster. It had a black and white checkered theme. There was even a flagman and a huge timer on the wall. The biggest smile came to my face.
“Oh my gosh! I am so excited.” I jumped up and down in my chair. Trevor came over to me and gave me a high five.
“Beat his ass for me.” I giggled and nodded my head.
“I could do it in my sleep.” He gave me a smile and patted my head.
“That’s my girl!” The nurse rolled me up to the starting line and Jake rolled Ethan up. I looked over at the fancy wall timer and saw the screen come to life.
Are you ready racers! 3,2,1… GO!
I immediately started pushing my wheels as hard as I could. It wasn’t much but it seemed that Ethan was in my dust. I slowly started to get winded and started to slow down. This made me feel very sad. I know it’s just the chemo and me just being sick but it still sucks. I can’t do what I could do a few months ago. Things change so fast. Before I could really overwork myself, I felt my chair being pushed at a super-fast speed. I looked behind me and saw Elli giggling. I started to laugh and look back at Ethan. He had a shocked face. I stuck my tongue out at him and laughed.
“No fair! Cheater! Cheater! Come on, guys! Help me!” The boys just laughed at him and cheered me on. We quickly made it through the finish line. Elli picked me up and jumped with me in his arms. I just kept laughing and giggling. All of the boys came running over, still leaving Ethan on the track to catch up. They all hugged me and cheered. Ethan finally got over here and came storming over to me. He took me out of the boy's arms and started to tickle me.
“You little stinker!”
“Stop! Oh my! Please stop!” I kept laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. He finally stopped and just hugged me. “I can speak for all of us that we have missed this Bri.” I gave them all a huge smile that actually reached my eyes.
“I’ve missed myself too.” They all cheered again and just were big goofballs. “Now, who's up to lose again.”
“Oh, it’s on!”
“In your dreams.”
“Never in a million dreams.”
“Yeah probably. “ We all burst out laughing at John’s comment. We all made our way back to the starting place and started a long and fun afternoon.
By the end of the day, I was extremely tired. The nurse had to come down and keep giving me meds that didn’t make me feel well but I still kept going. My eyes were closing as we cleaned up and started our journey back up to the room. I peeled my eyes open and saw Brandon wheeling me this time.
“Brandon?” He stopped wheeling me so he could talk to me. The boys looked back questionably but he just waved them off.
“We will be up in a minute.” They just nodded and went into the elevator. “Yes, Love?”
“Can we just do one more thing before the day is over?” He gave me a skeptical look.
“You’re already exhausted, we don’t want to keep pushing you.”
“No, I know. This is the most relaxed thing ever. I promise. I just want to watch the sunset.” I hesitated which he took as I ended my sentence.
“You don’t need permission from me to watch the sunset in your room.” He smiled at me and started to wheel me again.
“Wait! I actually meant outside. I know it’s cold but I will wear however many layers you guys want plus two blankets and I’ll-” He cut me off before I could finish.
“I don’t know Love. That’s up to Dad and your doctor. You just can’t afford to get sick right now.” I sighed and put my head down.
“I get it. It’s okay.” He gave me a sad look and quickly took out his phone. He walked away from me, leaving me just sitting there. I heard him whisper something to someone on the phone and then came back to me.
“It’s your lucky day! Dad is going to meet us in the lobby with a lot of layers for our little princess and then we can watch the sunset outside in the courtyard.”
“Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!” You’re the best brother I could ever ask for.” He became a little teary-eyed and just hugged me.
“I love you so much. Please never stop fighting.” I took a sharp breath and stared at him. With a shaky voice, I spoke up.
“I promise.” He gave me one last squeeze before he led us upstairs. Once we got to the lobby, Dad and the boys came over to me. They made me wear two pairs of sweatpants, a thermal shirt, a turtleneck, a sweatshirt, two pairs of socks, boots, a jacket, a winter hat, some gloves, and two blankets. I was a human burrito.
“I think that’s enough. I love you guys but I am very toasty.” The boys huffed and gave me some space.
“Even if you get even a little cold I will hurl my body on top of yours and sit on you.” We stared at Grayson weirdly and then burst out laughing again.
“Dude you are such a dork,” Jake said while walking toward the exit.
We finally all made it outside and got settled. All of us were sitting, watching the beautiful sunset. None of us talked. It was silent as we just stared at the sky. We all seemed to be in our own little worlds. After a while, I started to get cold so I did the most logical thing. I climbed into my Dad's lap. He welcomed me with his strong warm arms. It warmed me right up and made me feel good.
“I love you Dad.”
“I love you too, Babydoll.” He kissed my head and squeezed me tighter. I rested my head on his chest and let my eyes finally close. I felt warm, loved, and for the first time in a while, hope.