Read Online How to Save a Life by Kristin Harmel - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Kristin Harmel
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like I can call the Make-A-Wish people and say, ‘Hey, a tree told me I’d be dead in less than two weeks, so can you hurry it up?’ ”
“Twelve days?” I repeat softly.
She nods.
“Are you worried about your parents?” I’ve met them. Anne and Jay. They seem nice. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose a child the way they’re about to.
“Yeah,” she says softly. “It sucks, because they’re really busy with my little sister, Trish. They don’t come every day anymore. They think I’ll be getting out soon. So I call them every today, but I don’t get to see them, and it kind of makes me sad.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry, Katelyn.”
She shrugs. “It’s okay. It’s just life, you know? You take people for granted until they’re not here anymore. I think my mom and dad just assume I’m going to be fine, that I’m going to be around for a while. It’s easier to believe that, you know? But I think if they really thought about it, if they really stopped and looked at me, they’d see I’m fading. It’s just easier to be blind sometimes. And that’s okay. I don’t blame them for that.” She pauses. “I just think that after I’m gone, they’re really going to regret not coming to see me more often, you know? But there isn’t anything I can do about it. It just makes me feel bad for them.”
I sit down beside her bed. “You know, I met a man named Jamie recently, and his daughter died several years ago. He seems really okay now. I think he misses her terribly, and I think losing her probably changed him forever. But he’s still living his life, and he seems happy enough. I guess what I’m trying to say is that your parents will come out of their grief one day. They’ll never forget you, but they’ll be able to continue living.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I hope so. I’m going to miss them a lot, you know? Them and Trish.”
“I’ve always believed that once we go to heaven, we get to look down at the people on earth we love.”
She nods. “I believe that too.”
“So maybe you won’t have to miss them at all, because you’ll always be with them.”
A tear rolls down her right cheek as she nods again. “Yeah.”
I change the subject before she can get any sadder. “So about this Original Scin. Do you have a crush on one of the guys, or what?”
She brightens. “Dylan Hendrix. He’s seventeen, and he has the best brown eyes you’ve ever seen in your life. He’s really close to his mom and his older sisters. I just think he seems like an awesome guy.”
“You sound like me obsessing over Donnie Wahlberg in 1989,” I say with a smile.
Her forehead creases. “Isn’t he on some reality show?”
I laugh. “Yes. But a really long time ago, when I was your age, he was in a band called the New Kids on the Block. I was obsessed. I knew everything about him.”
“Did you ever get to meet him?”
I shake my head. It isn’t high on my list of regrets, all things considered, but it occurs to me how absolutely thrilled I would have been when I was a young teenager to get a meet and greet with the New Kids. An idea begins forming in my head. “Okay, kiddo, I’ve got to head over to Logan’s room. You haven’t seen Frankie today, have you?”
She averts her eyes and turns a little pink. “Why would I know where Frankie is?”
Ah , I think. So maybe the crush is mutual after all . “No reason,” I say with a shrug. “I just stopped by his room and didn’t see him.”
“Sometimes when the nurses aren’t looking, he goes down to the gift shop in the lobby and pretends to be a salesperson,” she says with a small smile. “He gives the people who are nice to him the employee discount.”
I laugh. “That sounds like Frankie.”
“Yeah,” Katelyn mumbles, looking away again. “He’s pretty cool.”
“ H OW ARE YOU feeling?” Logan asks when I enter his room a few minutes later.
“Hey, that’s supposed to be my
“Twelve days?” I repeat softly.
She nods.
“Are you worried about your parents?” I’ve met them. Anne and Jay. They seem nice. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to lose a child the way they’re about to.
“Yeah,” she says softly. “It sucks, because they’re really busy with my little sister, Trish. They don’t come every day anymore. They think I’ll be getting out soon. So I call them every today, but I don’t get to see them, and it kind of makes me sad.”
I swallow the lump in my throat. “I’m sorry, Katelyn.”
She shrugs. “It’s okay. It’s just life, you know? You take people for granted until they’re not here anymore. I think my mom and dad just assume I’m going to be fine, that I’m going to be around for a while. It’s easier to believe that, you know? But I think if they really thought about it, if they really stopped and looked at me, they’d see I’m fading. It’s just easier to be blind sometimes. And that’s okay. I don’t blame them for that.” She pauses. “I just think that after I’m gone, they’re really going to regret not coming to see me more often, you know? But there isn’t anything I can do about it. It just makes me feel bad for them.”
I sit down beside her bed. “You know, I met a man named Jamie recently, and his daughter died several years ago. He seems really okay now. I think he misses her terribly, and I think losing her probably changed him forever. But he’s still living his life, and he seems happy enough. I guess what I’m trying to say is that your parents will come out of their grief one day. They’ll never forget you, but they’ll be able to continue living.”
Her eyes fill with tears. “I hope so. I’m going to miss them a lot, you know? Them and Trish.”
“I’ve always believed that once we go to heaven, we get to look down at the people on earth we love.”
She nods. “I believe that too.”
“So maybe you won’t have to miss them at all, because you’ll always be with them.”
A tear rolls down her right cheek as she nods again. “Yeah.”
I change the subject before she can get any sadder. “So about this Original Scin. Do you have a crush on one of the guys, or what?”
She brightens. “Dylan Hendrix. He’s seventeen, and he has the best brown eyes you’ve ever seen in your life. He’s really close to his mom and his older sisters. I just think he seems like an awesome guy.”
“You sound like me obsessing over Donnie Wahlberg in 1989,” I say with a smile.
Her forehead creases. “Isn’t he on some reality show?”
I laugh. “Yes. But a really long time ago, when I was your age, he was in a band called the New Kids on the Block. I was obsessed. I knew everything about him.”
“Did you ever get to meet him?”
I shake my head. It isn’t high on my list of regrets, all things considered, but it occurs to me how absolutely thrilled I would have been when I was a young teenager to get a meet and greet with the New Kids. An idea begins forming in my head. “Okay, kiddo, I’ve got to head over to Logan’s room. You haven’t seen Frankie today, have you?”
She averts her eyes and turns a little pink. “Why would I know where Frankie is?”
Ah , I think. So maybe the crush is mutual after all . “No reason,” I say with a shrug. “I just stopped by his room and didn’t see him.”
“Sometimes when the nurses aren’t looking, he goes down to the gift shop in the lobby and pretends to be a salesperson,” she says with a small smile. “He gives the people who are nice to him the employee discount.”
I laugh. “That sounds like Frankie.”
“Yeah,” Katelyn mumbles, looking away again. “He’s pretty cool.”
“ H OW ARE YOU feeling?” Logan asks when I enter his room a few minutes later.
“Hey, that’s supposed to be my
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