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did cause all of this but her parents were saying that she didn’t just
to protect her. Maybe she did. She should probably stop all the whining and begging
and be a good kid or something else bad might happen.
    “I’m
sorry Daddy. I need to be a big girl and a good big sister. I’ll do whatever I
need to do so Courty gets better.”
    “That’s
my good girl. She will get better. It’s just going to take some time at the
hospital and lots of medicine. She’s a sick little baby right now. But she’ll
be okay. And we have to be really nice to Mommy. This is going to be hard on
her. When she gets home you have to be a super big girl and a big helper for
her. No whining or crying. You have to be like a grown up. You’re my big good
girl, okay? Promise me?”
    “I
promise Daddy. Anything for my baby sister,” Jenna said.
    “Pinky
promise?” her dad asked, putting his smallest finger out which still loomed
large in Jenna’s eyes.
    Jenna
reached her tiny finger out to her father’s and linked it up with his.
    “Pinkies.”

Chapter 21
    Courtney
and Jenna filled out separate medical forms at the doctor’s office where they answered
everything about their current and past health situations, their lifestyle and
family history. Then they were both brought into one of the small medical rooms
and told to wait for Dr. Rhetler. Jenna had done some research on hemochromatosis
and discovered that Dr. Rhetler was the best doctor in the field in their area
and she wanted to be seen by someone who specialized in the disease. She wanted
to make sure she got all the answers to her questions and she wanted the right
answers immediately. Courtney still thought she was overreacting, but she said
nothing as they waited in the room.
    Courtney
hopped onto the examining table while Jenna sat in one of the chairs. “Hand me
that magazine, will you,” she asked her older sister.
    “Which
one?”
    “The
one with Ryan on the cover,” Courtney said.
    “How
can you read at a time like this?” Jenna asked, flipping the magazine to Courtney.
    “We’re
getting our blood drawn,” Courtney said, “They’re not cutting us open and
tearing out our organs.”
    “Yet,”
Jenna replied.
    “Relax.”
    They
sat in silence for a while, Jenna worrying about what would happen when they would
both be inflicted with the terrible disease and have no one to take care of
them but each other, while Courtney flipped through the magazine and wondered
what Mitch was doing on his fall break. She thought of his lips and his arms, and
his amazing eyelashes, and how she’d much rather be in his room instead of in
this crappy doctor’s office with her moody sister.
    There
was a tap on the door and a woman entered the room. “Good morning ladies,” she
chirped.
    “Hi,”
Jenna and Courtney said at the same time.
    “I’m
Dee, and I’ll be doing your blood draws for the test this morning.”
    “But
I thought Dr. Rhetler would be doing that,” Jenna started. Courtney glared at
her sister.
    Dee
smiled kindly. “Oh, Dr. Rhetler doesn’t do the blood draws, but she’ll be in
later to chat with you two. Who wants to go first?”
    Courtney
offered her arm right away. She wasn’t scared or worried at all, and she
figured Jenna would whine or have something negative to say if she went first
and Courtney wasn’t in the mood to hear it. She figured if she went first maybe
she could sneak out and grab a coffee and a muffin while it was her sister’s
turn. She was starving.
    “Okay
then, looks like we don’t even need you to switch places, huh?” Dee asked.
“We’ll do one arm first and then the other. And I’ll draw a couple vials from
each arm.”
    “No
problem,” Courtney smiled and rolled up her sleeve.
    Jenna
looked up from her seat across the small room. “Should we be worried?
Seriously? I mean, our mom died from this disease. That’s why we’re here
getting tested. In case we have the hereditary gene.”
    Courtney
shot a glance at her