Read Online What We Leave Behind by Rochelle B. Weinstein - Free Book Online

How could I explain to her that I would rather be at the hospital with Jonas and his family and that I had no desire to return to the world of the Parkers? Beth seemed insignificant to me; in fact, my life seemed hardly consequential enough to contain the thoughts and perplexities that burdened me. I had already celebrated with the people that mattered: Jonas, Adam, Rachel, and even Amy, Jonas’s prized little sister. She was twelve years old and adorable. I liked her instantly.
    Perhaps Mom was just angry because it was the day he left, the day our lives changed forever. My birthday was not a celebration, just a testament to my mother’s loneliness.
    The day started out unsettling. Adam’s blood pressure dropped, and his breathing became rapid and shallow. It was my day off, being my sixteenth birthday and all, but in my new profession , there was no such thing as a day off. This new occupation did just that, occupied my living and my breathing. Beth wanted to spend the day together at Venice Beach going over our recent crushes, but I had an agenda that only included the hospital.
    I was about to enter Adam’s room when everyone was leaving it, the looks on their faces grim and foreboding. “What’s going on?” I asked, first to Jonas, then to Mrs. Levy.
    “Maybe it’s not a good idea for her to be here,” she said to Jonas, eyeing me at first, then lowering her head to Amy. I searched Jonas’s eyes. Mrs. Levy was clearly worried. Amy resembled a Raggedy Ann doll, and not because of her red hair, but because of the way she reached for her mother’s hand.
    This can’t be happening again , I was thinking, over and over in my head.
    “It’s okay, Mom,” Jonas spoke. “I’ll take a walk outside with the girls. You stay with Dad.” He kissed her softly on the cheek and in a knee-jerk reaction, I brushed my own cheek with my palm.
    Jonas, the den leader, led us out of the hospital and to a garden I’d never noticed before. There I was formally introduced to Amy Levy. Her fiery hair was a surprise, as was the unblemished complexion, not a freckle in sight. The green in her eyes was a shade close to her brother’s. “Are you Jonas’s new girlfriend?” she asked.
    “No,” I laughed.
    “You’re very pretty,” she told me, rather matter-of-factly.
    “Thank you. So are you!”
    Amy was sweet and inquisitive, with a giggle that sounded more like hiccups. She loved her big brother and was protective of him just the same. If she weren’t only twelve years old, I might have found my new best friend. An aspiring ballerina, Amy dared to go where I never could. I was a great athlete, I’d been told, but I was lacking the discipline, poise, and elegance that accompanied a career in ballet. Besides, a tutu was not my best look.
    “You would make a great ballerina, Jessie,” Jonas chimed in, just as I was teasing Amy about plies and those dreadful shoes.
    “Never going to happen.”
    Amy followed as I walked out into the courtyard in search of the thickest elm I could find.  Fingering its ample trunk, I steadied myself for a climb. Amy looked up, noting how tall this particular tree was.  The gradual worry tugged at her face.
    “Are you really going up there?” she asked.
    “I’ve climbed a lot bigger ones than this.”
    My tennis shoes hugged the trunk as my sturdy arms embraced it in a tight-fisted grip. When I reached the first branch, I hoisted myself up, seeing Amy’s face below me. She was toying with the idea of following, but I could see she was just plain scared.
    The tree branched into a spray of lengthy fingers. When I found the right limb to climb, I continued to stretch my body in its direction. I was traveling higher than I’d ordinarily venture, but there was something about the two faces watching me that urged me on, lifting me up even higher. I’ve always had this unusual attraction to trees. Being up there, high above the world, it was like this energy would fill me up. I’d hear the