NotANoob101

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Alicia heard running from outside of the room. She turned her head to the sound and watched someone push their way into the small room. Just as she mentally prepared herself for some sort of fight, she recognized Juliette. "Thank God you're here," Alicia said, a weight lifting off her shoulders. She wasn't sure she could handle the pain of losing Jake alone. More than ever she needed a friend right now.

As Juliette spoke, Jake opened his eyes. He had never been so weak in his life. He was so tired, so very tired. All he wanted to do was sleep. "Hey Alicia," he muttered, then added in his best attempt at a French accent, "Juliette." His weakness was so overbearing that he couldn't move his head. He simple shifted his eyes to look at each woman.

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"A knight? I thought those were only medieval times," Jake said, now confused about his lessons in class. "Do I get a sword? And how do you know the Queen?" He would love to be a knight. Maybe he could have a horse and everything. He knew he didn't have much time, but being a knight would be cool, even for the short amount of time he had left.

~~~~~

"Make sure you say your last goodbyes. We don't think he'll make it to tomorrow morning," the doctor informed Alicia just outside Jake's hospital door. It had been about three weeks since Juliette came over and offered them the space heater. Jake was fighting as hard as he could, but in the end the illness was too strong.

Alicia put her hand over her mouth and nodded. No tears came, she had been preparing for this for a long time. She thanked the doctor and reentered the room.

Jake lied on the hospital bed, fast asleep. His slumber had lasted almost twenty-four hours and it killed her not being able to share final words. She felt she said all she needed to say to him, but still wanted to hear him one more time. He was so frail-looking and thin. It broke her heart to see her brother in so much pain. "Don't worry Jake," she muttered softly, smoothing down his hair, "It won't hurt much longer, okay?"

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"Are you gonna bring me back something from London?" Jake asked. He loved listening to Juliette speak, even if she didn't say much. The way she articulated her words had a calming effect on him. He felt safe whenever she was around. "What do they have there? Tea?"

Alicia chuckled a bit at Jake's words. He was so innocent and sweet. Maybe he didn't understand how quickly his time would be up. Or maybe he did understand and chose to ignore it. Alicia considered this. Maybe she should start pretending too? Would that be easier or harder? Alicia glanced at Juliette, briefly meeting her eyes. She wished she could stay there forever, but quickly broke contact, not wanting to make anything awkward. If Juliette knew that Alicia had been developing a crush on her she would crawl into a hole and never come out.

Then again, she considered, who wouldn't get a crush on an internationally known model? Especially one who seemed to appear out of nowhere with seemingly unlimited care and support. Of course Alicia preferred to keep her sexuality a secret. Her concern now was Jake, not her love life.

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"You do?" Jake cooed as Juliette made his way over to his bed. He scooted over a few inches to give her space. "When are you going modeling again?" Jake asked. He wasn't sure how the modeling business worked, all he knew was that models had to travel sometimes and he wanted to make sure he knew when Juliette would be gone.

Alicia felt Juliette's hand go across her shoulder and shuddered. She was grateful for the comfort, especially now. Her heart melted seeing Jake's smile as Juliette sat beside him. She wished he could smile like that forever.

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"Comme çi comme ça," Jake replied. "You came to visit?" he questioned in English, having already ran out of suitable French responses. He loved when Juliette visited him. Somehow now, although he was aware of his sickness, his pain was alleviated. He wished Juliette could be there all the time, but he knew she had her own life as well.

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"That means a lot to me," Alicia said, her smile much brighter than Juliette's soft smile. She stood and led Juliette to Jake's room.

As if on cue, the moment Juliette stepped foot in his dark bedroom, Jake's eyes popped open. He loved Juliette as if she were another sister. "Bonsoir Juliette," Jake mumbled, attempting his best French accent for her.

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"You're really not though," Alicia said. She cleared her throat, hating the gunk that always appeared after crying. "You've helped us so much in any way you could and it's meant so much to us." The air seemed much warmer now than it did earlier. Maybe the heater started working again? Alicia took in a deep breath, calming herself down even more.

"You mean so much to me. If..." a pause hung in the air and she reworded, "When Jake leaves I know I'm going to need a friend like you to help." Jake and Alicia had been abandoned by their family long ago and now they only relied on each other. When Alicia thought about it, she realized that Juliette was her only friend now.

"Hey, do you wanna see him? He's a bit sleepy, but you always seem to make him feel better."

Private

(Oh okay, I was wondering who she was. XDD)

Alicia let herself become embraced by Juliette. It had been so long since someone held her, since someone let her cry. As soon as she felt the warmth of the other woman her sadness boiled over into an ugly cry. She had trouble understanding why every thing landed on her shoulders. Why did she have to raise Jake? Why couldn't she have gotten him to the doctors sooner? Why did both of their parents abandon them? After what felt like an eternity, but was more like twenty seconds, Alicia's cries calmed into sniffles which quieted down into soft, slow breathing. She hated self-pity, especially when she did it.

She pulled away from Juliette. As much as the young woman would have loved to stay there forever, she knew she had to continue her strength for her brother. "I'm sorry," Alicia said, wiping her tear-covered face. "Thanks for being here for us. For me. I don't know what I would do without you."

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Alicia listened carefully to Juliette. A shiver raced down her spine as Juliette talked about the murder of her parents. She knew Juliette never spoke of them, but she never had the courage to ask why. "I'm so sorry, I should've been more careful about what I said," Alicia apologized, upset with herself. "I love Him and I love my brother, but this whole thing is just kill-," she paused and reworded, "This whole thing is destroying me."

Alicia one leg over the other, then crossed her arms over her chest, almost child-like. "Life is hard. You never understand how hard it is until you live. I know not every part of God's plan is supposed to be good, at least not at face value. I don't understand how taking Jake is good for anyone here." Alicia felt tears begin to well up in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away with her sleeve, but more came. "Why does He want to take Jake so early?"

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"Thank you," Alicia replied, managing the pull off the best smile she could, "It means a lot." She was aware of the importance of religion to Juliette, or at least she thought. Alicia allowed her thoughts to roll around in her head for a brief moment. Juliette had been a great friend to her and Jake, but would saying what she was about to say make Juliette upset? Alicia took a deep breath and sunk deeper into the couch. "Do you ever..." she began, trying to figure out how she wanted to word her thoughts, "Do you ever doubt Him and what He does?"