I have been starting to feel run down the last couple of days, between staying at the hospital with my sister. Trying to be there for my brother, Nate and watching him play football.

Then also working hard at Lusive trying to make extra cash for my siblings and I to survive off when Aleysa comes home from the hospital.

I know that I can't have my sister living at the hospital until she either passes away or survives the cancer.

After another long shift at the bar I decide to go home and sleep in my bed. I haven't been sleeping properly at the hospital and the nurses keep waking me up every time they check on Aleysa.

Before I left the hospital Aleysa told me that she thinks it's best that I sleep at home for a couple of nights before going back to sleep in the suite she has now.

In the middle of the night I wake up shivering and my nose is running. I climb out of bed and walk into the living room. I grab a tissue and blow my nose.

Nate enters the room and he looks at me. "You look like hell, sis. Can I get you anything?"

I shake my head. "It's 3am, I can't have you go anywhere to get me anything. Go back to bed. Check on me before you go to school in the morning."

Nate fills up a glass with water. He turns towards me. "You won't be able to see Aleysa with your cold."

I start coughing. I cover my mouth with my hand. "Damn it."

Nate walks back to his room and shuts the door.

I can't believe I got sick. I never get sick though.

I search the cupboard for some cold and flu tablets. I take two tablets and pull out a bottle of water from the fridge. I walk back to my room and climb into bed. I fall asleep.

***

I feel someone shake me. "Chloe?" I look at my brother. "What do you want?"

He sighs. "I'm taking the day off to look after you. If I don't you will dehydrate and I'd have to take you to the hospital to get fluids. I don't want to do that." A knock at the door stops Nate from talking. He looks at me. "I will get it. You stay in bed." Nate walks out of the room.

I hear voices whispering. Then Nate says. "Come in. She's in her room."

My bedroom door opens and Jai enters the room.

Jai moves over to me. "You look like hell."

"I feel like it." I sniffle. "Can you get me a tissue." I rasp out. I start to cough.

Jai looks at me. "I'm going to the pharmacy to buy some tablets for you." He turns to Nate. "You need to go to school. I will take care of your sister until you get home. Do you have football practice after school?"

Nate nods. "Yeah, I will be home right after. Unless you want me to go to the hospital and see Aleysa?"

"I won't stop you if you want to see your sister. I'm going to call her soon and tell her that I won't be able to visit her for a few days as I have a cold." I look at Jai and Nate. "You should leave. I want to sleep some more. Jai the house keys are on the hook next to the door. Please, lock the door as you leave."

Jai and Nate walk out my room door. Before Jai closes the door, he whispers. "I will be back soon. Get some rest. Don't forget to drink some water."

"Yes, Sir." I reach over to my nightstand and grab the glass of water. I take a drink and place it back. I lie my head back on the pillow. I pull the blankets around me some more and close my eyes.

My iPhone vibrates on the nightstand and I open my eyes. I move my hand across the table until I find it. I swipe my finger across the screen and answer it.

Me: Hello?

Aleysa: I thought you were coming to the hospital this morning.

I sit up and look at the clock. It says 10:30. I start coughing.

Me: I'm not feeling well, Aleysa. I won't be able to see you with your immune system low. I'm sorry.

Aleysa: That's alright. I thought something like that might have happened. You were cold after you climbed into the car after getting wet yesterday.

Me: Do you want Nate to visit you?

Aleysa: No, I'm going to enjoy the piece and quiet. I have things that I want to read and now I won't be distracted from the reading that my class is doing.

Me: Nerd.

Aleysa laughs.

Me: I'll see you in a couple of days.

I hang up the phone and climb out out of bed. I walk into the living room and see Jai asleep on the lounge. I walk over to the fridge and get a bottle of water.

There's a bag on the table next to Jai. I open it up and pull out the cold and flu tablets. I take two.

Jai opens his eyes and he looks at me. "I'm sorry I forgot to wake you."

I sit on the arm rest and put my hand in his hair and I drag my hand through his dark locks. "That's alright. It was about time I woke up. Aleysa called and she wanted to know if I was going in and I told her I wasn't feeling well. So, she said that its okay that I don't go there. She wants to catch up on some reading for class. She's dedicated to school even though she's sick." I look away from him. "I just wish that she didn't have to get sick again. It was bad enough losing Mom and Dad, but this is worst. I can't promise her that she will be here when it's time for Nate and I to start a family. She was robbed from having kids at a young age."  I begin to cry.

Jai wraps his arms around me. He holds onto me while I cry. He rubs my back. "She can still have a family one day. It won't be the same way as Nate and you, but she will have one."

I pull away from him and begin to cough. I look closer at his face and I see bags under his eyes. "Haven't you been sleeping well?"

He shakes his head. "I haven't been sleeping properly in the last week."

I place my hand on his face. "What's going on?"

He sighs. "Most nights my brain won't shut off. I just toss and turn for hours until I give up on sleep."

"That's not healthy for you, Jai. You need to get at least eight hours worth of sleep. Did you sleep alright on the lounge?"

He nods. "It was the best sleep I've had."

I'm glad he had a good sleep.

"Let's have brunch. I'm hungry."

He looks at me. "What do you want me to cook?"

"Whatever you can find in the cupboard and fridge will be fine. I have to go shopping this afternoon."

Jai rises. "Write a list of things you need and I'll get them."

I shake my head. "No, there's some feminine products that I need and I don't want you to get them for me. You will probably choose the wrong kind. You can take me shopping and if I feel faint I'll let you carry me out of the store with the products I need."

He smiles. "Deal,"

I watch him walk into the kitchen and he goes through the cupboard and pulls out plain flour and a few other things.

He looks great in my kitchen.

Jai puts a plate of food on the table in front of me. "Brunch is served. This is one of the breakfasts that Mom taught me to cook."

I look at the stack of pancakes on the plate and he sits across from me with two plates. On the table he has strawberries, honey, and jam. I put jam on the pancakes and then I fold it.

Jai looks at me and laughs. "Do you really eat the pancakes like that?" I nod. "You do know that the jam drips off the pancakes that way.

I smile. "I do, but I'm not going to change the way I eat my pancakes because you prefer strawberries, honey and using a knife and fork."

He looks at me. "Mom taught me to be a man. She also told me that woman aren't objects that you use and discard. They deserve to be loved and cherished." Jai smiles. "Dad is still like that with Mom to this day."

She sounds like a great woman. I'm looking forward to meeting her.

"You admire him don't you?"

"I do. It's thanks to him that I decided to run and open seclusive bars around Los Angeles. He had contacts out here and they helped find places for the club. The first bar I opened was close to the Hollywood walk of Fame. I let a close friend of mine manage that bar. I still make a lot of money from that bar, but they also let anyone walk in off the streets. With the one you found its not that easy to get in." He shakes his head. "I wasn't impressed that the back door was left open in the club, but I'm glad it lead you to me."

I smile. "Me, too. When's the family barbecue at your parents?"

Jai's face pales."I forgot about that." He rubs the back of his head. "The party is this weekend. I have to tell my parents that I can't make it."

I touch his hand. "We'll be there, Jai. If we have to we'll take my brother and sister. That's if Aleysa is released during the week. Nate is right that she can't stay in the hospital forever."

He moves over to me and pulls me into his lap. "My family are going to love your siblings especially Aleysa."

"I don't want them to know that she's got cancer. Can we keep that to ourselves?"

"We'll tell them anything you like." He whispers. "Have you finished yet?"

I nod. "Can we go shopping now?"

"Sure," he takes my hand and we walk out of the house. He opens the car door for me and I climb in. He waits for me to sit before closing the door. He rounds the car and climbs into the driver's seat.

At the supermarket Jai parks the car and we climb out. He holds my hand as we walk through the door. He looks at me. "How are you feeling?"

I sigh. "I feel a bit dizzy, but I'll be able to get the necessities now."

Jai takes the paper from me and he quickly looks at it. "You get the things on this half and I'll get the things on this half and we'll meet here in fifteen minutes?"

"Sure,"

Jai and I go our own way in the supermarket and I put all the things I need into the trolley.

Before the fifteen minutes is up I stop in the feminine products aisle. I pick up my usual brand of pads and throw it in the trolley.

Jai stops next to me and he looks at all the products. "Bloody hell. They have so much stuff for..." He trails off and picks up a box of pads. "Super, medium, light, overnight." He drops the box and shakes his head. "How do you manage to know which one to pick?"

I smile. "If you've been using the right brand forever your going to keep using it."

He walks over to the magnum condoms and pulls a box off the shelf.

I cross my arms. "Just because you're getting a box of them doesn't mean that you're using them on me."

He laughs. "I will hold onto them until that day. Your brother told me before he left for school he wanted a box. He's nearly finished with his."

I frown.

I brought him a box a month ago. How can they nearly be gone?

I look at Jai. "Can you please talk to him? He's not going to listen to a word I say about this topic. He needs a man to do that."

Jai laughs. "I'll try my best with the sex talk, but if it goes badly don't blame me."

We wheel the trolleys to the checkout. I place the things from my trolley on the conveyer belt.

The girl scans our items and then we pay her before leaving the store.

Jai opens the car door for and I climb inside.

Nate walks through the front door at 4:30pm, he looks at Jai. "Thanks for taking care of her today. I can take it from here."

I look at him. "Nate, Jai's going to stay here with us for a bit. Is that alright with you?"

He shrugs. "If he keeps you out of my way that's fine."

I step toward him. "Nate, why is there two condoms left in the packet I brought you last month?"

He crosses his arms. "Why are you searching through my things?"

"I'm worried about you. Now, tell me."

He moves over to the lounge and sits down. "I gave them to my friends. There parents won't buy them condoms, so, I give them my stuff."

Jai picks up a plastic bag off the table and he walks over to my brother. He takes two boxes out and places them in front of him.

I notice the boxes as my pill and pads.

Nate looks at them and then at Jai.

Jai points to the boxes. "Do you know what they are?"

Nate nods. "That's for when my sister has her period and the box is the pill." He frowns. "Why are you showing me those?"

That's what I want to know. This is going to be interesting.

I walk over to the couch and get comfy.

Jai pulls out a third box and places it on the table. "I know you've heard about the birds and the bees. How to put a condom on a banana. You've probably heard about the STI's and STD's through high school."

Nate nods. "Yeah, we listen to our teachers drone on about that all the time."

Jai touches the pads box. "This is something your sister uses when she has her period, but the time you need to worry about these lying around the house is when that time of month should have been due. Girls get there period every month and they have a three week gap before their next period. If you know the cycle of the girl you're sleeping with you will know weather or not she's pregnant, but one slip up and she can be. So, before having sex; think about if you want to be a father at an early age or if you want to carry a disease and share it from person to person."

Nate leans his head against the lounge. "I don't want to be a father."

Good, he needs to travel the world before starting a family,

Jai shows him the pill next. "Do you know what this does?" Nate shakes his head. "This is the pill. It's something that woman take so they don't fall pregnant and they can have sex without using protection, but I will tell you, Nate always wear a rubber. A woman that takes these can fall pregnant too. These are a few things that can help you out while you're sexually active. I would also suggest every six months to get a check-up. Both you and your partner need to know that everything is good before having unprotected sex."

Nate looks at me. "Are you planning on starting a family soon, Chloe?"

I shake my head.

"Good," he looks between Jai and I. "I'm going to my room. I hope you didn't call my friends parents.

I did call them when I got back from shopping. They are going through the same torture as you.

Nate walks to his room. "Call me when dinner is ready."