Veronica- “You know, you don’t have to come here every day, Vicki. I know you are busy.” My brother Andrew said when I tucked him back into bed. We just returned to his hospital room, after undergoing another round of chemotherapy. He was only ten years old and had benign brain stem glioma. He had his last scan a couple of weeks ago, which showed that his tumor wasn’t spreading. Still, he had to stay in the hospital to keep getting treatments. He hasn’t been able to get around as well as he used to, and the hospital knew of my situation. I worked four jobs to pay for his treatments and his stay in the hospital. One of my jobs was as a certified nurse assistant here, so it made it easier to stay nearby. I also worked as a bartender down the road from the hospital. My waitress job was a little further away. Then there was the fact I was an Uber driver in my spare time. Since I didn’t own a vehicle, my boss at the bar allowed me to use his. I was barely twenty-three years old and tak

Veronica-After finishing my shift at the bar, I went to the hospital to check on Andrew. He had been fast asleep, so I didn’t bother him. Giving him a kiss goodnight, I snuck out to take a quick shower in the locker room that was for staff.I had a shift at the hospital in a few hours, so I wanted to grab my scrubs and get cleaned up. A customer had spilled some alcohol on me, so I stunk like a distillery. After showering, I dropped my bar uniform off with housekeeping.They offered to help me with my laundry, so I didn’t have to spend money on a laundry mat. I was extremely grateful for everything the hospital staff and the bar did for me. It took away some of the stress I had to deal with.They said they would take it up to Andrew’s room after it was cleaned, since I was going to be working. Having a few hours until the start of my shift, I decided to sleep in the chair that was in Andrew’s room. They had offered me a bed a few times, but I had declined it because there were other

Veronica-Sitting next to Lyrek in the car, as we drove to the hospital, I couldn’t take my eyes off our marriage certificate. I was now married to a man I barely knew and now carried his last name. Which, up to an hour ago, I hadn’t known.“Are you okay?” Lyrek asked from the driver's seat.“I’m fine.” I lied.There was no way I was fine about any of this. Since I was a little girl, I wanted to be married, but not like this. I thought I would find a good man that I could fall in love with, spend some time getting to know him, eventually move in with him, and later down the road possibly marry.Not meet a guy one night, move in with him the next night, get married the next morning, and completely miss out on the love aspect. When he offered to marry me, to save my brother, of course, I jumped at it. Did I do the right thing though?For all I knew, he was a bad guy and would treat me and my brother like crap. He doesn’t even know that legally my brother is technically my son. That woul

Veronica-After leaving Lyrek, I returned to Andrew. I had just arrived to see him being transferred to a wheelchair. His stuff had been cleared out of his room. I knew Lyrek had asked for a transfer, but I hadn’t expected it to be so quickly.I guess Lyrek’s name was a lot more powerful than I realized. I have to admit, it was nice to be able to get things done so quickly without needing to fight everyone. It wasn’t that I struggled a lot with getting Andrew the things he needed, but there had been times it had proven difficult.“Did you hear? I get to move to a new room. Lily said I get a room that looks like a real bedroom, with a bed and everything!” The excitement in Andrew’s voice nearly had me in tears.“I heard bud.” I smiled at him as one of the floor nurses started to wheel him out of the room.Normally I would take over with something like this, but I didn’t have a clue where we were going. Following behind the nurse, I listened to Andrew talk about how nice it would be to

Lyrek-Raw desire rushed over me with every second I tasted her lips. From the moment I laid eyes on her, I have wanted to taste every inch of her. From the top of her head, down to the tips of her toes.She tasted of cinnamon and apples, making me hungry for more of her. Her hands roamed my torso with a kind of need that I felt deep into the depths of my soul. When I chased after her at the hospital, I was filled with unrecognizable panic.Now that she was in my arms, allowing me to taste her, touch her and explore her, I wasn’t going to waste a minute of it. Tightening my grip on her butt cheeks, I lifted her in my arms. Her legs circled my waist without pause.Keeping my mouth firmly against hers, I blindly moved through the house toward her bedroom. I would take her to my bed, but at this second, it was too far away. I wanted her now, with every fiber of my being.Entering her room, I stumbled slightly when my foot hit the bottom of the door frame. It hurt like a bitch, but I didn