He Won't Live Long, so I Must Vanish

Caleb's POV

It was raining outside the hospital. I opened my umbrella, but a gust of wind hit me head-on and turned its old metal ribs inside out.

I stood at the bottom of the steps and tried to bend the ribs back into place. One of them cut my finger, but the canopy was still crooked. Rain ran off the edge and down my collar.

A black umbrella passed by me. Hazel Grant held it in one hand and carried a cake box in the other.

Wanda Locke followed behind her, holding a large bouquet of sunflowers.

They both saw me and the broken umbrella in my hand, but they walked straight up the steps without stopping.

Casey Sullivan was waiting at the top of the steps in his hospital gown.

"Casey, why are you downstairs?"

"I saw your car from the window. I wanted to see you sooner."

Wanda hurried over and wiped the rain from his forehead. Hazel tilted the umbrella toward him, leaving half of her own shoulder soaking wet.

Last week, when my fever reached 102.2°F, I called Hazel. She said she was with Casey, told me to drink plenty of water, and said I should take a cab to the hospital myself.

Casey stared at the cake box. He sounded excited. "Is it sugar-free?"

"I waited in line for two hours," Hazel said, smiling. "The doctor said you could have a small piece."

Wanda chimed in next to them, "This time, the cake is all yours. You don't have to depend on anyone else to give you a piece."

On my birthday, Wanda had thrown my cake into the trash and said, "Casey can't eat it, so neither should you. It'll only upset him if he sees you enjoying it."

So it wasn't that he couldn't have cake. They just didn't want him eating mine.

Casey reached for the cake box, then looked past Hazel's shoulder and spotted me.

"Caleb? Why are you standing in the rain?"

Hazel and Wanda finally turned around, as if they had just remembered I was still there.

Wanda frowned. "Are you still throwing a fit?"

"I'm not," I replied.

Casey's voice suddenly grew quieter. "Is this because of me? If it is, I'll give Hazel back to you. Please don't be mad, Caleb."

Hazel immediately put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't say things like that. The doctor said you mustn't get upset."

She came down two steps and stood in front of me. She left the umbrella over Casey and stood in the rain herself as she lowered her voice.

"What are you thinking? There's nothing going on between Casey and me. He's just curious. I'll take him out for meals, watch movies with him, and keep him happy. That's all."

Before she could finish speaking, Casey sneezed on the steps. She immediately turned around, took his cold hands in hers, and tucked them into her coat pocket.

I had given her that coat last year. Back then, I had reached for her hand on the street, but she had pulled away and said it wasn't proper to hold hands in public.

As she kept Casey's hands warm, she looked back at me. "You're healthy, and you can wait. Casey can't. Once he's gone, we'll get married."

The rain hit my face.

Suddenly, I wanted to laugh. She could keep using excuses like that to lie to herself, but how could she expect them to fool me too?

"You can wait if you want. I won't do that anymore," I replied.

Wanda scoffed. "Here we go again. Why are you always competing with Casey? Are you even his older brother?"

A black sedan pulled up at the bottom of the steps. My older sister, Gia Sullivan, got out.

When she saw Casey standing in the wind, her expression darkened. She took a blanket from the car, draped it over his knees, then placed a gift box in his arms.

Inside was a pair of commemorative boxing gloves signed by a world champion.

"Didn't you want to see a professional boxing match, Casey? I'll take you to one next month. You can watch whichever match you want."

I stared at the gloves and remembered the acceptance letter Gia had torn in half. That day, she had said, "Casey can't box, so who are you showing off to?"

Casey held the gloves and tugged at her sleeve. "Gia, I think Caleb is still upset."

Gia finally spared me a glance. She frowned. "Mom hasn't eaten for three days because of you. Why aren't you going to check on her? Who are you trying to impress by standing out here in the rain?"

I wanted to tell her that Mom was refusing to eat just to make me give in, and I had already done that. But when I opened my mouth, only one sentence came out.

"Gia, could you take me home?"

"Casey has tests coming up. We need to keep the car here for him."

I nodded.

Gia glanced at the umbrella in my hand, then said, "If you're not going to stay at the hospital, you should at least show that you care.

"I'll hold onto your debit card for now. You'll pay for Casey's follow-up appointment next month."

I had given Gia that debit card during my first month at work. She had said she would keep it safe for me, and every paycheck I had earned over the years had gone into that account.

I didn't want to argue with them in the rain, so I said nothing. I just made a note to myself to report the debit card missing and get a new one when I had time.

Gia didn't look at me again. Instead, she lowered her head and asked Casey if he was cold.

Another gust of wind blew through. The umbrella with the bent ribs shook in my hand, sending all the water along its edge down onto me.

Hazel moved the umbrella slightly toward me. But when Casey coughed, she quickly pulled it back.

"Casey, it's too windy here. Let's go inside."

She helped Casey toward the entrance. After taking a few steps, she turned back to me.

"I'll call you tonight. Don't read too much into the whole thing."

The four of them went into the hospital building. Gia carried Casey's commemorative boxing gloves, Hazel kept a hand on his back, and Wanda carried his hospital bag.

Not one of them looked back.

I closed my broken umbrella and stood under the awning. Then I opened my chat with my grandma, Dana Hall.

Her last message read, "Caleb, if you can't stay in that house anymore, come live with me."

Back then, I had replied that Casey needed someone there for him, so I wanted to wait a little longer.

Now I typed another message and sent it.

"Grandma, I'm done waiting. I'll pack my things when I get home, then come live with you."