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"I don’t either"

"Mama, why did this happen?"

"I don’t know"

"Where’s Tiff?"

She’s quiet for a long ue, honey"

"Here? In the hospital?" I’ve seen Law and Order when Moue works

"Yes"

"Can we say goodbye to her too? Before we leave?"

"I don’t know for sure We’ll ask, okay?"

I nod and stare at Daddy I just want him to wake up Just for a minute Just to tell me that he loves me and that I’m pretty So I can tell him I love his more seriously

I stand and lean in so I can whisper in his ear His hair is bloody and his ear is all swollen and scraped up, but I ignore it and talk anyway

"I love you so much, Daddy You are my hero I atch over Ma ainst his scratchy stubble for a second He used to always tease gle I brush my nose over it for a second "I love you"

I step away and wipe my nose on my sleeve and watch as my mom, rather than sit next to him, or lean in and whisper like I did, crawls on top of him, rests her head on his chest, wraps her arm around his waist, and just cries It’s the saddest cry I’ve ever heard So loud and long She buries her face in his neck and holds on, crying for a long tiht have fallen asleep, she kisses his cheek, his neck and then his lips Tiff and I always ross faces when they kiss and stuff but this time it just makes me cry harder When she lays her head back on his shoulder, she whispers to him I can’t hear all of the words, but I do hear love, forever, best time of my life

Finally, when she’s all done, she stands and leans over him She kisses his forehead and next to his lips and presses the red call button

A few seconds later, the doctor con so all of the machines and take the wires off him I don’t knohat they mean or what they do

They leave just the one that beeps with his heartbeat on and silently leave the roo his face

"Love you soYou’re not alone You don’t need to be afraid Go see our girl Go be with her now, and I’ll see you a little later"

I’ farther and farther apart, until finally, there’s a beep and then… nothing

No

The house is quiet It’s not quite dark yet After Daddy was gone, ere escorted down to thelike Law and Order, to see Tiff They would only let me see her face They wouldn’t tell me, but I think her arms were really hurt because I wanted to hold her hand, but they wouldn’t let me

My baby sister was really pale Her eyes were closed like she was sleeping But her hair was bloody like Daddy’s

I wanted to wash her off They should have cleaned her up They should have put a pillow under her head I tried toin her hair, but they said they wouldn’t