Down to this

Macy could see it in Gage's eyes that it hurt. It really hurt. It was if she'd taken him to slaughter and left him to bleed out.

She was not going to England.

"I can't."

It was her grandmother. She was in the hospital. Macy even took off from work to sit with her. It was the least she could do.

"Does she even know you're there?" Gage's dull words got to Macy. A storm of tears emerged, and he hugged her as if he'd be the only bed she needed for rest.

Macy didn't want to think of all the times her grandmother treated her as a stranger. But it was Macy, who had stayed around... when no one else would. Her mother couldn't cope. Not even now. She was distant. She didn't want to think about the enviable.

"I just need to be here for her. OK?" What more could she say? Her grandmother had raised her for the most part. They'd watched old TV shows together and she taught her how to mend socks and how to make Chicken Soup.

Her grandmother never married after her husband Wilbert died. She'd taken trips to California and Vegas. Her grandmother was a small time gambler. She bought a lottery ticket every week. Of course, none of it paid off. And now she was in a hospital bed, barely awake..at times..but still...

"OK." But Gage didn't let go. He held her for sometime as if she needed to rest. "I'm going to hate every moment there, you know." He promised.

"Gage."

"Yeah, I know..what you'll say." He sighed. "But its true."

"You'll love that baby. I know you will." She told him. She'd seen him around little kids. He was the perfect big brother. He never talked down to them. He listened. He smiled and always brought out the best. She knew this. "And he'll love you, too."

Another burst of tears came. She wouldn't be there to see it with her own eyes. Not a thought of Dustin came to mind. This was where she had to be, but she clung on to Gage a little longer. There was no hunger. Just to let the moment last a little longer before he really had to go.