Angels Among Us.

Moans coming from the bed caused the red haired teen looked up from the book that he had been reading. His soft green eyes traveled to the sleeping figure next to him. Her face was one of pure agony. Sighing he did the only thing that he could. Andrew carefully climbed into bed next to her and laid next to her. Softly he stroked her hair and hummed a song. It had been the same one she had sung him when he was younger. After a few lines the sleeping figure calmed down and went back into a peaceful sleep.

Quietly, he slipped away from the sleeping woman and went to the window. Tears welled up in his eyes as he stared out the window. Two silver tears fell and streaked down his cheek. Absentmindedly, he raised a hand and wiped them away. He could not cry now. Andrew had promised a long time ago that he would not cry in front of her. No he had to be the strong one if not for her then just so he could keep going.

Andrew stared at the tree that was swaying from side to side in the wind. He was so tired. He was tired of crying. He was tired of watching doctors and helping with the medicine. Most of all he was tired of seeing her suffer. Thinking about how tired he was Andrew could only guess how tired she was. That was why she was here in this bed.

His eyes traveled back to the sleeping woman. Her beautiful looks had been drastically changed. Her once long, silky black hair now was thin and short. In some spots there were bald patches. When she was awake, which was rare now, her eyes no longer had the glow that they always had in the past. Her face had also lost its youthfulness. Her thin arms were full of needles for the IVs. Machines surrounded her and constantly made beeping noises. Sometimes Andrew felt like throwing them out of the window. That sound was making him go crazy. Andrew sighed and turned back to the window. How much more could one person take. His mother had been to hell and back.

Staring out this window now Andrew thought about the cruel irony called life. How could it be considered fair? Why was it that he got to cheat death by taking on this life but his mother could not be cured of one disease? Was this supposed to be some cruel punishment for him? Was his mother supposed to suffer because he had cheated his death like a coward? Was god punishing him for this by taking his mother, the only thing that meant anything to him?

Andrew violently shook his head. NO!! He could not think like that now. This was fate not punishment. He had to keep telling himself that. This was not his fault.

Cancer. It was so strange how that one little word could hurt someone so much. It tore at Sally's body like a starving lion does to fresh meat. It ravaged at her body and took it over. The medicine did not help either. The chemos that the doctors had tried were just as bad as the disease itself. Sometimes worse.

Amazingly though, she would not let the disease or medicine tear at her soul. Sally had stayed in high spirits no matter what she went through. She never let any of the surgeries, chemo or other treatments get her down. Sally cared more for her son then for her own comfort. Even when she could not eat, because of the chemo, she still insisted on cooking for her red headed son. Until a week ago she had been keeping herself busy cooking, cleaning, shopping and working. This cancer could take her life away but it would never take her soul.

Andrew gave the trees outside a weak smile. In some ways she had been stronger then he. Sally never once asked why her. Instead she took the disease and suffering with smiles and jokes. Even right after losing all of her hair Sally had made a joke about it being cooler for her in the summer. Andrew remembered how after he found out about his mother's illness he scoured the entire world looking for some kind of cure. He even had picked Catrina and Hannah's, two of his friends and astounding doctors, minds. All of his efforts had been futile though. There was nothing that anyone could do.

A soft rapping against the door shook Andrew from his thoughts. Slowly he turned and saw his friends at the door. Giving a weak smile he motioned for them to enter.

"Hi Andrew. How is she doing?" Austin asked while glancing over at the slumbering woman.

"Ok I guess. They say she isn't in pain so I guess that's good." To Andrew everything was still hazy. He kept expecting to wake up, go downstairs and see his mother healthy and happy. But something in him knew that would never happen again.
The thought of being alone had scared him. What would he do if she was to die? Where would he go? Could he really survive without her?

Kara gently handed Andrew some roses and hugged him. She tried to keep from crying. Thoughts of 'why did this have to happen to him' kept swarming through her head. Failing miserably to keep her tears at bay Kara turned and ran for Austin. Austin leaned against the wall and gently held the crying Kara. Ever since Sally had been diagnosed with the cancer Kara had cried every night. She just could not understand why someone so caring and sweet had to suffer.

David stood by the door. His eyes and nose were a bright red. Sobs still rocked his body. He could not stand to see Andrew like this. Ever since his mother got sick he always seemed to be in a daze. David could see the sadness in Andrew's eyes.

Brad walked in and sat on the windowsill. He did not know what to say. Seeing Andrew like this broke his heart. Silently he vowed to be there for him no matter what. He may be a cold hearted thief but for his friend he would be the shoulder to cry on.

Except for Kara's soft crying they all either sat or stood in silence. What could be said? 'I'm sorry' really did not help. Neither did 'why did this have to happen to you.'

Unable to stand the silence anymore Austin started to rack his mind for something to talk about, heck anything would do. "Hey, ummm..., Andrew you're lucky that you quit working for the toddler. Man, he has us doing all of the odd jobs since his everyone else quit. Like getting more rubber stamps for him. And, oh yeah, you should have seen what he had Brad do." Quickly he glanced over first at Andrew then Brad. Andrew still had not waken from his haze. Hoping for some kind of reaction Austin decided to continue. "Ricardo had offered a thug anything if she didn't attack and she agreed. Well she finally called him on his deal. You'll never guess what she wanted. She wanted him to find a clown for her daughter's birthday. Guess who was the clown- Brad." The last sentence brought a smile to Andrew's pale face. 'At least there's a smile.'

"Yeah you're lucky you got out when you did." David said from the doorway.

Soon after his mother had gotten sick Andrew had quit being a Detective. He wanted to be sure to spend all the time he could with her. He had even stopped spending most of his free time at school. All his time spare time was spent at home.

Austin slapped his head as he stared at the doorway. "Sheesh David. Are you trying to hold the door frame up or just being prepared for the next earthquake?"

"Shut up, Austin." This comment made Andrew smile. It was nice hearing his friends arguing again.

"Yeah, yeah sure. At least you're not making Brad want to kill you."

"That shrimp. Ha. Like he could really kill me."

"Hn, watch it or I might just prove you wrong" Brad shifted his weight in the windowsill and went back to looking outside.

"You're just jealous 'cuz I got Alison and you don't. So there." David stuck his tongue out at the black haired teen's back

The five of them sat around swapping stories all afternoon and into the evening. Every now and then Sally would wake up long enough to ask for a drink of water. Kara always had been the one to run for the water.

Later that night was the one night that Andrew would hate forever. A sour anniversary that he always have to remember, even if he did not want to. After a year of suffering Sally was now at peace. He was standing by her side to the very last second. Andrew had been there to see Kimi, a deity, take his mother's spirit. Seeing that made him a little happier. At least he knew that she would be in good hands.

Kara and Austin had accompanied Andrew to his house. Kara decided that she would spend the night to make sure that Andrew was fine. As soon as Kara had said goodbye to Austin she ran to the radio and blared the music. Though it was a little loud, Andrew was thankful for the noise. But he was sure that the neighbors weren't. At least he didn't have the empty house to listen to all night. That night Andrew slept on the couch and Kara on the floor. Dried tear trails were still visible on Andrew's cheeks. The entire night the radio blared upbeat tunes.

The funeral was held with a small crowd. Among the family and friends of his mother's Andrew saw Kara, Austin, Brad, David, and many other friends. Seeing his friends helped him get through the ceremony.

As he went up to the casket Andrew held two flowers. Carefully he laid them both on the casket. One was a bright red rose that he had made. The other was a pale pink carnation his mother's favorite type of flower.

After the funeral Kara was still worried about Andrew. For the first two nights she would stare at the moon and wonder how he was doing. Finally on the third night she suggested to everyone else that they take turns watching over Andrew during the night. They all agreed readily and Andrew was grateful for that. It had gotten to the point where he dreaded night. Night was whenever he could stop and think about being all alone.

During this time he used his friends shoulder's without care for his pride. What surprised him the most was Brad. The first night that Brad had spent over he had spent in front of the TV. Andrew could not stand the thought of watching anymore for the night so he decided to look through some old picture albums. Most of the pictures were of his mother and father when they were his age. The pictures really did not affect him because they were so old.

At least that was until he came across one that had been misplaced. Andrew picked up the picture as tears fell from his eyes. It was one of him and his mother on his 15th birthday. His mother was behind him with her arms wrapped around him in a huge hug. They both were smiling in the picture. Andrew did not realize that he was crying until Brad walked over to him and placed an arm around Andrew's shoulders. Andrew spent a good hour crying on Brad's shoulder.

Every Saturday Andrew went to her grave and sat next to the headstone. It did not matter if it was raining or snowing. There he would either talk to her or let himself cry until he felt better.

Her grave was filled with flowers of different sorts and colors. All of the people that worked there were amazed at how colorful it always looked. And about how it never needed any care. It was almost as thought that one grave had a mind of its own.

Even though there was still an ache in his heart Andrew went on living his life as before. After a month his friends stopped spending the night. But they did not stop seeing him. If nothing else the death of Sally brought everyone closer.

Eventually Andrew stopped going to the grave every Saturday. It was not that he did not miss his mother anymore but instead he knew she was watching over him.

As far as he was concerned his mother was stronger then other person and braver then everyone in the entire world put together. After all she had faced her death head on.