Chapter 1: Trying her best

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 taking care of my extremely sick brother. I have a good support system, so it helps a lot.

“Are you kidding me? I am never too busy for you.” I smiled at my brother, gently rubbing my hand over his smooth bald head.

He used to have great looking hair. It had been a deep brown that had made me wish at times that I didn’t have blonde hair. He also had the biggest and brightest brown eyes I have ever seen.

“You work four jobs, Vicki. When you aren’t at work you are here. You need to get some sleep.” Andrew complained, giving me the cutest frown, he could muster.

My name was Veronica Reed, but Andrew had started calling me Vicki when our parents abandoned us about five years ago, on my eighteenth birthday. Shortly after we found out Andrew was sick, they left him in my care.

We haven’t heard a word from them in the five years since they left, which was fine with me. We were better off without them. I could tell it bothered Andrew still, but I made sure to reassure him that I would never leave him.

Three years ago, I adopted him as my legal son. Because there was no way I would allow our parents to come back and try to take him away. They would have to pry him out of my cold dead fingers.

“I get plenty of rest. How about you stop worrying about me and prepare yourself for what is about to come? It is my job to worry about you.” I gave him another smile, but my heart broke at his worry over me.

“I hate that part.” He mumbled under his breath.

“I do too, Bug, but I will be here with you until Lily gets here.” I assured him, sitting on the bed next to him.

Once the chemo hit him, it was a matter of time before he was going to start getting sick. Every time he went through this, a piece of my heart broke a little more. Thankfully, my best friend was his nurse.

During treatment, I made sure my schedule was clear so I could be here for him. There were times I couldn’t, but Lily was the lead nurse during the day shift. She worked her schedule out so she could come in if I couldn’t be here.

Like tonight, I was working at the bar, so she was coming in early to sit with Andrew. I hated that I had to work so much because I would much rather be here with him. If I were going to have any chance of paying for his medical bills and trying to find him a cure, I would need to work as much as I could.

“Do you think I will get better?” He asked, gazing up at me with his big brown eyes.

“I hope so sweetie.” I placed my hand on his, giving him a comforting squeeze.

Right on schedule, Andrew lunged forward and grabbed the vomit bucket I placed on his lap, when I tucked him back into bed. As he held the bucket under his chin and threw up, I got off the bed so I could rub his back. Holding back my tears, I took a few deep breaths to keep myself from crying.

When we first started these treatments, I bawled like a baby. If it hadn’t been for Lily telling me that I wasn’t making him feel better by crying, I would still be doing it. She taught me a few breathing exercises that would help calm me down.

It didn’t always work, but at least I was trying. While Andrew was throwing up, I reached for the call light to page someone to come in and bring a new hospital gown in. Normally he was particularly good at not throwing up on himself, but this time he hadn’t been so lucky.

The nurses knew us well enough that I didn’t have to tell them what I needed, one of the on-duty nurses brought in a new gown and laid it at the foot of the bed. She left shortly after, leaving me to deal with my brother on my own. Not that I minded, I preferred taking care of him when I was here.

When he finished throwing up, I set the bucket aside. Helping him out of his gown, I placed it in a trash bag so I could drop it off at the laundry, on my way out. Just as I put the new gown on, Lily came in.

“Oh, bummer. How are you feeling today friend?” Lily asked when she moved to the other side of the bed.

“Like a million bucks.” Andrew smiled weakly at Lily.

I have known Lily since middle school, so she was like a sister to both Andrew and me. We had plans to go to nursing school together, but my responsibility of taking care of Andrew had to come first. I was glad she stuck with it because it made taking care of Andrew a little easier.

“Go on and get out of here, we got it from here.” Lily waved me off.

“Alright Kiddo, I will see you in the morning.” I leaned over, to place a soft kiss on the top of his head.

“Why don’t you get some rest and I come back the day after tomorrow? I will be fine on my own for a day.” Andrew told me, but I shook my head.

“Nice try kid.” I backed out of the room, taking the bag that held his dirty gown. “I will see you tomorrow.”

When I turned around to leave, the tears I had fought against showed their ugly face. Walking down the hall, I dropped the bag in the laundry bin before stepping on the elevator. Checking my watch, I noticed it was ten minutes until I needed to be at work.

“Crap.” I muttered to myself.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, I rushed out to head outside. When my feet hit the pavement, I started running down the block toward the bar. I hated being late, even though I knew my boss wasn’t going to care.

“You didn’t have to run here.” Rick Jones, my boss, said the moment I entered through the back door of the bar.

Rick was a good guy, he was only a few years older than me. He was a very handsome guy and someone I could see myself being with, if it weren’t for the fact, that he was gay. He didn’t act like he was, not that I would have cared either way.

He was so nice that he talked with the other staff members about donating a portion of their tips to help me out. I tried to tell them no, but none of them would listen. Since I refused to take it directly, they gave a portion of their tips to Rick and he wrote a check to the hospital, in my name, every week.

Not only that, but he allowed me to use his car when I needed it and let me sleep on the couch in the office when I needed it. Most of the money I made was put into taking care of Andrew, so I couldn’t afford a place to stay. I was lucky to have found this job, with great people.

“You know I hate being late.” I told him, before entering the bathroom so I could change into my uniform.

“It wouldn’t hurt you to just relax a little bit!” He yelled through the closed door before I heard him walk away, laughing.

Quickly changing into my black slacks and white button-up shirt, with the bar logo on it, I looked in the mirror. Wiping away my running mascara, I reached into my bag to get my makeup. Touching up my makeup, I took one last look in the mirror before heading out.

Tossing my bag on the couch in the office, I hurried out to the bar to start my shift. It was already crowded here, which was normal for a bar that never closed. It was the nearest bar to the hospital, so this place was usually occupied by staff from the hospital.

“You good?” Luke, another of the bartenders that worked here, asked.

Nodding my head, I turned to face the customers that lined the bar. “What can I get for you?” I asked a younger female.

“Vodka Tonic.” She stated, sounding bored and uninterested.

After getting her drink, I returned a short time later and handed it to her. She handed me her card and told me to keep her tab open. Just then a very good-looking man walked up to the bar, squeezing in beside her, and her eyes lit up.

He didn’t seem to notice her as he leaned on the bar and gave me the most dazzling smile I have ever seen. If I had been an ordinary girl, he would be just my type. Because I have a sick child and four jobs to worry about, I didn’t have time to worry about men, regardless of how mouth-watering handsome they looked.

“What can I get for you?” I asked the gentleman, trying to seem uninterested, but charming at the same time.

No matter what I was going through, I had to push away my problems so I could be the best bartender I could be. The more a customer liked me, the better my tip was, which I needed. I hated that I flaunted my assets to get customers to like me.

It wasn’t like I was talking about my breasts or ass. I was talking about my looks, my smile, and my personality. Even though half of the guys that came into the bar were creepy.

“You can start with your name.” The man leaned forward, and I could tell he was interested in me, it was hard to miss.

“Veronica.” I smiled politely, giving him my best smile.

“That is a beautiful name. My name is Lyrek, it is a pleasure to meet you.” He reached his hand across the counter for me to take.

The female next to him rolled her eyes and sauntered away, obviously annoyed that he wasn’t showing interest in her. Reaching out, I shook his hand. He held on to my hand, for a moment too long, but I ignored the nervous feeling I got.

When he released my hand, he spoke again. “This is my first time here, so what would you suggest?”

Looking over him, I debated on what kind of guy he looked like. I have been working in this bar for two years now, so I felt like I was a fairly good judge of character when it came to knowing what a customer liked.

“You look like a Scotch man.” I suggested.