Underwater by Maayan Nahmani Page A

against my chest and raised my brow at him. He lowered his head, his eyes pointing towards the floor. Something about him felt...off. Wrong. He sat on the edge of my bed and I went to sit next to him. I took his hand in mine and looked at him.
    “What’s going on with you? Why did you feel the need to eavesdrop on Mom and Dad?”
    With his head still bent down, I noticed a tear trailing down his cheek.
    “How long?”
    Unsure how to react, I tried to hug him, but he wouldn’t have it. Pushing me away, he stood and began pacing across the room.
    I sat still, not uttering a word. I should have told him.
    Watching him on the brink of losing it, tears filled my eyes. Don’t let them fall. You need to stay strong. Don’t let them fall. He needs you . Don’t let them fall.
    When I looked at him pacing the room like a caged animal, his tears flowing freely, I didn’t think anymore. I walked straight to him. Halting his movements with my hand on his arm, I turned him around until he faced me. When his eyes landed on mine, I wrapped my arms around his waist and hugged him soundly. He tried to fight me, the little shit, but I didn’t let go. I hugged him even tighter. He was taller than me… my head barely reached his chin. He was stronger too. If he really wanted to get away, there was nothing I could do about it.
    “Stop fighting me!” I cried into his chest. “It’s okay. Everything will be okay! I promise.”
    His arms wrapped around me and he buried his head in the crook of my neck.
    “How can you say that?” His muffled voice was swallowed up by an aching cry. “How can you promise that? He has cancer, Aria. Cancer! He’s not going to make it,” he cried out. “I know he won’t.”
    Pulling away and stepping back, I held his shoulders and gave him a little shake. “Look at me.”
    Nothing.
    Shaking him again, I raised my voice. ”Look at me right now!”
    He raised his head. His glossy eyes were filled with so much pain it tore my heart open.
    “He will make it,” I vowed. “We need to make him feel optimistic. Cheer him up. Believe in him.” Pulling him back to me, I hugged him again. This time, he didn’t fight me. He clung to me so tightly I could barely breathe.
    “I’m scared,” his voice quivered. “I don’t want him to die.”
    I kissed him softly on his shoulder while rubbing his back with soothing caresses. “He won’t die. Don’t you worry about a thing, okay? He is having treatments right now, and so far, the signs are good. So hush…” I murmured in his ear. “Don’t be scared. Our dad is tough as steel. He is gonna kick this cancer in the nuts and come out the winner. You’ll see.”
    Chuckling lightly, he kept hugging me for a while longer and then said, “Thank you.”
    “You’re welcome,” I said with a smile, satisfied that he had calmed down and felt less frightened. “Anything you need, no matter if it’s to talk or ask questions, you can always come to me. Got it?”
    “Yeah… I got it.”
    Giving me one last squeeze, he released his death grip on my body, turned around and left the room without saying another word.
    Sighing, I flopped down on my bed, pulled my iPhone from out of my pocket and dialed Ella’s number.
    “Bitch.” Ella’s voice came blabbing from the phone.
    “Hey,” I murmured with a small smile. “What’s up?”
    “Nothing much… I’m home, taking a little break. I swear those freaking tests are going to end me.”
    Chuckling, I asked, “How are your tests going? I’ve barely seen you lately.”
    “I’m doing great,” she said. “I’m nailing it of course. You know me… beautiful and smart, the whole package.”
    I burst out laughing while rolling my eyes. “You can try to sound modest, you know?”
    “Yeah, you know where to shove your modesty crap. I’m good and I know it.”
    My face started to hurt from smiling so much in such a short time. The muscles around my mouth hadn’t worked for such a long time, it felt