Strawberry skies

Chapter 10

I went in the next day feeling strangely good—better than I had in a long time. Maybe it was the crisp morning air, or maybe it was the lingering warmth of Bee’s words yesterday. Either way, I had a good feeling about today.

As I walked through the hospital’s volunteer center, I spotted Bee sitting in the lounge area with Katie’s parents. Her hands moved animatedly as she spoke, and her voice carried softly across the room, warm and enthusiastic. Katie’s mom was nodding along, while her dad chuckled at something Bee had said.

For someone who insisted on being a "complicated mess," Bee had a way of disarming people. I watched for a moment, struck again by how effortless she made it seem—connecting with people, drawing them in, like a force of gravity.

I walked over and leaned against the arm of the chair next to her. “Didn’t know you were secretly running for Miss Congeniality.”

Bee glanced up at me with a smirk. “You jealous, Lou?”

Katie’s mom smiled at me warmly. “Your friend here is wonderful. She’s been so kind to Katie—it means the world to us.”

“She’s got her moments,” I replied, throwing a mock-skeptical glance Bee’s way.

Bee rolled her eyes but said nothing, a faint blush creeping onto her cheeks.

After a few more exchanges, Katie’s parents stood up to leave. They thanked Bee again, and then me—though I’d done nothing but show up late.

As soon as they were gone, I dropped into the seat beside her. “So, do you just make it your mission to be everyone’s favorite person?”

Bee shrugged, leaning back and crossing her legs. “What can I say? It’s a gift.”

“Uh-huh.” I raised an eyebrow. “You’re good at making everyone feel like they know you, but somehow, I don’t even know if you have a family. Are you secretly some hospital-raised orphan?”

Her smirk faltered, just for a second, before she recovered. “You’re relentless, you know that?”

“It’s a talent.”

Bee hesitated, and for a moment, I thought she was going to change the subject. Instead, she sighed. “My mom’s... busy. She works a lot. It’s just the two of us most of the time.”

“And your dad?” I asked, careful not to push too hard.

Her face tightened. “He’s out of the picture.”

I nodded, sensing there was more to it but knowing better than to press. Instead, I decided to switch gears. “What about siblings? Do you have any?”

She glanced down, picking at the edge of her sleeve. “Yeah,” she said after a moment. “I have a little brother. His name’s Alex.”

I blinked, surprised. “You do? Where is he?”

“With my dad.”

Her words were sharp, but her voice wavered.

“How long has it been since you’ve seen him?” I asked gently.

Bee’s jaw tightened, her eyes focused somewhere far away. “Years,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “When my parents split, they split us too. My dad took Alex, and my mom kept me. We didn’t have a choice. We just... went where we were told.”

“That’s messed up,” I said, feeling a pang of anger on her behalf.

She gave a bitter laugh. “Yeah, well, my family isn’t exactly a fairytale.”

“Do you ever try to see him? Talk to him?”

Her shoulders slumped, and she shook her head. “I used to. But my dad... he’s petty. He used Alex to punish my mom for leaving him. He knew how much she loved both of us, so splitting us up was his way of getting back at her. He made it clear I wasn’t welcome near Alex, and he’s always made things as hard as possible. My mom tried to fight it, but eventually... she just stopped. She was tired of the courts, the arguments, the constant battle.”

I didn’t know what to say. The idea of being separated from someone you loved, someone you were supposed to grow up with—it hit me harder than I expected.

“I’m sorry,” I said finally. It felt inadequate, but it was all I could offer.

Bee looked at me, her expression unreadable. “It is what it is,” she said, but her voice cracked at the edges.

I wanted to reach out to her, to fix it somehow, but I knew this wasn’t something I could just patch up. Still, as I walked to my shift, her words echoed in my head.

Alex.

Bee had a little brother out there.

And maybe she thought it was impossible, but I wasn’t about to let that stop me.

She didn’t need to know yet, but I was going to find him.

Later, when Bee had left for one of her treatments, I found myself lingering in the records room, pretending to sort through files for my shift. It wasn’t hard to find Bee’s file. Her name was right there on the tab: Beatriz Elena Garcia.

I hesitated, my hand hovering over the folder. This felt wrong—like I was invading her privacy. But the thought of Alex, of the way her voice had cracked when she talked about him, pushed me forward.

I flipped through the pages quickly, scanning for any mention of her parents. There it was: Mother—Ana Garcia. Father—Hector Garcia.

The names burned into my brain as I quickly closed the file and slid it back into place. My heart was pounding as I stepped out of the room, but I felt a sense of resolve.

She didn’t need to know yet, but I was going to find Alex.

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