Khian's POV
The living room was quiet, too quiet. The kind of silence that weighed on your chest, making it hard to breathe. Lily was sitting on the couch, staring down at her hands, twisting her fingers together like she was trying to keep herself from falling apart. I was standing by the window, staring out into the dark night, not really seeing anything. Just... waiting. Waiting for something to break the stillness. 
Then, I heard the front door creak open.
Mom and Dad walked in, their faces worn, shadows under their eyes. They looked tired, no, more than tired like drained. Like the weight of everything was pulling them down. Mom’s eyes found mine, and I saw it right away. The worry. The fear. 
“Khian,” Mom said softly, walking over to me. She touched my arm, her hand cold, shaking a little. “We need to talk. You and Lily... now.”
Lily’s head snapped up, and I could see her eyes widen. She didn’t say anything, but I knew she felt it too, that knot in your stomach, the one that warned you something bad was coming.
We followed them into the dining room, the four of us sitting down around the table. Dad didn’t speak at first; he just rubbed his forehead, like he was trying to figure out where to start. That made me more nervous. When Dad didn’t have words, it was never good. 
Finally, Mom cleared her throat, breaking the silence. “We... we went to see Dr. Anders earlier today.”
That name made my heart skip a beat. Dr. Anders had been Ella’s doctor since she was a kid. Anytime his name came up, it wasn’t for good news.
“What did he say?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady, but it came out a little too shaky. Lily leaned forward, her face pale, bracing herself for whatever was coming.
Mom’s eyes were red, like she’d been crying before they got home. “It’s about Ella,” she whispered, her voice thick with emotion. “Her heart... it’s weaker than we thought. Much weaker.”
I felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. My chest tightened, and my hands curled into fists under the table. 
“Weaker? What does that mean? What did he say exactly?” I asked, my voice rising. 
Dad looked up at me then, his eyes full of something I didn’t want to see fear. “He said... she can’t handle any more emotional stress. Not like before. If she goes through something too intense, it could...” He paused, like he couldn’t say it out loud.
“Could what?” Lily’s voice was barely a whisper, but I could hear the tremble in it. She was holding back tears, I could see them brimming in her eyes.
Mom wiped her face quickly. “It could kill her, Khian. Her heart might stop if she faces anything too painful.”
There it was. The words hit me like a punch to the gut. I felt sick. My throat tightened, and I looked away, staring at the wall because I couldn’t look at them. My parents, with their broken faces, telling me my sister might not survive if anything more happened to her.
“No,” Lily choked out, shaking her head. “No, that can’t... there has to be something we can do. Medicine, surgery, something. Right?” She looked at them desperately, but Mom just shook her head, tears slipping down her cheeks.
“There’s no surgery that can fix her heart,” Mom said softly. “It’s too delicate. It’s about keeping her calm, keeping her safe from anything that might hurt her emotionally.”
Lily let out a sob, covering her mouth with her hand, and I couldn’t take it anymore. I slammed my hand down on the table, making everyone jump.
“Why didn’t you tell us sooner? Why did you wait until now to tell us this?!” My voice was louder than I meant it to be, but I didn’t care. I was angry. Scared. Terrified. “We’ve been doing everything we can to help her, but we didn’t know how serious it was!”
“We didn’t want to scare you,” Dad said quietly. “We didn’t want to scare her.”
“Well, now we’re scared! And now what? We just pretend everything’s fine? That nothing’s wrong, when all of us are on edge, waiting for her heart to stop?” I couldn’t control the anger bubbling up inside me.
Mom reached for my hand, her fingers trembling. “I know it’s hard, Khian. I know. But we need to protect her now more than ever. You and Lily... you’re the closest to her. You know her heart better than anyone. You have to be strong
---
Mom’s words hung in the air like heavy smoke. 'Be strong for her.' How was I supposed to be strong when I felt like everything was falling apart?
Lily’s breath hitched beside me, and I saw her shoulders trembling as she tried to hold back more tears. “Khian… what do we do?” she whispered, her voice barely holding together.
I didn’t know how to answer. I didn’t have answers. All I could think about was Ella, lying upstairs, completely unaware of what the doctor had said. My baby sister, the one I had sworn to protect, and now… now I couldn’t do anything to protect her from this.
“We take care of her,” I finally said, my voice rough. “We keep her away from anything that’ll hurt her more. We… we do whatever we have to do.”
Dad nodded slowly. “Exactly, Khian. You know how fragile her heart is. You’ve always known.”
Yeah, I’d known. But knowing didn’t make this easier. Knowing didn’t stop the fact that every time I looked at Ella now, I’d be wondering if one bad day could take her away from us. The thought of losing her, it made my chest feel tight, like I couldn’t breathe.
Lily stood up abruptly, her hands shaking as she ran them through her hair. “I… I need a minute. This is too much. I can’t breathe in here.” She rushed out of the room before I could say anything, the door swinging shut behind her.
I stood up, feeling like I was suffocating, too. “I’m gonna check on her.”
Mom just nodded, not saying anything. Dad gave me a look, but I couldn’t meet his eyes. I didn’t want to see the same fear in them that was clawing at me.
I found Lily in the hallway, leaning against the wall with her face in her hands. She was shaking, her whole body trembling like she was barely holding it together.
“Lily,” I said softly, stepping closer. 
She didn’t look up at first. I could hear her sniffling, her breath coming in sharp gasps. “I can’t do this, Khian. I can’t lose her. Not Ella… I can’t!”
Hearing her say it out loud made it all feel even more real. I felt the same panic rising in my chest, but I couldn’t show it. Not to her. Not when she was already falling apart.
I pulled her into a hug, holding her tight as her body shook against mine. “We’re not gonna lose her,” I whispered, though I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince her or myself. “We won’t. We’ll do whatever it takes.”
She nodded against my chest, but I could still feel the fear radiating from her. “She doesn’t even know,” Lily murmured. “How do we keep this from her? She’s gonna figure it out, and when she does…”
“I know.” I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “But we can’t let her think something’s wrong. She’ll panic if she knows it’s this serious.”
Lily pulled back, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. Her eyes were red and swollen, her face pale. “She’s been through so much already… I don’t know how she’ll handle more.”
“I don’t know either,” I admitted. “But we have to try.”
We stood there in silence for a moment, both of us lost in our thoughts, in our fears. The house felt too quiet, like the calm before a storm. And all I could think about was Ella upstairs, completely unaware that everything was crumbling around her.
Then, footsteps echoed down the hallway, and I saw Mom walking toward us slowly. She stopped a few feet away, her eyes soft and tired. “You two okay?”
Lily nodded, though it was clear she wasn’t. I didn’t say anything, just stuffed my hands into my pockets and looked away.
“We need to be together in this,” Mom said quietly. “For Ella’s sake. She’s going to need us now more than ever.”
I wanted to tell her that I was already doing my best, that we were all trying, but I couldn’t get the words out. Because no matter how hard I tried, it didn’t feel like enough.
“Khian,” Mom said softly, walking closer and putting a hand on my arm. “You’ve always been her rock. You’re the one she looks up to. But it’s okay to be scared too.”
I clenched my jaw, fighting back the emotion threatening to overwhelm me. “I don’t want her to see me scared,” I muttered. “She’ll know something’s wrong.”
Mom smiled sadly. “You don’t have to hide everything from her. She’s stronger than you think.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. Ella was strong, yeah, but she wasn’t invincible. Her heart couldn’t take it, literally. One wrong move, one bad day, and everything could fall apart.
Just then, the sound of a soft voice from upstairs broke through the tension. Ella. She must’ve woken up.
Lily’s eyes widened, and she glanced at me. “What do we do? We can’t let her know…”
“Keep calm,” I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt. “We act normal. Like everything’s fine.”
Lily nodded, taking a deep breath. But I could still see the worry etched on her face.
Together, we headed upstairs, trying to keep our steps light, our expressions neutral. But inside, I was screaming. The thought of losing Ella, of something happening that we couldn’t stop, it terrified me.
When we reached her room, I knocked softly before opening the door. Ella was sitting up in bed, her eyes still tired, but she smiled when she saw us. “You guys… you didn’t leave?”
Lily smiled weakly, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “Of course not. We’re not going anywhere.”
I stood by the door, forcing a grin. “You’re stuck with us for the long haul, kiddo.”
Ella laughed softly, but there was a faint sadness in her eyes. Like maybe she knew something was wrong, even if she didn’t know what. I just hoped we could keep her from finding out.
Not yet, at least.