A Part Of The Stars

Jamie gazed up at the sky, desperately trying to stop herself from breaking down. The stars burned brightly against the night sky, like little beacons of hope and light amidst a dark and uncaring sky. She could even make out some of the more famous constellations like the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia.

Jamie remembered laying outside on the grass with Curtis while he’d talk about the lore behind each constellation. She remembered how Queen Cassiopeia was stuck upside down in her chair for half the year, at a loss of all control. That was how Jamie felt right now, her stomach doing flip-flops as she continued to gaze up at the starry sky. 

“Look at ‘em all up there! Aren’t they all so pretty?”

Jamie turned towards her brother and stared at him in awe. How could he be so calm right now?

“You’re bleedin’ out real bad, Curtis.” Jamie said, her voice wavering. “We’ve gotta get you help.” 

“Then what?” Curtis wheezed. “You get help, and we both go to jail. You’ve gotta leave me and go, Jamie.” 

Jamie shook her head furiously. She wouldn’t abandon Curtis, not now, not ever. The whole robbery had been Curtis’s idea anyway, and Jamie couldn’t say no to her big brother. They'd been left on their own for a year now, and money was getting harder to come by. Curtis had said that nothing bad would happen, and they’d just steal from the old McGee couple, whose house Curtis cleaned for quite meager pay. 

Mr. and Mrs.McGee were old, dying, and they were often quite unpleasant to be around. They always made remarks about how stupid, noisy, and filthy the younger residents of their town were. Their house was also stocked with priceless antiques that glittered and glistened. Curtis figured they’d go for decent money at the pawn shop. 

Unfortunately, Jamie and Curtis were inexperienced robbers. They hadn’t counted on the McGee’s old dog barking to wake them up, and they certainly hadn’t counted on Mr. McGee unloading his shotgun at them as they fled with empty pockets. Jamie figured that they’d gotten lucky once she’d stopped running, but as soon as she saw Curtis hunched over and clutching his stomach, her heart sank. 

Jamie managed to support Curtis as they trekked on for a few more minutes through the woods behind the McGee house, but Curtis had collapsed, and Jamie couldn’t carry him any further. Now here they were, trapped, and no doubt the cops had been called and a search was underway. Tenderly, Jamie wrapped her arms around Curtis, and made it so that they could both see the stars. 

“Y-you remember when Pop was still around, and we’d all go lookin’ at the stars together?” Jamie asked. 

Curtis smiled weakly. “Yeah, I remember just fine. I wanted to be an astronaut so bad. I had that big book of constellations, and I’d never shut up. I just wanted to be up with the stars. I wanted to reach out and touch ‘em.” 

Curtis raised his left hand weakly towards the sky, and reached for the brightest star he could see. He curled his hand around it, like it was his coveted treasure. 

“You shoulda been an astronaut, Curtis. It’s not fair. You had to take care of me, but if it’d been just you-” 

“Don’t you say that, Jamie!” Curtis tried to sit up, but groaned in pain. 

“You’re my little sister, and you’re so much better than any old space trip woulda been! I love you, and I needed to help you. You helped me stay positive when I coulda given up on everything! What kinda brother would I be if I abandoned you?” Curtis cracked a grin. “Besides, bein’ an astronaut requires a lot of smarts, and lord knows I’m no brainiac. I couldn’t even do a simple robbery right. We didn’t get a damn thing!” 

Curtis began to laugh at that remark, and Jamie soon found herself breaking into a grin. 

“We couldn’t even rob some old, senile codgers!” Jamie barked with laughter. Curtis joined her, and soon their laughter echoed around the woods. Curtis’s laughter stopped suddenly, being quickly replaced by coughing up blood.

Jamie abruptly stopped laughing, as the reality of their situation came crashing down onto her. She was going to lose her big brother soon, and she’d be all alone. Her Momma died when she was born, and Pop followed her into the grave just last year when he was killed in a drunk driving accident. She had always relied on Curtis her whole life, and now he was being taken from her too. 

So many potential good changes to their lives had been cruelly been stripped away from them. Curtis could’ve gone onto become an astronaut, but Pop died and he’d thrown himself into raising Jamie and dropped out of high school. Curtis could lie all he wanted to about not being smart, but Jamie knew the truth. Her brother could’ve gotten into University, and maybe even NASA. It had been all he’d talked about for years, and now he would never get to live his dream. 

Curtis hadn’t looked away from the stars for the longest time, and Jamie could see him fighting to keep his eyes open. 

“J-jamie…” Curtis sputtered weakly. 

“Don’t try an’ talk, Curtis. Lemme get help-”

“NO!” Curtis shouted with all his strength. “Listen good, Jamie. You’ve gotta leave, and I don’t care what you say to me. I got us into this mess. I could never live with myself if I got you thrown in jail.” 

Curtis clutched at his stomach, trying to get the blood flow to cease, but it continued. A murmur of voices could be heard at the edge of the woods of the McGee property, and the faint sound of barking signaled that the police and their dogs would be closing in soon. A look of grim resignation crossed Curtis’s face.

“You go and get outta here. I can’t go on anymore.”

Jamie began to cry and shook her head fervently. “I’m not leavin’ you, Curtis! I can’t be alone!” Jamie shook and quivered, the fear rendering her frozen on the spot. Curtis winced in pain and reached out his hand and gently touched Jamie’s face. 

“I’d never leave you.” Curtis’s voice was ragged, and paused to wipe her tears. “Whenever you look at the sky, that’ll be me, looking down at you. There’s a little part of me in each of the stars, and that means I’ll always be watchin’, makin’ sure you’re nice and safe. I’ll get to touch the stars, and you’ll never be alone. Now, please, go.” 

Curtis smiled faintly, and his eyes began to slowly close, but his last glance wasn’t towards the starry sky. It was Jamie, the one who had always stood by him and comforted him up until the end, who he chose to exit this world looking at. 

Jamie could hear the rustling getting closer, and she gently lay Curtis down. Jamie then took a quick glance at the sky, and she swore that the stars were shining brighter than she’d ever seen before. 

Curtis. 

Jamie allowed herself a teary smile before she ran off into the woods, knowing that her brother would always be watching over her.