"You're okay?" Alicia asked, looking down at her younger brother, Jake.  He was snuggled under several blankets as their heater barely functioned properly. 

"Yeah," he replied weakly and turned over in his bed.  "Thanks."

"Of course.  Call me if you need anything," Alicia said and partially closed the door behind her.  It had been hard the last couple years or so.  Jake and Alicia were half-siblings, sharing a father.  Both of their mothers were out of the picture and more recently their father as well.  She sighed thinking about the hardships they faced.

The past few years left Alicia taking care of Jake, who was only twelve.  Right now he lied in his bed fighting his hardest against a terminal illness.  She wasn't able to afford medical insurance for them until recently, and even so it was much too late.  She clenched her fists.  If only they had been a little quicker to the doctor, then maybe, just maybe they could have caught the disease before it fully struck.  Every time she thought about their misfortune she wanted to cry or slam her fist through a wall or both.

Recently she had the fortune of meeting Juliette.  Even though times were tough, Juliette's mere presence seemed to make everything feel slightly better.

Alicia heard a knock on the door.  She checked the eye hole then opened.  "Hey Juli, perfect timing."  She opened the door to let her friend in.  "Gotta hurry, the heat will leave if you don't come in," she said, brushing her black hair out of her face.