Ari jumped up.

“What’s wrong? Luke! Is Luke okay?”

I slowly stood up. Jeff was looking at me. Something was wrong.

“Ari, Luke is fine, baby. He’s fine.”

“Jesus, Jeff. What’s wrong then?”

“I just got a phone call from Josh’s mother Elizabeth…”

My heart started pounding.

Just then, my cell phone went off, I must have gotten a signal right then. I pulled it out of my pocket to see I had three missed calls…from Elizabeth. She must have called when I had no signal, and they just now all came through.

I looked up at Jeff.

“Heather, Josh has been in a car accident.”

I took a step back and fell into the chair. All the memories of my parents’ accident came flooding back to me.

“Baby girl, I’m going to drive you into Austin, okay?” Jeff said.

I nodded my head and looked at Ari, who was kneeling down next to me.

She looked up to Jeff.

“How is he, Jeff?”

Jeff cleared his throat.

“He’s in critical condition, and, um…he’s in surgery right now.”

I jumped and ran to my car. I had to get to Josh right now.

Jeff came up behind me and grabbed me.

“Let me go, Jeff!” I screamed, kicking and pushing for him to let me go.

“Heather, calm down. Let me drive you to Austin.”

“Let me go! Oh my god!” I fell to the ground and started crying.

Jeff held on to me as I cried hysterically.

Ari dropped to the ground next to me and put her hands on my face. “Heather, look at me, sweets. Let us take you to Austin. It’s going to be okay.”

“I can’t lose him. Oh god Ari… I can’t lose him, too.”

Jeff picked me up and put me in the backseat of his truck.

Ari jumped in next to me and held on to me. She just kept repeating herself. “Baby girl, everything’s going to be okay. It’ll be okay.”

It was my parents’ car accident all over again. Images of me in the backseat of my uncle’s car while Ari held me flashed through my mind. Even then, she did the same thing, telling me everything was going to be okay.

But it hadn’t been okay. My parents had left me.

If I lose Josh…I’ll lose my whole world.

EPILOGUE

HEATHER

It was just supposed to be another day at the lake. I knew he was bringing her. Ari told me. I watched as they laughed and kissed each other.

Each moment that passed, I died a little more inside. Every now and then, he would look at me. I tried to smile when he did, but it took every ounce of energy I had to smile at him and act like I was happy that he was with her. When I did manage a forced smile, he would give me a weak smile in return.

***

As the day went on, I hated her more and more. She did this. She knew that he was mine, but she went after him with everything she had.

She won.

When I walked up to the bon-fire, Ari reached out and grabbed my arm.

“Maybe you and I should take a walk, Heather.”

“Why? It’s getting cold, and I just want to sit by the fire.”

Ari looked back over at the fire. I followed her eyes and saw Josh and Victoria hugging. My stomach turned, and I wanted to throw up.

Then, it happened. He dropped to one knee and held out a ring box. Victoria’s hand flew up to her mouth as she let out a small scream.

My eyes moved from looking at her to looking at Josh. When he glanced over at me, I wanted to scream no.

I couldn’t move.

The next thing I knew, I felt my legs going out from underneath me, and all I heard was Ari calling out my name.

Faithful

Coming Summer 2013

Stories from those touched by Fragile X

"Your son has Fragile X syndrome"….

When I first read those words my heart broke, honestly I was devastated. Of coarse I took to the computer to learn all I could and was soon presented with a rough road ahead of us. A genetic disorder that causes mental impairment, cognitive delays, developmental delays, ADD, hyperactivity, sensory processing disorder…all words and phrases I was bombarded with that brought me to tears that weekend…Logan was just 18 months old at the time he was diagnosed.

When you have a child every parent thinks about how their child's life is going to play out….their first steps, first day of school, getting their drivers license, their first date, graduating high school, getting married, and even having children of their own. It's strange how one little sentence can destroy every hope and dream that you had for someone that means everything to you. But I soon realized that all those hopes and dreams I had for him were still there, they weren't what I thought they were but they were still there. So I now have new hopes and dreams for him…better ones! Because he works so much harder that most everyone else to achieve little things he has taught me to appreciate EVERYTHING. First steps didn't come until he was 19 months old… but that made them all the more special when they did happen. I vividly remember the first time when he was 6 years old and walked up to me and said "Hi Mom!" all on his own with no prompts. All moments that people take for granted every day. So here we are now at 7 years old, his speech is slowly emerging, his motor skill are improving, he's starting to write his letters and his hyperactivity is calming down a bit. He still can't tolerate a kiss on his beautiful face or going to crowded places but the one thing that he has never had to put any effort into is smiling! He breathes life into every room he steps into and will have you grinning in an instant. He understands everything you tell him and he loves everyone with his whole heart! He's all things NFL and for some reason he runs around the house yelling "Go Steelers!". A master at the iPad and obsessed at looking for his grandpa's house on Google Earth, Logan surprises me every day of my life. I have my moments for sure, just as any parent would wether your child has special needs or not. Some days I'd love to hide but then I look at Logan and think about how he puts 100% of his trust and love in me to help him along his path and how he never ever gives up…that's enough for me. Everyone can take a lesson from Logan, he sings his heart out, his love knows no limits and he lives in the moment and he will literally stop and smell the roses. His big brother Gavin and I laugh and smile very single day because of Logan. So yes that diagnoses changed my life but I wouldn't have it any other way…

By Ari Niknejadi

For more information on Fragile X please visit www.fragilex.org or contact the National Fragile X

Foundation at 800-688-8765

By Alexandra Louk –

My younger (I would say little but the kid is huge) brother has Fragile X. He was diagnosed when he was 5 and I was 9. The first thing people tend to ask it “What’s it like to have a brother with special needs?” and my response is always, “What’s it like to have a brother/sister without special needs?”. My brother Jakob is my best friend; he is always there for me no matter what and can always brighten my day. Being away at college has been hard but I try to call him when I can and I always bring him little presents when I come home. Our sibling relationship is pretty normal. We fight and wrestle and then we fight over our parents’ attention. He is protective over me and doesn’t like when I bring guys home, even though he might not fully understand everything he knows I am his sister and boys can hurt me and make me sad. When he is upset sometimes he will come and try to curl up in my lap like he used to. Even though he is 6’4’’ and 250 lbs. I don’t care he is my baby brother and I love him. Having a brother with Fragile X is hard sometimes but I honestly wouldn’t change a thing about him. He keeps my secrets and never tells my parents on me, and when we hang out I spoil him rotten and have a hard time telling him no. My brother is a Special Olympics Bowler and Ice Skater, he plays hockey and baseball, and he watches sports with me. So for me having a brother with Fragile X may not be easy but I wouldn’t trade it for anything.