Okay. . . So here is another chapter after a long absence. . . Enjoy!
"Cody. . ." Alvin said as the human placed him on the bench. "I'm sorry." The words hung between them for a few moments until the chipmunk spoke again. "I know you and Theodore are really close." Alvin could feel tears stinging his brown eyes, again. "I'm glad you were there for him when Simon and I. . ." he swallowed hard, "weren't."
There were a few more moments of silence, until Cody spoke. "Just because he had someone to lean on doesn't mean it hurt any less." He watched as the fur around the chipmunk's eyes began to become damp. He knew what he was going to say was going to hurt, but it needed to be said. "Before I met Theodore, I had sort of . . . built up a pretty hard shell around me, and didn't let anyone in. . . Not even my dad." At the reminder of his father, Cody's eyes stung with tears. "Then I met Theodore, and within a week, he made me feel so comfortable that is was sharing my deepest thought with him. Things I wouldn't dare tell anyone else. And he started sharing his thought and feelings with me." He looked down the hallway, then back at the chipmunk.
"I think the reason we became such good friends, is because we understood each other and had the same feelings bottled up inside. The same desire to hide and not let anyone in, and the same loneliness."
"Loneliness?" Alvin echoed.
Cody gave the chipmunk a small nod as he brushed away a tear in his eye. "There were some thing's I felt that couldn't talk to my father about, because I was too shy to say anything. . . Theodore felt the same way about you, Simon and Dave."
The chipmunk cocked his head. "What do you mean?"
"Think about it. . . Theodore couldn't tell you or Simon how much it hurts him to see you two argue everyday on a regular basis." He watched the first tear run down the chipmunk's cheek. "He couldn't tell Dave because that would only get you in trouble, which would only make things worse between the three of you." He narrowed his eyes. "Theodore was afraid you would call him a tattletale or a crybaby."
"Look, I know I've been the worst big brother in history, but I thought I was losing everything I cared about." Alvin looked into the humans eyes, almost yelling. "I realized what I thought I cared about didn't matter. . . What mattered was what I had all along. . . A family that loves me and would do anything for me. . . And I would do anything for them." He looked down at the wooden slats that made up the seat of the bench. "Now, what matters to me is that I get the chance to say I'm sorry to Theodore before it's too late." He looked back up into Cody's eyes. "Do you think he'll forgive me?"
There was a long silence before the human answered. "Theodore has a forgiving soul. . . And I think he just wants big brothers back."
With Jeanette's paw in his own, Simon walked through the doorway and cast his blue eyes around the room. His eyes first landed on Theodore's bed in the middle of the room, and the machines surrounding it. As he and Jeanette walked to the bed, the bathroom door opened, and an unfamiliar young woman came out.
She focused her heather grey eyes on the two chipmunks and gave a small smile. "You must be Simon, Jeanette told me about you. . . I'm Rosie. . . It's great to finally meet you." Her smile faded, "even under these circumstances."
He gave a small smile of his own. "I agree." He looked up to the bed.
"Do you need a lift?" She asked.
Simon could have jumped to the top of the bed with no problem, but at the moment he didn't know if he could find the strength to. "Please?"
She nodded, "sure."
Once the eldest chipmunk was placed on the bed and got his first look at his youngest brother, he let out a small gasp.
The chipmunk's body was covered from his neck to his waist in bandages, and his left arm was in a cast. Simon removed his glasses and wiped a tear from his royal blue eyes. He put them back on, and as he walked closer, he took note of every cut and bruise that littered Theodore's dark blonde fur.
"The doctor said several of his ribs are broken, and one of them punctured his lung." Jeanette spoke softly as she gently took his hand in her own. "That lung collapsed on the way to the hospital."
"He's breathing on one lung?" Simon asked, even though he knew the answer.
She nodded, "there bringing in a specialist. . ."
"A munk-ologist?" he said with a wry smile.
"Close enough." She said giving him a smile as well. After a moment, her smile faded. "Once he gets here, they will perform surgery to repair the lung and then set his ribs." She looked from the chipmunk in the bed, to the chipmunk that was holding her hand. "The doctor that they're bringing in is the best in the world, Simon. . . He's in good hands."
He nodded and sat down next to Theodore and took the small chipmunks hand his own. He swallowed the lump in his throat. "I. . . I love you Theodore." He reached up and stroked the fur on his little brother's head. "I know you haven't heard that enough from me or Alvin, but it's true." Jeanette watched a tear ran down the dark fur on Simon's cheek. "Alvin and I got so busy fighting as band mates that we forgot we were brothers first and foremost. . . I wanted so badly to save the band that I lost sight of what mattered," He sniffed, "and I'm sorry."
Alright, so it's a little shorter than the last chapter. But, I think it works.
Please review!