Hello, long time no see. I apologize for the long delay in updating. There has been a lot going on with my personal life and I had pause writing for a bit. Don't worry, I shouldn't be taking another break any time soon. Unfortunately, this story is almost complete. Just a few more chapters! So make sure to stick around. Thank you all for patiently waiting. TW: Substance abuse is mentioned all throughout this chapter. There are even some descriptive details about the appearance of the survivor. Read with caution and please enjoy this chapter!
Fun Fact #2
I wanted to be as inclusive as possible. Since there was very little information about the original characters, there was room for creativity! I wanted to add to the original characters and give them more diversity. Especially with my OC's, which is why there's a lot of different cultures/backgrounds in this story.
Saving Bertram
I was led to his room with Benny, Ham, and Squints. We were told that we could stay with him for a while. Everyone was silent. I didn't dare to look at the others' faces because I already knew how they looked. He was asleep. I saw that he had grown quite a bit of facial hair. There were bags under his eyes, he was discolored, he had bruises and markings all across his body. He was pretty thin and just seemed broken. It didn't help either that he was hooked up to so many machines. I sat down and stared at him. "What happened to you, B?" I croaked out. I sat down on a chair that was by his bed and sighed heavily. Benny rubbed my shoulder and leaned over me. We all just watched him in the quiet as if we were scared of saying what we were seeing out loud. Bertram began to stir, I heard us all in unison hold our breaths. He then slowly opened his tired eyes. "Robin?" He then smiled at me. He reached out for me and I shot up and gently grabbed his hand. "Hey, B. How are you feeling?" I asked, trying to hold back tears. "Like a million bucks." He chuckled while wincing. He then looked behind me and noticed the others. "I can't believe what I'm seeing…" I felt the others approach. "Hey, man." "If it isn't B." "Good to see you, Bertram." That's when the door opened and in came a doctor. "Mr. Weeks, it seems you're feeling better and have company." He had a clipboard in his hands and was writing something down. He approached the monitors and gave them a quick look over. "If you don't mind, I would like a word with Mr. Weeks in private." I looked down at Bertram and he gave me a nod. "Okay." I let go of his hand after I gave it a gentle squeeze.
We all gathered in the hall and couldn't help but shake my head. "I knew something was off this entire time. I sent him so many letters and he never responded." Benny grabbed my shoulder to calm me down. "It was never your responsibility to keep track of him or any of us in that matter." Squints then added on; "He's right, Robin. B knew how to get a hold of us. If he felt like he needed help or just someone to talk to he didn't make it known." He then shoved his hands into his pockets. "We've all got our own lives, our priorities." This didn't make me feel any better. "Well, now I know something's wrong. Now I know I can help him. He can now be a priority and back into our lives." Ham then scoffed. "It's not that simple. It's great that you want to help him, Robin, but you can't do all the work for him." I was surprised that out of the three of them, this was coming from Ham. "I know what your intentions are, you want him to get better and for him to get back on his feet. We all want him to! But you have to realize that this is something he has to want." I was confused. "He listed me as his emergency contact. I think that's his cry for help. He wouldn't have listed me if he didn't want to." Ham shook his head. "A cry for help? Robin, nothing stopped him from picking up the phone and dialing any of our numbers. He chose to do this to himself. It's an addiction. Even if this is a cry for help, and let's just say that he does want to get better because I'm sure he does, for now. He needs to make that decision all over again tomorrow, and the next day and the day after that." He had a point, but I wasn't going to give up that easily. "I understand, Ham. But someone has to be there for him." He nodded his head. "Just understand that at the end of the day, only he can make his own decisions."
The doctor then came back out with a smile. "I'm assuming you're Ms. Sanchez?" I nodded my head. "Yes, is he going to be okay?" He looked at all of our faces and sighed. "He's doing well but needs to be watched over for the next week." The intensity from a few moments ago started to fade. "What can we do to help him?" He then thought for a moment. "Well, for now, you can try visiting him as frequently as you can. He seems to do better with your company. Then after the week is up we'll run a few tests and see how much he's progressed." That sounded good to me. "What about when he's ready to leave? What should we do for him then?" I guess he didn't expect so many questions, especially from me judging by his expression. "I'll recommend the best facilities and help you get all the paperwork for that." Facility? "You mean another hospital?" He nodded his head. "It's recommended that any patient that is dealing with addiction be emitted to a rehabilitation facility. It's to prevent relapsing and help ease withdrawals." Oh boy, this was going to be a lot.
"I'll help you with that," Ham interjected. I raised an eyebrow at him, he sure had an awful lot to say about this whole thing. "Mr. Weeks is a lucky guy to have friends that care. If you all have any more questions be sure to call." He then walked away and I couldn't help but stare at Ham. "This isn't new territory for me. I had to watch my mother struggle with all of this when it came to her brother." Ham had never mentioned this before. "How is he now?" He didn't give me a hopeful look. "Let's just say that he's been my estranged uncle for a long time." I wasn't going to let Bertram be estranged ever again. He's a dear friend and no one should go through anything this hard alone.