Someone stop me. I keep uploading. To Guest reviewer: I'm glad you pick up on little details. Good on you ;) I think that's so awesome and it shows you're a very attentive reader. I hope you guys like this chapter as well. Enjoy xoxo
"Lou, where are you—you're not going to work, are you?"
"No, I'm not. I have a doctor's appointment in town."
"Oh. Well, doesn't Peter usually take you? Where is he?"
"Yeah, well, he's in the city today. He had an important meeting to attend. I told him I'd just go myself," Lou shrugged.
"What? No, you can't just go on your own."
"Amy, I am perfectly capable of driving into town and back."
"Ask dad or grandpa to take you in."
"Dad's busy at the school, and I really don't want to disturb grandpa. I'm going to have to go myself."
Amy watched her sister as she moved to sit on the bench in the mud room. As Lou was putting on her boots, Amy considered offering to take Lou to the hospital. But she couldn't bring herself to. She was afraid of going in to the appointment, and hearing the doctor discuss her sister's condition with alien terms and phrases. She didn't want to learn any more of what Lou was going through. She didn't want to hear Lou talk about how difficult it was for her to move around, to talk about her pain and her injuries.
How childish was she being? Why couldn't she just offer to go with Lou?
It was the fact that this was all so new to her. She'd never seen Lou like this, so weak and vulnerable. It scared her, seeing her big sister like that. She had always been the one to take care of everyone else, and Amy had always looked to her when she needed support. Lou always took care of everyone else.
"Amy?"
Amy snapped out of her reverie. "Hmm?"
"Can you pass me my purse?" Lou said, gesturing to the round table.
Amy looked behind her, and went to grab the bag. She sighed to herself. Was she really about to let Lou drive to the hospital on her own? Couldn't she just muster up the courage to go into the building with her sister? Amy was just so bothered and unhinged by this whole thing. Even now, when Lou was getting better, she still wasn't completely out of the woods. If she went, Amy feared what sorts of things she would find out. She wasn't sure if she was ready to see this weak side of Lou.
Besides, even if Amy went, how would she be of any help to Lou?
Amy turned back and handed her sister the bag, who slipped it onto her wrist. Lou went to button up her coat, but her hands were full with the heavy bag, and it was difficult to button up the coat on her own, so Amy moved ahead and said, "Here, let me."
As Amy helped Lou with her coat, she thought to herself that she wasn't fifteen years old anymore. She could handle one scary visit to the hospital, right? And it wasn't like she hadn't been there before. In fact, she'd been there so many times when she'd been hurt, or not feeling well, and Lou had always been at her side.
But that was just it. Lou had always been there by her side. Now it was Amy's turn to be there for Lou.
As Amy fixed her sister's coat collar, she said, "I'll come with you to your appointment."
Lou looked at her sister, a smile in her eyes. "Amy, you don't have to come."
"Yes, I do, actually…"
"No, I know you're uncomfortable. Don't force yourself to do this if it scares you."
"You can tell it scares me?" Amy said, horrified.
Lou laughed, her face lighting up. "Of course I can tell, honey," she said. "It's fine, I can go on my own."
"No, I want to do this. I'm not letting you go there by yourself."
Lou smiled. "Okay, if you're sure. Let's get going, I don't want to be late."
Arriving at the hospital, Amy quickly got out of the truck and made her way over to Lou's side. Amy took her sister's purse, and then helped her get out of the vehicle, guiding a hand to her back. "You alright?"
Lou placed a hand on Amy's arm, steadying herself. "Yeah."
Once Amy locked the truck, and shut the door, the two of them walked into the building. Amy told Lou to go to the waiting area, while she went to reception. Amy went to the desk to ask if they could go in to see Lou's doctor.
"Dr. Keller just headed into an important meeting right now. You're going to have to wait until that's over."
Amy let out a wry laugh, looking down, placing her hands on the counter. "No, you know what? My sister came a long way to be here for her appointment today, that was scheduled over a week ago. It wasn't easy for her to come here today because she's still recovering. We were told to be here by 9:30, and we actually made it in early, so whatever 'important meeting' the doctor is in right now, I'm sure it can wait. I'm not letting my sister wait for however long this meeting is going to be."
The receptionist looked at Amy with a blank expression, which Amy returned with a steady gaze, her jaw clenched tightly. The woman then sighed, reaching for the phone.
Amy waited as the woman spoke to the person on the other end of the line, most likely Dr. Keller.
Once she was done speaking, the woman hung up the phone and said to Amy, "Dr. Keller will be no more than fifteen minutes. Can she wait that long?"
There was a spiteful and threatening tone in the woman's voice, and Amy suddenly felt attacked, and upset on her sister's behalf, an overprotective instinct coming on. Amy set her jaw back in response to the woman's harsh behaviour. She knew now that she had made the right decision in coming with her sister today. Had Amy let her come alone, this is what Lou would've had to deal with.
"We're waiting now, aren't we?" Amy snapped back, adding with a careful smile, "And watch your tone, please." She moved away from the desk and walked over to where Lou was waiting for her.
"What'd they say?" Lou asked, as Amy came and sat beside her sister.
"We can see the doctor in about fifteen minutes," Amy said, offering an encouraging smile to her sister, trying to get the encounter she had just had out of her head. She breathed out, trying to shrug off her anger.
"Oh, okay. That's fine."
Once Amy was settled in her seat, she looked over at Lou, noticing the cut on her face for about the hundredth time in the past two days. "What are you going to say if the doctor asks about your cut…?"
Lou shifted in her chair, uneasy. "I don't know…let's just hope she doesn't ask at all."
Amy sighed. "Yeah. I'm sure it'll be fine."
"Maybe I should cover it up with makeup," said Lou, now worried and thinking all sorts of things.
Amy looked at her, bewildered. "You'd know how to cover it up properly?"
Lou simply nodded.
"Oh my god…Lou, this isn't a bruise that you can just cover up with some powder and it'll all be fine. If you put anything on it, it'll begin to irritate."
"You're right. It was just a dumb idea."
"Look, I'm sorry I brought it up. I really shouldn't have."
Lou shook her head. "No, no, it's just…" she trailed off, leaving her thought unfinished.
After a minute of silence, Amy said, "So…what's happening at the follow-up today?"
Lou shrugged. "I guess she'll ask me how I've been doing, if my pain has been manageable. I'll ask her any questions I might have, and she'll probably prescribe me something…" Lou trailed off. "Oh, and they're doing a CT scan on me."
Amy turned, looking at her sister. "What?"
Lou looked back at her. "Amy, relax. I've done this before."
Amy exhaled. "You were about to come here on your own, and go through all of that yourself? What—what is the matter with you?"
Lou was confused. "Amy, hold on—"
"Why—why do you do this? You keep every single damn thing to yourself. Do you think you can just get through it all on your own? Do you not need us?"
"Amy, it just slipped my mind."
"Oh, it slipped your mind, did it?"
"Yes!" Lou defended.
Amy turned her head away from Lou a little, hiding her upset. Biting her lip, she tried to keep herself together. "Something like that doesn't just slip your mind."
Lou reached for Amy's arm, gently nudging it so her sister would turn to face her. "Amy, look, I'm sorry. I'll be more careful next time. I really didn't mean to hide this from you. My mind was just…somewhere else this morning."
There was no response from Amy.
"Honey, you're overreacting. This isn't a big deal."
Amy let out a tired laugh. "This is the definition of a big deal. CT scans are no joke."
"Look, I said I'm sorry. And I am…Please, don't be mad. There's just so much going on right now."
Amy let out a staggering breath, thinking back to that night suddenly. Lou had said the same thing to her then, and she was saying it again, pleading for her sister's understanding and support. Amy's anger suddenly melted away, and she looked back at Lou and put an arm around her sister's shoulder, planting a kiss on her temple. "I'm not," she said. "I just wish you would tell me things, and not keep everything to yourself."
The two of them sat in silence for the next few minutes, until Lou's doctor arrived. She seemed nice enough, much to Amy's relief. Her sister was in good hands, she thought to herself.
Dr. Keller led the two of them toward the lab where the CT scan would be held.
Amy was told to wait outside, and she complied, taking Lou's bag and coat. When Lou disappeared behind the doors, Amy sighed to herself, feeling restless and uneasy. She rested her back against the wall, and quietly stood there in her little bubble.
Amy took out her phone and texted Ty.
He immediately called back. "Amy, what's going on? Everything alright?"
"Oh—yeah, yeah, everything's fine. I'm sorry, I should've been more clear. I'm just here with Lou for a follow-up…sort of…"
"Sort of?"
"Yeah, she's undergoing a CT scan right now, and they're making me wait outside. They wouldn't even let me in there with her."
"Don't worry, it's a painless procedure. And the reason they don't let you in is because of the radiation in there."
"Radiation?"
"Amy, listen to me. Just relax. Don't worry about it, okay? She'll be out in no time."
Amy exhaled. "I just hate waiting. And I just feel so useless."
"You're not being useless. You're there. That's what counts."
Amy smiled. "Thanks. I needed to hear that…you always know what to say."
"I do, don't I?" There was a smile in Ty's voice, Amy could tell. "Hey, I should get back to work. I think they just brought in a new patient."
"Okay, bye. I love you."
"I love you. Bye, Amy."
Once she hung up the phone, Amy felt better. She now felt like she could power through this little bit of waiting, feeding off of the strength Ty had given her through his consoling words.