"Ivy!"
I look up to see Elliott running towards me. He's entirely soaked, droplets falling down his cheeks. His hair is a wet mop, his clothes stuck to his skin. The dark clothing he wears contrasts with the white walls of the hospital, making it hard not to focus on him.
He finally reaches me, his hands gently touching my arms. "Are you okay?" He brings his hands to cup the sides of my face briefly while his eyes stare deeply into mine, searching for the answer.
I find it difficult to speak in this moment, only able to nod my head as an answer. As soon as he gets the confirmation, he removes his hands and looks around the hospital in a panic.
"Where's Addison? Crystal? Rosie? Ethan? Was Bethany in the car too? Jonas?" he asks frantically.
"Jonas and Beth are at home and Nora is picking them up now. Crystal and Ethan are getting changed into dry clothes from the hospital. They're fine."
He nods, his jaw clenched tightly. "What about Addison and Rosie?"
"They were on the side where the car hit the tree," I explain, my stomach hurting. "Addison is getting stitches on her forehead and-and the doctor said she'll be fine. I think she has a broken leg."
"And Rosie?"
I shut my eyes briefly. "The doctor said because of her size and where she was sitting the impact was a lot more serious. She-she's in surgery right now. They haven't told me anything else."
"Shit," he curses, placing his back on the wall and tilting his head back.
"I'm so sorry," I say quietly. "They'll be fine. The doctor said."
"What if they're not fine?" he asks angrily. "This is all your fault! Why would you let Addison drive in this weather?"
"She wanted to," I mumble, feeling more guilty than I already did. "It-it was fine until her boyfriend called and she got distracted and took her hands off the wheel and I panicked and grabbed the wheel but-"
"Boyfriend?"
I sigh and hold my arms to keep from being cold in these camp clothes, "she's been seeing this boy Mike for a couple weeks."
"Shit, shit, shit," he mutters and starts pacing. "Why didn't you tell me? Addison can't have a boyfriend!"
I furrow my eyebrows together. "She's fourteen and-"
"Addison is bipolar, Ivy!" he yells. "A boyfriend is an emotional roller coaster!" He punches the wall behind me. "Dammit!"
I open my mouth, but no words come out. Addison is bipolar. Why didn't Mrs. Kennedy tell me? I have no idea whether she has been taking medication. That would explain her extreme feelings of obsessiveness with Mikey to her reaction to finding out that I was his babysitter. I just can't believe no one told me.
"Fuck," he whispers to himself, plopping down into one of the waiting room chairs and holding his head in his hands.
I close my eyes tightly, too overwhelmed in the moment to think clearly. My eyes start to well with tears as I live in this nightmare. I was supposed to keep the kids safe and I put their lives in danger today. It was my idea to have Addison drive and I was the one who drove the car into a tree. Elliott was right. This is all my fault.
In fresh clothes from the hospital, Crystal comes walking into the waiting room. Elliott rushes to lift her into his arms, holding her tightly against himself.
"Oh, thank God," he whispers and kisses the top of her head. "I love you." He sees Ethan next and picks him up in his arms as well. "How are you feeling? Are you hungry? I have some money if you want something from the vending machine."
"We're okay," Crystal says, kissing her older brother's cheek.
Knowing that the kids are safe with Elliott, I go to the front desk to see if they have any clothes for me to borrow. The receptionist looks through the lost and found before handing me an oversized t-shirt and some basketball shorts. I would've worn a clown suit if it meant taking off these damp clothes.
I change in the bathroom, feeling relieved in the new clothes. I look in the mirror, horrified at my reflection. My face looks like something out of a horror movie, mascara smeared on my cheeks and a nasty gash covered by a bandaid on my forehead. I splash my face with water to get the makeup off, wincing when rubbing my finger over the cut. The paramedic said I didn't need stitches, but I had lost a lot of blood from the cut. With an overwhelming feeling of nausea, I throw up in the toilet.
"Are you alright, sweetie?" a woman in the bathroom asks when she sees me at the toilet.
I stand up with shaky hands and nod. "I'm fine. Thank you."
She offers me a pity-filled smile before going into one of the stalls. I sigh and head out of the bathroom, stopping at the front desk to grab a mint.
In the waiting room, Nora and Jonas are sitting by the others. Bethany is in a carrier on the floor near Elliott's feet. He rocks her back-and-forth with the touch of his foot.
Nora jumps up to give me a hug. "Thank goodness you're okay, Ivy. You feeling alright?"
I nod and take a seat next to Ethan. I look to Jonas, who is evidently distressed. His eyes are puffy and red, as if he has been crying for a long time. He stares at the floor, not daring to look up at anyone.
No one feels like talking. The waiting room is near silent, aside from the action of people getting rushed into the emergency room. An hour passes before the doctor comes out to talk to us.
"Addison is sleeping right now, but we will allow family members only to visit her," he says.
Elliott stands up, taking Crystal and Ethan's hands in his own. Jonas follows closely behind with Bethany in his arms. Legally, I am the guardian of Addison, but I knew I couldn't go with. I'm not family.
Nora moves to sit next to me. She touches my arm, not saying anything to let me know she's here.
"Ivy," a voice calls out. I turn to see Mike walking into the emergency room. "Why didn't you answer my calls? I've been worried sick! I called fifteen different hospitals before I found you!"
I stand up, pulling him into a hug. I need this. He hugs me tightly, as if he'll never let go. I pull back and wipe under my eyes to hide the fact I've been crying.
"What happened?"
"We crashed," I say simply. "I turned the wheel to avoid hitting something in the middle of the road and we hit a tree."
He shakes his head. "It's all my fault, isn't it? It happened right after I called Addison. She was driving and I distracted her, right?"
"It's not your fault," I assure.
"Is she okay?" he asks next.
I nod. "She's fine. It's Rose who hasn't gotten out of surgery yet."
He shuts his eyes tightly before reopening them. "She'll be okay, right? I-I won't be able to live with myself if she's not okay."
"It's not your fault," I repeat.
He sighs before pulling me into another hug. I can tell he needs it just as much as I do. It isn't his fault. It isn't Addison's fault either. It's my fault. I was in charge. I let Addison drive. I turned the wheel. It's my fault. With a heavy heart, I cry into Mikey's shoulder. He doesn't seem to mind, holding me closer to him as I do so.
Eventually, I'm able to stop crying and pull myself together. Mikey and I go to sit by Nora and wait for the others to come back out. About half an hour passes before they do.
"She's awake if you want to see her," Elliott says to me, glancing at Mikey suspiciously.
Mikey stands up and sticks his hand out to introduce himself to Elliott. "I'm Mike."
Elliott quirks an eyebrow, looking him up-and-down before turning back to me. "The doctor said Rosie's out of surgery. She's not awake yet and he won't let us see her."
I nod and stand up from the chair to follow him back to Addison's room. Her leg is propped up, a purple cast covering it. She has cuts and bruises all over her body, bandaids to hide the gruesome injuries. Elliott doesn't stay.
"Addison," I whisper and reach out to touch her hand.
She smiles ever-so faintly. "Hi."
"I'm sorry."
"Funny. I was about to say the same thing," she says, her voice quiet and weak. Her eyes lock on something behind me, her smile falling.
I turn to see Mikey standing at the doorway. He takes in the sight of Addison in the hospital bed before sighing and standing close to the bed.
"Hi," he says.
I move to give them some space, standing near the corner of the room by Crystal, Ethan, Jonas, and Bethany.
"Hi," she says back, a tentative look on her face.
"Can I sign your cast?" Mike asks.
Addison smiles softly. "Sure."
"I-I'm going to go find a marker," he says nervously and heads to the door, bumping into a side table on his way out.
"Why is he here?" Addison asks once he's out of earshot. "It doesn't make sense."
"Why doesn't it make sense?"
"I've been ignoring him for like three days. That's why I wanted to answer his call so badly while driving." She shakes her head. "I'm so stupid. I just wanted to apologize to him and let him know I made a mistake. I've just been acting crazy recently."
"You're not stupid. I mean, yes, it was stupid to grab your phone while driving, but I shouldn't have let you drive in that weather. I'm the stupid one." I sigh. "And clearly Mikey cares about you. He called fifteen different hospitals to get to you!"
She smiles briefly. "He's a really great guy, isn't he? God, he probably thinks I'm a nut-case!"
"Keep this on the down-low, but I think there's a good chance he can look over the whole nut-case thing," I whisper and give her a quick wink. "Let's just hope Elliott doesn't kill him before he comes back with a marker."
Addison's eyes widen in horror. "You told him?"
I open my mouth, completely forgetting that Addison didn't want Elliott to find out. "Uh, it slipped. I'm sorry. He was yelling at me and I defended myself by saying your boyfriend called and-and I'm dumb and I'll be your slave for like the rest of the time I'm working for your family and I can-"
"Ivy, stop. It's okay," she sighs. "Was he mad?"
"He punched a wall."
She nods, chewing her bottom lip. "He's just being too protective. I can handle a boyfriend."
"I don't know, Addison," I admit with a shrug. "Look at what happened today."
I shouldn't have said that. Addison's face fell, her eyes saddened and her mouth in a frown. It just sort of fell out of my mouth before I could stop it. I know I shouldn't blame Addison for what happened today; it was my fault. I just worry and I can see where Elliott's coming from. A boyfriend is a roller coaster of emotions, one I'm not sure Addison can handle.
Stumbling back in, Mikey holds up a permanent marker. "I found one at the front desk! At first, the lady wouldn't let me take it. I told her that if she didn't let me have the marker then my girlfriend would die of heartbreak. She gave it to me."
"Can I sign it after you?" Crystal asks Mikey, tugging on his shirt sleeve.
"Sure," he says and starts writing a message on Addison's cast. "You know, guys, I'm feeling a little guilty for this broken leg."
"Why?" Ethan asks.
"Well, if you recall, the night we were watching High School Musical, I straight up told Addison, 'break a leg!' before her performance of Gotta Go My Own Way. I didn't mean it literally, Ad!"
The kids start cracking up, Addison with a small grin on her face. Even Jonas lets out a small laugh. I'm glad to hear their laughter, cute and light-hearted. As Mike goes on to share another story for Crystal, Ethan, and Addison, I go back out to the waiting room.
Elliott is slumped in one of the chairs, his head resting on his hand. Nora is on her phone, across from Elliott. I take a seat next to Elliott, a daring and possibly stupid decision.
"Why aren't you with Addison?"
He lifts his head to look at me. "I don't really like seeing my younger sister in a hospital bed with stitches and a broken leg."
I nod, noting the harsh tone of his voice. He must still be blaming me as much as I blame myself. "Have you called your mom?"
"Yeah," he answers. "She started freaking out when I told her about the crash, but I lied and said we were all fine. She said she'll call the house tonight. If I had told her the truth, she'd be on a plane home right now. The starving orphans need her more."
"I'm so going to get fired," I mumble.
Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Elliott smile. I'm not quite sure because before I can get a look the doctor approaches the two of us.
"Rose is out of surgery," he says, a clipboard in hand. "She's in a coma, which is normal when a child her size suffers a head trauma as such. I can allow you to see her and wait in the room with her."
"Is she going to be okay?" Elliott asks urgently.
The doctor sighs and places a supportive hand on Elliott's shoulder. "I can't make any promises just yet. She'll need your support."
"I'll go tell the others," I say and stand up to go to Addison's room while Elliott follows the doctor.
In Addison's room, the kids are decorating her cast. Mikey has Bethany in his hands, a worried look on his face anytime she moves.
"Hey," I say and lean against the door frame. "The doctor said we can go see Rose. She's sleeping though."
Crystal sprints away from Addison's bed, desperate to see her twin. Ethan and Jonas stand up from the floor to join her. I take Bethany away from Mike and leave with the others to Rose's room.
Elliott pulled a chair up next to Rose's bed, his hand holding her small one. She is hooked up with tubes and wires all around. Her skin is pale, much paler than usual, almost blending into the white walls of the hospital. She has cuts all over her face, bandaged or stitched. There's a pang in my chest as I look at the sleeping beauty.
After half an hour or so, Addison crutches into the room. "Hey, the nurse just checked me out of the hospital. How is Rosie?"
"Still asleep," I sigh, rocking Bethany back-and-forth to keep her calm. A crying baby is the last thing we need right now.
She nods and goes to stand near Elliott. With one hand on his shoulder, Addison holds Rose's arm with her other. Elliott hasn't moved from the position for all the time we've been in this room.
Everyone, including Mike and Nora, waits in Rose's room. We sit on the floor, or the extra chairs scattered in the small room. No one says much, but there is nothing to say. We all just want Rose to wake up and be okay.
Near midnight, Nora offers to drive us all back home. The kids are tired from the long day, and I think it's best they sleep in their beds. All but Elliott takes the offer. He says he wants to be there if she wakes up, or if anything were to happen to her.
"When she wakes up," I say before picking up Bethany and leaving the room.
The next morning, we all wake up early to go to the hospital. The wrecked car is still in the shop, so I called Flynn come to pick us up. I didn't want to wake up Nora, seeing she stayed out nearly all night for us yesterday. Flynn went ballistic when he heard what happened, completely furious no one told him. I defended the fact we were all out of our minds, no one thinking straight.
"How you holding up, Ivy?" Flynn asks as we stand by the front door waiting for the kids to get dressed.
"Me? Oh, I'm fine," I lie.
He nods, eyeing me suspiciously. "Okay. I don't believe you, but okay."
"I'm just a little shaken up, I guess," I sigh. "I'll be able to breathe normally again once Rose is okay."
"Yeah," he agrees, offering me a kind smile. "Hey, Jonas, I heard you're grounded!"
Jonas walks downstairs in a t-shirt and shorts, a frown on his face. "It's really fun. I'd recommend it to anyone."
"Sarcastic Sammy!" Flynn laughs and ruffles Jonas' hair.
Jonas mumbles something under his breath before flopping on to the back of the couch and jumping over. Crystal is next to come downstairs, her hair in a bun.
"Hey, Addison, do you need help coming down?" I yell upstairs, nearly forgetting she was on crutches.
"No!" she screams back.
"Okay, well, I'm sending Flynn up right now to carry you down!" I joke.
I hear a scream, followed by a loud thud. "Ivy! I'm not dressed yet!" In a few minutes, she is ready and hopping down the steps carefully. I knew my tactic of fear would work on her.
"Where's Ethan?" I ask, looking around and realizing he is nowhere to be seen. "Is he seriously hiding right now? Ethan, we have to go! Flynn has been waiting too long already!"
"Hey, calm down," Flynn laughs. "Ethan, where are you, buddy?"
"I've been right here the whole time," the little boy giggles, moving out from one of the couch cushions.
I roll my eyes and pick him up in my arms. "You know I hate it when you play unwanted hide-and-go-seek."
"Sorry," he says with a pouted lip, looking to cute to be mad at.
I sigh, "let's just go. Jonas, grab Bethany and put her in her carrier."
"Yes, master."
The drive to the hospital is short, Flynn keeping the conversation light and easy. The kids all really like him. Like I had said when they were with Mikey, it's important for them to laugh in a situation like this. Obviously they're worried about Rose, but if that takes up too much of their mind, they could end up depressed.
When we walk into the hospital room, Elliott is sleeping on the chair. He jerks up when he hears us their, his cheeks tinted pink in embarrassment for falling asleep.
"Hey, Liott," Addison says and kisses her brother's cheek. "Has she woken up?"
"Not yet," he answers, rubbing under his dark eyes. His eyebrows raise when he sees Flynn. "Hey."
"Hey."
"Flynn drove us!" Ethan chirps. "He has an air freshener!"
"It's apple scented!" Crystal adds.
"That's cool," Elliott says and lifts Ethan on to his lap. "Thanks, Flynn."
Flynn nods. "Yep."
We spend hours in the room. This time, there's more talking. We play games and laugh and smile. Last night was really hard, so I think today everyone came a lot more hopeful.
Crystal says her twin senses are tingling, which is always a good thing.
Flynn and Elliott act as if they haven't been in a huge fight for a week. I think they both knew that it was best for the younger ones. Ethan and Crystal barely understand what is happening right now, and there's no way to properly inform them without worrying them any more than they already are.
Just before dinner time, there's a small sound from Rose's bed. Her eyes flutter open before shutting again. Elliott nearly leaps to his chair at her bedside, while the rest of us crowd around her bed. She is coming in-and-out, a gasp emits from her mouth.
"Rosie," Elliott whispers, holding her hand tightly, "can you hear me? Are you okay, sweetie?"
Her eyes stay open this time and she looks around the room. Staring at Elliott, she lifts her frail hand and touches his forehead to smooth out his wrinkles. "Don't worry, Liott. I'm okay."
My heart tightens when Elliott begins to cry tears of happiness. The purity of the moment is almost too much for me, and I begin to tear up as well. Everyone feels a weight off their shoulders while we watch Rose smile the smallest of smiles, too weak for anything else.
"Don't cry," she says again, her voice almost too quiet for any of us to hear. "We're not leaving you."
~~
AN:
ouch???
I sort of got stuck writing the second half of this chapter, but I knew how I wanted it to be. It was more serious than any of the other chapters, so I hope you guys felt the emotions & were able to connect in some type of way.
remember to keep leaving me song suggestions! I love listening to the music you've suggested for me!
thank you all for the support it means a lot much love â¤ï¸
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