Actions Speak Louder Than Fortune Cookies

59 - Alone

Rylee walked outside to where she had sat the day before, along the low brick wall. The first thing she did when she got outside was call Alexa. She hadn't really gotten to speak to her since Sebastian was admitted to the hospital.

She answered on the second ring.

"Hey Ry, how's it going?"

Rylee hesitated over the line. She absolutely didn't want to cry. But she could feel the tears trying to pool.

"Ryles? Hey, where are you?"

"The hospital still."

"Did something happen? Is Sebastian okay?"

"N-no. He's okay..."

"What's going on hun?"

Rylee still stayed silent. She wasn't sure how to put anything into words.

"How about, when Chris gets back in like...five minutes, we come down and see you two."

Rylee nodded but then realized Alexa couldn't see her, "yeah...Sounds good."

"Alright, we'll see you soon, okay? Love you."

"Okay, love you too."

And with that, Rylee hung up. She shoved her phone and both her hands into her hoodie pockets to fend off the slight November chill.

She then thought about Lindsay. She didn't know her well at all, but she had been so kind. Maybe...

She took out her phone again, went into her messages, and started a text to Lindsay. She wasn't sure what to say, but she at least tried to manage to break the ice.

Rylee
Hi Lindsay, this is Rylee. We met at the hospital a few days ago. Just wanted to say thank you for the flowers. They were very thoughtful.

There was barely a pause between Rylee hitting send and Lindsay responding.

Lindsay
Hey there 😊 you're absolutely welcome! How is your boyfriend doing? How about you?

The two questions that led Rylee to reach out in the first place...

Rylee
He's doing okay. He's been awake a handful of times. But...he's..um. Idk.

Lindsay
What do you mean exactly?

Rylee
He just got a bunch of blood work and tests done but when we got back from them he said he wanted to be left alone.

Lindsay
Ah. I get it. I mean it can be stressful. Kaitlin felt that way a lot, especially halfway through her treatments. She was tired of never having a moment for herself. It can be overwhelming.

Rylee
I dunno. He just seemed overall upset, and like it was directed at me.

Lindsay
It honestly probably wasn't. I obviously don't know your boyfriend but most of the time things like that are said out of frustration and they don't literally mean what they're saying.

Lindsay
I bet it's all just a miscommunication. Maybe just give him a few minutes. But you didn't answer my second question. How are you?

Rylee pondered for a moment. She had barely thought of herself this whole time. She'd been so solely focused on Sebastian's wellbeing that she hadn't really reflected on hers.

Rylee
Okay.

Lindsay
Rylee..

Rylee
I'm honestly good...now that I know that Seb's going to be okay, I've been relieved more than anything.