The Struggle Of Our Lives

Chapter 21: Hospital bills

"My boob feels deflated; like a sad balloon." She commented. I laughed so hard that the water I was trying  to drink came out of my nose. "I bet it does!"

We relaxed on the white bed we were on, asking each other how we slept and making small talk while we waited for Teddy to wake up.

"How do you feel?" I asked her, both concerned and extremely curious. She sighed to herself, thinking over yesterday's events. "I feel fine," she began. "But very sore." I nodded my head thoughtfully, wondering if there was anything I could do to make her less stiff.

"Want an ice pack? Maybe that'd feel good." I suggested, and Lotte accepted my offer. "Want breakfast or some juice while I'm out?" I followed up. "I'm ok, but some OJ would be nice."

I agreed and turned to wake up Theodore, since he wasn't gonna wake up on his own anytime soon. I cooed his name and shook his shoulder lightly to get his attention. I just then noticed that the sleeping beauty in front of me was drooling in his sleep. I giggled at this realization and motioned to Charlotte to take his picture so we could show him later.

She noticed my gesture and giggled as she took a few pictures of Tedd's sleeping frame with my phone. We made fun of him for a while longer before I woke him up. He finally came to and asked what my deal was. I laughed at his sleepy attitude and requested that he helped me get breakfast.

He nodded, and slowly got out of the recliner he was laying in.

"Just gimme a minute to wake up." He said. I agreed and decided to help Char out of bed to use the bathroom. Then I heard crying again.

As soon as I sat Char down on the toilet, I left to go get September. I got to her bassinet and saw the tiniest bundle of happiness imaginable there. She was so beautiful and definitely resembled Charlotte. But there were a few details of her face that didn't look familiar.

Her skin was much paler than Charlotte's, and her eyes had a different shape. They looked more round and doe-like than Lotte's deep almond eyes. I picked her up and rocked her in my arms once again. I walked back into the bathroom as Teddy changed out of his pajamas in the main room. I continued rocking September as I helped Lotte off the toilet and got her to the sink.

She looked like she was still in pain. That made me remember to take Teddy to get ice and some juice. Holding a baby and moving someone simultaneously was pretty difficult, so I handed September to Lotte and leaned over to carry Charlotte bridal style.

That was significantly easier, and I carried her back to her bed. My little sister was only 90-something pounds when she got pregnant, and she didn't gain much during the nine months she carried September.

I sat her back down on her bed and helped her get comfortable. She handed our bundle of joy back to me, and I plopped her down into the tiny bassinet.

I turned to see that Theo was awake and dressed, so we left Lotte and the baby in the room. We walked out into the hallway and shut the door behind us.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"I feel like this is all a dream." He replied.

As we walked down the long and boring hallway, I turned to look at him. "But like, are you okay? Do you need anything?" I persisted. His expression was hard to read, and he let out a sigh. "I'm just glad Lotte is okay."

"I know she is okay, I asked if you were okay." I kept on. I could feel that he was holding something back from me. Yet again, he sighed. "No.. No, I'm not okay." His eyes got dark as he looked at me and shakily replied,

"What do we do about Dennis?"

Dennis? I had reported him for his misconduct with Lotte and possibly other students, and he was fired from his position. Both the superintendent and I reported him to the police, and he was eventually taken into custody after an officer pulled him over for going through a red light and blocking the box, and he was currently awaiting trial in some jailhouse in the next city over.

I had such an indescribable hate towards him that through my blind rage, it had never occurred to me that perhaps Teddy felt the same fury I did. I assumed he had prioritized Charlotte's health over his protectiveness of our sister.

"We don't do anything. We need to wait until the tri-" He had made this small choking noise as I noticed he was crying. I stopped walking and grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him into me. He wrapped his arms around my waist, and sobbed softly into the collar of my shirt. I held him tight and patted his back.

"Everything is going to be okay, I promise."

We stayed like that in the hallway for a while longer, before Theo let go of me and I him. We kept walking to the juice counter down the hallway as Ted wiped his face on his sleeves. After what felt like forever, we got to the juice machine and examined the different flavors.

There was orange juice, grape juice, an ice maker, raspberry tea, and lemonade. My mouth watered at the thought of any of the tasty drinks, and settled on a combination of raspberry tea and lemonade. I grabbed three large cups and filled two with OJ, and the other with my fruity concoction. Teddy handed me the correct size lids for the cups and straws.

After getting the three drinks, I asked Ted to stay put, and I went out to the front desk near the counter and asked for a large ziplock bag. The sweet ladies behind the counter handed me one, and wished me a good visit. I thanked them and walked back to Teddy as he helped me keep the bag open while I pushed the lever for ice and filled the bag.

Time to get all of this back to Lotte.