The Sister Between Them

Chapter 30

Rocco and Alyssa were sitting wordlessly on the other side of Gavin's bed as he slowly came too.

"Daddy?" Gavin spoke softly. His eyes were still hazy, and he looked very pale.

"Hey, champ," Rocco took Gavin's hand in his.

"Mommy's here too, Gavi." Alyssa stepped over to the other side.

"Where am I?" Gavin looked confused, and Rocco squeezed his hand tighter.

"You ate some bad candy, and it made you sick," Rocco explained gently. 

"Gavi is sick?" he asked, his little eyebrows all furrowed.

"Yes," Rocco said calmy. "We're at the hospital, but they're going to make you all better."

"Hospital?" Gavin questioned.

"It's where you go when you're sick," Rocco explained. "That was bad candy, Buddy. It wasn't like the stuff Daddy buys sometimes."

"Mommy got sick too?" Gavin turned and looked at Alyssa.

"No, sweetie," Alyssa cooed. "Mommy just is fine."

"But Mommy ate bad candy too."

"She did?" Rocco asked, "You saw her eat the candy?"

"Rocco, honestly, he just woke up, and you're interrogating him." Alyssa snapped, but he could see in her eyes she was alarmed.

"You ate them in front of him?" Rocco asked in a stunned whisper, her eyes filled with guilt and her cheeks flushed.

"I didn't know he was watching. It was a mistake," she confessed. "Rocco, I swear."

He didn't even know where to begin, so he said nothing. Instead, he sighed. Her face was wracked with guilt, but for once, she had no excuses to give him.

"Gavi." Her voice became super sweet and totally fake as she looked down at him. "Mommy is going to the gift shop to get you a new teddy bear, okay? I'll be back soon." She kissed Gavin's cheek and gave Rocco a dark look before standing up.

"I want my Kiki," Gavin said.

"Your what?"

"His Kiki. His new favorite teddy bear. Something anyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention to him would know."

"I okay...I'll just. I'll be back, Gavi." Alyssa looked like she was about to jump out of her skin as she hurried out. She didn't handle emotion well, and Rocco commonly would have felt a tug of empathy for her, but he was beyond that tonight.

"Daddy, I want my Auntie Dani," Gavin said as Alyssa left the room.

**

Alyssa felt her heart clench when she heard Gavin ask for his aunt. He hardly even looked at her. She was so scared tonight when she saw him lying there like that. She was relieved he was okay, but how little he seemed to care for her upset her. 

Everyone looked up at her as she stepped into the waiting area. 

"How is he?" Dante asked.

She felt like she was being judged and scrutinized by every single one of them. This time, she did mess up, though. This was her biggest screw-up, and she wasn't sure she could make it right.

"He needs some doll called Kiki. Can you go get it?" She asked Dante. She could at least make sure he got his toy. It didn't make what happened right or take her guilty feeling away, but it was something.

"It's a koala bear." Lexi corrected her, and it took every ounce of control not to rip her stupid blonde hair out. Why was she even here?

"He's asking for Kiki?" Dani asked in a timid voice. Her eyes were all teary and puffy.