The Kings of National City

The Fill In

"I'm sorry." She spoke as I stared at her. She was wearing a pale yellow crop top shirt and some jean shorts. She looked kind of like a hippie today. Her hair was braided into pigtails.

"It's okay." I smiled looking into her brown eyes. I was still surprised they weren't green like I imagined so many times.

"Can I get past you?" She looked confused about why I wasn't moving out of her way.

"Yeah, sorry." I smiled on the outside but judged myself for not acting normal in front of her. I stepped out of her way and walked over to my usual spot. I sat down and pulled out my phone to scroll. She ordered her usual drink and set up her laptop in her usual spot. Although excited to see her today, I couldn't stop wondering why she was here early. Was it fate that we were here at the same time? She clearly didn't recognize me from the party. I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing though. It put me in the same position I've been in with her for a few months now, strangers. But it also meant she didn't know me as the guy who had to run off to stop their brother from fighting someone and that was good.

"Hey." I looked up and watched the same blonde girl as last time walk right up to her. They started chatting again. I guess it was fair to assume she was early because of her friend. My phone started blasting Softcore by The Neighbourhood. Everyone's attention flicked to me as my shaky hand tried to answer the phone. Both she and her friend were watching me struggle.

"What?" I asked snappy. My hands were sweaty from the anxiety and embarrassment I was feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Where are you?" Chris asked irritated back.

"I needed some air. Went for a walk." I stood up knowing his call meant it was already time for me to go back.

"Nick is awake." I looked at the phone screen to see the time. One hour had passed by. That didn't seem like a long time for surgery. I hope that means everything was fine. I could feel her staring at me as I walked through the door onto the sidewalk.

"I'm on my way." I hung up and looked for the path I needed to take to get back to the hospital. As I walked down the street I couldn't help but feel like I was being watched. I made it back fine. Once inside I asked the front desk assistant for directions to the right room.

"There he is." Chris was energetic and smiley when I walked in. A complete flip from his previous nature towards me over the phone.

"How are you feeling?" I ignored Chris being fake and walked straight to Nick.

"Fine."

"Why didn't you say anything?" I looked at his torso which was wrapped up.

"It wasn't that bad, honestly. I was in the kitchen waiting for Polly and then I just couldn't stand anymore." He looked grey and tired.

"I'm glad you are okay," I whispered getting choked up.

"Elmer said since Nick is out of commission you are to take his spot." Chris was being insensitive to our brother's health.

"Can we not fu -" I started.

"It's okay." Nick grabbed my shoulder to calm me down. He sat up more, wincing the whole time. "Is Elmer mad?" Nick didn't seem to care about his health either.

"No, he isn't mad. Frustrated but not mad. He is glad you are good. He offered for you to be put up at his place so he can watch out for you while you are out."

"I don't -"

"I already told him you wouldn't go for that."

"Thanks." Nick's nurse came into the room very peppy.

"Okay, Nick." She read the chart. "We have great news. The surgery went well. The aorta isn't leaking anywhere so recovery should be as little as six weeks. You will want to avoid strenuous activities and don't exercise too much."

"Don't have to worry about that." Nick shook his head back and forth. Chris chuckled at his humor. The nurse joined in and then I too cracked a smile. Nick was definitely okay.

"That's the humor we like to see." The nurse read some more off of a paper with a smile on her face. "We are keeping you overnight tonight but tomorrow afternoon after some testing you should be good to go. As long as the aorta isn't leaking tomorrow."

"And if it is?" I asked. I felt like Chris didn't care enough to ask.

"We'll go in and repair the leak."

"Then he comes home?" Chris asked.

"This type of injury is a day-by-day healing process. If at any point your sutures leak we will have to go in and repair it. Should that happen you'll have to stay for monitoring and do more imaging to check for possible leaks."

"That makes sense." Nick nodded. He seemed to be processing everything she just said.

"I am going to order your morning tests now and the doctor might stop in to see you in a few hours. For now, let us know if you need anything. This is your call light." She moved a little remote on the bed. "The cafeteria closes at nine tonight." She looked between Chris and I. "Are you guys related?" She asked.

"Yes, we are triplets." She looked at Nick and then at us again.

"I bet your mother had fun with you guys growing up." She signed something in his chart and stuck it on the wall.

"You have no idea." Chris faked a chuckle. I could also tell when he didn't mean something. He didn't have any specific tells but if you knew him well enough you could tell when he wasn't being genuine. Chris' phone started vibrating.

"Give me a minute." He stepped out of the room.

"Chris is under a lot of pressure and stress. Take it easy on him." Nick reasoned for our brother.

"What do I have to do? I can't do another drop. Nick, I can't do this." I felt my fight or flight senses kicking in.

"Sure you can. All you have to do is stand quiet in the background and let everyone else do everything."

"Nick, I'm not you. I can-"

"There won't be any new drops while I'm healing. We just did one so Elmer is going to want to lay low since it went sideways." That made sense. Sometimes I hated that I wasn't more like my brothers especially when it came to this kind of stuff. Chris was the first one to get involved fully. He got Nick on board somehow and then I just went along with the two of them because that's what I do. I always just followed them and then I ended up in these predicaments.

"Okay. I'll do it." I nodded. He took a bullet for me. The least I could do was fill in while he was resting. Although at this very moment, I was wishing I was the one that got shot.