Sister Mother

Chapter 15

Addie

The wheelchair was so big I had trouble driving. I didn't just feel uncomfortable and clumsy, my arm and back muscles strained as I reached the wheels.

Beatrice's eyebrows raised when she saw me.

"Looks like we're both broken," I said with a fake smile. "I couldn't have you take my spotlight. Did someone come by with the billing number?"

Mags nodded and handed me a business card. "The nurse is also bringing some pain medication. Are you—"

"Gabe is on his way. He's calling Kevin and uncle Jason. How's your pain, Bea? Still a seven?"

"Eight, maybe a nine," Beatrice said weakly. She clutched her cast. "How's yours?"

Eleven. Maybe twelve. Twenty if I'm being honest. "Only a four. Did Dr. Pemberton say the medicine is over the counter or under?"

"Over," Beatrice answered.

"Children's or adults?"

"Children's."

Thank God, that means we can share. "Awesome." I parked the elephant sized wheelchair near Beatrice's bedside. I put my hand over her good hand. "Can we talk about what happened at school?"

Beatrice was silent for a moment. She looked up slowly at Mags.

"I'm going to find a restroom." Mags walked out behind the curtain and gave Beatrice and I some privacy.

"Your bra didn't fit right," Beatrice said quietly. "The straps kept falling down. I kept trying to fix it and people kept laughing behind my back. After Spanish, Kelly asked me why my mom didn't buy a better bra."

"Does she know—"

"Everyone knows. I'm the girl with no parents. Everyone heard about Mom and Dad's accident on the news. People won't shut up about it. They treat me differently. No one knows what to say and my friends don't even hang out with me anymore."

"They don't?"

Beatrice shook her head.

"What about Avery? You've been best friends since the third grade. She's still nice to you, right?"

"Avery moved to Minnesota," Beatrice said quietly. She pulled her hand out of mine and wiped her face. "Her dad got transferred. I haven't seen her since October."

October? It's March! "Why didn't you tell me?"

Beatrice shrugged and laid down on the bed. "You've been busy worrying about other things. Me being alone didn't seem like that much of a problem compared to everything else."

I grabbed Beatrice's good hand. My hip was still burning with pain, but I ignored it as best as I could. "Don't compare problems. We've got a lot more to deal with now than a year ago, but that doesn't mean the small things hurt less. You're still talking to Avery, right?"

"We text sometimes."

"Probably more than sometimes. You're on your phone constantly."

Beatrice smiled, avoiding eye contact with me. "Lots of people at school say stuff. It's not just about the bra, Mom and Dad. They've seen you pick me up from school and they—" she shrugged. "They think you can't take care of me because of your height and chair. Everyone keeps butting in and sharing their stupid opinions and I'm just sick of it. The bra thing was just the final straw."

My eyes widened. Beatrice stared at the ceiling. I'm sick of it too. Between Uncle Jason and the nosy neighbors and the worst critic of all, myself, I received daily comments about my mistakes. Many of those were due to things that I couldn't control.