Callie's Sister

Chapter 20

My mother jumped up and rushed over to Callie.

"Okay, that's enough for now," she said. "You've tired her out."

"I've tired her out? From listening?" Cam grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the chair.

"Charlie," Mom called to Dad. "Come here. I need you." We heard my father's chair pushing back from his office desk and he ran into the room. The nurse didn't seem rattled, but the home team sure was freaked. Cam led me out of the room.

We said nothing until we got to Cam's patio.

"She coughed," I said.

"She coughed," he agreed.

"Do you think they're going to freak out every time she coughs?"

"Yes. I do," he said and started laughing. Our eyes met and I started laughing, too. The two of us were hysterical out of control laughing. I fake coughed and we cracked up again.

"What do you think they'll do if she sneezes?" I asked.

"Or farts," he said. I smacked him on the arm.

"Gross!" We were breathing heavy with the laughter.

"Can you fart if you're only eating liquid nutrition?" he asked. "Do you think it still smells?"

"Why don't you do a study?" I asked. "The results could be EXPLOSIVE!" More hysterical laughter.

"Okay, this is not appropriate," I said, trying to get serious.

"I know," he said, looking at me and bursting into laughter again.

In an effort to calm myself down, I walked away from him. My sister was lying in there and we were making fart jokes. That couldn't be right. I paced from Cam's patio to mine and back to his again. Cam was standing next to the door and seemed to have gotten his composure back, too.

"Do you think Sarah will come by?" I asked. Cam's sister hadn't been to see Callie since the accident. All her other friends were at the hospital constantly. Callie's boyfriend Mike came every day until he left for college. But no Sarah.

"She didn't come to the hospital or the rehab place," he said. "I don't know why she'd come now."

"Maybe she doesn't like hospitals," I suggested. "I can't really get judgmental on that one."

"I don't care how much you don't like hospitals. She didn't even visit her once."

"She kind of blew me off this summer," I said. "I'd try to talk to her but she was always really abrupt."

"I have no clue what's up with her," he said. "Mom and I tried to push her to go, but she freaked out on us and we never brought it up again. I guess it's not like Callie knew, anyway."

I nodded. "This has been a long day," I said.

"Yeah, not how I pictured it when I woke up this morning."

"Thanks, Cam," I said and leaned over to give him a kiss on the cheek. I never kiss Cam. Ever. He looked at me startled and we had another awkward, strange moment. I panicked and gave him a punch on the shoulder and dashed back to my house, calling over my shoulder, "I'll see you tomorrow!"

What was going on?