Call Me Six

11: 'Mr. Eaton' -Tobias

TOBIAS-

"Mr. Eaton?" The doctor calls and I reluctantly withdraw myself from Sophie's side.

"Yes? What happened?" I ask but they continue to stare down at the clipboard. "Hello?" Nothing. "Will you please tell me why my baby sister is back in that goddamned bed?!"

She looks up at me through the thin wire glasses with an irritated glare.

"Sorry," I mutter and stare down at my shoes.

"Mr. Eaton, Sophie's heart stopped beating momentarily. She took a tumble down the stairs and pressed the panic button she was issued last time and was rushed here in the ambulance shortly after. Dr. Mulligan ran some tests and eleven it to be a freak accident."

"Sophie could have died and you only decided to tell me this now?"

"We're incredibly short staffed, Mr. Eaton," she says in the same dry tone before walking over to check Sophie's charts. "You can take her home once she wakes up. Dr. Mulligan wants her to come for a checkup though next Tuesday."

"Okay, thank you."

~

She fell asleep during the drive back.

It was ten-past-eight in the morning when we got home.

The pale cream blanket with little butterflies was her source of warmth.

As I pulled into the driveway I noticed that his car was there. His car was never there - not anymore at least.

I scoop her small body up from the back seat and carry her into the house, being careful not to wake her.

The smell of alcohol and cigarettes hits me instantly. Yep, he's home, alright. Without looking back I head straight up to the sparkle infested room of hers and lay her gently down on the bed before retreating back down the stairs.

"Son!" His drunken ass beams at me with open arms.

"Marcus," I reply with a simple nod of the head.

"Don't be silly, boy. I'm your father! Now address me like it."

"Father," I say and continue through to the kitchen to retrieve some painkillers for Sophie that she's bound to need once she wakes up.

"So," he slurs and plops down on one of the barstools. "How's life?"

"Pretty crappy, thanks for asking."

"I'm divorcing your mother," he announces.

"Again?" He's been divorcing our mother since I was eight - it never happens. And then when I was eleven they had Sophie so the divorce got postponed once more. It doesn't really change anything though because our mother's been in prison since Sophie was two months old.

"Don't you take that tone with me, young boy," he warns, slamming his hand against the counter.

"Why? Because you're such an amazing father?"

"I've paid for all this shit; Sophie's medical bills."

I lose it.

"Because that makes all the difference!

"Did you even have a fucking clue where she was all day, father? She was at the hospital getting surgery! That six-year-old girl had another heart attack and you got drunk and decided to show up here. For once!

"She's six, Marcus. You're supposed to be the one that could drop dead at any moment, not her."

He just glares at me. Not speaking a single word.

"Take off your shirt, Tobias."