The Rise and Falls of Melody Wilson

Part 28

 Hospitals really weren't my favorite place to be. I don't think they were anyone's really.

Not only did they just smell funny in general, but their food wasn't very good either.

The next morning I woke up to Mariah telling me she had to go home and a case of extreme hunger. After ditching the tray of food from the hospital cafeteria, I found a snack machine on one of the lower floors and helped myself to a not-so-healthy bag of chips.

Riley was still a no-show. I had spent half the night thinking about him. If anyone despised hospitals more than me, it was Riley. Yet, I secretly hoped he'd show.

I lowered myself onto one of the benches outside the hospital and looked around at the few others that were outside as well. I wasn't the only one who needed a breather from that place.

I had just opened the bag and was about to put a chip in my mouth, when I heard someone call my name.

"Hey. I was just about to go up and look for you." Andrew greeted and came to sit next to me.

"Well, you found me." I said, eying his fresh clothes and face. "Looks you had a good morning."

He laughed and leaned forward to rest his elbows on his knees. "Looks like you didn't."

I shrugged. "Sleeping on a stiff chair isn't exactly comfortable. Neither was sleeping in a wet bathing suit."

"You don't smell too good either." He crinkled his nose.

"Thanks." I responded flatly.

"Just being honest." He replied. "Do you want me to take you home for clothes?"

I shook my head. "No, Mariah is bringing me some."

We fell into a silence and I finally got to put a few chips in my mouth and soothe my rumbling stomach. When I noticed Andrew watching me eat, I offered him some.

"No thanks." He declined. "How are you holding up?"

Again I shrugged and placed a chip in my mouth. "About as good as I can with my mom in the hospital." I said once I'd finished the chip.

Andrew nodded. "What are you doing out here? Aside from eating."

"I just needed some air. Hospitals bring up memories I'm not too fond of."

"Bad memories?" He paused. "Your dad?"

Instantly my throat closed up. Appetite gone. Palms started to sweat. I tried to push the images of him in the hospital out of my head.

I dropped my eyes to the pavement in front of us. "Yes." I didn't know exactly what he knew about my father's illness but I didn't feel like explaining.

"I remember my dad saying something about your father being sick. I just didn't know it was hospital worthy." He breathed out. "I figured something happened, though, that night at your house."

I bit back the tears I felt trying to spill out, and turned my attention to the people walking in and out of the hospital. All with various expressions on their faces. Hospitals seemed to be a place of just that, mixed emotion. For some a hospital held answers to their problems, it was a place of miracles and happiness. While others it was a place of doom, a place where they were faced with their own fear, and and sometimes demise.

Unfortunately I was there to witness the latter.

"Do you want to go back in?" Andrew spoke up.

Slowly I pried my eyes away from the people in front of me and focused on my hands that were closed around the chip bag. "This is my fault." I said.

"What is?"

"My mom."

Andrew shifted with a sigh beside me. "And how is it your fault?"

"Yesterday was the anniversary of my dad's death." I said frankly, a small tremble in my voice.

Normally I was one of those people that kept everything in; never told anyone my problems to anyone, even the person I was really close to. Mariah, my only good friend all these years had only recently obtained knowledge of my family life. Whenever the opportunity came up to tell someone about some family issue, I'd push it aside saying someone out there had to have it worse, so my life wasn't worth complaining about.

But, with Andrew's simple "So what?" prompt, I felt words bubble up over my vocal chords and out my mouth with no hesitation.

Swiftly the story of my dad in the hospital and my mom afterwards tumbled out. I told him of how I acted during the end of my dad's time in the hospital. Always going out somewhere when I should have been with him. How when my dad passed I was out at some party.

I told him of the promise I made with myself to always be there for my family no matter what. I explained how the death of my father took a great toll on my mother. She had never been the same since. Constantly turned to alcohol to drown her sorrows, and on the anniversary it was the worst.

"Normally I stay with her during it, but this time," I took a deep breath and looked at him. "This time I was with you and completely forgot."

"That doesn't make it your fault." Andrew told me. "Yes you should take care of your family, but sometime you can't stop all the bad things from happening. You just have to learn to pick yourself up and keep moving in life."

I looked away, my lip trembling.

"You know, when you're not full of yourself, you actually say some pretty nice things." I muttered, peeking sideways at him. He chuckled and shook his head. He stood slowly.

"Can we go inside now? I'm really starting to miss air conditioning." Andrew held out his hand to help me up. I took hold and was quickly pulled up, the few chips in the bag almost tumbled out.

"Sure, this concrete was hurting my butt anyways." I said as I stood. Andrew laughed and started to walk. With a smile I crumbled my chip bag and trailed inside along side him.