Rise Up

Talie

The Mirandas were gone and the stress was high at home.  Dad and Carol were super worried about Charlotte.  She was stable, but she'd probably be in the hospital for at least a month.  When Carol was home, she was like a shell of herself.  Most days, she was at the hospital for hours on end.  It was terrible to listen to her crying.

One evening I was trying to do homework and she was bawling. I couldn't take it anymore.  I grabbed my jacket and put on my shoes.  I needed to go for a walk.  On the way out, I texted Allie to see if he was free.  We met down at a coffee shop down the street and he let me vent.

"Our house is like a storm cloud right now," I told him as I fiddled with the top of my cup.  "Carol is so stressed out."

"Sounds tense," he sympathized.  I nodded and went on with complaining about home and school.  He was such a good listener.  After we'd both had a good moan, we started walking towards Hyde Park holding hands.

"Did you have a good visit with the Mirandas?" he asked me.

"Yeah, it was awesome," I smiled.  "I miss them already.  Sebastian's hilarious."

"Do you think you'll go back for uni?"

I shrugged.  "That's still a few years away.  I haven't decided."

We found a park bench in a somewhat secluded area and started making out.  Allie was such a good kisser.  I could kiss him for hours.  Soon, I got a text message from Dad saying it was almost time for dinner.  Allie walked me home.  I dreaded going in the door.

The house was sullen.  Carol mindlessly served the dinner - a casserole with salad - and we mostly ate in silence.  Dad was doing his best, asking us about our days.  After dinner, we were walking on eggshells.  I offered to help with dishes and Carol disappeared to the bedroom.  When she wasn't at the hospital, she tended to sleep.

I joined my dad on the couch after the dishes were done.  "Uhh...Dad?"

"Yeah, sweet pea?"

"How much longer will Charlotte be in the hospital?"

He sighed and scratched at his head.  "Hard to say.  Hopefully no more than a month.  She's still so tiny and weak."

I nodded.  Nobody had even been able to hold her yet, which was really upsetting Carol.  She wanted to hold her baby daughter so badly.  We all had to settle for touching her through the incubator.

"When's Carol gonna get better?"

He gave me a weak smile.  "Probably when Charlotte's home," he said honestly.  "She won't be able to relax until she's okay."

"Everyone's so sad," I said, and he agreed.

"We'll get through hit," he said, ruffling my hair.  "This is just a rough patch."

A couple days later, I heard Dad and Carol arguing.  It was the first time I'd heard them.  Dad was yelling about how she just moped around all the time and he was having to do everything around the house on top of a full time job.  Carol wasn't working right now and all she did was sleep when she was at home.

Alice and I exchanged worried looks as we sat around the living room, reading.  Dad stormed out a few minutes later and said he'd be back later.  He needed to go for a walk.

Carol managed to scrounge together something for dinner.  It was awkward.  Dad still wasn't back, so I felt like it was me against the rest of the family.  Like I represented my dad and why had he upset Carol?  When we were done, Carol told me to do the dishes.  No one offered to help me.