I'm With You

Chapter 18

Miguel pulled up outside of Elm Tree less than fifteen minutes later and he waited for someone to answer the door after he pressed the buzzer, greeting the woman who showed them to the room the previous evening and he let himself up to Eira and Mackenzie's room, relieved that the door was unlocked - most likely from when the paramedics came to check on them both. His eyes widened when he stepped through the door, seeing Eira sound asleep on the door by Mackenzie's bed, her hand under the blanket that was covering Mackenzie's arm and Mackenzie's latest saline bag was starting to run out. "Eira?" Miguel said softly, walking closer to her and he shook her shoulder gently, startling her awake and she quickly sat up when she saw Miguel, leaning her back against the nightstand.

"H-How long have I been asleep?"

"The paramedics came and said that you were sleeping, I didn't think that meant you were on the floor," Miguel said and Eira looked to Mackenzie, slowly letting go of her sister's hand.

"She woke up after you left... scared of being here." Eira breathed and Miguel lifted the blanket up slightly, checking the clamp on Mackenzie's finger that was keeping track of her pulse. He was relieved that it had dropped a lot closer to being in the 'normal' range, but it was still a little higher than what it should be.

"Why scared?" Miguel asked and Eira shook her head.

"W-We stayed in a homeless shelter before, in the beginning... some older guys barged into our room because they didn't have locks. I made Mackenzie hide under the bed where they couldn't reach her and they beat the crap out of me, stole the leftover money we had... we haven't been in one since." Eira said and Miguel's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry." He said softly, but Eira shook her head.

"It's not your fault... being homeless is just... always trying to avoid other homeless people... we do horrific things when we're desperate." Eira said and Miguel helped Eira up from the floor, handing her the paper bag he'd brought with him.

"Eat." He said simply and Eira hesitated, but she walked across the room to sit on the empty bed, pulling out a takeout container but her eyes widened when she opened it and saw a steak and steamed vegetables, a plastic fork in its packaging taped to the side.

"Miguel, this is a lot of money..."

"Your iron levels are dangerously low. You need to have a balanced meal that's rich in iron." Miguel said and Eira sighed, looking to Mackenzie. "I have food for her too, but I want to gradually get her back to eating. You go ahead, Eira, okay? You'll get dangerously sick if you keep skipping meals and your body will be too weak to fight it." Miguel explained to her and Eira hesitated but she used her teeth to open the packaging, taking out the fork and she started to eat the meal Miguel had bought for her. She watched as Miguel ran his fingers through Mackenzie's hair, waking her slowly but she still jumped with shock when she saw Miguel.

"No! Ge-Get away from me!" Mackenzie exclaimed, her voice groggy but obviously scared.

"Mac! Mac, it's Miguel... this is the man that helped us." Eira called from across the room, going to get up to comfort her but Miguel held his hand up, motioning for her to stay where she was and to focus on eating. He turned back to Mackenzie, giving her a soft smile.

"My name is Miguel, and I'm a doctor." He introduced himself and Mackenzie let a few tears fall.

"I'm scared." She admitted something that tore at Eira. She hated that her little sister was scared, that she couldn't do anything to help her anymore because Mackenzie was just too sick.

"I can imagine that you are, but you're going to get better and we'll do all we can to get you comfortable... you wanna try sitting up? I brought you a sandwich." Miguel said and Mackenzie hesitated before nodding her head and Miguel helped her to sit up slowly, using the pillow to give her some extra support as she leaned back against the wall. "How are you feeling?"

"Achy and stiff." Mackenzie tried to explain.

"That's understandable. You were very cold for a long time, it'll take some time before that goes away but I can give you some painkillers if you feel like you need them? You can get some more rest once you've eaten." Miguel said, opening the sandwich packet for her and handing it over, Mackenzie hesitating and she looked over at Eira before she started to eat her own food. It was as if she was checking with her sister if Miguel really was trustworthy.

"Did you have a good day at the hospital?" Eira asked, eating a bite of her steak that had already been cut up for her, something that Miguel had asked for since as they didn't have any takeout plastic knives.

"It was stressful, but it's rare that work isn't stressful... I'm just glad you're both getting some rest. You don't look so pale anymore." Miguel said honestly, sharing a small smile with Eira.

He could see that she was starting to trust him more, it was like he could see her walls slowly starting to come down.

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:)