A North Carolina Autumn

Chapter 5

3.16.22- This chapter is kinda slow, sorry! I'll post another one today once I finish typing it up in a bit!

Spencer calls me a few minutes after Austin and I finally sit down in the waiting room. This room is bigger, with more chairs and even a few couches. The doctors were running some more tests on Rylie before settling her into the new room, so we hadn't been able to see her yet.

"Hey, Spencer."

"Hey, Aspen. Are you in the waiting room on the 5th floor?"

"Yeah, we just sat down."

"Great, I'll see you in a sec." Spencer hangs up, and I let Austin know that he's on his way up.

"Has he been better lately?" Austin asks.

"Yeah, in a way. It's just all of his frustration with his mom. I don't know how to help, and it's really put a strain on Rylie, too."

"Does he know that their mom is going to be here?"

"He has to... but I didn't specifically tell him, no." I say with a small, nervous smile.

"That's probably a good thing." Austin laughs.

"What's a good thing?" I turn my head to find Spencer walking up with his hands in his pockets, and a tired look on his face. He's wearing a nice button up shirt and jeans, and his hair is tousled like he'd been running his fingers through it, which wouldn't surprise me. That seemed to be a normal habit of his.

I stand to greet him, and he pulls me into a hug. "Hey, Aspen. I'm really glad to see you."

"I'm glad you're here, Spencer." I reply, hugging him back just as tightly.

"Are you doing okay?" He asks the question everyone had been asking, but I can hear the sincerity in his voice.

"No. But I don't think any of us are. How about you?"

"Yeah, I'm the same. I just don't understand what happened. Or why it happened." He blows out a breath.

"That makes two of us." I move to sit back down beside Austin, and Spencer takes the other chair next to me.

"Have you been able to see her?"

"Yeah, this morning before they moved her. They said we can see her again once they finish the tests and get everything settled." I explain.

"Oh. That's good..." I can hear the hesitant tone in his voice, and I see it in his blue eyes when they lock on mine. "Is it bad that I'm kind of scared?"

"No. I was, too. But it's not as bad as I expected. It almost looks like she's just asleep. With an oxygen mask. And a bandage wrapped around her head." I joke.

"Did they... did they have to shave her head?"

"No. I was relieved." I confess with a laugh.

"She will be, too. You know she loves her hair."

"She really does. I do too." I laugh.

It's good to talk to Spencer, although I'm a little bit surprised that he's not as emotional as I expected. But when I look at his red eyes and messy hair, I figure he already had his breakdown.

"How is my dad handling it? He didn't say much over the phone." Spencer asks after a moment.

"Pretty good, I think. He's obviously hurting too, but he's been hiding it well."

"Yeah, he does that." Spencer smiles.

At that moment, the elevator dings, and Kristen and Dillon walk out with Harper in the car seat on Dillon's arm.