Moving On

Nineteen

19 - Sandra

The drive from the university to the hospital was just under an hour, so it wasn't really much trouble for Austin. I let him drive my car, because a.) I'm too lazy to drive myself, and b.) He insisted.

So here we are, entering the hospital, Dev's little hand in mine, Austin walking beside me, and my heart pumping so hard against my chest that I could almost feel it in my throat. I'm not sure why I'm always intimidated in seeing Carly in person. Sure, we might have softened up for each other a bit, but it feels as if we're still the worst of enemies, which we aren't anymore, and if it were true, I wouldn't be holding Dev right now.

"I'm excited to meet this Carly chick," Austin smirked.

I scoffed. "I wasn't that excited when I first met her," I said as I shook my head, grimacing at that awful memory in Hawaii. "But a lot of things have changed," I added.

"You know, you haven't told me yet how you've met this chick," he says suspiciously. Ah, typical Austin: always wants to know everything even though it doesn't greatly involve him.

"Well, I'm sorry Mr. Nosey Ass, I didn't know I was obliged to tell you everything," I sneered.

"You're going it again. This is bad," he says. Now what's he talking about this time?

"What?" I replied, making the annoyance in my tone evident.

"You're shutting me out again." He narrows his eyes at me. "Stop it," he orders as he grazes the tip of my nose with the tip of his index finger.

I swap his hand off my face. "Whatever. Let's just go. Carly's waiting."

I order Austin and Dev to sit and wait for a second while I inquire to the nurses' station about Carly. And I haven't figured it out yet who's paying for Carly's treatment. I mean, she hasn't told me about her work, and I'm pretty sure she's just around my age-maybe even younger-and it's not easy to find a stable source of income, even if it's just a small amount, when you're still in college. I was lucky that Jess had an opening down at the café.

Oh, that gives me an idea. Maybe I could ask Jess again if she needs more help at the shop, and if there is an opening, maybe I could squeeze Carly right into the picture. In that way she can have money of her own to spend on Dev and she won't have to ask Luke for so much, although I'm pretty sure that Luke has more than enough for his son. But it's still nice to have something to do besides watching a toddler night in and night out.

But that reminds me that if Carly gets a job, no one will be able to look after Dev because we're all so busy now. Well, there's Austin but this babysitting gig isn't going to run forever, and Austin will get tired soon.

I sigh inwardly. I'm overthinking the situation right now. I don't even know yet if Carly can go back just yet. Last time I saw her she was pretty sick to me, although she sounded well when she called the other day. And not being negative or anything, but I don't want to get my hopes up.

I ask the nurse on duty at the station where's Patient Carly Nichols admitted and she told me that her room's on the 12th floor. She sent another nurse to assists us and they told us that Carly was expecting us.

After a few minutes of walking and then the elevator ride, we finally arrive on the floor Carly's apparently admitted at. A few more steps leads to the room where she's in.

"She's in Room B-324. First door on the right," the nurse lady told us.

We thanked her and stepped out on the elevator.

Austin's now carrying Dev, and he's talking to him. He looks actually kind of cute with Dev and I wonder if he wants to have kids of his own in the near future. I suddenly cringe at the thought because it's kind of weird to see little Austins who are equally annoying as their dad. I shake my head.

"You ready to see your mom after a month, kid?" Austin tells Dev as he does this weird fart sound with his mouth against Dev's little tummy.

Dev giggles uncontrollably.

Austin looks at me and says, "I'll take that as a yes." I give him a nod.

As we enter the room, there's an eerie atmosphere. I'm suddenly freaking out because the whole room's surrounded with beeping machines and all those stuff that were present when I woke up that day after the accident...

Sandra, stop it! I order myself. It's been a year and a half and I really need to get it behind me. If I don't succeed, all the things I've done to love my life again will be in vain and I will end up unhappy once again.

"What took you guys so long?" Carly's voice cuts through the air like a knife.

Everyone was so startled because we expected her to be on her bed. Instead, she's seated at a love seat, having coffee.

Dev was just thrashing around Austin's arms, maybe because he's excited to see his mom again after so long, so Austin set him down and let him run straight to Carly's arms.

"Thank you for doing this, Sandra," Carly smiled warmly at me. I return the favour. "So," she began, carrying Dev to sit on her lap. "Is this him?" She pointed her teaspoon to Austin.

"What do you mean by 'him'?" I chuckled.

"Is he your boyfriend?" Carly asks nosily as she takes a sip of her coffee. Even Dev laughs. God, this kid might have inherited some annoyingness from Austin from spending time together.

"Yeah, no," Austin said, chuckling himself. "I'm Austin Miller, her dorm roommate."

"Wait a minute!" Carly exclaimed. "I think I've seen you from somewhere..."

Uh-oh, I thought. Here we go again.

"He looks like Justin," I butt in just to get it over with.

"And who's that?" Carly asks.

"He's the guy I was with when we first met," I explained. "In Hawaii?"

"Oh, yes. Yes, Justin," Carly exclaimed once more. "How is he, by the way? If I remember correctly, you introduced him to me and Luke as your boyfriend?"

And her remark earned me a dagger look from Austin. Damn, this guy does want to know everything! Talk about weirdo.

"He's dead," I keep my answer brief.

"Oh," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I reply. "We'll leave you two alone for a moment. You know, so you can catch up. We'll catch up ourselves later when Dev gets tired."

"How're you so sure he gets tired?" Carly questioned.

"He's always like that. Hyper one moment, asleep the next." I don't wait for Carly to conjure a reply and leave the room with Austin immediately. Her remark about Justin doesn't sit well with me.

Austin and I sit at the couches outside the room and wait. I'm so unnerved by the way Carly looked. When I met her at Applebee's a month ago, she was already so thin and now, as she was seated on that love seat, it seemed as if though she lost even more weight than before.

She even looked really pained when she carried Dev onto her lap. What is her sickness?

"You didn't tell me Justin was your boyfriend," Austin hissed beside me.

I sigh. "That's because he wasn't," I rolled my eyes at him. "I just said that for retaliation for her and Luke."

"Oh," he ponders.

I'm pretty sure he said some other stuff after that, but I didn't hear it nor understand it because my eyes caught something familiar. She was a doctor. I mean, it looked like a doctor with the lab coat and all.

I followed her until she stopped and the nearest nurses' station.

"When's my next appointment, Tess?" She asks the nurse on duty.

That voice... I'm a hundred percent sure I've heard it before.

"Your next appointment's in fifteen, Dr. Queenly," the nurse replied.

Queenly? The lady doctor turned around and I could finally see her face perfectly. I knew it! I knew she looked familiar. Our eyes met.

"Aunt Joslin?"