Don't Worry About Me

Chapter 21

"Daddy? Do you think Mer will have a good day today? I don't want her to hurt any at school." Amelia frowned.

"I hope so! She's having a good morning so far sweetie. Don't worry too much, she will be just fine. Finish eating your cereal sweetie. We need to leave for school soon." Christopher says to his daughter.

"But I just want her to be okay and not hurt. I'm going to go check on her!" Amelia pushes her cereal aside and stands up.

"Amy, you need to finish your breakfast. You can go see her when you're done. She'll probably be down soon anyways. Your mom is helping her get ready."

"But-"

"No buts Amy. Finish eating."

Amelia frowns and continues eating her breakfast. She frequently looks towards the stairs to see if her mom and Meredith are coming downstairs yet.

"Can I be done? Please?" Amelia asks after taking only a few more bites. "I wanna go check on Mer!"

"No Amelia, you need to finish your cereal."

"Daddy! I wanna make sure she's okay!" Amelia whines.

"Amy, you need to eat. Mer is just fine, I promise sweetie."

Amelia sighs and takes another bite.

"Christopher? Can you come help me bring Mer downstairs please?" Carolyn calls out.

"Sure, be right there!" He calls back. "Keep eating Amy. Meredith will be right down."

"Okay Daddy." Amelia says.

Christopher leaves the table and heads upstairs.

Meredith is sitting on the closed toilet lid while Carolyn is finishing up her hair. "Hi Daddy!" She smiles.

"Hi sweetie! Are you all ready for school?" He asks.

Meredith shrugs. "I dunno."

"What's wrong sweetie? You don't need to be scared. Amelia will be with you all day since you two are in the same class." Christopher says.

"They're gonna laugh at me." She whispers.

"I promise you that no one is going to laugh at you Mer!" He says.

"That's what I've been telling her all morning." Carolyn says. "Okay! Your hair is all done Miss Meredith! What do you think?" She helps her stand up and steadies her in front of the mirror.

Meredith gasps. "I love it! Thank you Mommy!"

"Your mommy did such a good job on your hair!" Christopher says. "Did your mommy do your tube feeding for you yet?"

Meredith nods. "And she did my asthma treatment too."

Christopher smiles. "Awesome! Are you all ready to go downstairs yet? Amelia is waiting for you. She's finishing up her breakfast."

Meredith nods. "I wanna see Amy!"

"Okay, let's get you downstairs then!" He picks her up and carries her downstairs. "Amy, are you ready to go yet? Derek, Mark, are you two ready for school?"

"We're ready Dad!" Derek says. "Hi Meredith!"

"Hi Derek!" Meredith says. She has her puppy in her arms.

"Mer, you need to leave your puppy here while you're at school." Christopher says to her.

Meredith's lower lip wobbles. "Why? I need Puppy!"

"Puppy needs to stay home and watch over everything while you're at school. He'll be waiting for you as soon as you get home."

Meredith's eyes fill with tears. "B-but he'll be lonely. Puppy needs me! I need Puppy! Please Daddy!"