The Sister Between Them

Chapter 30

Rocco and Alyssa were sitting on the other side of Gavin's bed wordlessly as he slowly came too.

"Daddy?" Gavin spoke softly, his eyes were still hazy, and he still looked very pale.

"Hey, Champ," Rocco took Gavin's hand in his.

"Mommy's here too, Gavi." Alyssa stepped over to the other side.

"Where am I?" Gavin looked confused, and Rocco squeezed his hand tighter.

"You ate some candy, and it made you sick." Rocco said.

"Gavi is sick?" he asked, his little eyebrows all furrowed.

"Yes," Rocco said, "We're here at the hospital, and they're going to make you all better."

"Hospital?" Gavin questioned.

"It's where you go when you're sick," Rocco explained. "That was bad candy, Buddy. It wasn't like the stuff Daddy buys sometimes."

"Mommy get sick too?" Gavin turned and looked at Alyssa.

"No, sweetie," Alyssa cooed. "Mommy just is fine."

"But Mommy ate bad candy too."

"She did?" Rocco asked, "You saw her eat the candy?"

"Rocco, honestly, he just woke up, and you're interrogating him." Alyssa snapped, but he could see in her eyes she was alarmed.

"You ate them in front of him?" Rocco asked in a stunned whisper, her eyes filled with guilt and her cheeks flushed.

"I didn't know he was watching; it was a mistake," she confessed. "Rocco, I swear."

He didn't even know where to begin, so he said nothing. Instead, he sighed. Her face was wracked with guilt, but for once, she had no excuses to give him.

"Gavi." Her voice became super sweet and totally fake as she looked down at him. "Mommy is going to the gift shop to get you a new teddy bear, okay? I'll be back soon." She kissed Gavin's cheek and gave Rocco a dark look before standing up.

"I want my Kiki," Gavin said.

"Your what?"

"His Kiki. His new favorite teddy bear. Something anyone who pays even the slightest bit of attention to him would know."

"I okay...I'll just. I'll be back, Gavi," Alyssa looked like she was about to jump out of her skin as she hurried out, she didn't handle emotion well, and Rocco commonly would have felt a tug of empathy for her, but he was beyond that tonight.

"Daddy, I want my Auntie Dani," Gavin said as Alyssa left the room.

**

Alyssa felt her heart clench when she heard Gavin ask for his aunt. He hardly even looked at her. She was so scared tonight when she saw him lying there like that. She was relieved he was okay, but it upset her how little he seemed to care for her. He didn't even want her to buy him a new toy.

Everyone looked up at her as she stepped into the waiting area. They were all seated on the navy couches.

"How is he?" Dante asked.

She felt like she was being judged and scrutinized by every single one of them. This time she did it, though. This was her biggest screw-up, and she wasn't sure she could make it right.

"He needs some doll called Kiki. Can you go get it?" She asked Dante. She could at least make sure he got his toy. It didn't make what happened right or take her guilty feeling away, but it was something.