Siblings Stick Together

Chapter 7

Imelda rubbed her temples.

"We need a doctor." Imelda groaned.

"There's that doctor in training." Héctor said, rubbing his chin. "What was his name? Something López?"

"Alejandro López." Imelda said.

Héctor snapped his fingers.

"Yeah, that's it! Alejandro!"

Imelda nodded.

"The only issue is that he lives on the other side of town." Imelda sighed.

Héctor's head shot up.

"I can't go!" Héctor said, waving his hands. "I won't last that long running in the heat!"

Ernesto stood up and put a fist on his chest, other fist on his hip.

"I can, though." Ernesto said, smirking proudly.

Imelda snorted and Héctor looked up in admiration.

"Sure, then go." Imelda smirked.

"I will!" Ernesto exclaimed  dramatically.

Imelda snorted again.

"My hero." Imelda said.

Ernesto playfully stuck his chin up high in the air, and marched out the door, carefully closing it behind him.

There was an awkward silence.

"So, um, why did you even trust Lucía to watch the twins?" Héctor asked out of curiosity.

Imelda inhaled sharply.

"Well, when she first came, I was in a rush to get out of the house." Imelda said, a disgusted look on her face. "She said she was my father's sister."

Héctor cringed at the thought.

"Anyway, arrogant, young Imelda agreed, and left poor Oscar and Felipe alone with her." Imelda said, resting her head in her hand. "And made the same mistake every day for about a year."

Héctor was silent.

"Well...." Héctor said, trying to comfort Imelda. "You couldn't have known."

"But I could have, Héctor!" Imelda exclaimed, raising her head out of her hand. "I should have seen the twins were lying! I should have made them tell the truth! I should have come home early sooner! I should have known they were getting sick constantly from something that wasn't heat! I. SHOULD. HAVE. KNOWN."

Héctor was silent the whole time while she ranted.

Once she was done, Héctor put his hand on her shoulder.

"You couldn't have known." Héctor calmly repeated.

Imelda silently sat there, letting the 4 words Héctor told her sink in.

Finally, Ernesto burst through the door carrying a short man in his mid twenties.

Ernesto put the surprised short man down.

He was wearing a doctor's suit, and carrying a doctor's bag.

"So, the issue?" The short man said plainly.

Imelda stood up and greeted him.

"Poisoning." Imelda told him. "We aren't sure which kind. However, there may be something besides poisoning we do not know of."

The short man nodded.

"Where are the patients?" The short man asked impatiently.

"Right up here, Alej- I mean, Dr. López." Héctor said quickly, showing him upstairs to the twin's room.

Dr. López followed him upstairs.

When they went in the twin's room, Oscar was fast asleep, and Felipe was wide awake, sitting on Oscar's bed watching him.

Dr. López turned to Imelda.

"Do I have permission to have privacy while I ask the questions?" Dr. López asked.

"Ah-Sí, if that's what you need to do, then yes." Imelda said, clearly trusting their friend.

Dr. López nodded, stepping into the room.

He shut the door behind him.

Imelda stood there for a moment, but then shook her head.

"Let's go downstairs, I will make us some tea." Imelda said, speed walking down the staircase.

The boys swiftly followed.

Half an hour later, Dr. López came downstairs.

"What unfortunate timing." Dr. López said.

"What is?" Imelda asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"They happen to have poisoning and be sick at the same time." Dr. López stated.

Héctor looked fearful, so did Imelda and Ernesto, but they were better at hiding it.

"Don't worry, it's just a cold." Dr. López said plainly.

Everyone breathed out a sigh of relief.

"As for the poison, I have some suspicions." Dr. López told them.

The three held their breath as Dr. López dug around in his bag.

He pulled out a sheet of paper, and cleared his throat.

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This is probably the biggest cliffhanger I have ever created, sorry! You're just going to have to wait until the next chapter! Lots of I.O.U.! (Well, not a lot, because not a lot of people read these stories, but you get the point.)