Hamartia (Royce)

3.6

Jacob's P.O.V.

Very loud crying woke me up at three in the morning, and I didn't know why someone was crying until I remembered where I was. I was in the hospital, and people were dying, and it was their time to go. I sat up and listened to the devasting sobs of someone I didn't know, they were right next door to me. I slowly reached over and turned on the tiny lamp that was placed on the far side of the side table. 

I rubbed at my eyes for a minute or so and stopped when I heard the door to my room open and light footsteps. I turned my head and didn't see anybody, I slowly looked down and saw a girl with two ponytails in her hair, she had on pajamas. 

"Um..." I said lightly. I watched her as she looked at me. 

"I'm scared" she whispered, I could tell that she was truely shaken up, I just didn't know from what. "Mommy's crying really hard".

I furrowed my eyebrows, "that's your mother crying?"

She nodded.

"Oh".

I watched her as she looked around the room. "This room is like my daddy's room".

"Is your daddy next door?" 

She nodded, "mhm". 

I gave her a sad look but she didn't see it because she was examining her shoes. She finally looked up at me and yawned. "What's your name?" 

"Jacob, and you are?" 

"Georgia". 

"Come here, Georgia" I said, she looked at me but didn't move, I motioned with my hand for her to come. She walked over to me, I reached over and lifted her up onto the bed. "Do you know why your daddy is here?" 

She nodded, "he's sick". She looked at her hands, "really sick". 

I looked at her mocha colored skin, I wondered when her mother was going to notice her absence. I picked up my phone and unlocked it. I sat quietly and watched her little fingers tap away at my phone screen. I began to wonder if she was old enough to understand that she had just lost her father. I decided not to ask her.

"Why're you in here?" She asked lightly, she quickly looked at me then back at my phone.

"Eating disorder" I answered quietly.

"What's that?"

"Something I hope you never have" I answered, I don't know why, but her presence made me feel happy. I could tell she was a happy little girl, and she'd probably grow up to be everyone's friend, and I hoped she did.

"Is it bad?"

I nodded, "real bad".

"Oh, I'm sorry. Would you like to watch Disney Channel? Disney always makes me feel better".

I nodded again and let her turn on the tv. We sat and watched Doc McStuffens, it took me a while to realize that the crying next door head ceased.

"Georgia, your mommy doesn't know you left, does she?" I asked.

She shook her head, "no, she was too busy crying because of daddy".

"You need to tell her where you are, she's probably worried. You can come back if she lets you".

She nodded, "okay". I watched her slide off the bed, she left my phone where she once was. My eyes continued to watch as she slipped from the room. I secretly hoped she came back, not completely sure why.

Many minutes passed and I thought she was denied the opportunity to come back, but I was proven wrong when my door opened. I watched her walk inside, she had two bears with her.

"Mommy said I could stay, she's really sad. She's talking to daddy's doctor". She walked up to the bed and I pulled her up. "This is Teddy" she explained, holding up the brown bear with a scarf around her neck, "and this is Bailey" she held up the white bear.

"It's very nice to meet them" I replied. She passed me Teddy and I held him. I stared at the bear and remembered that I had a stuffed dog named Burrito, leave it to me... A half Mexican child to name a stuffed animal burrito. Anyway, I really did love Burrito, it was the only thing I had from my real parents, I kept him in my room all the time when I lived with Marcus. I couldn't find him one day and was told by Marcus that he had thrown him away because I was too old for a stuffed animal. It pissed me off when I was told this information because he threw away my shit, and I really didn't know if he had thrown him away. He could've had him in his room for all I knew, but either way, I never got Burrito back.

"Are you sad?" Georgia's voice pulled me from my thoughts as I looked at her. "You look sad".

"Just a little bit".

"Are you sad a lot?"

I shrugged a little, "I don't think so". 

"My mommy says it's not good to be sad a lot, she said there's a good time to be sad and a bad time to be sad" she ran her fingers through Bailey's short white fur. "She said it's okay to be sad though". 

I tucked in my legs and nodded, she looked at me. "I think you're sad" she said, "deep down inside, you're really sad". 

I thought about what she said. "I think you're right, Georgia". 

"Well, you can keep Teddy" she said. I looked at her. 

"But..." 

"Teddy keeps me happy, so he'll keep you happy too" she said calmly. 

I swear if she makes me keep this bear I will forever feel guilty, I'll feel like I took him from her even if she did give him to me. "But..." I repeated quietly. 

She smiled a little as she looked at Bailey. 

"But won't you be sad without Teddy since he keeps you happy?" I asked. 

She shook her head a little and glanced at me, "mommy says that sometimes you have to worry about other people more than yourself. She says that some people just can't be happy on their own, so you have to help them". 

"Georgia" I said, "your mommy is a very smart woman". 

She nodded, her eyes landed on Teddy who was still in my hands, she looked up at me. "He doesn't like to be alone for too long, but he can manage. He doesn't like to be called Ted, and he's afraid of heights". I chuckled as she began to list things that Teddy did and did not enjoy. "He's a good listener, so if you ever need to talk to someone, you can talk to Teddy. He'll listen". 

She slid off the bed and held Bailey in her arms. "I have to go now". 

"Okay" I replied. 

She walked to the door but turned to look at me before exiting the room, "bye, Teddy" she stated, "bye, Jacob". 

"Bye" I said quietly. 

She smiled. "I hope Teddy makes your sadness go away and I hope you end up happy".

(A/N: this was a filler and I know it is very unlikely for a small child to sneak into another person's hospital room but I just thought it would be cute and nice).