All That's Left (Kind of On Hold...)

Time out- 7

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Chapter 7- Time out

"Kyle, I'm going to need you to come with me.” Kyle paused and turned to look at me while Arie continued to fight with the sheets and the air mattress. The sheets obviously did not want to be put on the bed for Route, they continued to bunch and pull away until Arie was red in the face and she finally took a break, huffing and blowing a piece of hair out of her face.

"Is there a problem?" He cleared his throat and tried to cross his arms. His sling got in the way so he gave up, letting his arms drop to his sides. I held back a chuckle and smiled to calm him down.

"No, no, nothing like that... Doc just wants to keep and eye on you. He says that there's a- uh- flu going around and he doesn't want you to catch it while your arm's all busted up. You’re a lot more prone to disease with that open wound son, he just wants to protect you." Not wanting to worry either of them I tried to keep my white lie basic and not worrying, but my voice cracked on the last word and Arie sat up a little straighter. She turned towards us, letting the sheet slip completely off the mattress and crumple into a ball.

"Daddy... what's wrong?" She asked me, moving towards Kyle and rested her hand on his good shoulder. He smiled gently and leaned into her hand a bit- almost subconsciously.

"Nothing, nothing, Doc's just worried is all. I promise." That much was true I guess, Doc was definitely worried now with the news from Rute. I nodded to support my statement, shooting her an unconvincing smile. She just frowned at me, turning back into my little girl who knew all of my secrets.

"Alright, you caught me... I'm stealing Kyle away for a top secret mission." My voice dropped into a mysterious whisper as I shrugged and leaned against the door frame of the small room where Route would be living.

"Daddy! Just tell us already, please. We aren’t children anymore. We can handle it." She begged me, resting her head on the hand that held Kyle's good shoulder. I smiled at her and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I know, I know. Okay, Route just gave us some interesting news about the virus and how it spreads and he just wants to check out Kyle one more time. I'm sure that he's fine though... no worries." I hoped that my explanation was what she wanted to hear... I wasn’t really sure how else to word it.

"Hey, you know.. Kyle is still in the room...does he get an opinion?" His sudden input almost made me jump. I had kinda forgotten that he was a part of this.

"Right... yeah." Our simultaneous response made me laugh. After a few moments of deliberating Arie sighed and pushed kyle in my direction, shooing us with her hands.

"Go on you two. I'm sure Doc will give you a clean bill of health and that you'll be back soon. I'll just finish cleaning this place up and then I'll head home. I'll see you there Daddy." The look she gave me almost sounded like a threat- as if, if she didn’t see me there, I should expect an earful. She herded us into the hallway, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek and Kyle a meaningful look before she closed the door on us. I rolled my eyes and turned to Kyle.

"Well, I guess she's fed up with our attitudes...." I said, listening to her fading footsteps on the other side of the door.

"Yeah, I guess so." But Kyle’s voice was far away and he was staring intently at the door, as if he could see through it.

"So what's this really about?" Kyle asked me finally, following me away from the small office and towards the Doc's place.

"Its like I said, Route passed on some valuable information, and now Doc wants to let him look you over once, just to be safe."  Kyle paused and exhaled loudly.