The Heart of the Team

Chapter Seventeen

"I hate hospitals, have I ever mentioned that?"

Alexander laughed "Only about 6 dozen times this year."

I groaned and let my head fall back onto the pillows. "If I play one more game of rumee I'm gonna go insane."

"I've heard that one too you know." He said shuffling the cards again.

It was the same deck that we had packed away in my emergency bag after the first hospital visit back in Illinois. It was always there tucked under the near full sketch book and the change of clothes.

"Ugh, this is the worst. Your really boring you know that?"

Alexander gave me a look but stashed the cards away, "If I'm so boring what do you suppose we do to keep you entertained?"

"How bout a walk?"

My brother sighed "You gonna pass out on me again?"
"Hey! My fevers gone down and it only happened once this time!"

"Alright, they did say you were clear to be up and moving around about an hour ago so I suppose it's fine."

"And you didn't tell me?" I gasped.

"That was cause dad hadn't left yet."

I ignored him, deciding to start getting up instead. I pushed the heavy blankets off my legs and carefully swung my body around to have them hang off the bed. My feet found the slippers i'd left after my last trip to the bathroom and I slowly maneuvered the IV holder around from the corner of the bed, getting ready to move.

"Well? Let's go." I said, standing up and adjusting the plain white nightgown.

He sighed again and stood up, offering me his arm.
"We can head down to the cafeteria, so I can get myself a snack."

We started out of the room at a slower than average pace, heading down the corridor towards the cafeteria.
Dad had left for work about an hour before, and Mom probably an hour before that.

"You know I read somewhere once that hospital cafeterias have better food than school cafeterias."

I snorted 'You've been to enough of both to know that neither are terrific."

He shrugged "I think it depends on the hospital."
"I think you are ridiculous." I retorted as we turned another corner.

It didn't take much longer to get to the cafeteria, I sat at a table while Alexander went to grab a cup of Jello and some crackers.

"Well, well, well,"
"look who finally came back."

I turned around in my chair, and squealed "Millie! Aelius!"

The twins grinned in unison, quickly taking up spots at the table.
I had met them 4 and a half years ago when I first passed out during a game at the sandlot. We had similar conditions and had grown close in the two weeks before I left.

They were both amazingly blond, Millie's now growing more white blonde, and Aelius' becoming more golden. Both had freckles skimming the bridges of their noses, seemingly to have grown more predominant in the years I'd been gone. Millie, of course had become even more pretty,  and Aelius even cuter.

When I had left I was too busy with Benny to even think it but now that I'd mostly moved on I realized that he really was quite attractive.

"So, where'd you run off to?" Millie asked.
"Illinois."

"Why?" Aelius snorted.
"It was my third set of fosters. They ended up adopting me."

Millie nodded as Alexander came back to the table "Well, speak of the devil and he may show up." Aelius chuckled at my comment.
"I'm only the devil cause I'm your brother. Who's this?"