The Vitamin String Quartet with their cover of Chocolate (The 1975) on the side because it's the best. Read the end authors note!
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Everett, with the guiding hand of Lizzie, walked forward. She still hadn't said anything and it made him a bit nervous. They already traversed most of the hospital and took an elevator, so the time lapse filled with nothing but silence slowly started to grate on him.
"I'm starting to think you either have a kid or a boyfriend, Liz, so maybe you should start talking before my imagination gets too far ahead of me," he blurted, almost instantly wishing he could take the words back.
Almost. He still wanted to understand why exactly Lizzie dragged him across the country to be in a hospital. Something important remained missing from the equation.
Lizzie chuckled softly, tugging him gently by his elbow to continue walking. "I don't have a boyfriend. No kid either, I'm afraid. I'm sorry to crush your dreams."
The words themselves were teasing, but the tone they were said in held a nervous edge and Everett just couldn't figure out why.
"I guess I should give you some warning before we go into the room," Lizzie let go of Everett's arms and he felt a little empty without her standing right next to him like she always did in new environments.
But judging by the incessant squeaking of her shoes, the girl already starting pacing back and forth while trying to come up with what to say. "So ... you know how I'm an only child?" Everett nodded, confused. "Technically, that's a lie."
"Wait ... what?"
Lizzie sighed and Everett heard a chair creak. She obviously sat down and he followed her voice as she spoke, sitting next to her.
"When I was ten years old, my family wasn't in the best financial situation. We got along and we had food, but the struggle to make ends meet sometimes got a little out of hand."
The small lull in conversation helped Everett really feel the tension in Lizzie and he searched for her hand, gripping in hopes of comforting her. The small squeeze he received in return for his actions told him that it worked.
"My mom got pregnant. And my parents freaked. They never really planned on another child. One filled the hole in their lives, but now ... now they had another mouth to feed and bills and diapers and ..." Lizzie sucked in a deep breath.
"They really didn't want to, but they felt like they had no choice but to give her up. I remember mom and dad having some really serious discussions towards the end of her pregnancy. I was too young to be involved, but I could still tell something was off, you know?"
"But the solution came in the form of Aunt Kate. She loves kids and has a really steady job, had one at the time too. She decided that instead of ripping the baby away from her family completely, that she could take her."
Everett could feel Lizzie's eyes on him as she said, "Mandy thinks she's my cousin and she always will. I'm okay with that, but sometimes it still hurts to know that I could have had a sibling."
With one more wistful sigh, Lizzie fell silent.
"But . . . that doesn't explain the hospital?" Everett asked, confusion spread across his face.
"She's got leukemia," Lizzie replied softly. "I've had to go in for some tests as well because my family got worried when I fell into a slump a while back. But apparently it completely ignored me and went straight for Mandy. I wish it would have hit me instead . . ."
Sucking in a breath of air, Everett closed his eyes for a moment and thought. What would he do if Jesse or Cole suffered from the same thing? It would kill him. He would make the same decision, wanting to take their place.
"I . . . I'm really sorry, Liz." Unfortunately for him, Everett hadn't been in too many situations like this, so his vocabulary in comforting was a bit lacking. But his few, short and rather cliche words seemed to do the trick as Lizzie leaned against him and mumbled a small thank you.
They stayed like that for a while, with Everett waiting for Lizzie to regroup and pull herself back together before they pressed on. And then with Everett himself mentally preparing to meet her little sister who isn't exactly her sister.
He couldn't imagine what it would be like to be so close, but so far away from your sibling. Always there, but never in reach.
Would they ever tell the little girl? Probably not, Everett thought. Why ruin something stable and destroy all she's ever known? A good reason didn't exist. Not a good enough one, anyways.
"So do I get to meet her today?" Everett asked quietly, nudging Lizzie a little with his shoulder.
She nodded before sitting up again. "Yeah - and she's probably awake already, wondering where we are." Lizzie stood and Everett followed her example, linking their arms together as they began the final leg of their small trek.
As they neared their destination, Everett heard a giggle, one that definitely didn't come from Lizzie.
"I'm really excited for you to meet her," Lizzie breathed out, sounding stupidly enthusiastic. Everett couldn't help but reflect the emotions, smiling in anticipation. "She's positive and energetic despite the circumstances. At least as energetic as one can get. But Mandy so amazing; a real sweet girl."
"So she's basically a smaller version of you." It slipped out before Everett could stop it and he could feel his neck heat up moments after it came out. And right there in the bustling hallways, Everett wanted nothing more than to bang his head on a wall repeatedly.
"You're adorable," Lizzie finally told him and he could feel himself heat up even more as he muttered a thank you.
He mentally smacked himself - did one even say thank you when being complimented on how adorable one is?
Everett had no idea.
"So, hey are you ready to meet her?" Lizzie asked off-handedly.
Everett lightly squeezed her hand and shook his head. "I'll join you guys in a moment," he told her.
Lizzie returned to hand gesture before letting him go, leaving his side to walk into the room. Animated chatter immediately filled the room and Everett couldn't help but smile. The happy talk reaching his ears could only belong to siblings; Everett could remember when he and his brothers would talk in such a way with the other.
His smile wavered momentarily before firmly fixing it back into place. Because even if the rough patch with his brothers lasted years, they rekindled their relationship. He now had no reason to be envious of other siblings now.
"I want you to meet someone, okay?" Lizzie said from inside the room. Everett listened as footsteps came into the doorway and her voice sounded out, "Hey, why haven't you come in yet?"
Everett faced the floor and shuffled his feet a little. He shyly replied (when did he get so shy? He can't help but wonder . . .), "I thought you would have wanted to be alone with her for a while since you two live so apart, you know?"
It was the truth. If Everett had the weight of Lizzie's world on his shoulders, the he would want nothing more than to spend time with his younger sibling. He imagined if Jesse didn't live with him, if he didn't even realize that Everett was his brother.
It made him shudder just to think about and he hoped that Lizzie didn't think he meant to be rude or anything. He just wanted to give them some time.
"Yup," Lizzie finally said. "You're officially the most adorable person I've ever met in my life. C'mon!"
She grabbed Everett's hand, pulling him along and continued to be completely unaware of how flustered she made him. Could she just stop touching his hand, maybe? Like, just a little less contact until he got his stupid feelings under control. He hated (or loved . . . same difference . . .) how she made him feel like a goofy love struck teenager.
But enough of that, he thought to himself as Lizzie led him into the room. "Mandy, this is him," she said rather proudly. Everett couldn't help but notice how that tone seemed to have become a routine with her as of late.
"You're Everett?" a small, but strong voice asked.
Everett nodded. He felt himself being guided to the bed and he had to pat his hand around a little to find the edge and grip it.
"I'm Mandy," she announced, patting the top of Everett's hand before gripping and shaking it vigorously. "I'm really excited to finally meet you, you know. Lizzie talks about you a lot on Skype and I think that she - -mmmphphph . . . ."
The words became muffled and grumbly and Everett could only assume that Lizzie had clamped her hand over the younger girl's mouth in an attempt to shut her up.
Even blind, he could see how alike the two were and how much Mandy and Lizzie acted like siblings. He wondered how many other people could tell as well.
And as the two began to playfully bicker, Everett decided that maybe there was really something to what Mandy started telling him.
And maybe he should just leave it alone.
Then again . . . maybe he would bug Lizzie about it the entire way home.
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Everett got comfortable in his seat, remaining quiet. He could feel the gaze of Mandy on him and he squirmed, feeling anxious for some reason. He didn't like it when people stared at him so intensely, especially not when he couldn't return the sentiment and make them uncomfortable as well.
"So Lizzie's pretty great, huh?"
Everett numbly nodded, fiddling with a loose string on his pants. He didn't know what to say in response. He could go on for hours, days, weeks about how great Lizzie was in his opinion. But the subtlety would be completely absent.
He liked subtlety.
Sort of.
Most days, anyway.
"Are you guys dating yet?"
Now that - that made Everett choke on his own spit. After several violent coughs and some harsh slaps on his back by the catalyst of the whole incident, he rasped out, "How old are you again?"
Mandy only scoffed. "Old enough to see the way Lizzie looks at you. And the way you get heart eyes around her is evidence enough, even if you can't actually look at her, you know?"
Perfect, he thought bitterly. Now two girls from the Baldwin family are perfecting the art of making me nervous.
"It's okay if you like her," Mandy told him nonchalantly, moving about a bit. Everett assumed it was to get comfortable.
"Gee, thanks for the approval." His reply came out a whole lot drier than he originally intended, but oh well. No regrets.
Mandy's hand smacked him moments after his words began floating through the air. "Don't be mean," she scolded. "You want to date my sister. I'd be nice if I were you," Mandy told him smugly.
Everett's first reaction wanted to attack her scolding; that he was older, so if anyone should do scolding, it would be him.
But the second half of her thoughts caught him by the throat and wouldn't let go. "Wait . . . what?" he exclaimed halfheartedly.
"They like to think I don't know," Mandy said quietly, so much that Everett almost didn't hear her. Instantly, Everett's heart went out to the girl. "I hear mom when she's on the phone, when she thinks I'm asleep or something. I hear a lot," Mandy confessed, much to Everett's surprise.
The big secret Lizzie had wasn't exactly a secret to those who counted.
"I know everyone thinks that it's better for me. Just for me to think that my family is different. I think it's more for their benefit, though," she mused, sighing wistfully at the end.
Everett wanted nothing more than to comfort her; she sounded way older than her eight years should have sounded. He didn't want her to hold onto that alone.
"Why don't you just tell them? Wouldn't that just put everyone out of their misery?" Everett asked, confused. "You know. They know. But they don't know you know."
Mandy laid a hand gently on Everett's shoulder. "It's not that easy, I don't think. Mom wants to think I'm hers. And, I really am, you know? Lizzie may be my sister, but her parents are mine only because I came directly from them," Mandy explained with a matter-of-fact tone. "I don't think it's fair to anyone to mess it up. It works, so . . ."
The young girl trailed off and Everett chewed on her words.
Just as he was about to say something, she jumped in with, "You won't tell, right?"
And well . . . her voice sounded so pleading and so desperate that he couldn't tell her no. So he consented and promised her that he wouldn't say anything.
"So back to you wanting to date my sister."
Everett groaned loudly and shook his head. These Baldwin girls would be the absolute death of him. . . .
Later, when Kate and Lizzie came back into the room . . well, neither of them had to know that Everett and Mandy acted like the best of friends because of sharing secrets and pinky promises.
And maybe they left it alone and didn't ask . . . but they might bug the other two about it later.
Just maybe.
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I was a little afraid I wouldn't make it but I stayed up watching TV and kicking this chapter out. The dedication also goes to @That_Girl_J for being the first to get the specific reason for their visit right (shout outs to @Madelynn-Marie @AshleyCasas9 and @farmgirl683 for being right early on as well)
I'll check the chapter again tomorrow for mistakes but dude . . . I'm really tired right now and need to sleep hahaha
Hope you enjoyed!
- Kim