Super sorry. Lately school has just been hectic. It's a lot of stuff. Like I've never had to study so much in my life. I was so stressed out/busy that I ended up writing two chapter eighteens. 😂 Don't ask. I'm only keeping this one, lol so here's the chapter I kept.
18
Walking through the big glass doors of the hospital seemed all too familiar. The smell of antiseptics and bleach filled her nose, triggering memories that she had never wanted to remember.
When she and Kevin reached the front desk, Karen took a deep breath. She was still tired from the night's drive and the little sleep she had gotten at the nearby hotel wasn't helping that much at the moment.
"Hello, we're here to see, Eve Palate." She replied quietly. The nurse glanced up from her computer, her brown eyes inspecting.
"And you two are?" She asked.
"I'm Karen and this is Kevin," she said pointing to her brother, "We're Eve's older siblings."
The nurse nodded once. "I remember now. Just let me call Dr. Hollins, he wanted me to inform him of your arrival whenever you two got here." She said picking up her phone and dialing the number. After a few seconds she placed the phone back down and motioned to the seating area.
"He'll be right with you." She pointed to the chairs in the middle of the lobby. "You can wait there until he arrives."
Karen gave a small thank you and followed after Kevin. As they waited for the doctor, Kevin wrung his hands together anxiously.
"I really hope Eve's going to be okay."
"She will." Karen replied absentmindedly. She couldn't really think straight at the moment. The fact that Dr. Hollin had wanted to see them specifically scared her, even if it was just to give an update on Eve. The last time she had seen the man had been under unfortunate circumstances and she had really hoped this wouldn't be a repeat.
"Karen, Kevin?" Dr. Hollin said happily as he stepped around the corner pulling giving each of them into a big hug. He pulled back from Karen and smiled, "It's been a long time; although, I wish we could've met under different circumstances."
She smiled weakly. "About Eve.."
"She's a little trooper. She has a fractured ankle, but with time and care it should be back to normal. Nothing to worry about."
She breathed out a breath of relief. "And mom?" Kevin questioned.
Dr. Hollin frowned. "She's fine. She's in room 205 right now. But we can't let Eve go home with your mother since the accident was clearly caused by her drunk driving."
"Please tell me you didn't call child services." Karen panicked.
"We did," he said as he watched her face pale, "but I called my friend. He'll make sure that you and your sister get to stay together. After all, you are of legal age. You can actually adopt her legally."
"Are you sure your friend can make that happen?" She asked unsurely.
"You know I would never lie to you." He sighed, "And on the chance that it doesn't work I'll adopt Eve."
Karen snorted.
"Karen, I've already said I was sorry about the past. I can't change what happened."
"You could've tried harder. When dad died -"
"Karen I was hurt too. He was my brother after all."
"But still, you knew our mom was unstable after dad's death. She used to come home so drunk somedays that she didn't wake up until the next morning. Kevin and I were forced to grow up fast trying to make sure that Eve wouldn't have to."
He sighed heavily. "What do you want me to say Karen? I was young and dumb. I wasn't ready to take care of three kids on my own and I didn't want to call child services in the event that they would've spilt you all up."
"I'm know, I just wish-"
He laid a hand on her shoulder. "I know you're still mad at me. I let you down once, but I won't let it happen again."
She stared up at the tall man in front of her, not sure if she could believe a man she had not spoken to in years.
"Do you promise?"
He nodded. "Now let's go see Eve."
***
After they left Eve's room, Kevin let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad Eve is okay.
Karen nodded. "Me too." She turned to her brother. "So how do you feel about living with uncle Hollin?"
Kevin shrugged. "I don't have anything against him. I know growing up he wasn't around much and he partied all of the time, but you've seen it too Karen. He's changed. He's become more mature now, I think it'll be good for us. Besides he said something about mom moving back to Georgia after she's released from the hospital and I think that i'll pass." He nodded to her. "What about you? Are you going to go back and fix things with Mr. Foster?"
Karen ran a hand over her messy hair. "I think it's over between us, Kevin. I - I can't just go back."
Kevin turned to his sister. "You've got to be kidding me. That man loves you, Karen."
"Don't be ridiculous." She muttered.
He shook his head. "You really are slow. He would do just about anything to make you happy."
"Kevin, please just be quiet." Karen whispered. Kevin ignored her.
"No, I won't be quiet. Sure he's blind and can't see, but still, I've know him less than two days and even I could see the way he always stares in you direction with that stupid smile on his face, looking like he's the luckiest man in the world." He stopped and looked at Karen. "Even if he never wants to see you again, I think you should at least try, Karen. Obviously he makes you happy. Don't you think that that's something worth fighting for?"
Karen glanced over at her brother, wiping her wet cheeks with the back of her hand. "When did you grow up?"
He rolled his eyes. "So your answer to my question would be?"
She smiled widely.
"Yes. It's definitely worth fighting for."