Alex and Millie came over the day after that. Alex had messaged me inviting Eli and I over, and that was when I broke the news to them. Alex sent a bunch of worried and anxious texts my way before I could assure him Eli was alright. We ended up deciding he and Millie could come visit.
Millie jumped onto the bed and snuggled up against Eli. Alex rushed behind her with his arms extending, ready to pull the girl off of the bed she was not supposed to be on. It wasn’t until he noticed Eli’s weak laughter that he paused.
“Hi, Millie.” He smiled at her.
She looked up at him with a big grin. “Hi!”
Millie had a piece of paper in her hand. It was folded into a card and had a bunch of bright, colorful stars drawn on it. She handed it to Eli. "Alex said you were sick, so I made you a get well soon card."
"That's so kind of you." Elias opened the card and began to read it. I leaned over his shoulder to see what she had writtenin it, but I realized there were no words inside. There were a lot of stick people drawn to look like they were dancing, or that’s at least what it looked like to me.
“I love it, thanks,” he said as enthusiastically as he could. Millie leaned closer with a satisfied smile.
"How are you doing?" Alex asked as he sat on the edge of the bed.
Eli put on a brave, determined face. "Getting there."
"Look!" Millie shrieked as she crawled to the other side of the bed. The child picked up the bear that she spotted and raised it high before wrapping her arms around it. "A bear! Can I keep it?"
Alex pinched the bridge of his nose with an overwhelmed sigh. “No, that yours.”
The girl frowned. “But it’s so cute.”
“You can play with it while you’re here, though,” I told her. I wanted to help out Alex and save him from the child’s temper tantrum. My words turned her frown upside-down.
“I’m sorry she’s messing with your stuff,” Alex said as he shot a glare toward his niece. “She was mad at me before we got here because I wouldn’t buy her a stuffed animal she saw in the store.”
“She’s fine,” I assured him. “You seem stressed.”
Alex laughed bitterly. “That’s because I’ve been watching her all day. But whatever, it’s whatever.”
There was a crease in his forehead as he furrowed his brows and ran a harsh hand through his hair. I eyed his tense demeanor, clearly there was some stuff going on that he wasn’t sharing.
“Where’s Killian?”
Alex’s lips pressed together tightly, and his muscles stiffened. His eyes focused on the bed as he spoke as neutrally as possible. “Couldn’t make it. He wishes you well, Eli.”
Another sore subject. I decided to leave it alone because he obviously was not eager to share.
Alex and Millie didn't stay for long. The girl was upset that she had to go and leave the bear behind because it was her ‘most favorite bear in the world.’ She settled down when I told her that she could visit Fallon Everest anytime. Millie was a handful, to say the least.
That night my parents had us sitting on the couch in the living room while we waited for them to come speak to us. Me, my mom, Alan, and Eli were having a serious conversation. Eli and I thought we were in trouble because they had the 'my kid did something wrong' look on their faces. My mind was flashed with every bad thing I had ever done when I was little.
Mamà took a seat before us."The trip is in a few days, and we want to know how you're feeling about it, Eli.”
Oh, it was nothing of that sort. I let out a tiny breath of relief, earning a skeptical brow raise from my mother.
Eli's nose scrunched in pure confusion as to why she ever thought to ask him such a question. "I still want to go."
"These past few days have been hard and you're over the worst of it, but you still haven't fully recovered." She put a comforting hand on his knee and he flinched. "I don't want you to push yourself."
Eli’s head was shaking firmly. "A couple of days from now I'll be even more okay than I am now. I can’t miss out on the trip you guys literally paid for me to go on.”
"Your health comes before any trip," I stated.
Eli’s hands flew out to the sides in disbelief. "You're supposed to be on my side."
"I am on the side of you being okay."
