Kapitel 2: Charlotte Charlie Robinson
<<Charlie>>
"Charlotte Robinson?"
I sighed. Charlie. It's Charlie.
"Yea, it's me." I stood up from my chair and waved at the nurse.
She walked up to me, with a clipboard in hand. She scanned the clipboard, a slight frown on her face, and then looked up at me. I was at least a feet taller than her, hence she had to crane her neck.
"When will you pay the hospital bills? You know, we can't keep your daddy dearest here forever."
This was something I'd been hearing for a couple of months, now. Every month, they'd ask me to pay the huge pile of bills and I'd make an excuse to buy some more time. We weren't from an affluent family and my financial status was deteriorating as days went by. Still, I'd try to manage as much as I could to pay his bills.
He was the only family I had left.
I couldn't afford his death.
"As soon as I can," I replied to my usual reply.
She sighed, slouching her shoulders. "I feel like I've been hearing this forever. Next thing I know you'll say something like, 'I need more time, I don't currently have a job but I'm looking for it' ."
I smirked. Even if it was just a couple of months, she knew me as the palm of her hand.
"You know me so well, Nurse Sophie."
She shook her head in disbelief and muttered, "I wish you proved me wrong this time."
You know that I couldn't do that.
Even if I wanted to.
Ignoring her self-talk or more accurately self-complaint, I asked. "Anything else, you needed from me?"
She glanced at me, again and smiled. "Yeah, you can meet your daddy dearest. You know where to find him."
I smiled back, "Yea, I know."
___
I quietly allowed myself inside the room and the scent of sanitizers hit my nostrils. Even after all these months, I was yet to adapt to this environment. Dad was sleeping, quite peacefully might I add. He was never a smoker but was still suffering from lung cancer. Cancer patients didn't need to be admitted in the hospital, dad needed to frequently visit.
His frequent visitation was made easier when he was admitted to the hospital. He could follow his chemotherapy routine without any hassle and I could visit him whenever I was able to.
Every time, I watched him sleep all I thought was how stress-free he seemed. He didn't have to deal with everyday problems, he didn't have any worries. He only had me to take care of him. I didn't like it. I wished mom was here. She'd make my problems a lot easier.
I sat beside his bed as quietly as I could. While one part of me wanted to scream my arrival into dad's ear, my other more sensible part told me not to. So I settled for just watching him sleep, watching his chest rise and fall with every breath he took, watching him sleep like a baby.
After a couple of minutes, I walked up to him and kissed his forehead before walking out of the room. This was the usual routine, I'd mostly find him sleeping in his room but there were rare times when he would be awake.
That was really occasional.
Really, really occasional.
I made a beeline towards the parking lot where I had parked my bicycle.
And then, I took off into the unknown.
___
"How long do you plan to be here? You know, the boss really doesn't pay well for your dad's hospital bills." My co-worker, Nicole walked into the kitchen of the restaurant.
I flipped a patty. "I don't know. He pays just fine."
She sighed, handing over the order to another cook before sitting on a chair beside the stove.
"Fine for you and your apartment, not his health."
My dad's condition was known by some of the co-workers and the manager of the restaurant- my boss, but only Nicole cared enough. She was practically a sibling to me. She would tell me when I was being rude and smack me in the head or pull me by the ear.
Yeah, she would do that.
I shrugged. "I am looking for part-time jobs too, Nic. The ones I get don't pay enough."
She pressed. "Try harder, then."
I put the ingredients in the bread before sandwiching the patty with it. I wrapped it up, placed it on a tray, and shoved it on Nicole's chest.
"I am."
With that, I once again busied myself with the cooking while she was serving customers. 'DELICIOSO' took me under its wing as soon as I graduated high-school and since then I'd been cooking different meals according to our customers' tastes. It was the most popular restaurant in the entire state and to keep its popularity, the manager either hired or fired its employees. Nicole and I stuck around ever since my first day at the job. Lucky for us, we were never fired from work and separated.
---
"Bye, see ya guys tomorrow." Nicole and I bade everyone farewell and walked out of the restaurant.
After walking for a few minutes, Nicole stopped.
"Why'd you stop?" I asked, turning back to see her frozen figure. "Don't tell me you saw a ghost or somethin'.''
Her eyes widened, her figure trembling in fear. She shakily pointed her finger into the distance. I turned back to see who she was pointing.
Needless to say, it was a sight I'd never want to see.
"Hello, Robinson."
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein