Charthur: Part II

Arthur nodded, slowly, and pulled away. He was reluctant to do so but knew that his sister and Olivia wouldn’t be able to talk to Chardonnay if he kept holding her. Slowly Arthur stood up, wincing as his knees throbbed. How long had he been sitting on them? Probably at least an hour. He glanced down at Chardonnay then, still looking so small and weak in the bed. He glanced towards the door and saw Susan enter, looking timid and meek, unlike her usually boisterous self. His face fell slightly, seeing her so sad, and he beckoned her over.

Not a minute later Olivia came in, desperate to see Chardonnay. Susan got out of the way and stood beside Arthur, watching as Olivia hugged her. In a way, she felt like she was intruding on the mother and daughter and didn’t know what to say. She looked down at her feet, feeling silly, still wearing the same dress she’d worn to the baby shower. That god-awful baby shower – what a horrible idea. She squeezed her eyes shut.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and glanced over to Arthur, who gave her shoulder a squeeze when she looked over. Susan smiled weakly and brought a hand to touch his on her shoulder.

After she gave Olivia and Chardonnay a few minutes, Susan cleared her throat. ”I, uhm, I must apologize too, Chardonnay. I didn’t realize how… you felt.” She said, though she should’ve had her clues. The way Arthur talked, the way he was so out of it at times. She’s miserable, he’d said. She didn’t want any of this. Or Susan to be in her life. She stared absently at the bed. ”But I am very glad that you’re all right.”

Susan shrunk back when Chardonnay said that they weren’t forgiven. Honestly she had expected that but it didn’t make her feel any better.

”It’s — okay,” Susan said, doing her best to give Chardonnay a smile. She felt her stomach dropping at the idea of Chardonnay feeling forced to have the baby, at the words Olivia said. Was it true? She looked to Arthur and saw pain flicker across his face for only a moment.

He wondered if his desire for a family had made her feel forced to have the baby, too.

When she looked at him, Arthur met her gaze, giving her a calm smile. She was going try. Hopefully, she was going yo try. He really hoped she meant it.

”And we’ll support you, too.” Susan said, taking a step closer. ”I know i’ve overstepped my boundaries often, but you’re important to Arthur, and you’re important to me as well. I only want to help you however I can! But, i’ll do my best to give you more… space. I know now you’re feelings about pregnancy are much different than mine were.”

She avoided eye contact, but her words were genuine.

Susan smiled at Olivia’s words and nodded, reaching out to rest her hand on the older woman’s. She was just so relieved that Chardonnay was okay, alive, that her baby was doing well. He couldn’t help but glance over at Arthur, too, who had remained mostly quiet. She wondered if they’d talked – if things were still strained between them. She caught the glances and looks they gave each other, she felt like they had talked… something over. She could see the way her brother’s shoulders were a little straighter, the fact he wasn’t as downcast as he once was.

She wanted to say more but the door opened, and she turned to look at the nurse who arrived. Her face fell slightly when she said they’d have to go. So she was staying overnight? Susan couldn’t say she was surprised, but she was somewhat saddened by that fact.

”Oh – all right.” Susan said. She glanced towards Susan, and then to Arthur, and finally to Chardonnay. ”I’m sure we’ll come back up tomorrow to visit and give you some time to rest, tonight.”

Arthur looked like he didn’t want to go – he didn’t. His expression squirmed somewhat, and he took a step closer to Chardonnay, standing beside Olivia now.

”Uh – did they give you your phone back?” He asked, worried that he’d get some sort of bad news overnight when he left. Whenever he pictured leaving he just got scared she’d get hurt again or that their conversation wouldn’t mean anything, later. ”I’ll come back tomorrow, if you want me to.”

Arthur had already suspected she’d be kept overnight so he wasn’t too shocked at the revelation. He was more focused on Chardonnay and just let the nurse’s response sit in his mind, unfocused on.

Arthur nodded, though, when she said the three of them could stay at the condo his eyes widened. He glanced at Susan, who looked just as shocked as he did. She looked at Chardonnay with eyes wide.

”Oh! Uhm – we won’t.” She said, though she knew it was directed her way initially. She had to text Adelaide that she wouldn’t be home, in that case. She quickly shuffled to the side, excusing herself to do so. After all, Olivia and Arthur were closest to Chardonnay and deserved to have a proper goodbye. She felt her lips tilt downwards at the reminder that she wasn’t that important to her.

Arthur glanced at the purse on the table. He’d not actually gotten a look around the room before. He had been so focused on her he barely noticed the curtains and windows, the beeping machines and IVs lining the room.

”Okay. You can text me if you’re bored, too. Hospitals are… boring.” Arthur said, feeling nervous all of a sudden. He shoved one of his hands into the pocket of his slacks, realizing then he was still in his rumpled work uniform. He felt tired. He leaned down, and pressed a quick kiss to Chardonnay’s forehead. ”I’ll see you tomorrow. And -- ” his face colored, ” – ignore my voicemails. I was getting kind of desperate. Just delete them.”

He hated to leave Chardonnay but they had to, the nurse was pressuring them out. He gave one last look over his shoulder, fingering his phone in his pocket. He’d message her later. He’d give her a little space for now.

Once they were in the hallway, Arthur felt himself being stopped with a hand on his shoulder. He turned to look at Olivia and felt his cheeks color slightly, at the sincere look on her face and the words she spoke. He hadn’t done much except be there, he hadn’t even found her, he’d gotten the call from the paramedics. That was the only reason he was there so soon. But he was glad he had been. He was glad to have been there for her, and to have gotten a chance to talk to her one on one.

”I – yeah.” Arthur said, awkwardly clearing his throat. ”I mean, of course I’d be there. She’s uh… going through a lot of things. I probably should’ve told you about them, but I didn’t really know. I just know how she acted, aloof and cold, so it was more of a suspicion. But I still should’ve said something.”

Susan watched the display with a warm smile, her hands now clasped behind her back. ”I’ll follow you two to the condo! I’ve never been! I’m sure it’s lovely!”

She smiled, though she knew she wouldn’t dare mess anything up or attempt to take anything. She liked to oogle and aww, but Susan had a finesse for hard work and earning things! Or, at the very least, only taking things from others when they were gifts! ”I’m jealous, you two have probably been there so often!”

–

The drive to the condo wasn’t too long – it was so much shorter than it had initially seemed for Arthur, when he was flying to go check on Chardonnay at the hospital. By the time the three got in, they were all tired. Arthur didn’t stay up very late. He made arrangements for Jason to come in again to manage the theater tomorrow – making profuse apologies that Jason waved off and said were fine. Arthur felt bad, asking his former boss to come in when he was retired, but Jason worried for Chardonnay. He had talked to Thomas earlier about it and wanted to know she was okay.

He was relieved to know she was fine – and Arthur, though he explained they weren’t out of the woods yet – agreed. They could move forward, better now. He was adamant.

When it came time to sleep, he retreated to one of the guest rooms, though it was very… foreign. He had only ever slept in two places here: Chardonnay’s bed and her couch. He found it hard to sleep and when he did sleep, he found it hard to not wake up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat, unaware of where he was. Susan had gone to the other bedroom; Arthur figured that Olivia could either sleep in the guest room or Chardonnay’s room (which was the main reason he hadn’t gone to her room in the first place).

At around 4:30 Arthur gave up on sleep. He walked to the kitchen, wearing a tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants he kept over at Chardonnay’s place for pajamas. He started a pot of coffee, and looked at his phone, biting his lip.

He nursed a cup of coffee while he sat at the head of the table, his fingers flighting through his hair while his palm rested on his forehead. Lazily, he texted. Did you get some sleep? to Chardonnay, hoping that the vibration didn’t wake her up if she was sleeping. He felt so weird, being here without her.

He took another long sip of his coffee, already counting down the minutes until 7 when they could head back down. They’d have to talk to Dr. Marshall for certain, Arthur knew.

Arthur was scrolling through news apps on his phone, not expecting a message back. He blinked when his phone vibrated, and he saw a message from Chardonnay. So she wasn’t asleep, he realized, when he read the message. He stifled a yawn behind his hand, glancing out the window to the outside world. The sky was brilliant, the sunrise just beginning to peak.

Fair. I couldn’t sleep much. It’s weird sleeping in a guest room, but it’d be weirder slipping in your bed without you. He sent. He thought that sounded a little weird, and hoped she didn’t take it in a weird way. Have you heard from Dr. Marshall at all yet, or is he not in?

Yeah. I just didn’t want to impose on your room. Even though I’ve been there before. He sent, brows knotted when she mentioned no one mentioned results. Well. They probably are what he expected if he didn’t immediately find you. And if there was internal bleeding they’d probably have gone into action right away.

Arthur still couldn’t fight the nervousness he felt, not knowing. Susan and Olivia were still asleep; he got up and headed towards Chardonnay’s room. Since Olivia was in the other guest room, it was vacant. He stepped inside, closing the door behind him. His phone was in his pocket and he held his coffee in his left hand. He walked to the terrace, undoing the blinds and opening the door.

The sunrise from up here, overlooking the city, was beautiful. It was a nice view. He settled down on one of the chairs, the breeze rustling his hair. He pulled his phone back out to rifle through Tumblr.