Page 80 of Not As Advertised

“Rennie, can you keep a secret?”

Her eyes went wide. At the prospect of knowing something the other adults didn’t, she nodded quickly. I gave my phone to her. On the screen was a picture of Abbie and me from Anime Expo, Abbie’s costume making it clear who we were dressed up as.

“Oh my gosh! Team Rocket! You dressed up as Giovanni? That’s so much fun. It’s not even Halloween! You even have a cat that looks like Persian!”

I was pleased that I’d asked Abbie for a copy of the photo for my phone. Seeing Rennie’s excitement over our costumes made me grateful to have this memory to share with her.

I had Abbie to thank for pulling me out of my comfort zone. To think she’d unknowingly given me this gift to share with Rennie had my chest constricting. A rush of guilt hit me again, letting my thoughts drift to Abbie while I sat with Rennie in the hospital.

Pushing thoughts of Abbie away, I refocused on Rennie. She was still marveling at the picture on my phone.

“You’re right. It was last month. But there are these big conventions where people dress up as all sorts of cartoon and game characters. When you’re old enough, I’ll take you to one.”

The gleam in Rennie’s eyes intensified. I could see the strategizing going on in her brain.

“But you have to be a lot older, like twelve or something. And your parents have to say okay. In the meantime, Halloween is only a few months away. You can start coming up with costume ideas for that.”

The truth was, all of us were likely to give her whatever she wanted after this hospital scare. I just hoped she wouldn’t ask me for a pony. But I could at least tell Isabel I’d put parameters around my promise to Rennie.

The rest of the family came back into Rennie’s room. My mom smiled at Rennie and then angled her head toward the hallway.

“Okay, Rennie. Mommy and Daddy are back, so I need to go for a bit.”

“Aww, Uncle Aiden. Do you have to go?”

“Only for a little while, Rennie. I’ll be back once I check in at the hotel. Grammy will be in soon.”

I kissed her forehead and gave Isabel’s shoulder a squeeze as I headed for the hallway, hoping my mom had an update on Rennie’s condition.

We returned to our seats from earlier. Claire and Heath perked up to listen to the update.

“Okay, Mom, you need to tell us what’s happening.” I cut right to the chase.

We wait her out, giving her a moment to form the words.

“They are still doing a few more tests, but the doctors think Rennie was in diabetic shock, which was why she became so listless. She was sick last week, and it’s tough keeping her insulin dose correct when that happens.”

None of this sounded okay to me. That little six-year-old body in the hospital bed was at risk of serious complications from a simple flu virus. I knew logically it could have been so much worse, but I still didn’t want this for Rennie. All I wanted was for her to live the carefree childhood that my sisters and I hadn’t.

“Can this happen anytime she gets sick? How the hell are we going to protect her from this?” I felt panic rising in my throat.

“Aiden, look at me. It feels awful now, but this isn’t the first time Rennie’s been sick since her diagnosis, and she has been okay those other times. There’s no reason to expect the worst. We’re all here to help them along the way.”

“Except I’m not here anymore, Mom. I’m up in Amado, too far to do anything practical.”

“Aiden, you can’t uproot your life again. This isn’t yours to take on and fix. You can be a supportive, caring brother and uncle and still live your own life too. Neither Isabel nor Andreas would want you to give up so much when they can handle it.”

Pushing my hair back from the sides of my head, I gripped it tightly. The slight pain helped give me something to focus on rather than the powerless churning in my gut.

I didn’t agree, but I couldn’t tell my mom that. There had to be something I could do. Not knowing what to say, I just nodded.

“Come on, let’s take my car to the nearest bookstore and find her somePokémonbooks and coloring books to keep her busy. She’s still going to be here a few more days so they can monitor her.”

Leaving Claire and Heath with a tired wave, we walked to the elevator together. I pushed the elevator button, wishing we were anywhere but here. Preferably, I would be in bed with Abbie. Just having her close to me was soothing.

But you wouldn’t have missed Claire’s calls if you hadn’t been busy with Abbie.

The guilt of being unavailable when my family needed me was a lead weight in my stomach. I hadn’t been thinking about anything other than Abbie for more than a month. We’d been so wrapped up in each other that I’d put my promise to myself, that I’d always be there for my mom, sisters, and Rennie, on the back burner. Hell, I’d even missed the last two Sunday dinner video calls, using the time to catch up on work so I could greedily spend more time with Abbie.

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