Chapter 5: Sudden Solutions
The toddler turned over on her right side to gaze into the sleeping face of her older sister
The toddler turned over on her right side to gaze into the sleeping face of her older sister. Tatiyana reached over to lightly tap her sister.
"Cee my medi." Her stomach was hurting very badly evidence of not having had received he regular doses of medication required for her chronic bronchitis. Usually Celeste would give her medicine before they both went to sleep, but today was far from usual.
"Cee wake up." Tatiyana placed her hand against her sister's cool cheek. She frowned. Celeste was cold and unresponsive and she couldn't understand why for the first time her sister wasn't helping her.
A little cry sounded from her lips as she doubled over and contents lurched from her body…
Justin opened his eyes immediately as he heard a sound not to far off in the distance. He rolled his eyes and slipped out of the sofa bed. Damn these fucking intruders! Justin grabbed his bat from behind the door; he was preparing to beat the person who was dumb enough to rob him with a woman and child in the house.
"Whoever you are, you pick the wrong one to rip off tonight!" He shouted into the air. His answer was a distant cry. Justin recognized it to be Celeste's younger. What did she say her name was again? He wondered as he slowly rounded the corner.
Hopefully, the intruder had not hurt the toddler. When he entered the room there was no intruder only the sight of the toddler crouched low on the carpet, holding her hand over her mouth.
What the hell? Justin stood there dumbfounded, not knowing what to do. He was not used to cleaning up after a youngin'. Not having any siblings made sure of that.
"Yo' half pint you alright?" Justin walked slowly to her side, cautious of not getting to close. Ew!
"My medi!" Tatiyana retched loudly.
Medi? What is that? Justin looked over at Celeste, who was sleeping peacefully. Did she not realize her sister was sick? He rushed over to Celeste, when he touched her she was cold and unmoving.
Looking back from Celeste to the toddler, Justin realized just how tough of a situation he had put himself in. "Celeste wakeup." He shook her with some force.
Tatiyana placed her hand over her chest as she felt shortness of breath.
"Damnit wakeup." Justin sat on the bed and lifted Celeste's limp body into a sitting position supporting her weight with his arm. Celeste's head fell sloppily on his shoulder. He moved her damp tresses from her face as he spoke into her ear attempting to pull her into a conscious state. That head fall must of messed her up real good!
"Come on Celeste."
Celeste blinked her eyes several times, then looked around at her surroundings. She heard a mixture of crying, wheezing and shouting. Celeste wakeup…My medi!
Celeste sat up in Justin's arms and focused her blurry vision on Tatiyana. "Tati you okay?" She jumped out of bed a little too fast than her body allowed and lost her footing. However, thanks to the extra weight of Justin she was able to steady herself.
Celeste wiped the perspiration from her forehead. How could she have been so stupid as to forget to give Tatiyana her medicine? If Justin didn't wake her in time she would have developed pneumonia. "Shit um can you look in that red baby bag it should be some medicine and a humidifier."
Justin grabbed the baby bag from the side of the bed and started rummaging for the products she was calling off.
"The medicine should say saline nasal drops…um I need the dropper too. And I need a glass of water…oh don't forget the humidifier." Celeste rambled off quickly despite her fear.
Justin left the room and hurriedly grabbed a glass of water from the faucet, "Does it matter if it's tap water!"
"Tap? No…tap water is fine. Can you hurry though?" Celeste wiped Tatiyana's mouth with a damp towel as she held her over the toilet.
Justin gathered some utensils before scurrying back to the room rapidly. He handed the water to Celeste.
Celeste held the glass to Tatiyana's lips, "Here Tati drink this."
Justin stood back and watched closely. He wondered if something like this has ever happened before, but he knew it would be inappropriate to ask her now.
"Justin! Pass me the dropper." Her loud demand cut into his thoughts. He shook his head and handed her what she needed.
Celeste gave her sister the medicine and wiped the mucus from her nose. "It's okay sweetheart. Yes I know your okay now." She lifted the toddler into her arms and cuddled her.
Celeste turned toward Justin and mouthed thank you. She placed Tatiyana atop the blankets.
"Justin can you turn on the humidifier." It was to keep the air from getting dry so it would be easier for her to breathe.
When he did so Celeste sat on the bed and stroked Tatiyana's curly tresses. She took the first breath in what seemed like a year before speaking, "Thank you so much for waking me up…I was sleeping so hard. If I didn't wakeup who knows what could have happened…' She choked out. Tears slipped down her cheeks.
Justin instinctively reached over to wipe away the tear, "It's okay she's had her medicine. I'm sure she'll be fine. If you want I can stay in here with you until morning." He didn't know why he volunteered to do that, all he knew was that Celeste and Tatiyana was really pulling at his sensitive side. He never had the chance to care for anyone, but he just hoped one day someone would do the same for him.
Celeste nodded her head and opened her arms to give him a slight hug. Justin hesitated at first, but moved in to accept her sign of thanks. That was very unusual for him. He found himself enjoying her simple hug a little too much than he would admit.
Celeste was the first one to pull away; she smiled shyly and looked down at the folded hands in her lap. After sharing a hug with him a sense of hesitancy washed over her.
What have I done? Celeste wondered. When she took the first step away from her house not more than five hours ago she felt completely free, but now she wondered if she had made the right decision after all. What exactly did she gain from leaving? She had no knowledge as to if her mother still existed and she was staying with a man that she didn't even know. Maybe she should have stayed and let Frank catch them instead of running away only to have the horrifying memory of her mother's bloodcurdling screams continuously haunt her.
Justin watched the emotions play across Celeste's face as her fingers tightened into a fist. He wondered what was disturbing her, the moment that made her eyes give off a look that could kill. At first he was dazzled by her pearly whites and then her smile turned upside down into a frown. Justin wanted to ask if she was okay, but again he didn't know if that would be appropriate. He didn't know what to expect anymore so he wasn't going to try to make any predictions for the future. However, when he saw the tears beginning to flow freely down her face he had to question his previous decision not to interfere.
"Hey you okay?" Justin leaned to the side to get a clearer glimpse of her face. It was tear-stained not to mention her eyes were puffy and red.
Celeste looked up a little startled. She folded her legs in Indian style and cleared her throat before speaking, "Oh…yeah I'm fine." Embarrassed that he had caught her at such a vulnerable moment, Celeste turned her back to him.
She stretched to reach for something in her bag. Feeling around the contents, Celeste tried to locate the item that was very important to her. Not wanting to believe that she had actually dropped it in her haste to reach safety, she turned the bag upside down. The contents spilled from the bag into a pile onto the bed. Celeste shoved the bag aside and scattered through the pile, making sure her eyes were not deceiving her.
"Where the hell is it? I know I put it in the bag." Celeste said more to herself, but Justin clearly heard her.
"What are you looking for maybe I can help? What-" He was interrupted by the shaking of her head.
"No it's not here. I can't find it. I think I dropped trying to get away from-" Celeste paused not wanting to reveal any more information.
Justin hung on to her every word trying to get a little tidbit of information just so he could know exactly what he was in the middle of. He was almost there until she suddenly stopped. Maybe he could try to pry some more info out of her.
"Well what is it that you can't find?"
"It's a picture frame." She said simply.
"Of who?" Justin raised his eyebrow in curiosity.
Celeste took a deep breath, "My father. He died about three years ago. Tati doesn't remember him since she was so young. But I need to find that picture it's the only memory I have since Frank got rid of everything that belonged to him…" She slowed to take another breath, but decided not to continue.
Justin settled for what information she had just relayed to him. He rose from the bed and started toward the door.
Celeste quickly moved from the bed to the door, "Where are you going?" Fear was etched across her face at the possibility of being left alone.
A smile slowly formed at the corners of his mouth, "I'm going to look for your picture frame. If you here any strange noises there is a bat by the side of the door don't be afraid to use it. I'll try not to be gone too long." With that said he shut the door behind him. When he returned he intended to get the whole full story to understand what could have happened in her life that would cause her to end up in his custody.
Celeste wiped the tears from her cheeks and released another breath, before turning on her heel. She lifted the bat from the side of the door and entered the bedroom.