Sweet as a Strawberry

33 ~ Sweet as a Honeymoon

A/N: This is an hour and fifty-six minutes overdue, but better late than never? :( I'm sorry.
Also someone said to do honey dew melon and for some reason I saw that as honeymoon and then I really wanted to do honeymoon? I don't know why. 
ALSO you all freaked out because last chapter, Ben was like "I fucking loved her" and you were like "WHAT LOVED WTF NO IT'S LOVE." GUYS. This book is in past tense. There is no hidden meaning, I promise :) luv ya, dolls

ALSO this is dedicated to Lanternsfly because of the beautiful cover she made me!! i love it man it's gorgeous. 

Chapter 33: Sweet as a Honeymoon

"So he's okay?" I repeated for what seemed like the eighty-ninth time.

The doctor sighed in a way that offended me how annoyed he sounded. "I've told you, Miss Carter, your father has diabetes and is at high risk for heart disease. He needs to learn to control his diet and take care of himself."

I raised my eyebrows at his tone. "Yes," I said, ever-patient, "but if he takes your medication and starts exercising and eating healthy, he'll be okay?"

The doctor pursed his lips, as though he thought I wasn't thinking about this enough. He was my father, of course I was thinking about it! "Yes, he will," he said finally. "And make sure he cuts down on the beer. If this happens again, he might not be so lucky."

I nodded and glanced over at Papa, who still slept peacefully on the bed. Delia sat beside him, her ears cocked towards our conversation, but her eyes trained on his pale face. "I'll leave the prescription with my nurse, and she can go to the pharmacy if you'd like," the doctor, whose name I neglected to learn, said.

I smiled gratefully. "That would be wonderful, thank you, sir."

He nodded stiffly and stood there clutching his clipboard for a moment before he nodded again and strode out of the room. I laughed to myself at his weird behaviour. I sat down in the chair next to Delia and rested my chin in my palm. The doctor had told me that Papa would wake up as soon as the sleeping pills wore off. He wanted him well rested, or something.

"He'll be okay," Delia said softly. She reached out slightly as if to take my hand, but then clenched her hand into a fist and pulled back.

My mouth puckered at her actions. She was never normally like this. My dad must have seriously scared her. "Yeah, he will," I agreed, leaving no room for argument. "I'll stay home for a few days to make sure that he's okay."

"No longer than Wednesday," she said. "You can't miss much more of school."

I frowned. "But this is my dad," I said.

"And I'm here to take care of him, Charlie, you don't need to worry. You need to get your education."

I sort of scooted away from her and her angry face. Her words hurt me slightly. I didn't need to be there for my dad? Did she mean I wasn't welcome? "My dad is more important than uni," I said quietly.

She sighed and looked away. "I know he is, but you heard the doctor. He'll be fine. And I'm here to take care of him."

My fingers clutched the underside of my chair until they turned numb. She wouldn't look at me, so I couldn't see her expression, but her voice was steely and firm. I gulped, feeling my chest constrict. "Do you love him?" I asked hesitantly.

"I do," she said immediately.

I bowed my head. This was so hard for me to grasp. I knew that she cared about Papa, but it was just hard to think about when my mum died only a year and a half ago. It didn't seem right. It didn't seem fair.