Chapter Text
By the time Richie arrived to pick him up, Carmy was a zombie incarnate. It took a light honk of the horn for his blank expression to wake up and see the beat-up car. Carmy shuffled over and sank into the seat next to Richie. He pulled away from the hospital and onto the main road.
The car was silent except for the radio that was tuned into an 80s station. The two men stared ahead at the dark road that was illuminated by the headlights and accompanying vehicles making their way through Chicago. Slowing at a stoplight, Richie suddenly reached over to the backseat and pulled a plastic bag to the front. He tossed it onto Carmy’s lap who glanced down to observe the small weight of the sub sandwich wrapped in yellow, green and white.
“I know you hate the bread at Subway but it was the only food I could find on the way back from Tiff’s.” Richie was concentrating on the road again as the light turned green.
Carmy reached into the plastic bag and pulled out the sub. His nose was immediately assaulted by the 'Italian herbs' from the bread. He deciphered the black marker on the wrapper that indicated it was a chicken schnitzel sub – a classic from his childhood. Carmy exhaled a small laugh. “I appreciate it, Cousin.” He wasn’t sure if the exhaustion was stalling his appetite once again or if the gesture was so thoughtful and sentimental that Carmy couldn’t dare take a bite just yet. His line of vision drifted back to the windscreen as the lights of downtown swam into view.
It was quiet again until they paused at another stoplight. Richie cleared his throat. “Did they find out what the deal was with Syd?”
Carmy squeezed his eyes shut, pained again by having to relay what he learned. “It didn’t sound too good. They said she might have lupus in the early stages but they’ll have to run a bunch of tests to confirm.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” Richie wiped a hand over his face. “Fuck.” He winced with concern.
Carmy couldn’t tell if it felt better to share the news with someone else. It thickened the air in the car with misery since both men were in disbelief that this was happening to someone so close to them. They spent the rest of the journey in shared silence where Carmy could sense how heavy his eyelids were and that his head kept dropping forward. He surrendered to the fatigue by leaning back against the headrest.
It felt like only a few minutes until the car came to a stop in front of Carmy’s apartment. He rubbed his eyes when Richie gently shook his shoulder. “Thanks again, Richie.”
“It’s nothing. You’d do the same for me.” He offered a fist bump which Carmy reciprocated. Richie watched as his passenger pulled himself out of the car and shut the door. He leaned forward to look at Carmy through the window. “Hey, try to get some sleep. And eat that sandwich before it gets soggy as shit.”
“I’ll try. For both things.” Carmy could only shrug. “Goodnight.”
“Night, Cousin.” With a final wave, Richie drove off and disappeared around the corner.
After crawling up the stairs, Carmy entered his apartment and locked the door behind him. He didn’t bother to turn the light on as his feet dragged him to the living room. He accidentally kicked over some books on the floor while trying to find his way to the middle of the room. Carmy crashed onto the couch with a heavy drop. This might be the first time in a while that he’ll fall asleep before 10 pm.
Just as he was about to sink into slumber, he felt the vibrations of his phone. Carmy groaned in annoyance and pulled the device from his pocket. The screen lit up his face in the dark, flashing with a number he didn’t quite recognize. He wondered if it was one of those food critics that Sugar and Sydney reached out to for them to get a profile and spotlight on the Bear. Part of him wanted to ignore it and just go to sleep but something compelled Carmy to press the answer button. “Hello?”
There was a shuffling sound on the other end before a deep voice spoke. “H-hello? Is this…Carmen?”
Carmy squinted his eyes. That voice was familiar. “Uh, yes. Who is this?”
“Carmen, it’s Emmanuel. Sydney’s dad.”
Realization washed over Carmy as he shot up in his seat and smoothed his hand through his hair. “Yes! Hi Mr. Adamu. It’s good to hear you. I’m assuming the nurses were able to reach you.”
“Thankfully, yes. They told me my number was outdated on the system but they were able to tell me everything about Syd.” The cheer in his voice waned towards the end.
Carmy swallowed down the bile of guilt that was rising in his throat. “Yeah, I’m really sorry. I wish this hadn’t happened.”
“No need to apologize. I’m just glad you were able to help her when she needed it. She was right to give me your number in case of emergencies. You know how Sydney is, trying to think so far ahead.” He let out a soft chuckle.
Carmy managed a half-smile. “Yeah, that is her.” He was also tickled by the fact that she gave his number to her father. As if he was regarded as enough of an important contact to be reached by her family.
“Have there been any other updates?”
“I just left the hospital because visiting hours were over. She hasn’t woken up yet. Maybe, later tonight, she will. Or tomorrow. They said they’ll let me know.” Carmy didn’t have the heart to share Sydney’s diagnosis over the phone. “Are you on your way back? Sydney mentioned you were out of state.”
“Yes, I’m driving back now from visiting her aunts. I should be back in Chicago in another three hours. I’m just at a pit stop right now.” The background noise of truck engines drifted through his end.
“That’s good to hear, sir.” It was a small victory that at least Sydney’s father was homebound.
“Son, you don’t have to call me Mister or Sir. Emmanuel’s just fine.”
Shit. Was he being too formal? Carmy cleared his throat. “Oh yeah, s-sorry. I wasn’t really thinking. It’s been a hectic day.”
“It’s okay. I can imagine.” Emmanuel released a sympathetic sigh. “Thank you again for sticking around for Sydney.”
“No, of course. I had to stay for her.” Oh, how he wished he was still at the hospital. “I’ll be back in the morning for her.”
“I hope this won’t impede too much on the restaurant.”
Geez, even her Dad was thinking about the restaurant before him. Carmy scratched his forehead. “Honestly, that’s kind of the last thing on my mind right now. I’m just focused on Sydney getting better.”
“I appreciate that.” There was a quiet pause only filled with the sound of Emmanuel’s footsteps against the gravel. “I should be getting back on the road. Hopefully, my sweet Syd will be awake by the time I get home.”
“Of course. Have a safe trip, Emmanuel.” Carmy was extra careful with pronouncing his name.
“Thank you again, Carmen.” The sound of a car unlocking was caught in the phone. “Say, you wouldn’t happen to know anything about Syd having a boyfr –”
“Sorry?” Carmy was caught off guard by what he thought he just heard. The following silence made him question if he just zoned out on what Sydney’s dad was saying. “Hello? Emmanuel?” He pulled his phone away to see the call had dropped out. Carmy stared at the screen for a solid minute and repeated what he assumed was going to be the last word: Boyfriend?
For starters, he didn’t know shit about that side of Sydney’s life. Was he supposed to? Also, why was her father asking him about it? Carmy had no recollection of Sydney mentioning that she was seeing someone. It wasn’t like she owed him that, especially considering the Claire situation. He would be such a fucking hypocrite to pry into Sydney’s personal life. If anything, she might be handling the balance of work and personal life way better than he did. Carmy was all about work once again while there was the vague possibility that Sydney had something else outside of it. That was…good. Right?
He leaned back against the couch, gazing into the dark with his mind racing about this new development. His stomach began to stir with a strange feeling that he could only chalk up to the hunger from today.
Fuck. Carmy was wide awake again.