You really shouldn't get involved

"How's she doing?" I ask one of the Nurses who walks out of the room into the hall where I'm standing.

"She'll make it," she says with a smile and points to a Doctor who is approaching from behind.  The Doctor smiles as he passes before entering the room where the other twin lays unconscious.  I wait until he's checked her chart before I walk in. 

"Are you family?" he asks as he jots down some notes onto a clipboard attached to the foot of her bed.

I shake my head 'no'.

Somehow, he doesn't ask me to leave. 

"Social worker?" he asks a moment later as he motions me into the hall.

"No," I say half expecting a lecture.

"Well, it's not uncommon for a twin to want to take their life when the other passes -- especially since they were all they had." He says as we walk towards a vending machine that dispenses coffee.  He asks me if I want anything while he pops some change into the slots, but I decline.

"What's going to happen to her?" I ask as he orders an instant cappuccino.

"Well, typically, a case worker would get involved -- and since she probably has no place to go, she'll be put into some sort of home for monitoring." He says as he slurps his hot coffee.

I wince at the thought of chugging back a hot drink.  When he sees my reaction to the way he drinks, he laughs.

"I'm sure the police have already told you this," he says walking away, "but you really shouldn't get involved.  There's a reason their families have given up on them.  They don't want to be helped."

He gives me a polite waive and turns the corner.  I listen to the sound of his footsteps getting softer as the distance between us increases.  Eventually, there is nothing but the hum of the vending machine beside me.

"I don't believe that," I whisper quietly to myself after he's gone.

I take a moment and stare blankly into the machine while I think about what I want to do.  A few seconds later I find myself popping some coins into the vending machine.  A robot watching robot arms make a small chai latte.

As I head back to my chair outside the twin's door, I settle in and watch bad daytime television while I wait for the surviving twin to awaken.  When she does, I will make sure she is taken care of.

That's the least I can do. 

It's what I would want someone to do for me if I were ever to wake up alone and afraid...