I asked the nurse to see him, and she showed me to his room, my mom was there, but when I got there, she left us to be alone for a few minutes. He talked about how he loved me and wished he would be able to see me grow up, then my mom came back, and he told us that he loved us, and the machines around him went off. My mom ran out, but I stood there, unable to move as doctors moved in, trying to revive him, I started crying hysterically, screaming for my dad. Nurses began pushing me out of the room, and soon, I found myself in the waiting room. Ross must’ve seen me pushed out, and ran up, wrapping his arms around me, and pulling me to a chair. I sat on his lap crying into his chest for awhile. My mom was no where to be seen, but Ross sat there with me for a long time, running his fingers through my hair to calm me down.
A little while later, a doctor came out and asked to speak with my mother, but I didn’t know where she was, she wouldn’t answer her phone either. The doctor told me that my father had died, making me cry more as he told me I should get grief counseling, then told me to go home, and if I still couldn’t find my mother, to call the police. I nodded, intertwining my fingers with Ross’ before starting to walk away.
“Wait.” The doctor said. “Take care of your girlfriend. People do stupid things in grief.” He told Ross.
“He’s not my bo-“ I started to say before being cut off by Ross.
“Yes sir. I’ll keep an eye on her. Thank you.” Ross said before pulling me towards the exit. Once we got to the parking lot, I looked up at him, gaping at him. He shrugged. “I get why he thought it, and it was easier then arguing and having to listen to him talk about being sorry or that we’d be a cute couple.” He said as we walked to his car. We got in and drove to his house. “So what do you want to do? You’re not staying home alone.” He said, looking firm with the last part.
“Well I need to see if my mom’s home. She needs me. If she’s not there, then can I stay with you? I don’t really want to be surrounded by all those memories.” I said as we got out of the car and began walking towards my house. The house was empty when we got there though. I sighed, going upstairs to pack a bag with stuff to stay with Ross. I finished, and we walked back to his house. Once we got inside, I was practically mobbed. Rydel tackled me in a hug. And started asking me tons of questions.
“Rydel, calm down, give her some space.” Ross said, taking my bag and my (his) hoodie as I took it off and handed it to him. Rydel released me and we went to the kitchen to find his mom. He explained everything and asked if I could stay with them a few days. She of course said yes, but they didn’t have a guest bedroom, because they took it out to make their practice room. “we can set up the air mattress in there, she’ll just have to wait till we finish practices..” She nodded, saying it was the only thing they had. Then, she sent Ross upstairs to tell everyone that we’d watch a movie in a bit, and to set up my bed. Then she sat down at the kitchen table, and motioned for me to sit next to her.
“Okay. So, would you like me to call the police for you?” She asked me, referring to the mom thing. I nodded thankfully, as Ross came back down and dragging me upstairs to watch the movie. We all either sat on the air mattress, or on the couch. Partway through the movie, Ross fell asleep against my shoulder, I guess he hasn’t slept much in awhile. Soon, Stormie came to get me, we had to talk. I gently moved Ross so he was leaning against the couch, still asleep, and ran downstairs.
“Okay honey. The police needed to make sure someone takes care of you until they find your mom, so you are staying with us for a little while, but they wanted to know if you had any family members that might be able to take over as your caregiver if they can’t find your mother.” Stormie told me. I nodded.
“I have an aunt, she might be willing to. I’ll call her.” I said, pulling my phone out of my pocket and dialing her number. “Hi aunt Jamie, did you hear about dad?” I asked waiting for a response. She said she had, and that she was sorry. “Yeah, well the thing is, mom disappeared. The police are looking for her, but it doesn’t sound like its gonna happen. And, I was wondering, if you’d be willing to like adopt me if we can’t find her?” I asked. We talked for a little while later, and eventually, we had this whole thing planned out. She was gonna be coming in a few weeks, with her kids, and they’d stay at my house, at least until they could find my mom. And if they couldn’t, they’d move permanently, since her work as a writer can be done anywhere. She was my dad’s little sister, and she lost her husband a few years ago, also in a car accident. I told all of this to Stormie, and she agreed. And I went back upstairs and the movie was almost over.
Soon, it ended, and Riker and Rocky said goodnight, and went to bed. Ryland had gone to bed a little while ago, and Rydel stayed and talked to me for a little while before going to her room. Ross was still asleep, but Riker had helped me move him up to the couch. I went to the bathroom to change into my pj’s. I came back and he was awake, his head propped up on his elbow looking at me.
“Well good morning starshine.” I said with a smirk as he sat up and I sat next to him. He laughed, scratching the back of his neck and rubbing his eyes.
“I did fall asleep, didn’t I? Well, I should go to bed, and let you sleep. If you need anything, you know where my room is.” He said, standing up and walking down the hall.
I laid down and fell asleep, only to be awoken in the middle of the night by Ross shaking me.
“Are you okay? You were screaming.” He asked with a concerned look.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Nightmare.” I told him, sitting up and facing him.
