Life Without You

36

"She looked at her old life one more time, took a deep breath, and whispered, I will never see you again." 

* * * 

When I woke up again Dad had brought me food from the food court. He placed the tray in my lap, a cup of tomato soup and a grilled cheese. It was my favorite as a kid. I hadn't had one since he left. "I wasn't sure what to get you but I remembered you always loved it when I made you this." He said as he took a seat at the foot of my bed. "If you don't want it I can get you something else."

I shook my head. "No, this is perfect."

"Good." Dad smiled.

I started to eat. A heavy silence falling over us. I could tell there was something Dad wanted to say but he was holding it back. Finally he spoke, "There's something I need to tell you."

"Okay, what is it?" I asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"All those times I went to Worcester for work, I wasn't actually going for work. I was going to see my wife."

"You're married?"

"Yeah."

I would have thought my Dad getting married would have hurt. Like he had betrayed my mom or something. But I didn't feel like that. I always knew that my parents weren't right for eachother. I don't think they stopped loving each other. I don't think that's how it works. You can't just stop loving somebody. But you can stop being good for the other person. At some point they stopped bringing out the good in each other and started to bring out the bad. Honestly I felt happy for Dad. I was happy he had been able to move on.

"We got married eight months before I got the call about Amber." Dad told me. "We decided it would be best if she went and lived with her mother in Worcester for a few weeks so you could get comfortable first but you just seemed to hate me even more and I couldn't tell you. I know it was wrong and I should've have kept it from you but-"

"Dad," I cut him off. "It's okay. I'm not mad."

"You're not."

I shrugged. "I mean it wasn't the best thing you've ever done but I know I didn't make it any easier."

"There's something else."

"Yeah?"

"She's pregnant."

Now this caught me off guard. He was having a kid? My eyes widened and I'm not even gonna lie, my jaw dropped a little. I didn't know what to think. I was stunned into silence.

"Please say something." Dad begged.

"How far along is she?"

"Six months."

"That's a long time."

"It is." he said and I was quiet for a while. I didn't know what to say. "Tell me what you're thinking."

"I-I don't know what I'm thinking."

"Do you think you might want to meet her?"

"Yeah." I responded, not hesitating,

"She's in the cafeteria, I'm going to go get her, okay?" Dad said and I nodded in response.

Dad came back a few minutes later, softly knocking on my door. "Come in," I said as I sat up in my bed. Dad opened the door and walked in, his wife slowly following behind him. She was a small thing and the exact opposite of my mother. This woman had dark pin straight hair and crystal blue eyes. Her skin was on the paler side, her lips thin and small.

And she was absolutely gorgeous.

My eyes traveled to her stomach. At six months pregnant she wasn't too big but she was definitely getting there and there was no doubt that there was a human growing inside of her.

She smiled when she saw me but her eyes were sad as she scanned the machines and tubes connected to me. "I'm Ella." She said, her voice soft and kind. "It's great to finally meet you, I just wish it was under different circumstances."

"Me too." I said, chuckling lightly. I didn't want things to get too serious. I wasn't ready to open up to her, I had only just opened up to my father. "So," I started, trying to change the subject. "Is it a boy or a girl?"

"We're waiting to find out when the baby's born." She told me.

"But whether it's a boy or a girl, you'll be a great big sister." Dad added smiling. But the thought made me panic. I couldn't even be a good little sister, how in the world was I supposed to be a big sister? If I wasn't able to protect Amber from Aaron, how could I possibly protect a child? There were too many bad people in this world and I couldn't even protect myself from them.

But I didn't say any of this, instead I smiled like the liar I was and said, "Thanks, Dad."

There was another knock on the door and Doctor Allen was back. Turning to Dad and Ella he said, "Can I speak to the two of you in the hall?" he asked. Dad nodded and he placed an arm around his wife as the three of them left my room.

I had no idea what Doctor Allen was telling them but not knowing made me anxious. I played with the edge of my blanket as I waited for them to come back.

When the door opened again Dad was the only one who came in. He looked nervous as he sat down at the edge of my bed.

"Dad, what is going on?" I asked, getting nervous myself.

He placed a hand on my leg, "Aaron didn't make it."

Author's Note 

Sorry for not updating, I've been really sick. But I'm all better now and will be updating the next parts as soon as possible. 

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