~17~

336 37 70
                                    

The sound of clicking heels across the floor was the metronome that ticked away the time in the hospital. Prince was the only one that couldn't stay seated as he waited anxiously for any news regarding his daughter and her child.

"What's taking so long!?!?!" He hissed as he paced back and forth in front of his friends and family looking for answers

"P just try to relax these things take time. I'm sure we'll find out soon enough." Erin said to him trying to soothe his anxiety.

"This shouldn't have happened. I should have......I should have listened to my daughter and been in a better frame of mind. What was I thinking????" He stated to the room still roaming to and fro.

Regan couldn't bare to watch Prince getting so worked up and overwhelmed. She excused herself from Jackson and stood next to Prince which finally got him to stop pacing. She gave him a soft smile and he could feel it in his heart that it was Regan's genuine way of being the friend that she had always been to him.

"Skipper?" She said to him.

It was like music to his ears to hear the gentleness of her voice again. Prince didn't speak to her. He just stared into her hazelnut pools and could tell he was at his breaking point. He was in a vulnerable state and he didn't seem to mind. Regan placed a hand on his back still giving him the comforting home of a smile.

"Let's take a walk huh? That should help clear your head a little." She said to him.

Once again he couldn't bring himself to speak. He could only listen and follow her out of the waiting room. They found themselves walking down the long white hallways and out to a small courtyard. Regan found a huge stone turtle and sat on its back and called over to Prince.

"I remember when my mom brought me out here when they first made this a place to sit. This turtle was always my favorite. God I miss my mom so much. She'd always say that one day something would bring me back to this place. Somehow she was always right. Come sit with me on this.....oversized reptile." She giggled and waved him over.

With his head down trying to hide his smile and his hand deep in the pockets of his coat me went over and sat next to Regan on the sculpture. He let it a sigh and looked up at the night sky surrounding them.

"The angels must be hard at work tonight." He said as his gaze never broke from the north start shining brighter than the rest.

"You think so?" Regan asked.

"Yeah. See? When there's a bunch of clusters that means that God is handling something that his angels can't. So he sends them out to take care of the things that he's unable to at the time. Maybe....maybe he's working on how to save my grandchild." He said sadly.

Prince became overwhelmed once again with sadness and he feared for the worst even thought he didn't that the outcome could be positive. His eyes filled with tears as he continued to look up at the sky.

  "Sometimes..,..I wish.....things in my life were different." He said as his heart began to break.

Regan took his hand squeezing it just enough to get his attention. As he looked into her eyes he noticed a certain brightness to them that he had seen before many times. Even with a shorter hair cut it still took his breath away and he became love struck all over again. It was something about the way he smiled at her that made his heart stop suddenly. Prince began to feel flush from her hand holding his. Regan can tell that he was different. What she couldn't tell was if it was a good or a bad thing.

"Why would you think something like that Prince? Everybody knows that this was the life you dreamed of! Why would you want it to be any different. You've been blessed with a talent that I don't have but wish I did! If you didn't have the life you have right now then....I guess.....I guess I wouldn't exist. And neither would your kids. You have been blessed with a wonderful life! Don't wish it away because of a bad moment! I mean think about it. Would you really want to wish me away? As fine as I am? You wanna change your life so you never experience something like me ever in your life?"

Regan playfully adjusted her spring dress which was lavender in color and her hair even though short was full of small curls.

  "What I don't understand is....why cut your hair off? I thought you were beautiful that way! You've always been beautiful anyway but.....I like it better long. It's sexy I think. Everything about you is."

Prince was beginning to open up to the one he's been shutting out. It felt good to him that she was beside him. Regan was stunned to know that he was still harboring those feelings for him even though he was married. She leaned away a little and made a grasping motion at the collar of her dress.

  "Well look at that! Prince Nelson still soft and gooey on the inside! I'm flattered!" She joked causing him to blush a beautiful shade of crimson on his cheeks.

  "It's true! When you cut your hair it was almost like you cut into my soul! Then you showed up with your.....new toy." He huffed playfully.

  "Woooow! You jealous little snake! I'm telling Jackson you said that too!" She said to him nudging him in the arm.

  "Tell him what? I didn't say anything! I was just.....talking." He giggled like a school boy as he looked at her.

The mood he was in was much lighter now and he was feeling better about the situation that had not been ready to talk about. He looked up at the sky once again and smiled at the clusters of stars. Regan looked up with him and she began to think about their childhood at camp.

  "You know what those stars remind me of?" Regan asked him still entangling her fingers through his.

  "What do they remind you of Mouse?" He responded.

She continued to look up and smiled when the thought of the two of them at camp brought her to her favorite memory of all.

  "Fireflies."

The two of them looked over at each other and smiled. The love in their eyes began to grow along with the smiles that they wore on their faces.

  "I think so too." He said to her.

He stood up from the turtle and pulled Regan up with him and they walked back inside to the waiting room. Regan sat back down next to Jackson and landed a kiss on her cheek.

  "Everything ok?" He asked her.

  "Yeah. He's just worried that's all." She said taking Jackson's hand.

Prince leaned against the wall and watched the couple sit together while they waited. He felt the jealousy rise inside of him once again as he looked on.

  "Why was I so stupid to let you slip away from me Mouse?" He silently asked himself.

Before his conscience could give him a logical explanation four doctors showed up in the waiting room.

  "We're looking for Carlyn Nelson's father?" The female doctor with blonde hair said.

Prince shot up from the wall he was leaning on and rushed to her.

  "I'm here. How is she? What's wrong?" He asked nervously.

  "Mr. Nelson.....you may want to come with us." She said.

Blank faces cascaded the room and Prince's heart was pounding.

Something In The Water Volume 2Where stories live. Discover now