Return II

Chapter 15

Katherine's POV

The car ride to the hospital is silent until I put some music on to ease the tension between my grandsons. I have never seen, nor heard of them fighting like this. It is almost too shocking to believe. I want to ask who started the fight, but I have a pretty good guess and I do not want to cause another argument.

I look at Blanket through the rear view mirror, and catch him dosing off. I don't blame him—he has not gotten very much sleep these past few days. I feel bad for him. He is taking in way more than he can handle and it is too much for him. I really wish he would just take it easy and rest a while.

Prince sighs from the passenger seat next to me and I turn to him. "Everything will be fine," I begin, rubbing his shoulder. "Your father and Taryn will be there, too." I finish, hoping that that will ease the boys' fear of being confronted by Joseph.

Prince shakes his head and sighs again. "It's not that, it's just that. . .well," He pauses, trying to think of what it was he was trying to say, but could not put into words.

"Tomorrow's the day," He finally finds the words and expresses them slowly. My heart sinks. I had almost forgotten that the time had come so soon that Natalie was to be taken off of life support. I sniffle and nod. I quickly glance into the rear view mirror to catch Blanket's reaction, but I am relieved to find that he is sleeping.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't have said it if he was awake." Prince adds and I nod again. 

"Everything will be okay." I assure my eldest grandson, placing my hand on his knee. He looks at me and half smiles, as if to say, "I sure hope so," then looks at my hand on his knee. I quickly remove it and replace it onto the steering wheel once again.

. . .

Blanket opens his eyes just as I pull into the parking lot of the hospital. He rubs his eyes and sits up, still staring out the window. His face falls when he sees where we are.

"I thought we were going home." Blanket questions as I turn the ignition off. I glance at him through the rear view mirror and press my lips into a straight line while shaking my head. "Do you not want to see Natalie?" I ask and he shakes his head. I sigh and look out of the windshield at the front of the building. 

"I wanna go home." Blanket admits calmly and quietly after a few moments of silence. I nod and turn to Prince. "Would you mind taking him?" I ask and he nods. "Yeah." His voice comes out as an accidental whisper, but I heard him clearly enough. I place my hand on his shoulder and he nods again. I thank him before opening the driver's side door and placing my legs on the pavement. I turn slightly and look at Blanket. 

"Get some rest, baby." I insist in a quiet tone and he nods. He sniffles and leans back more, causing his body to slide downwards on the seat. He brings his arm up to the ledge on the door, and rests his head on his hand. He closes his eyes as I turn to face the open door.

I hand Prince the keys to my husband's car and step out. He does the same and walks around the back of the car. He hugs me before entering the driver's side and turning the key in the ignition, causing the car to roar to life once again. I stand in the parking lot and watch as he drives away, feeling nothing but distraught. 

I didn't want to inform Blanket that this will be Natalie's last day on life support. I didn't want to pressure him into staying, because I knew that he does not take orders very well. I am sure he already knows and doesn't want to believe it, or he doesn't want to suffer from the sadness of seeing her on her last day here.

Besides, he looked exhausted and he needs sleep more than anything right now.

Michael's POV

It is difficult to believe that my sons got into a fight at school. I never thought that things would get that serious between them. I am upset and very disappointed in both if them. It kind of hurt my feelings that everyone blamed Blanket for starting the fight, and even though that may have been the most likely case, they need to give him a chance.

I see myself in my youngest son.

He has a heart and feelings. He is just as human as the rest of us. And even though he has a harder time processing things than everyone else, it doesn't make him any less of a person. 

I feel horrible for him.

He has been taking so much from everyone and has no choice but to bottle it up. No one is willing to listen to him when he wants to talk, and when they are, they don't help him. They hear him, but they don't listen to him.

Blanket is his own friend most of the time, and as much as I would love to listen to him and talk to him about his problems, he will not let me. He is upset with me, which is understandable. I cannot necessarily blame him for that.

I left my kids when they needed me the most, and they were forced to grow up without me. That will burden me for the rest of my life, and there is nothing I can do to fill that hole for them no matter how long I stay here.

. . . .

My mother walks through the door of Natalie's room, pulling me from my depressing thoughts. Everyone looks up at her, but she only stares at the floor.

"Where're the boys?" Joseph asks. Mother takes a seat on the chair next to the door and sets her purse down on the floor by her legs.

"Prince took Blanket home." She explains, looking up from the floor to my father, then Natalie.

"Why?" Joseph asks impatiently, forcing my mother to look at him once again.

"He needs to rest, dear. You should have seen him. He was exhausted. I could tell that he wasn't feeling very well, either." Mother explains and my father nods. "I'm guessing they didn't want to talk about their fight." He assumes in a questioning tone, receiving a glare from my mother. He looks at Taryn, back to my mother, then at the wall across the room quickly as if he had said nothing.

My mother looks at me and smiles. I attempt to smile back, but it is a little difficult. She stands, walks over and sits next to me. She places her hand on my knee and presses her lips into a straight line, nodding. "I know, baby. I know." Her voices gradually lowers and our eyes meet simultaneously. As we look into each others eyes, I can tell that we are both trying so hard not to cry, but it does not work.

My mother pulls me in for a tight embrace and we sob together. Our mental messages are sent and received, and we both know why we are crying: today is Natalie's last day.