Emma's POV:
"Okay, Asha, let's go see your mom now." The little girl didn't say anything. She just followed behind me. I wanted to open up and see if she was just shy or if something was going on with her, but I couldn't do it. I just couldn't, especially in this place.
As we got closer to what I will always refer to as the bubble, I could see Melissa come into view. I stopped close to it, and Asha ran into me. She looked up at me like she was terrified. I gave her a small smile showing I wasn't mad at all. That's when she started taking in her surroundings and saw her mom standing there. She frantically rushed the rest of the way over to the bubble.
"Mommy!" She had her hands up against the bubble. "Mommy! Why are you in there?" I could hear the fear and confusion in her voice. She seemed to be studying her mom a bit more, and that's when I saw her head look to where her mom's arm was. I knew at that moment she saw the dark veins leading all the way up her arm till they disappeared under her sleeve. That's when she pulled back a bit, and I saw her shaking her head. "No. No, mommy, you can't be sick."
"Hey there, my little bumblebee. I missed you so much." I could hear Melissa's voice wavering. Trying so hard not to lose herself to her emotions.
"I missed you too, mommy. Mommy, you're sick with that virus you told me about, aren't you?" I see Melissa nod her head with a solemn look on her face.
"Yeah, Bee, I am." I could hear sniffling coming from Asha.
"But mommy, that means-" She stopped talking, and I saw her shoulders shaking. She was crying so hard that it kept her from being able to say anything else.
"I know. Bee, I'm so sorry." I could hear the pain in Melissa's voice from seeing her child breaking down. I couldn't imagine seeing my child crying and extremely sad and not being able to comfort them.
"Mommy. I don't want you to go. I don't want to lose you like daddy." My heart clenched at what she just said. Not only has she lost her father, but she's also going to be losing her mom too. I looked at Lance, and I could tell this was getting to him as well.
"I know, Bee, I know. I wish I didn't have to leave you. It's the last thing I ever wanted to do. I am so sorry. Please forgive me." Melissa had collapsed to the ground, and this made Asha drop to the ground crying harder.
"Someone help her!" She looked back at me, and her eyes were bloodshot and swollen. "Help her. Help my mommy, please. You've got to save her." Her cries for help, pleading me to help save her mom, almost knocked me on my ass. I lost all the air in my lungs. I made my way over to where she was on the floor and sat down next to her.
"We are doing everything we can to save your mommy, Asha. I promise." She didn't look at me but just looked up at her mom.
"You're not going to make it till they have found something that will save you, are you?" Asha sounded absolutely defeated. Melissa looked at me; she was in complete turmoil.
"I'm going to fight for as long as I can, okay?" I saw Melissa's lips quiver, trying to hold in her sobs. Asha put her hand up to the bubble, and Melissa put hers in the same place.
"It's okay, mommy. It's okay if you have to go. I know if you could, you wouldn't leave me. You have nothing to be sorry about, and you've done nothing wrong to where you need to ask for forgiveness." Melissa used her other hand to smother a sob but failed miserably.
"Mommy." Melissa looked back up at Asha. "It's okay. I don't want you to suffer. It's okay if you have to go. I love you." Melissa's face contorted a little bit, showing that she was fighting back crying hysterically.
"Bee. I love you so much. I will always love you, and I will always be proud of you. Never forget that, okay?" Asha nodded. "Even though I'm not physically there, and I'll still always be with you. I'll be there for every accomplishment, every failure, every laugh, every time you cry. I'll be with you always." I could feel tears start to well up in my eyes. I picked myself off the ground and paced back to where Lance still was. He stood there like a statue with his arms crossed. Unless you knew him, you would never know how conflicted and sad he was.
"I know you will be. Just like how you say, daddy is always with us still. Tell daddy I said hi and that I love and miss him very much when you see him, please." At this point, they both found their way back to their feet.
"I'm sure he already knows, but I'll make sure to tell him when I see him. Bee, I love you." I saw Asha straighten her shoulders back and stand as tall as she could.
"I love you too, mommy. Don't worry about me too much, okay? I'll be fine. I'm strong just like you." Asha put both of her hands on the bubble and leaned her head up against it. With all her strength, Melissa squatted down to Asha's height and mirrored what she was doing. "I love you, momma; goodbye. I'll miss you." I heard Melissa let out a shaky breath.
"Goodbye, my little bee. I love you very much, and I'm going to miss you very much too."
They kept their foreheads leaned up against one another's, just the layer of the bubble separating them from each other.
After a few more minutes, they pulled away and looked at each other. Then, they both nodded simultaneously, and Asha walked over to where Lance and I were.
"My mommy would like to talk to you." I patted the little girl's shoulder then made my way over to her mom.
"I've already updated my will. I've included you and your wife in it. If anything is to happen to mom, to where she can't take care of Asha anymore, I would like her to go with you and your family." I looked at her, and I knew my facial expression was showing how shocked I was. "Please. I know I can trust her with you and your family. I know you and Mila would love and take good care of her." I sharply inhaled.
"Okay, Melissa. If anything happens and your mom can't take care of her, Mila and I would be more than happy and willing to welcome her with open arms. We'll always watch over her. I can even have Mila drop her off and pick her up from school if you'd like. My kids are going to be in her grade as well, so she'll always have someone there for her." She sighed, her body relaxing.
"Thank you, Emma. Make sure my daughter knows that I will always love her and be proud of her no matter what." I nodded in agreement.
"Of course, I will. I'll see you tomorrow?" She shrugged her shoulders.
"Maybe. Goodbye, Emma." She turned her attention to Asha and blew her a kiss. Asha caught it, brought it to her heart, then blew one back to her mom. Melissa brought it to her heart, took one more look at me, and turned around, heading back to her bed.
I made my way over to Lance and Asha and motioned my head in the direction of the elevator. As we made our way over there, Asha reached up and grabbed onto my hand. I was shocked by this but immediately held her hand back. She looked up at me and gave me a thankful look. I'm going to make sure that this little girl is always taken care of and protected.
Mila's POV:
I was sitting down watching the kids when I heard a ding from the elevator. I snapped my head in its direction and saw Emma, Asha, and Lance step out of it. I called the kids over, and we made our way over to them. I saw Emma holding Asha's hand. I looked at Asha and could tell that she had been crying.
The thing about being a healer is that no matter what it comes to, physical injury, sickness, physical pain, mental pain, etc.... I could always help. I can cure people but at a cost. I take on whatever they need healing from, but being a healer and a vampire, I can recover quicker. And right now, looking at Asha, I knew she needed a little bit of that emotional and mental pain taken away. I walked up to her and bent down to where I could look her in the eyes.
"May I?" I lifted my hands to the sides of her head. She nodded in agreement and let go of Emma's hand. I put my hands over her temples and leaned my forehead against hers. I took as much of the pain as I could away from her. Taking away mental and emotional pain, in my opinion, is the hardest to recover from. Leaning my head back away from hers, I saw that her eyes were no longer bloodshot and puffy. I also saw a little bit of relief in her eyes.
"Thank you, Mrs. Mila." I smiled at her and stood up carefully. I felt a little disoriented, but it soon wore off. Emma gave me a look of concern, but I just gave her a look back that told her I would be okay. She knew exactly what I did, and she knows firsthand how much this will affect me. I still remember when Chloe at a miscarriage after Jazmine and I took some of her mental and emotional pain away. After that, I couldn't leave my bed for two days straight.
"Alright, kids. Let's head home. I'll make us some dinner, and I'll also make some cheesecake for dessert tonight. Sound good?" I got some cheers from the little ones.
All of us walked out to the parking lot together. Alyx, Emma, and I hugged Lance goodbye. Aleksey gave his signature head nod, and Asha gave him a timid wave goodbye. I unlocked the and was helping the kids get into the car. Once I made sure they were all buckled in, I shut the back door. As I was about to open my side door, I felt a wind and saw Emma standing there holding the door open for me. I stopped and just looked at her. Wondering why she was acting like this all of a sudden. She helped me in the car, and as soon as I was seated, she kissed me on my cheek. I could feel the sparks radiate throughout my body, making my heart come to life.
"I love you, Mila. I love you all." She leaned in and gave my cheek another kiss. Jumpstarting my heart for a second time. "I'm sorry, Mila. I'll try and do better." She pulled back with a sad look in her eyes. The most emotion she's really shown me these past few days.
"I love you too, Em." I kissed her back.
"Love you, mommy! See you at home!" The kids both hollered from the backseat. She looked at them with a smile then looked at me one more time before closing my door for me. I watched her get into her car, and as soon as she started to drive off, so did I.