*tiny trigger warning*
Chapter 49
I was so bored in my last class. Yes, it was my piano class and that was my favorite, but I was still bored. I was repeatedly pressing the same key over and over again, hoping to find some entertainment.
Isadora was sitting at the keyboard in front of me and turned around. "Bored?" she asked.
I sighed. "Yeah."
"Don't worry, we only have four weeks of school left," she said. "Well, then there's college for me, but...."
"I decided to go to college," I said.
"What?" Isadora asked.
"I decided to go to college," I repeated. "I had an idea of what I wanted to take in college, but I wasn't sure about it. And now, the more I think about it, the more I'm sure about it."
Isadora smiled at me. "What do you want to take?"
"Music."
"I can definitely see you doing that," Isadora said. "You're getting the second highest mark in this class. I think you should."
"I think I will," I said.
A cell phone suddenly beeped with a new message and I winced when I realized it was mine and that I forgot to put it on silent. "Was that a cell phone?" my teacher asked.
"Sorry," I said, reaching in my bag to pull it out. "I'll turn it on silent."
Well, I was about to, but then I got the message from Seb. He told me to walk home after school so that I could get his motorcycle and drive to the hospital. When I was sure the teacher wasn't looking, I texted him back.
My sister-in-law was in labor. Seb and his wife were about to be parents.
Thank goodness. I was tired of Artemis's complaining and it wasn't even directed towards me.
I put my phone back in my bag after turning it on silent. "Izzy, what time does your dad normally leave the school?" I asked.
"It depends on the day, why?" she asked.
"Artemis finally went into labor and since they have the car, I have to walk home if I can't get a ride," I said.
"I'll see if my dad is leaving right away today," she said.
When school ended, Isadora and I went to our locker to drop off our stuff before going to Mr. Garner's classroom. He was still at his desk and I was really hoping he wasn't going to stay for too long.
"Dad, how long are you staying for?" Isadora asked.
"About five more minutes, why?" Mr. Garner said.
"Artemis is going to have her baby, so she and Seb are already at the hospital," I said. "I just need a ride home."
"I can drop you off at the hospital instead," Mr. Garner said.
"Yeah, okay, thanks," I said.
We had to wait five more minutes for him to finish off whatever he was doing. We then went to the parking lot and to his car. When he got to the hospital, Isadora said she wanted to come as well. We got into the hospital and I pulled out my cell phone to call Seb. "Hello?" he answered.
"Isadora and I are at the hospital," I said. "What's the news so far?"
"Evelyn was born about five minutes ago," Seb said. "They're just cleaning her up and measuring her. You and Isadora can come to the room." He told us the room number and Isadora and I went there.
By the time we got to their hospital room, which took a while because I kept getting us lost, Evelyn was all cleaned up. Artemis was laying in the hospital bed, holding her with a small smile. And Seb looked completely in love.
Seb was such a softy. So cute.
Isadora and I stood on side of the hospital bed that Seb wasn't on. I looked at my niece and I couldn't believe how cute she was. Well, actually I could because she was related to me in a way. I didn't make her, but we shared some genes. Not a lot, but some.
"She's so cute," I said. "And now we don't have to put up with your complaining."
"I didn't complain," Artemis objected.
"You kind of did," Isadora admitted.
"Kind of?" Seb repeated. "Do you know how many times I wanted to punch a hole in a wall? I can't even count that high."
"Well, it won't happen again," Artemis said. "I think having one child is fine."
"I'm fine with any amount," Seb said. "Even one after seeing how adorable she is."
"I know I just got her, but do you want to hold her?" Artemis asked.
Seb smiled. "Yeah." Artemis handed their daughter over to Seb, who carefully took her. "It's weird being a parent, isn't it?"
"A bit," Artemis said. "But definitely worth it."
It wasn't long before Sara, Gemma, Ty, and Artemis's parents showed up. They all took turns holding Evelyn as they talked to Seb and Artemis. I really didn't want to sound selfish, but I was starting to feel forgotten. I know they were all excited about Evelyn, but....Nobody even asked how I was doing like they normally did.
Of course you're forgotten. They hate you.
Everyone hates you. Especially Isadora.
I looked at Isadora. "I'm going to get something from the vending machine," I said quietly.
"Do you want me to come?" she asked softly, obviously knowing something was wrong. I nodded and we got up from our seats and left the hospital room, not even being noticed by anyone else.
No one will notice you. They probably wouldn't notice if you killed yourself.
You should try. See if they'll notice.
I was trying my best to ignore the voices. I hadn't heard them for a long time because I had been taking my medication and going to therapy. But sometimes, those didn't stop it.
I pulled out my wallet and with shaky hands, placed the money in the vending machine. Right when I was about to put the last one in, Isadora grabbed my hand. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"Nothing," I said, my voice cracking a bit as I placed the last coin in the machine. I picked what I wanted and grabbed it out of the bottom. "Let's just go back."
"Dax...."
"I'm fine," I said. "Promise."
Isadora didn't say anything else as we went back to the hospital room. Instead of sitting on the chair I was on, I sat on the windowsill. Isadora knew something was up, but she didn't say anything else. I guess she figured I didn't want to talk about it.
She's not asking you because she doesn't really care.
Nobody cares about you.
I reached into my backpack and pulled out my earphones. As soon as they were in my ears and my music was playing, Isadora knew exactly what was going on. She moved one of the chairs closer to the windowsill and intertwined our hands together, giving it an assuring squeeze.
A few minutes later, Isadora's phone buzzed. She read the message she just received and sighed. "My mom's here to pick me up," she said. "My grandma's over for dinner, which I forgot up." She stood up and kissed my cheek. "I'll see you later."
After she left, I felt even more alone. I didn't want to feel like people had to pay attention to me but nobody even noticed that my earphones were in. If I was just listening to music, I had one in. If it was because of the voices, I had two, and Seb always noticed immediately.
A few minutes later, Ty sat down in the chair Isadora was sitting in. "You okay?" he asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.
"Because you have both earphones in," he said. "Not one. You're not just listening to music."
I sighed and looked down. "I just....kind of feel forgotten."
"They're all just excited about the baby," Ty said. "It will pass."
"I know," I said. "And I know that I'm eighteen and it shouldn't be bothering me but....But for those eighteen years, Seb had always been there for me, no matter what. It's like when someone has a new sibling. That new sibling is the focus and the older sibling kind of has to....take care of themselves, I guess."
"That doesn't always happen," Ty said.
"Most of the time it does," I said. "Not when it comes to me, you, and Seb because we're a messed up bunch. Anyway, no matter what, Seb has always been there. He always notices when both of my earphones are in and he hasn't notice yet. I bet you guys didn't even notice that I went to the vending machine."
"You did?" Ty asked and I held up the empty chip bag as proof. "Well, I see your point now. Look, this happens, Dax. Things will probably go back to normal once Artemis and Evelyn get to leave the hospital."
I scoffed. "Yeah, right....I sound selfish, don't I?"
"Not at all," Ty said. "It was like when Mom was still alive and with you and Seb, not me."
"Not really," I objected. "No offense, but she was never with you to begin with. But when she left to raise you, that's what I'm starting to feel again. She neglected me and Seb. We would have been fine with it if she at least sent us birthday cards because you were her son too. We understood that she wanted to raise you. We didn't understand why she just acted like we weren't there."
"Trust me, things will go back to normal," Ty said. "Evelyn was born literally less than two hours ago. The excitement is still there."
"Ty," I said. "Thanks for the help, but you're forgetting one tiny thing."
"What?" Ty asked.
"Sebastian and Artemis asked everyone if they wanted to hold Evelyn," I said. "Everyone but me. Evelyn went all the way around and went back to Artemis. And they never asked if I wanted to hold her."
Ty looked over at everyone else, who were still talking about whatever. He then looked back at me. "Alright, let's go," he said.
"Where?" I asked.
"To get some food," Ty said. "I'm not going to let you sulk in here." He pulled me up from the windowsill. "Well, I'm going to take off," he said to everyone. "Dax is coming with me."
Everyone just made sounds of agreement, probably not even listening to what Ty said. I just sighed as I followed Ty out of the hospital and to his car. "Where are we getting food?" I asked.
"Anywhere," Ty said. "Where do you want to go?"
"McDonald's," I said. I loved that place. Especially the McChickens.
Ty drove to a nearby McDonald's and we decided to eat inside instead of just getting food at the drive-through. Ty paid for my food as well, which I did not expect at all.
After we got our food, we sat down at one of the tables. "So....How's Danielle's pregnancy going?" I asked.
"Good," Ty said. "We're having a girl, but we can't decide on the name. She keeps shutting down my ideas, probably just to bug me. I still love that annoying girl, though."
"So I take it you two decided to finally date?" I asked.
Ty asked. "It took her a lot of convincing, but she finally said yes. How is everything with you and Isadora, by the way."
"Amazing," I said. "We rarely argue. Actually....I don't think we've ever argued. The only time was when she had amnesia and that stupid son of a bitch Collin decided to convince her that he was her boyfriend. If I wasn't against fighting, I would have beat the shit out of him."
"You should have anyway," Ty said. "What do you have to lose?"
"The fact that it would only convince Collin that schizophrenics are dangerous," I said. "We're not and I hate when people and the media assume that we are. A lot of schizophrenics live a normal life with the proper treatment, which I'm getting, so he really has no reason to think I'm dangerous."
My cell phone buzzed and I looked at the message.
Are you kidding me?
I texted a reply to Seb before slamming my phone on the table and devouring my fries. "What's up?" Ty asked.
"Seb texted me," I said. "Asking where I was."
Ty raised an eyebrow. "So they didn't hear me say you're coming with me to dinner? You know, I'm starting to see your point."
"Yeah," I said. I was now welcoming the feeling of being forgotten with opened arms.
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One chapter left. I am really going to miss my Daxton. He's my baby....
But there's still the crossover! And I randomly got an idea for it from watching a video. Let's just say Seb and Grayson put their differences aside for once to deal with something that a mom has to put up with....
I'll try to post the final chapter tomorrow, but I'm going to my grandma's to spend the night and she's not that fond of us bringing our electronics, even though I basically use my laptop to write.