I hung up the phone and dialed the taxi.
Again more details! My mom just died why do you need to know about a stupid taxi cab ride! All you need to know is my leg was bouncing the whole ride and probably driving the driver insane. And I may or may not have burst through the hospital doors upon arriving. The receptionist gave me a look and I could tell I wasn't the first one to have done it, but she was still irritated by me.
"Are you April Renton?"
I whipped my head towards a lady in a hallway so fast that I should have been concerned about whiplash.
"Yeah."
"I can take you to see your mom if you'd like."
I nodded tersely and forced myself to calm down. We walked down a lot of hallways and took too many turns to count.
Morgue
The word reverberated in my head as we walked through the door. My eyes fell on the body shape covered in a white sheet. The lady walked up next to it and removed the sheet. And there was my mom. Skin paler than normal. But other than that she looked like her normal self. Granted her normal was usually drug induced with her veins sticking out and the saggy face. I closed my eyes and squeezed my hands into fists.
"You can cover her." I breathed out in a shaky voice. I heard the rustle of the blanket and slowly opened my eyes, staring blankly at the wall.
The lady cleared her throat.
"As you know your mother had a history of drug," she paused trying to come up with a less derogatory word, "activity. Based on all the signs we believe there is a high chance that she overdosed. Signs also pointed towards possible suicide."
My head snapped towards her. "Suicide? No. No she would never kill herself."
"The video footage shows her injecting herself with a lethal amount of a yet to be determined drug. We contacted her employer and we were informed that she was fired tonight. We can not know for sure but we can guess that the overdose might have been due to this unfortunate event."
I hadn't noticed how tight my fists had gotten until now. I just needed to punch something. This lady was talking like this was completely normal for a mom to kill herself and leave behind her child with no one else to care for her. That overdosing was completely normal. That everything was going to be fine. I snapped. I whirled around and punched the wall. I watched the wall splinter as part of the wall caved in. I crumbled to the ground and put my head between my knees. I didn't even notice the blood dripping from my knuckles.
"Hey hey hey. Calm down, okay? Do you have any other family we can contact? A father?"
"I-" I paused shocked at how shaky my voice was. "I don't have any other family. And I never found out who my dad was."
"Alright well we will find your birth certificate and you can come with me and get your hand wrapped up."
I look down at my knuckles and saw them drenched in blood. I nodded. My entire body was numb as I followed behind the lady. I don't remember how I got to the room. Or what the lady said to me before she left. Or the other doctor that came in and began to wrap my hand. Or feel the pinch of the needle as they drew my blood.
I just kept seeing my mom laying dead on the table. Covered in a white sheet.
Do you know what it's like to lose someone? And not just anyone. The only person you ever had to lean on and to care for you. The only one to ever tell you it was going to be alright. To lose the only family you have ever had. To know that now that they're gone, you are left completely alone with no one else to turn to.
I just wanted to curl into a ball and cry. My jaw was aching from clenching it so hard. My gaze was zoned out on the white wall in front of me. I vaguely heard a woman's voice beside me.
"Why don't you try and get some sleep?"
She gently pushed my shoulders onto the bed and I felt my head land on the soft pillow. My eyes drifted closed and I pretended to sleep until I heard the door close, signaling the nurse had left. I sat up and grabbed my phone. I noticed 76 unread messages and 31 missed calls. All from Kayden. I sighed. I didn't bother listening to the voicemails and the majority of the messages were along the lines of asking where I was and what had happened and was I okay. I sent him a quick text.
I'm fine. Sorry I had to ditch. The hospital called. My mom overdosed. She's dead. Possible suicide.
It shocked me how simple it all was and yet how much it changed everything.
His text back was almost instantaneous.
Oh my gosh I'm so sorry! Do you need me to come over?
I'm actually spending the night in the hospital. I'm not sure what's going to happen next.
They're not going to put you in an orphanage are they?
I don't know. They talked about finding my dad.
Wow. That's intense. Do you want to find him?
Honestly I'm not sure. I want someone that's going to be there for me ya know? Not a dead beat.
I getcha. I hope it all works out. Keep me updated!
I will.
With that I slowly let myself drift into a dreamless sleep.
I slowly woke up, but kept my eyes closed as I heard hushed whispers in my room.
"You're absolutely positive?"
"It's what the birth certificate says and the blood test came back with a 97% confirmation."
"Oh goodness. And we have to give her to him don't we? Have you already called the police?"
"Yeah. They said they'd be here in half an hour. Are you going to let her know?"
"I'll wait until the police get here. That way if we have any problems, they can assist."
I heard footsteps come closer and felt a hand gently shake my shoulder.
"April. April wake up." She said softly.
I let my eyes flutter open and I sat up.
"What's up?" My voice slurred with sleep.
"What kind of cereal do you like?" She asked with a soft smile.
"Lucky charms. But no milk."
She nodded and left the room.
I picked up my phone and tried to call Kayden but he didn't answer. Weird. He usually answers.
I looked up as the nurse entered with a bowl of lucky charms. I gave her a small smile as she placed it in front of me.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome sweetie. Let me know if you need anything else." She said and then left.
I nodded and began eating the cereal. The proper way. Where you eat all the cereal and save the marshmallows for last. I didn't realize how hungry I was until I started eating. I was quickly finished. I heard the door squeak open and assumed it was the nurse. However when I looked up I couldn't help but grin at who I saw.
Kayden.
"Hey April." He looked at the empty bowl. "Let me guess. Lucky charms, no milk, and you saved the marshmallows for last?"
A gave him a soft smile.
"Hey there's no other way to eat cereal. What are you doing here?"
"You had a rough night. Figured you could use some company."
"You're missing school for me?"
He sat down on the bed next to me, took my hands in his, and looked me dead in the eyes.
"I would miss the Super Bowl for you." The look on my face was all he needed before he pulled me into a hug. "I'm going to be here for you. No matter what. Okay?"
I nodded my head and buried it in his chest. His chin rested on top of my head and we stayed that way until the nurse came in about 10 minutes later. She cleared her throat, causing me to sit up. However I still let myself lean on Kayden and he didn't move.
"Did you find out who my dad is?"
She froze. She knew.
"Um. We ran the blood tests and checked your birth certificate. The results matched."
Why wasn't she telling me who it was?
"Who is it?"
"Well that's the complicated part."
"Is he dead?"
"Well no."
"Is he the president?"
"He acts like it." She mumbled.
"Then what's complicated? Just tell me." She sent a glance towards Kayden. "It's fine. He can know."
"Your dad is..." she took a deep breath. "Tony Stark."