Chapter 6
Ramin's POV
Sierra woke up in a confused state. Her head was foggy and she couldn't think straight. "Hey Sie, how are you feeling?" Ramin asked softly.
She looked around for a second, at me then the stitches in her stomach. "What happened?"
"You got surgery Sie. How do you feel?" Ramin made sure his phone was recording this. He knew that anesthesia made people say weird and crazy things, and he wanted to get it on his phone.
"How do I feel? I feel like a million bucks man! I feel like I could go to a casino in Vegas and win myself that's how good I feel." Sierras eyes lit up and Ramin braced himself for why he was about to say. "Can we go to Vegas so I can win myself?" Ramin thought that sounded very strange, but just nodded and smiled.
"Alright, well the doctor said we could leave when you wake up, so let's go." She seemed confused still as Ramin checked her out and lead her into the car. He discretely pointed his phone towards her.
"What is this?" Sierra questioned, gesturing towards the car.
"It's a car Sie."
"A car? I don't think so. This is a spaceship! Oh my god. We're going to Mars!" " She continued to look out the window as they drive back to the hotel. "Where are we going? Are we going to Mars!?! Oh! Or maybe Jupiter?"
Ramin had to hold back a laugh. "If that's where you want to go, sure."
She stayed silent for a couple more minutes before bursting out and yelling, "Oh my god! Oh my god!" She started pointing to something on the road. "You have to watch out Ramen!"
He laughed because she pronounced his name wrong. "What? What am I watching out for?"
"You almost hit the unicorn Ramen! You can't hit the unicorns!"
"I won't hit any unicorns Sie, I promise."
Again, she was silent for a little while, looking out the window. "What is that? What the hell is that? That white thing in the sky!"
"It's a cloud Sierra."
"A cloud? You're trying to tell me that's a cloud? And that blue stuff around it-"
"That's the sky."
"The sky? That's bullshit." She looks behind her seat, staring out the back window. "Oh my god Ramen! Someone's following us!" Ramin had to stifle another laugh. He turned into the hotel parking lot and parked the car. Sierra seemed thoroughly confused with her seatbelt. "What- what is this?" She starts tugging on the seatbelt.
"That's the seatbelt Sierra. I'll come around and let you out."
"Let me out of what? Ohh! We're in a spaceship!" Ramin opened the door for her and unbuckled the seatbelt. "Where's are we going now?"
"I'm bringing you back to your hotel room."
"No! Bring me to rehearsal! I have to go!" The doctor told him that she would pass out in about a half hour. That meant that the anesthesia would ware off when she was asleep.
Ramin obliged. He knew she couldn't sing, much less would she try to sing as high as she has to, and she would pass out soon and he would take her back.
The five minute car ride was filled with Sierra talking gibberish. When they got to the theater, everyone was on a water break, and very confused as to why Sierra was there.
Ramin lead Sierra to the front row and sat her down next to Hadley. "Hey Sierra." She looked over at him confused. Sierra then proceeded to feel around his face.
"He looks like a quesadilla. Can I eat him Ramen?"
"No Sierra, don't eat him. This is Hadley, he's your friend."
"Ramen, I want to sing!"
"What do you want to sing Sie?"
"Think of Me!" Ramin was surprised that she remembered an actual song from the show. It was convenient that that's the song she chose because that's the scene they were doing.
Cameron quickly went over what they were supposed to do, that took twenty minutes. In ten minutes, Sierra will pass out. Wendy did her song on stage and then she stormed out and Sierra slurred her lines.
"Think of me
Think of me fondly
When we say goodbye
Remember me
Every so often
Promise me you'll try
On that day
that not so distant day
When you were far away and free
If you ever find a moment
Spare a thought for me...
And though it's clear
Though it was always clear
That this was never meant to be-"
Her words stopped and Ramin knew she was going under. He rushed over to catch her as she fell unconscious.
"Oh my god, is she okay?" Hadley comes up as he walked out of the theater.
"Oh ya, she's fine. The anesthesia wore off so she's gonna be asleep for a whole. See you in a couple days!"
When Ramin got Sierra back to the hotel he got lots of weird looks, regarding the unconscious woman in his arms. He laid her down on her bed and tucked her in.
Ramin didn't want to leave her alone so he sat down on the couch and watched tv. Sierra slept through the whole night so Ramin went back to his hotel room.
When he laid down in bed and closed his eyes, he was soon interrupted. His phone was buzzing rather loudly on the bedside table. A smiling picture of Hadley and Jaiden showed up. He immediately picked up.
"Hello? Are you guys ok?"
"Hi daddy." Hearing Jaiden's voice warmed his heart.
"Hey Jaiden, is everything okay? Is Hadley alright?"
"Hadley's asleep. And everything is fine. I just haven't called in a while."
"Alright, at least everything is okay."
Then Ramin heard the two kids fighting. "Jaiden, hang up. Mommy's gonna take the phone away for good this time!" "I'm just talking to daddy." "Jaiden, stop it. I don't want mommy to hit us again!"
"She's hitting you?!" Ramin couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"Ya, sometimes, mommy gets angry and throws things at us. It hurts, daddy." Jaidens voice started cracking.
"I need you two to hang in there. I'll come visit you, tomorrow, I swear. And I'll try to convince your mom to let you two come live with me, okay?"
"Just, come soon daddy. We miss you." Hadley's little voice cracked, and Ramin could swear he felt his heart break at his sons scared and desperate voice. "We need you."
"I'll come tomorrow, I swear. Now you two get to bed. Stay out of trouble, I'll come by tomorrow. I love you two."
"We love you too daddy." The two said in unison. "Bye." When Ramin hung up, he had tears streaming down his cheeks. He hated seeing his kids in pain, and he knew he couldn't help them fully.
Ramin fell asleep sometime around 1am, and woke at 9am.
Sierra! I forgot!
Ramin rushed to get ready and flew down the hall to Sierras room. He knocked quietly, and when he heard no response, he unlocked the door and went in. He laughed at what he saw. Sierra was sprawled put on her bed, starfish position, her face scrunched up in pain. She was clutching a pillow in her arms, seeming to be squeezing the shit out of it. Ramin didn't want her to be in pain, but he knew she needed sleep. But she needed her medicine.
"Sie, Sierra. Wake up." He shook her ever so slightly, and her eyelids fluttered open, but her face stayed scrunched in pain. She groaned and started squirming in bed, but that made the pain worse. "Hey, stop. Take your medicine." She quickly gulped down the pill and glass of water. She laid back, letting out a sigh of relief. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm in pain Ramin. But, I feel good. That's a little contradicting, right? But who cares." Ramin helps her sit up and he gets in next to her. "Can I just ask a question?" Ramin nods. "They gave me anesthesia? Was I, bad?"
"You were terrible. I recorded it, wanna see?" She nods as Ramin whips out his phone. Sierra watches in awe as she babbles on about unicorns and mars. "It was hilarious!" Ramin chuckles to himself.
Sierra knew Ramin. She knew Ramin enough to know that he was fake smiling. He wasn't his normal self. His eyes were almost black, they reflected sadness and depression.
"Ramin, what's wrong?"
"What makes you think something is wrong?"
"Ramin, you don't have to lie to me. I know you. You can tell me what's wrong. I'll always be here for you. I promise."
I promise.
Ramin was silent for a second before speaking up. "The kids called last night." He was reluctant to continue.
"And? Are they okay?"
"They said that Mandy's beating them. She throws things at them, apparently. They told me they're scared, I told them I would visit today. So I have to leave sometime."
"Go, leave now. I can live by myself for a few hours. Get out, and come back here so I can hear what happened."
Ramin nods, getting up and putting his shoes back on. He was about to leave wen he turned back around, ran toward her, and kissed her forehead. "Thank you for being so understanding."
Sierra tried to hold back her blush. He just kissed me! "No problem, now go. And expect to eat ice cream when you some back."
Ramin was nervous the whole ride to Mandy's flat. His hands were slightly shaking, his foot was tapping on the floor, his head was swirling. Ramin wanted to see his kids, but he was afraid of what he would see. He couldn't bare to see his kids beaten up and bruised, if they even were, but his kids needed to see him.
His mind wandered to each of them. Hadley. Little Hadley. He's too young to understand what's going on, so he must be scared out of his little mind. Ramin was just hoping that Jaiden was being a good brother. Jaiden. Big brother Jaiden. Jaiden was always a good brother to Hadley, and this was a time when Hadley needed him most.
Ramin almost didn't realize he had arrived at Mandy's flat, he was so deep in though. He took a deep breath before getting out of his car and heading towards the door. Another deep breath later, he gathered the courage to knock on the door. He had to suppress a gasp at the sight of Mandy. She was dressed in black yoga pants, a blue button down shirt, and her hair was matted down to her head. Also, her eyes were bloodshot and her breath wreaked of alcohol.
"Ramin?! What the hell are you doing here? How dare you come back here and-"
"Look Mandy, I'm not here to fight. I just want to see my kids." It took all of Ramin's strength not to scream at her and tell her she's a terrible mother.
"Hadley! Jaiden! Get over here!" He heard the pitter patter of their feet against the tile. He could tell they weren't running, probably terrified of what might happen. "Your father is here to see you."
Both boys looked towards the door to see their father grinning at them. "Daddy!" They chime, running into their fathers arms. Ramin was so happy to have his kids back in his arms again.
Back at the hotel, Sierra waited for an hour. She waited patiently in bed for him to return, trying to distract herself by watching SVU on tv. When he did return, he looked a bit happier, but still sad. "Hey, did everything go alright?"
"The kids are scared to death. They want nothing more than to get out of that damn house and I can't do anything. Kills me inside."
"But Ramin, you're doing everything you can. You can only do so much without breaking the law."
"It's just makes me feel like a terrible father." He mumbles.
"Hey!" Sierra screeched, sitting up as fast as she could, which wasn't fast at all. "You're the best damn father I've ever met Ramin. It just sucks that they have to be stuck with such a terrible woman. Don't ever think that you're a bad father, because you aren't. You're amazing, Ramin, I promise."
He turned to look at her. He couldn't help but notice the sparkle in her eyes. Oh, she's so beautiful. Their faces were so close. He could just...
The space between their faces closed and their lips pressed together. Their lips moved in sync. Ramin's lips were so familiar to Sierra, but this time it was different. All the kisses they had on stage were acting, but this, was real. Their were no witnesses, no cameras, no Raoul to sing about afterwards, just them. And that made Sierra happy. She has wanted this for a while now, but at first, Ramin was still married and then after that, she wanted to give him space to get over his divorce. But he kissed me, right? Yes. Ramin kissed Sierra and they were both pleased.
Their little make out session went on for a minute or two before they pulled away. Sierra was in pain a little bit from her position, but that was okay. Ramin had this cute little grin on. God his dimples are too cute. "Sierra, I haven't really had a chance to tell you this, but I think I love you."
"I think I love you too." Ramin and Sierra smiled at each other. They were both on cloud nine. But they were pulled apart by Sierras phone. "Sorry."
Sierra was a little confused when Tams number popped up on the screen. "What do you want?"
"I just wanted to check in on you-"
"Why do you care about me?"
"One; you just got surgery, and two; you are the mother to my child."
"One; I'm perfectly fine without you, and two; Jade is with my mother."
"Oh, ok. And by the way, I'm taking you back to court the minute you get back here, and I'm going for child custody bitch. So be ready." And then he hung up.
So he called me to 'check up on me' and wound up threatening me about child custody? That's bullshit.
"Who was that?" Ramin had a pretty good idea, but if it wasn't him, he didn't want to upset her if it wasn't him.
"Tam. He's so obnoxious. He called to check in on me and than said he was taking me to court for child custody."
"Sierra, that sucks, I'm so sorry."
"But you'll be there for me, right?" Sierra took a hold of his hand.
Ramin leaned forward and pressed his lips to her forehead. "I'll always be here for you, I promise." Sierra immediately threw her arms around his neck. He wrapped his arms around Sierras waist, careful not to hurt her. But it was too late. The position she was in was far too painful.
"Ow," Sierra winced, pulling back an clutching her side. "That hurt."
"Sorry! Did I hurt you?"
"No, that position was really painful." Sierra positioned herself so it wasn't painful anymore, and she rested her head on his chest. "So," Sierra tried to break the awkward silence.
"So." Ramin answered back. "Rehearsals are going good."
"Oh! That's what we should do!" Sierra sat up again. She grabbed her script from the bedside table and then turned him. "Go back to your room and get your script." Ramin rolled his eyes but ran down the hall anyway. When he returned, Sierra laughed. "You went without shoes?"
"Who cares? My room is right next to yours!"
The duo spent the next seven hours going over lines for songs and a bunch of other stuff for the show. When they had given up on lines, it was 7pm and they were starving. They ordered Chinese food and watched Tangled. Around the time when Flynn and Rapunzel get to the kingdom, Sierra started to feel sleepy. Again, she put her head on Ramin's chest and closed her eyes.
That night she had a crazy dream;
Sierra was running. She wasn't sure where, but she let her feet take her away. Sierra felt tears staining her cheeks, and more fell.
She found herself running into an apartment building and into an elevator, her mind automatically pressing floor 7. When the doors open she finds herself running down a few doors and knocking fiercely. Summer answers the door, wearing long fluffy pants. "Sierra, what's wrong? Why are you crying?"
"I'm so scared Summer!" Sierra sobs, wrapping her arms around her sister.
"What happened? Did something happen with Ramin?"
"No! Summer! I'm not ready! I'm not ready for four kids!"
Summer looked a bit shocked. "You're pregnant?" Sierra nods. "When did this happen?"
"I guess, the honeymoon. We haven't really been together like that. Between rehearsals and the kids, we're both busy."
"Well you need to tell him! This is great news!" Sierra nods, running out of her apartment. Sierra found confidence, deep inside her, and she knew she could tell Ramin she was pregnant.
Sierra marched into their house to see Ramin watching tv with the kids. He jumped when he saw her a bit.
"Sierra, honey, what's wrong?"
"Ramin, can we talk in the bedroom please?"
"Of course." They walked into the room and the door shut. "What's wrong?"
Sierra broke down again. "I'm not ready! I'm not ready!" She continued to say, crumbling in his arms. This went on for a while, and after some time, Ramin started whispering her name.
"Sierra, Sierra." She looked at him, but he was babbling on. He could hear his words but she continued to hear, "Sierra, Sierra..." Then soon, the whole world went dark.
Weird right?
Sierras eyes darted open. She woke up in a cold sweat, almost panicking. But the first thing she saw was Ramin's face, which gave her a sense of comfort and ground. "Sierra, it's okay. I'm here." Ramin pulled her into his arms. They stayed like that for a while before she pulled away.
"I'm sorry. I just got scared because of my dream."
"Well, if you want to talk about it, I'm here. I was gonna wake you up soon because you have to take your medicine and I have to go to rehearsals, and they start, like, now."
"Oh! Then I should get ready!"
Ramin gave her this look that she wasn't quite sure what it was, but she was legitimately creeped out by it. "You must be drinking if you think I'm letting you go to rehearsal. Sierra, you got surgery yesterday."
"I don't care. I'm going. But I promise, I'll take it easy. I won't overwork myself, pleeeeeeeeeeease?" She gave him her puppy eyes.
"Fine." He caved. After she changed, took her medicine, and they quickly are, they rushed to the theater. Sierra still wasn't the fastest walker so it took them quite a while to get from the parking lot to the stage. They walked in just as Cameron was saying; "And Sierra is recovering from surgery so god knows how long she'll be out- oh! They're here!" Everyone seemed relieved Sierra and Ramin were present. They didn't know why, but they were.
After Cameron told them the agenda for the day, they started up rehearsal. Sierra ended up marking most of her actions, as she couldn't really strut around the stage much. Ramin was hard at work, in two ways. Making up for lost time and keeping an eye on Sierra.
At their water break, Hadley approached Sierra. "Before you say anything, we are still on for tomorrow." Sierra spit out.
"You can barely walk!"
"I don't care Hadley. Ramin needs his kids back. I need my happy Ramin back too. So you'll suck it up and do something nice for your best friend."
"And we all know you're not that." He mumbles.
"Excuse me?!"
"Come on Sierra, everyone knows you like Ramin, and Ramin likes you back. We're not blind. So spill, anything going on?"
"No." Hadley stares Sierra down. "Ok, fine. But don't tell anyone! We kissed yesterday, but it's not a big deal."
Hadley walked away with this huge smirk on his face. He goes off, talking to Wendy about whatever. Ramin comes over to me.
"Hey, how are you feeling?"
"I'm good. I'll get that occasional surge of pain now and then, but I'm good." Sierra gave off a small smile.
The rest of rehearsal passed with ease, nothing going wrong. When Sierra got back to her hotel room she had Hadley trailing behind her.
"Ok, so you knock on my door at 2am. Then we go and get the kids. I just want the kids to be safe. So if I run into Mandy and we get fighting, leave without me. I swear Hadley, if you have to leave without me."
"You're being ridiculous Sierra, I'm not leaving without you."
"You will. Now go, get a little bit of sleep. And if you don't get me, I will be really pissed off."
Hadley waved her goodbye and shut her hotel room door. Sierra quickly picked out her attire for this event. She choose black yoga pants, a tee shirt, and toms. She avoided all black as to not scare the kids. As if they wouldn't be scared enough. Jaiden and Hadley had met Sierra once before, but that was long ago.
Sierra laid down in bed and closed her eyes, but she couldn't fall asleep. Sierra was for too anxious and excited to sleep. She bounced out of bed and started doing things around the large hotel room. She tidied up the bedroom, cleaned up the mess in the kitchen, and straightened out the furniture she didn't know was moved. By the time she finished all of this, it was 1am. Sierra made herself a cup of coffee and sat down in bed. She started looking at things on twitter when suddenly, their was a knock on her door.
She jumped up again and answered it to see Hadley with his keys. "Ready?"
"Oh, ya, I guess." The two got into Hadley's car and they started their journey. "I'm nervous." She revealed.
"How can you not be? You're breaking into Ramin's ex-wife's house to kidnap his kid."
"No, I'm not breaking in. I took his key. I'm just kidnapping them. Now shut up and drive." The rest of the ride was silent. Sierra was growing more and more nervous as they approached Mandy's flat. And when they were there, her breathing hitched.
"Are you ready?"
"I guess I have to be, right?" Sierra takes another deep breath before exiting the car.
Through the windows in the house she could see that no lights were on. With every step, she grew more nervous. She quietly went up the steps to the porch and stuck the key in the lock. She took one last deep breath and opened the door.
She couldn't believe what she saw.
Sorry for the cliffy! Sometimes it's gotta happen! Go follow me on Instagram! @aaron_tveit_love_