I had managed to sleep through the entire flight, just as I had expected. Alex had woken me up when we landed, and we went through security and luggage check once again. We had landed at about 8 at night, just as I had expected.
I had called my oldest brother, Dennis, to pick us up at the airport and that leaves us where we are, waiting outside with our luggage in hand for Dennis who said he was nearly here.
"There, that's his car," I point out the black Hyundai to Alex which was pulling up right in front of me.
"Oh god, now I'm nervous," Alex laughs nervously.
I didn't even realize that this is the first time Alex would be meeting my family until now. I guess that means that we really are serious if Alex willingly wants to meet my family. The thought of our relationship being serious brings a smile to my face.
I see Dennis's wife, Clara, in the front seat so I open the door to back seat and get in first, followed by Alex.
"Dennis, Clara!" I exclaim, upset that I'm unable to hug them since we're in the car.
"I missed you so much, Dakota," Dennis tells me, smiling at me through the car mirror.
"Who's this?" Clara asks me, referring to Alex.
"This is my boyfriend, Alex. Alex, this is my brother Dennis and his wife Clara," I tell them, smiling.
"Nice to meet you, Alex," Dennis says, turning around in his seat to shake his hand.
Clara raises an eyebrow at me, probably because last time I saw them I was with Parker and now I'm with Alex. It isn't really uncommon for relationships to end and new ones to start within a year, though.
"Are Gabe and Henry already at the hospital?" I ask Dennis and he nods in reply.
"The kids are there, too, although they don't really know what's happening yet except that they know she's sick," he says, referring to his and Clara's two twin girls.
"Do you want to go home first or straight to the hospital?" Dennis asks me.
"The hospital please," I answer.
I don't know how much time I have with my mom left, and I want to make sure I spend enough with her as possible.
I was the only one of her four kids to leave the state, which means I'm the only one she hasn't seen in a while and that she probably wants to see me really badly. Dennis married his high school sweetheart and ended up staying in Miami his whole life, Gabe is engaged and only lives a little while away in Tallahassee, and Henry is working on his doctorate in medicine at the University of Miami so he's still in school here. They all stayed close to home while I left for L.A. after I had been modeling at local agencies for two years, and I was only 19 when I left.
We soon pull into the hospital parking garage and quickly find a place very close to the elevator. Alex and I leave our suitcases in the car, and follow Clara and Dennis inside and to the elevator.
They push the fifth floor, and we ride in silence. My shaky hand finds Alex's and grips onto it, needing something to hold onto for emotional support. My entire body aches with sadness and regret as the elevator dings and opens, and the two lead us down the hall and to a waiting room filled with my family.
Immediately, they all chorus my name and many of them stand up, coming over to me to hug me. I release Alex's hand to hug them all, starting with Gabe.
"Gabe!" I exclaim, pulling him into me. When we pull away, I ruffle his bleach blonde hair which was common between me and all the rest of my siblings, one thing we all had in common.
"How's everything with Alexia?" I ask, referring to his fiancée.
"Still only engaged. We're planning the wedding in three months in April, so I hope you'll fly back out here then to come see your favorite brother get married," Gabe laughs, but I can see his bloodshot eyes and the pain in them which the laugh was desperately trying to cover up.
"Of course," I tell him.
"And who's this with you?" Gabe asks me, referring to Alex.
I wave Alex over to me to introduce him.
"Gabe, this is my boyfriend, Alex. Alex, this is my brother Gabe," I introduce them, and they shake hands.
"So, no more Parker?" Gabe whispers to me so that Alex can't hear.
"He cheated," I simply answer and Gabe seems mad about this, but nods in reply.
Next up for me to see is Henry. We don't even greet each other, but instead just go straight in for a hug.
"It's so great to finally have you back here," Henry tells me when we pull apart.
"It's great to be back and see you guys again," I tell him.
"And who's this lad with you?" Henry asks me.
"This is my boyfriend, Alex. Alex this is my last brother, Henry," I introduce Alex to my third and final brother.
They greet each other with a handshake and Alex smiles politely at him. Henry looks him up and down and nods at me in approval before walking away to go talk to Gabe.
"Auntie Kota!" A sweet little voice exclaims, and next thing I know I'm being hugged by two little girls.
"Gracie and Tayler! It's so nice to see you two again," I giggle and hug them back.
"We missed you," Tayler says, tucking her long blonde hair behind her ear.
"Why didn't you come back sooner! The only times we've seen you are in the magazines," Gracie tells me.
"I've been busy out modeling for those magazines, but I'm back now!" I tell them.
Suddenly their interest turns to Alex beside me.
"Is this your husband?" Tayler asks, referring to him, and Alex laughs.
"He looks like a prince," Gracie adds, and I now laugh along with Alex.
"No, he's not my husband. But he is quite a prince. This is my boyfriend, Alex. Alex these are my nieces Gracie and Tayler," I introduce Alex to the two little blonde haired monsters in front of me.
I watch as the three of them quickly bond, as the girls drag Alex into a conversation with him about Disney princesses, and I laugh.
I interrupt their conversation for a second to whisper in Alex's ear.
"I'm going in to see my mom," I tell Alex, and kiss his cheek before walking over to Dennis to ask him to show me where my moms room is.
"Hey, Dennis. Can you show me to moms room?" I ask, and he nods and gets off of his chair.
"Dad's in there with her. He hasn't left the room since they told him she was going to die," Dennis tells me, and leads me to room 515.
I mutter a quick thanks to him, before opening the door and poking my head in.
I gasp and a hand flys to my mouth as I open the door to see my mom, ghostly thin and very pale on the bed with numerous things hooked up to her body in every place possible.
"Dakota," my dad says, getting up out of his chair as I walk into the room and close the door behind me.
He pulls me into a hug as I begin to cry, and hold me tightly into his chest.
"I know it's hard seeing her like this, Dakota. But she really wanted to see you," my dad informs me. "Alone."
After he says this, he kisses my cheek and waves to me as he walks out of the room. This is the first time he has left the room, so I guess my mom did really want to talk to me.
"Mom?" I choke out, as I pull a chair over to her bed and hold her cold hand in mine.
"Kota? Is that you?" My mom croaks out, turning her boney face toward me.
"Yes mom, it's me," I assure her, and she opens her eyes to reveal her bright gray irises, just like mine.
"Wow, you've gotten even more beautiful," she whispers, and reaches her free hand up to my face to caress it.
"Thank you, mom," I say, and try to smile as the tears continue to fall down my cheeks.
"I'm so sorry I didn't come home to see you more. I know calling wasn't enough, and I know I should've flew right back home as soon as I knew you had cancer. I'm so sorry, mom. I regret it so much," I push out, the tears starting to fall at a more rapid rate now.
"Honey, it's alright. I didn't need you next to me all of the time to know how much you love me. I don't want you to ever regret not spending enough time with me. Just being alive and in my life was enough for me," my mom smiles, wiping the tears from my face.
"I'm still sorry, mom. I just wish I spent more time with you before, you know..." I trail off.
"It's alright, Kota. I know you always mean well. Now let's not dwell on what's going to happen. Why don't you tell me about the young lad waiting outside the door for you?" My mom asks, and I look over to the door through the small glass part of it, to see Alex leaning on the wall across the room, one of the twins in his arms.
I laugh at this, and wipe the rest of the tears from my face.
"That's Alex. He's my boyfriend," I tell her.
"No more Parker?" My mom asks, and I shake my head.
"Good, I always knew he wasn't good enough for you," my mom snickers, and I laugh.
"So what about Alex? Why is here with you?" Mom asks.
"He was there with me when dad called and told me to come home, and he comforted me the whole time. Before we left, during the flight, and after. He was the one that insisted we leave L.A. today and he even payed for my ticket. He's my rock mom, and I love him so much," I inform her.
"You've got a keeper right there, Kota. He's a thousand times better than Parker, and I mean that. Are you guys in love?" My mom asks. I laugh at her, since she's acting like one of my best friends would during high school.
"I'm definitely in love with him, but I'm not quite sure about him yet. We haven't brought it up yet," I tell her.
"Let me meet the boy, I'll be able to tell once I meet him myself," my mom assures me, and I laugh once again.
I let go of her hand and get out of my chair and walk toward the door.
I open the door to see Alex now sitting on the floor, reading the twin girls a book. I internally giggle at this, finding it funny and completely adorable and attractive at the same time.
"Alex?" I call out, causing his head to perk up and his blue eyes come in contact with mine.
"I'm sorry to interrupt your reading session, but my mom wants to meet you," I inform him, and he hands the book back to the twins.
He quickly apologizes to the girls, and then follows me into the room.
"Mom, this is Alex," I say as we reach her.
"He's quite a catch, I understand why you were talking about him like you were," my mom tells me, and I immediately blush.
"Mom," I whine, and both Alex and my mom laugh.
"Do you love my daughter?" My mom asks, and I blush even more if that is even possible.
"Alex, you don't have to answer that, she's just trying to embarrass me," I assure him, but Alex shakes his head.
"Yes, Mrs. Denley. I do, very much," Alex tells her, and my heart begins to soar.
I smile at this and shake my head at my moms straightforwardness.
"Then come here, boy. Let me tell you a secret," my mom tells Alex and sits up to whisper in his ear. My mom waves me away so I plug my ears so now to overhear what they're saying.
When she's done whispering to him, Alex simply nods and thanks her.
"So do you want to see some embarrassing pictures of my dear Kota?" My mom asks.
"Mom!" I whine out, unable to keep my laughs contained as Alex starts to laugh at this.
"How can you be on your deathbed and still want to embarrass me?" I joke, and she just laughs in reply.
"Here," my mom says to Alex, handing him a photo book from the table next to her bed.
"Now, I'll leave you two alone to look at that together. Can you go and get your dad for me, Dakota?" My mom asks. I nod and walk over to her to give her a big hug, careful not to hurt her extremely fragile body.
"I love you, mom. I'll be back tomorrow," I tell her, and give her a kiss on the cheek.
"I love you too, my dear. I'll be looking forward to it," she answers, and Alex and I leave the room and head back to the waiting room.
"Dad, mom wants you," I say once we reach there, and I spot him. My dad simply nods, and gives my shoulder a squeeze as he walks by me.
"How about we bring you guys back home, yeah? I'm sure it's been a long and tiring day for you guys with the long flight," Dennis says as we reach him.
I nod my head, and Alex agrees as well. So, Dennis let's Clara know that he's driving us back to the house, and the three of us leave the hospital as I mentally prepare myself for seeing my childhood again.
"There's so many relatives over so there's only your room left, Kota. Dad was a little worried when he found out you brought your boyfriend and there was only one bed left but I assured him that you're 20 and responsible and broke him in for you. You're welcome," Dennis informs me.
Alex raises an eyebrow at me when Dennis tells us that we're going to have to share a bed, and I immediately punch him in the arm to ease his dirty thoughts.
"Thanks," I tell Dennis, and we drive home the rest of the way in silence.