When the plane lands, I send a text to Ashley and let her know that I'm here. Max was still sleeping so Mandy agreed to stay back with her so Ash could come pick me up. I hurry off the plane and get to the baggage claim, grabbing my suitcases. The second I'm outside, I spot her waiting outside of her car. With a smile on my face, I walk up to her, hauling the suitcases behind me. When she sees me heading for her, she stands straight and waits for me. I drop my bags at my feet and reach out to hug her.
"Awe, it's so good to have you back." When I pull back, I examine her. She looks a little pale, being honest.
"How are you feeling, Ash?" She gives me a smile, putting her thin hand on my cheek.
"I'm fine, Ian. No need to worry." I give her an 'are you kidding' look.
"You have a terminal illness, Ash. Of course I'm going to worry."
She doesn't keep the topic going and instead pops the trunk and grabs one of my bags. I pull the other two into the trunk before putting my hand out for the keys. After realizing I was going to persistent on me driving, she hands me the keys and walks around to the passenger side. I close the trunk and get into the drivers seat, pulling out of the busy airport. As we begin the drive home, I start up conversation.
"I went to go see Conrad before I left." I see her stiffen in my peripheral vision. She glances over at me but I stare straight ahead at the road.
"For what?"
"I needed closure. To say goodbye. To him and my past."
"Did you tell him about me?"
I shake my head. "I mentioned you but I didn't tell him about your illness. He doesn't deserve to know. That would give him too much satisfaction that you might be leaving the world before he does." She nods, her eyes going back in front of her. "He apologized."
She looks over again, surprise on her face. "And? Did you accept it?"
"Of course not. His words mean as much as his life to me at this point. He apologized for Brian coming after us because of him."
"Did he ask about me?" I shake my head and purse my lips.
"No. I'm sorry, Aunt Ash."
"It's okay. I shouldn't expect him to ask about his sister that he kicked out of his life 23 years ago. It was a silly question."
"For what it's worth, I'm sorry."
"For what? You have nothing to be sorry for, you aren't Conrad."
"Yes, I know. But you deserve better. You should've been able to meet your nephew and niece a lot sooner than you did. It would've made my life a hell of a lot easier."
"Yeah, well if I would've known, I would've gotten you out of that house and brought you both in."
"And we know that. But everything happens for a reason and Max and I are who we are today because of how we were brought up. And we've become even better since you came into our lives." She reaches over and puts a hand on my shoulder.
"That's really sweet, Ian. Thank you." I nod and continue driving. We make small talk for the remainder of the drive and when we reach the house, Mandy is waiting on the front porch with an arm around Max, the other hand on her belly.
What a sight to see. To come home to my amazing family after a long trip.
When I park the car, I immediately shut it off and get out making my way over to my girls. Max runs to meet me, jumping into my arms.
"I missed you, Dad." I kiss her cheek as I hold her in my arms, a big smile on my face.
"I missed you too, squirt. Did you behave for Amanda like I told you to?" She nods with a smirk on her face. I raise my eyebrow. "Max," I warn. She rolls her eyes at me.
"Yes, Dad. I only misbehave for you."
"Wow, thanks," I answer sarcastically and laugh. Still holding Max in my arms, I make my way over to my pregnant girlfriend. I lean over to kiss her. "Hi."
"Hi," she answers with a content smile. "I'm glad you're home."
"Anywhere that I have my girls," I answer with a proud smile and turn to look at Max who is smiling as well as she shuffles out of my arms to get back down onto the floor.
I then turn to grab my bags out of the car.
"Want some help?" Ash asks and I shake my head.
"No I've got it. You go inside and rest. You don't look well, Ash." She sighs as if she disagrees but turns around nonetheless, heading inside. I grab the three bags from the car and lock it, hauling them inside.
I bring two into Max's room since they were filled with her clothes and toys and bring the one into my bedroom. As I am unpacking, Max enters the room, plopping down onto the bed.
She doesn't say anything, just sits down with her arms crossed and a frustrated look on her face. My eyebrows crinkle in confusion and I make my way over, sitting beside her.
"Max, what's wrong?"
She looks up at me. "Aunt Ash is ignoring me. I went to try to wake her up so she can go to bed but she refuses and is just staying on the floor. She won't even answer me." As Max talks, panic builds up in my throat. But I try not to show it on my face since I wouldn't want to freak out Max.
"Okay, Max. You stay here, I'm going to go check on Ash, okay?" She nods once and I stand up, trying to keep my knees from buckling underneath me. In the hallway, I nearly bump into Mandy who had been making dinner.
She could read the panic in my eyes clearly. "Ian, what's wrong? Is it Brian?"
I shake my head. "No, it's Ash. I need you to call an ambulance, she passed out in her room before she could make it to bed." The panic transfers to Amanda as well and she just nods speechlessly. "When you're done, please go sit with Max. And try to keep her as calm as possible, please." She nods once again and I move past her to the room that Ash had been staying in. The door is already open and Ash is on the floor just like Max had said, out cold.
I get to my knees beside her. I try shaking her. I feel her head and she's cold but there's sweat all over her body. Her skin is even more pale than it had been before. I shake her again.
"Come on, you stubborn woman. I need you to wake up for me." I frantically shake her limp body but she doesn't give. I press my fingers to her neck, luckily feeling a pulse. "You need to make it to meet our baby. Our baby deserves to know you and love you. Please. Wake up." I'm practically begging at this point as I shake her.
I barely notice Amanda come into the room until she's kneeling front of me, on the other side of Ashley. She reaches across, wiping my face when I didn't even realize I had started crying. "Hon, you need to put on a brave face for Max, okay? The paramedics are right down the street."
She's right. Max cant see me like this. I have to be brave. For her and for Ashley.
I take a deep breath, wipe my face, and then lean down, cradling Ashley's limp body in my arms. I pick her up, carrying her out of the room. Amanda hurries to open each door for me and in the driveway, the paramedics are already getting their supplies ready.
"I need you to walk me through everything. Her name, who she is to you, and what happened." The paramedic directs to me as I lay her down on the gurney. I nod as I begin to relay information.
"Her name is Ashley Torres. She is 38 years old and she is my paternal aunt. She had Stage IV brain cancer. She was pale earlier so I told her to lay down and then my 10 year old daughter found her passed out on the floor in her room." The paramedic nods, as if he's processing all the information.
"Okay, son, you did great. Your aunt may have had a seizure that rendered her unconscious. Now we can manage from here. She's stable for now so we're going to go ahead and head to the hospital. Are you riding with us or meeting us there?" When the paramedic asks this, I glance behind me. Max is now is Amanda's arms, crying as she watched her aunt get loaded into an ambulance. I direct my attention back to the paramedic.
"I'll meet. Just please go and take care of my aunt." The paramedic nods before loading into the back of the truck and shutting the door. Within seconds, they're out of the driveway and hauling down the road with sirens blaring and the lights bright.
I turn around and head back to my girls, taking Max into my arms and hugging her tight. She cries into my shoulder and her little body shivers.
"Shh, it's okay, baby. It's all going to be okay. We're going to go to the hospital and the doctors are going to work really hard to help her and then she'll come back to us." I glance over at Mandy. "Hon, can you grab my keys, please?" Without a word, she turns and hurries inside. She returns and I motion for her to unlock it. When she does, I open the back door and set Max down in the seat. I buckle her in and put a hand out for the keys, which Mandy happily hands over. I get into the drivers seat and once everyone is in and buckled, I pull out of the driveway.
I head directly for the hospital, praying that it isn't too late.