“God,” Aria mutters from beside me. “I’ll never get used to this smell,” her nose scrunches in disgusts, before she sucks in a sharp intake of breath.
I chuckle, shaking my head as I walk toward the front desk. Eyes are on me with each step I take, Aria’s trying to look intimidating, like she’s some sort of a big, scary dog. No one’s even batting an eyelash at her though, because their eyes are firmly set on me.
“You need to dye your hair back to literally any other color,” Aria hisses in my ear, and I suppress a laugh. “You’re gaining too much attention.”
“Is it my hair, or the fact that you’re actively hissing at people?”
“Irrelevant,” she rolls her eyes. “I’m just keeping an eye out for you. I don’t want some random woman approaching you and stealing you away from Blair.”
I scoff. “That would never happen. I live, breathe and yearn for Blair. Not a single person would ever come close. It’s literally her, then a million spots below empty.”
Aria grins. “Good. I was just making sure.”
“You know,” I smile. “When I first brought Blair around, your reaction was the one I was dreading.”
Aria blinks, taken aback. “Wait! Mine? Why?”
“Mom and Dad would never, ever meddle in my personal affairs. You, on the other hand, live to make my life miserable. I was not sure you’d accept her.”
“There’s nothing for you to worry about,” she dismisses my worries, and it’s like a part of the weight’s been lifted off my shoulders. “I love Blair. She’s like the sibling I never wanted, but love nonetheless. She’s one of us now, and there’s no going back. She’s stuck with us, whether she likes it or not.”
“Good,” I hum.
Aria takes charge, standing in front of the desk and asking to speak with Mom’s doctor. He’s currently not working, but he'll be here within the next two hours, so we decided we’ll spend the time waiting in Mom’s room.
She looks too pale. She’s lost a lot of weight since I’ve last seen her, and my heart aches at the sight. Aria takes out the old, wilted flowers from the vase, tossing them into the trash can, and replacing them with the new ones we brought.
I drag one of the chairs next to Mom’s bed, then take a seat. Slowly, I move her hair out of her face, toying with the soft strands.
“It’s been a fucking mess since you’ve been in here,” I chuckle. I’m not the one to talk to Mom, usually, it’s all Aria. But I know for a fact that patients in a coma can hear everything around them, and I need her at least semi-prepared when she wakes up. “Paul’s in prison with Dad. Dad’s been really holding back from murdering him, but I have to say, his self-control has grown impressively. A few years ago, he would’ve killed him without batting an eye. It means everything to me that he’s not doing it, so Blair can be the one to kill him.”
“Oh, and he’s been so well-behaved,” Aria adds, sitting on the edge of the bed, and taking Mom’s hand in hers. “As in, he’s never the first one to start any fights. Weird, right?”
“Is it, though?” I snicker. “People know who he is. They’re avoiding him like the plague.”
“And I’m grateful for it. Can you imagine how many phone calls we’d get if he was his old, angry self?”
“Dear God,” I mumble. “I don’t even want to imagine that. We’d have our hands full.”
“Which is why,” Aria says, her voice softening a fraction. She brings Mom’s hand to her lips, kissing her knuckles, “We need you to wake up, Mom. We need you to pull through this. You’ve rested long enough, we need you.”
“It’s been terrible not eating your food, not hearing your terrible jokes, and having you around overall. We miss you, and we need you back now.”
There’s no movement from Mom. She looks as beautiful as ever, as if she’s just sleeping peacefully. God knows this is the first time in years she’s been able to rest properly. Her hair’s grown a little, and thanks to the wonderful nurses, she looks great. All she needs to do is wake the fuck up already.
“We miss you, Mom,” Aria’s soft voice breaks the silence, and it cracks as the words leave her mouth. “I love you, and although I’m almost eighteen, I’m still a kid. I need you, Mom. I just need my mommy to come back to me.”
A lump forms in my throat, and I force myself to look away. With each word that slips from Aria’s mouth, my heart shatters even more. Right now, she looks like that little girl that always used to follow Mom around. Aria’s always been a daddy’s kind of child, but deep down, the bond she shares with Mom is one of a kind. Seeing her like this pains me beyond words.
“She’ll come back to us, Squirt. She has to.” I say, trying to muster as much confidence as possible.
Aria looks up from Mom, offering a small smile through tear-stained cheeks. “I know. She has to. I’m not letting her die like this. She’s too great to be killed by a simple bullet to the chest, Arlo. She’ll pull through and live a long, happy life.”
“She will,” I reach over, grabbing her hand, and squeezing it lightly. Silence falls around us, and there are no words needed to be spoken. It’s comfortable, and we’re using it to process all of this.
Mom’s lying in a hospital bed.
Dad’s in prison.
