"Mommy, mommy! Can we play?" The petite blonde tugged on the bottom of her mother's skirt.
"Lucy, honey, I can't play right now. I need to rest, sweetie." Layla looked down at her daughter with an apologetic look in her big brown eyes.
Lucy's smile faded slightly and her little fingers let go of Layla's skirt.
"Okay, mommy." Lucy picked up her doll, Michelle, from it's rightful place on the couch. She walked to her bedroom, where she played pretend with Michelle in the little dollhouse her father bought her. Soon, a wave of fatigue washed over Lucy, and she fell asleep, her doll cradled in her arm.
"Daddy, why is Mommy resting a lot?" A curious and also worried Lucy asked her father. She peered over the edge of the desk, straining to see what he was doing. He had a stern look on his face, furiously typing away on his laptop. He stopped to look at Lucy.
"She's just tired." Jude went back to typing.
"Okay, daddy." Lucy went up to her parent's room. Layla was in the bed, awfully pale and almost lifeless.
"M-mom? Are you okay?" Lucy walked to the bedside, resting her hand on her mother's.
"Lucy. Get Jude and-" Layla was interrupted when she began to cough wildly.
"Mommy!" Lucy took a step back.
"I-I'm fine. Get J-Jude and bring a phone, t-too."
"I-I'll be right back! Stay here mommy!"
Lucy turned around and quickly ran back into her father's office. He looked up from his desktop once again.
"What is it now, child?" Jude sounded frustrated.
"Daddy, come quick! It's Mom...she's in really bad shape! Oh yeah- bring a phone with you!" Jude abruptly stood up from his desk. He grabbed his phone and followed Lucy to where Layla was.
"Jude...please...call 911..." Lucy's mother turned her head as much as she could to face Jude.
He dialed immediately.
"Hello? 911? ...yes, please, it's an emergency. My wife. She's really pale, coughing a lot, and she has almost no life left in her. They're on the way? Okay. Thank you so much." Jude hung up.
"Layla. It's going to be okay. Just breathe and relax, the ambulance is on the way." Jude's voice slowly became shakier and shakier and he lost his self control. He had to stay strong for his wife and only child.
Not long after, a siren blared from the ambulance as it pulled up to the front of the Heartfilia mansion.
"Lucy, go open the door for the doctors."
Lucy rushed to the front doors and twisted the doorknob. She stepped aside, letting them in.
"Mommy is upstairs. Go quickly." The doctors looked in the direction Lucy was pointing and bounded up the staircase.
The next thing she saw was her unconscious mother laying on a cot, being carried inside the back of the ambulance. Her father got inside along with the doctors. The last thing he said to her was,
"Stay here. Virgo will take care of you." The pink haired maid came up behind Lucy.
"We must go inside now, princess. You may catch a cold."
The hospital isn't a very fun way to spend your weekend. Lucy sat in the beige and burgundy waiting room surrounded by nothing but strangers- and her father. Every now and then, a nurse would pop out of the door at the edge of the room, calling the name of so-and-so who had come to see their loved one. Most went through that door and came out with high spirits, while others walked out in tears. The door of chance, one could call it.
Lucy hugged Michelle even tighter as she thought about her mother. Her loving smile, her beautiful voice, and Layla's big, brown eyes just like Lucy's.
The door of chance opened once again, the nurse stepping out and looking around the room.
"Mr. Heartfilia? Is he here?"
Jude stood up, taking Lucy by the hand. They followed the nurse through the door to the infirmary, whereafter a confusing set of twists and turns they arrived at Layla's room.
The nurse knocked softly.
"Mrs. Heartfilia? You have guests waiting to see you."
"Let them in." A small voice called from the inside. The nurse opened the door, and left Lucy and Jude to spend time with Layla.
There she lay on the hospital bed- at least 12 IV lines connected to her arm. The steady sound of the electrocardiographic heart monitor was the only sound in the room.
"Layla..." Jude whispered.
He walked toward the bed and placed his hand on hers. Pain shot through her arm, causing her to suck in her breath. Jude quickly removed it.
"How much pain are you in?" Jude asked.
"Lots. I don't feel well. Lucy darling, won't you come sing with mommy?" Layla motioned for Lucy to come toward her.
"A song?"
"Yes, a song. I will get better, Lucy. So, let's sing. It will make me feel better."
Lucy was too short to see completely over the side of the bed, so Jude pulled a chair next to Layla, and sat on his lap.
You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When skies are grey
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
Please don't take
My sunshine
"Away..." Layla's eyes closed partially, and the heart monitor began to turn from a beeping noise to a continuous, long, beep.
"Layla? Layla! LAYLA! NO!" Jude began to shake the lifeless woman but it had no effect. Nurses and doctors rushed in and pushed him to the side, examining her and whisking her out of the room.
"...mommy?" Lucy whispered. A single tear threatened to roll down her cheek.
"IT'S YOUR FAULT! YOU KILLED HER! GET OUT OF MY SIGHT, YOU BITCH!" Jude threw an empty beer bottle at Lucy's head, nearly hitting her.
"D-dad, no-" Lucy tried to speak. She was sixteen now, and her body was covered in scars from the constant abuse her father dealt her.
"HOW DARE YOU TALK BACK TO ME! GO TO YOUR ROOM! YOU ARE NOT TO COME OUT UNTIL TOMORROW MORNING!" her father bellowed.
Lucy spent no time rushing to her room and shutting her door. She leaned her back against the wall, slouched down, and began to cry. Ever since her mother died, Jude hurt her more and more. Lucy would have to wear sweaters to hide the rows of cuts on her arms, and long socks to hide the big, ugly, purple bruises on her legs. Soon, she found herself asleep on her bedroom floor, hungry and alone.