Ally POV
"W-what?" I stammered. Did I just hear him right?
"I'm afraid your mother was in a car accident. She's in critical condition and there's a chance she might not make it." Doctor Glover repeated.
I was frozen. I honestly didn't know what to say.
"Um, o-okay. Thank you." I responded quietly. I hung up and placed my phone on the bedside table.
"Als, what's wrong?" Austin asked. I completely forgot he was here.
"Uh, m-my mom was in a car accident. They don't know if she's going to make it." I turned to him and his eyes were wide.
"Well, let's go to the hospital." He got off the bed and ran towards the door but stopped when he noticed that I wasn't moving. "Ally? Why aren't you moving?"
"Because I'm not going."
"What?" He asked in disbelief. "Your mothers in the hospital and your not going?"
I shook my head. "My mom doesn't care about me so why should I care about her?"
"Ally, are you listening to yourself right now?" I did nothing but stare at him. "Your mom might die and you don't even care."
"Austin, she abandoned me! She doesn't care about me so why on earth should I care about her?!" I yelled, suddenly feeling angry. I didn't even wait for him to answer. I ran out of the room and went downstairs.
"Ally!" Austin yelled as he followed me. I noticed that Trish and Dez were in the living room watching TV.
"Stop!" He grabbed my wrist and forced me to look at him. "Are you even listening to yourself?"
"What's going on?" Trish asked, staying seated on the couch.
"Ally's mom was in a car accident and she might not make it. Ally doesn't want to see her." Austin explained, frustrated.
Both Trish and Dez gasped, but I just shook my head. "I'm not going to see her and that's final."
Austin grabbed my shoulders and shook them lightly. "Ally, listen to yourself. Your own mother might die and you don't even care."
"Because she doesn't care about me!" I shouted. "She abandoned me and never tried contacting me! Why the hell should I care about her?!"
"Stop it!" Austin yelled. "I understand that you're mad at your mom for abandoning you. Believe me, I am too, but I still think you should see her."
I shook my head. "I'm not going."
"Ally, you have to go and say goodbye if she doesn't make it." Trish told me softly.
"Like she said goodbye to me?! As soon as her affair got exposed, she left! She never gave a damn about me!" I ran my hand over my face and gritted my teeth.
"Als, listen to me." Austin said softly. "I get that you're mad at her, but you'll regret it if she dies and you never got to say goodbye."
My eyes filled with tears and I shut them. "Why should I say goodbye to her when she never said goodbye to me?" I whispered.
I felt Austin wrap his arms around me, placing my head on his chest. "You know it's the right thing to do." We were all silent for a moment before I spoke up.
"What if she really dies?"
Austin started running his fingers through my hair. "If I knew the answer, I'd tell you." He told me softly. "But you're not alone."
"I don't know if I should be sad that she might not make it. All I'm feeling is anger." I bit my lip to stop myself from crying. I wasn't sure if I was crying because my mother was in the hospital, or because I was just overwhelmed.
"It's okay to feel sad, Als. She's still your mom."
"But she abandoned me." I protested. "I feel like I'm supposed to hate her."
"Als, I don't think you ever hated her. I think you were just mad at her." His voice was so gentle and calm.
"I don't know what to do." I admitted. "I'm so confused." I removed my head from his chest and looked up at him.
"I think you should go to the hospital." He leaned down and pressed his lips to my forehead, leaving them there for a few seconds.
"Will you come with me?" I asked, somewhat shyly.
He nodded. "I'd never let you go alone." He turned to Trish and Dez who were pretending to watch TV. "You guys can stay here since we'll probably be back late."
They both nodded and walked up to us. "Call me if you need anything." Trish said, engulfing me in a hug.
"Thanks, T." She released me from the hug and I quickly hugged Dez.
"Alright, let's go." Austin grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. He grabbed his car keys before walking out the door, pulling me with him. I stayed silent as we walked to the car. I didn't know what to say and I was actually afraid of bursting into tears if I said anything.
"Als, we're here." Austin said. I guess I zoned out because I didn't even feel the car moving. I nodded and climbed out of the car.
"Please don't leave me." I pleaded as we walked into the hospital.
He squeezed my hand and kissed my temple. "Never." He whispered.
As we approached the nurse's station, my heart rate quickened. My throat felt like it was closing and I could barely breathe. I looked at Austin and motioned for him to talk. He nodded and kissed my forehead.
"Excuse me?" He asked the young nurse. She was probably in her late twenties.
She looked up from the computer and smiled. "Hi, kids. How can I help you?"
"Um, what room is Penny Shay in?" Austin asked, giving my hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Are you two family?" The nurse asked as she started typing something on her computer.
"She's her daughter." Austin nodded his head towards me.
The nurse nodded and gave me a sympathetic smile. "She's in room 316 in the intensive care unit."
I nodded, still not able to say anything. "Thank you." Austin told her. We walked away and entered the dreaded elevator. "Should we call your dad?" He asked as soon as the doors closed.
I shook my head. "I don't think that's a good idea. I mean, what if the man who my mom cheated on with is in the room." My eyes widened as I said that. "I don't know if I'll be able to handle seeing the man who basically ruined our family." My breathing quickened and I was pretty much gasping for air.
"Als, calm down." He grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. "You're about to give yourself a panic attack. You need to breathe." He started instructing me on how to breathe and I followed his instructions.
"Good, babe." As soon as I got my breathing under control, the elevator doors opened. "Are you okay?"
I nodded as we walked out. "Sorry for freaking you out." We started looking for my mother's room and the closer we got, the more I felt like crying.
"You have nothing to apologize for." Austin said softly. "You just had me worried."
When we found her room, I looked through the window and noticed a doctor in her room. I assumed that the doctor was Doctor Glover. We stayed quiet and watched the doctor through the window. Although I was incredibly mad at my mom for abandoning me, I was praying that she would live.
A few minutes later, the doctor walked out of the room. "Are you Ally Dawson?" He asked me.
I nodded. "Yes. And this is Austin." I introduced, gesturing to my boyfriend.
The doctor shook Austin's hand." Nice to meet you both."
"Is my mom okay?" I asked, getting right to the point.
He sighed. "I'm afraid not. Your mother experienced a head on crash which lead to a traumatic brain injury. She has bleeding in the brain along with internal bleeding." He explained. "Now, she'll need surgery to stop the internal bleeding but I must warn you that there's a high chance that she won't survive."
My breath caught in my throat. "S-so when's the surgery?"
"They're preparing the OR for her now."
Suddenly, a few nurses walked into the room. I assumed that they were bringing her up to the OR.
"How long will she be in surgery?" Austin asked, noticing that I wasn't able to talk.
"It depends. We have to find the source of the bleeding before we can stop it." The doctor explained.
The door to my mother's room reopened and out came my mother, followed by the nurses who were pushing her bed. As I got a closer look at her, I noticed the huge gash on her forehead, the cuts on the side of her face, her black eye, and a bunch of other injuries that made me cringe. She had a tube down her throat, helping her breath.
"Please be okay." I whispered as they rolled her down the hall.
"If you'll excuse me." Doctor Glover said as he walked away.
Austin POV
After the doctor gave us the news on Penny, Ally and I made our way towards the waiting room. We were both silent the entire time and I didn't like it. Sure, I was worried about Penny, but at the moment, I was really worried about Ally. Her face was expressionless and I needed to know what she was thinking.
"Als, talk to me." I whispered to my girlfriend as I placed her on my lap. She placed her head on my chest but stayed quiet. "Your mom will be fine." I assured her.
"But what if she's not?" She asked, her voice just above a whisper. "I know I said I hated her for abandoning me, but she's still my mom."
I closed my eyes and kissed her forehead. "You need to stay positive, alright? Your mom is strong."
I felt her nod against my chest. After a few minutes of pure silence, I heard quiet breathing. I glanced down and noticed that she fell asleep. Since we were probably going to be here for a while, I decided to follow suit.
"Sir?" I heard a feminine voice above. I felt myself being shaken, causing me to open my eyes. I quickly glanced down at Ally and noticed that she was still asleep. I looked up at the person who woke me up and noticed it was the nurse at the nurse's station.
"I'm sorry to wake you, but Doctor Glover is on his way to talk to you." The nurse told me.
I nodded and thanked her. Once she walked away, I turned my attention to my sleeping girlfriend.
"Als, wake up." I whispered, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Come on, babe."
She stirred in my arms before her eyes fluttered open. "What's going on?" She asked sleepily.
"Doctor Glover is on his way to talk to us." I told her. She nodded and sat up, but still stayed seated on my lap.
After a few moments, Doctor Glover approached us, a saddened look on his face.
"Hi, kids." He greeted. I noticed that he was in his scrubs and I couldn't help but cringe because there was blood on it.
"How's my mom?" Ally asked. We were both on our feet and we were really eager to know how Penny was.
"I'm sorry, Ally." Was the first thing he said. My heart dropped and when I looked at Ally, her face was expressionless. "We did everything we could, but we couldn't find the source of the bleeding fast enough."
"S-so my mother's dead?" She asked. I noticed that her face was still expressionless and emotionless, and that worried me.
"I'm sorry, Ally." Doctor Glover apologized once again. "But yes, your mother's gone."
She took a deep breath and nodded. "I'll be in the car." She mumbled before walking away. I opened my mouth to say something, but she was already gone.
"Austin, she's trying to be strong, but she's going to break. You have to be there for her." Doctor Glover told me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder.
I nodded. "I know. Her and her mom didn't have the best relationship so I know that Ally's trying to not let her death affect her."
"Well, I can tell you that it's not going to work. She will breakdown; I can guarantee it."
I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I better go."
He nodded and gave me a sympathetic smile. "Take care, Austin."
"Thank you." I quickly ran out of the hospital and hurried towards the car. But as I was running, a thought struck me. Where was the man that was seeing Penny?
Once I found the car, I saw Ally sitting in the passenger seat. She was just staring out the window. I hopped in and started the car. I decided that now wasn't the best time to try and talk to her.
As soon as I parked the car into the apartment complex's parking lot, Ally got out and ran inside. I shook my head and followed her. Neither of us talked as we made our way to the apartment.
Once I opened the door to the apartment, Ally walked in and ran upstairs, shutting her bedroom door in the process. Luckily Trish and Dez weren't asleep because they were in the living room watching TV.
"What happened?" Dez asked.
I walked over to them and collapsed on the couch, running a hand over my face. "She didn't make it."
I couldn't help but feel like crying. Penny was like a mother to me when Ally and I were younger, and just because I was mad at her for abandoning Ally, didn't mean I still didn't care about her.
"How's Ally?" Trish asked.
I shook my head. "She's not good. She's acting like Penny's death isn't affecting her. When the doctor told us that she died, Ally was basically emotionless."
"Is she not letting it affect her because Penny wasn't there for her?" Dez asked.
I nodded. "I can almost see where she's coming from, but she was still her mom."
We sat in silence for a few minutes before I stood up. "I'm gonna go check on her." They nodded and gave me small smiles. I hurried upstairs and stopped in front of her door.
"Als?" I knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was none. "Als, come on."
Since there was still no answer, I decided to just open her door. The reason she didn't answer was because she was asleep. I quietly walked over to the side of bed she was lying on and knelt down.
"I'm so sorry, Als." I whispered, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. I stood up and walked out of her room.
I knew that Ally wasn't going to be able to hold on to this being strong facade, and when it was time for her to break, I would be there to pick up the pieces.
Okay, this chapter was sort of depressing, but I liked it. Do you think we can get 15 or more reviews? I don't think I'm asking for much. Love you guys.