Hi my beautiful readers! So, I really wanted to write the next chapter to this story and I'm on spring break so I thought, why not? Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter! BTW this story may be ending in the next few chapters. My plan is to do two more chapters and then an epilogue. This chapter has a little bit of everything. Maybe I'll start another story…only time will tell! Anyway, enjoy!
I was admitted into the hospital for a week. I wasn't in the same hospital as Chance, because people feared I would lose my mind again. I was finally going to able to see Chance. But, before that I had to see Arnold. That was already going to be hard enough.
At lunchtime, there was a soft knock at my door. I walked across the cold tiles, grasped the door handle, and slowly opened the white door. He was standing there, and almost immediately he embraced me. I placed my arms around his shoulders, but didn't squeeze him, like I normally would have done.
"Come on in", I said quietly. He walked to the bed, and turned around, with his hands stuffed into his pockets.
"So," he said awkwardly, "How are you feeling?" All I could see was his face as the security men threw me onto the ground. All I could see was the disappointment in his eyes.
"I'm feeling OK. How about you?" I walked over and sat on the bed, and he followed and came next to me.
He was twiddling his thumbs, unsure of what to say or do. "I'm fine, thanks for asking." I couldn't help but notice how weird he was acting.
"Arnold, I know this must be really weird for you right now, but it's even worse for me. If you could just talk to me normally, it would help a lot." He glanced up at me.
"Sorry, Helga. I just don't know what to talk where to start." He looked away.
"Well, how's Caressa been-" He cut me off. He pressed his lips to mine, and caressed my face. After awhile, he pulled away. "Whoa there, football-head." I giggled.
"I just really needed that." He smiled sheepishly, and hugged me.
"So what have you been doing?" I asked.
"To be honest, I was here in the hospital every day. I was crushed when they said I could have no contact with you." He looked down at his hands, with a distressed face.
"Why would you come back every day if you couldn't see me?" I lifted his chin till he was looking at me.
"Even if I couldn't see or touch you, I wanted to be close to you. It was killing me not being with you. I need you no matter what. I will always need you." I rustled his hair with my fingers and smiled. I locked my arms around him and put my head on his shoulder.
"Thank you." I whispered.
Arnold was allowed to take me home, so he helped me pack my things, and leave the hospital. I insisted on going to see Chance, but he said tomorrow I should see him; I needed to rest. I tried to refuse but I figured arguing with him would put stress on everything.
He helped me out of the car, and we walked up the stairs. Under the door, I could see the lights on. "Why are the lights on? Did you leave them on?"
"No, Luna is here right now. I couldn't leave Caressa to fend for herself." I laughed.
He unlocked the door. "Luna?" I yelled.
"I'm in Caressa's room. Come on in." She shouted back. I put down my things, and walked in. Luna was at the changing station, and Caressa ran up to me.
"Mommy! I miss you!" Caressa yelled.
"I missed you too my baby girl!" I gave her hugs and kisses, and realized Luna was still standing at the changing table. "Luna, what are you doing?"
Luna turned around, and in her arms, was Chance. Straight away my eyes filled with tears. I ran over and picked up my baby boy. Luna took Caressa out of the room, and closed the door. I was in the room hugging, kissing, and talking to Chance. I sat in a chair and stared at his little head. His skin was becoming more normal, and I could tell that his bones weren't as prominent.
A knock came from the door. Arnold poked his head through. "Surprise!" he said quietly and sarcastically.
"And you didn't tell me because…?" I giggled.
"We'll talk about this later. You just have your special time." He tiptoed out of the room. I smiled, and looked back at Chance. His eyes were beginning to drop off, so I stood up and began stroking his head. I placed him softly in his crib, and walked out of the room, after giving him a kiss on the head.
It was late now, so Arnold was in bed, reading. He looked up from his book and smiled softly. "So how are you doing?" He asked.
I was so giddy, and I ran over and jumped on top of him. I kissed him tenderly, and lay my arms on his chest, and stared into his eyes. "How?" I asked.
"Well, a few days after…you know, the doctors told me taking Chance home now was a good time to. He hadn't thrown up in a day or two, and they said keeping him with them wouldn't make a difference. So I took him home a few days ago, and I had to keep it from you." He smiled slyly.
"And you didn't tell me?" I said as I kissed his nose.
"No, of course not." He kissed me back. He put the book down and locked his arms around my neck.
I stopped kissing him when I realized that an even bigger question was on the table. "Is his life expectancy longer then?"
He looked at the wall and said, "It hasn't changed." I stared down at my hands and placed my head on his chest. He stroked my head and laid a soft kiss upon it. I tried to keep it in, but I began crying quietly, and he placed his arms around me. "Don't cry Helga. Don't cry." Arnold began rubbing my back and head, while whispering soothing words into my ear.
After a little bit of Arnold comforting me, I slid over to my side of the bed and managed to fall asleep.
"Get in the corner you little brat!" My father screamed at me; his face distorted with anger.
"I'm sorry daddy! Don't be mad at me! Please!" I yelled back at him.
I was crying hysterically, when suddenly my view changed. I was now looking at the corner of the wall where I was located, but instead of me, it was a little boy.
"Please don't hurt me mommy! I promise I'll be a good boy! I promise!"I looked at the tears running down the boys face. Then I looked at my hand, which was holding a rough, leather belt. I looked back at the boy and saw red streaks all up and down his bare chest and face.
My arm suddenly came up and slammed the belt back down. A cry of pain came from the young child, and he held his stomach where the leather came in contact with his ivory skin. I stared at my arm, which had betrayed me. My arm came back up and lashed down again. The little boy screamed in aguish, as his skin started letting out small drops of blood where the belt hit twice. His chest and stomach were raw.
I threw the belt on the bed, and stepped away from the child. He looked so familiar, in his presence; he acted just like me.
Chance.
I sat up breathing heavily, with a bead of sweat rolling down my face. I peered over at Arnold, who was still sleeping soundly. I checked my phone; 4:36 AM.
I got out of bed and walked out of the room as quietly as possible. I opened the door, and there Chance was, lying in his crib. His tiny legs were bent up, and his arms sprawled out. I came next to his crib, and looked at him. Seeing him sleeping, out of harms reach, made me relax. I pulled a chair next to his crib, laid my head onto the crib barrier, and looked at him.
I woke up to the sound of soft crying coming from his crib. He had woken up, and so had I. I apparently fell asleep watching him. I cradled his head and rocked him back and forth. His crying came down to a minimum.
I began making funny faces at him, in hopes he would start giggling. I opened my eyes wide, and made my lips into the shape of those of a fish. His mouth opened and his curved into a smile. A laugh, like one from a baby in a movie, sounded. It made me smile that I could make him smile.
The door to his room opened slowly, and in walked Arnold.
"Hi." I said between making faces at Chance.
"Hi. Was he crying? You could've asked me to come. You've had a long few weeks." He walked over and stared at the both of us.
"And miss out holding my son? Never. Anyway, he wasn't crying. I couldn't sleep so I thought I'd come in here. Just so happens that he woke up like an hour later." I looked up to Arnold, who had sleepy eyes and bed head. "Look; I can make him laugh." I made the same face, and out came a small giggle.
Arnold smiled. "You're amazing."
"Why thank you. Where'd that come from?" I paused. "No offence, it's not like I don't love getting compliments from you."
"Just you in general. You're such an amazing mom. If I could go back in time, and show your 9 year old self how amazing of a mom you were going to be, and having a terrible dad didn't affect you at all, I would. I would do anything." He stroked Chances, and then planted a light kiss on both our heads.
"I love you Arnold." I craned my neck, and he bent down and kissed my lips.
"Good, cus you're stuck with me now." He laughed and kissed me again.
That day we went on a walk to the park, and Caressa and Arnold played on the jungle gym, while I attempted to make Chance laugh. It was one of the best days of my life. I got to see my fiancé and daughter playing while I held my son.
When we got back home, we put both Caressa and Chance down for a nap, so Arnold and I could have some alone time.
We sat on the couch and held each other in our arms.
"Today was perfect." I said.
Arnold was rubbing my arms. "I know." He said.
After a few moments of silence I asked, "So, not to put you on the spot, but when is the wedding supposed to happen?" I looked up at him.
"Well, maybe a few months; maybe a year. Who knows. Depends on what events are happening." My stomach wrenched in pain. Depends on what events are happening. Chance. Chance is the 'event'.
"Yea I know. But can I make a request?" He smiled.
"Anything my princess." I giggled.
"Could we have the wedding in the next few months? I know we don't want to talk about it, but it has to be done. I want the wedding before anything can happen to Chance. I want my son to be at his parents wedding. I want him to be the ring bearer, and Caressa to be the flower girl. I just want our whole family there. On the day of our wedding, I want to act like nothing is happening around us. It's just us, and our beautiful children." I looked off into space, as I imagined our wedding without Chance; probably visiting his tombstone on the morning of the wedding. I shook the idea out of my mind.
"Of course; anything for you." He kissed my nose. "Now can I ask you something?" His eyebrows rose. I nodded my head. "Last night when you said you couldn't sleep, was that true?" He had a sort of worried look on his face.
I looked at my hands and said quietly, "No."
"What was wrong then?" He lifted my chin till I met his gaze.
"My father," I whispered. I was staring blankly into his eyes, while the dream replayed again and again.
"I'm sorry Helga. You can wake me up you know." He looked away.
"It's fine Arnold. I was ok; just a little shook up is all," I smiled sweetly at him.
He nodded his head slightly. "Promise you're ok?"
"I promise." I had lied; lied straight through my teeth. I felt guilty about it, but it's for the best. I didn't want him to worry about me. He has been worrying about me for too long.
I fell asleep in Arnold's arms and woke up to him carrying me into our room.
"Shh, go to sleep," he whispered.
I leaned my head up and kissed his lips. I locked my arms around his neck and looked into his eyes.
We entered the bedroom, closed the door, and he playfully threw me onto the bed. I winked at him, and he came and lay down next to me. I rolled on top of him, and kissed his neck and then his lips. We kissed ravenously, as he started to unbutton my shirt. As the second sleeve was about to come off, we heard a cry coming from Chance's bedroom. We both laughed at the bad timing and I insisted that I would go. Arnold forced me to stay put as he went to get Chance to sleep.
I sat patiently, and began to read. Arnold poked his head in and whispered, "Two more seconds. I have to make a bottle of his formula. Stay put."
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms sarcastically. "Fine. Two more seconds."
He shook his head and laughed, and walked into the kitchen. It was like a cartoon, him running back and forth between rooms.
After 30 minutes of feeding and rocking Chance, Arnold came back in. He closed the door quietly, and looked in my direction. "Where were we?" He asked in his best seductive voice.
I giggled. His head tilted. "Are you laughing at me?"
"I'm sorry Arnold, but you trying to be sexy on purpose is kinda funny. You're sexy just standing; no need to put on a show." I laughed again.
He ran over and began tickling me. He pinned down my arms and kissed me. "See," I said between kisses. "No need to act sexy."
I checked my phone, 2:40 AM. Crying was coming from Chance's bedroom. It hadn't woken Arnold up, so I put on a robe and tiptoed out of the room. I walked in and a pungent smell overwhelmed me. I fanned my hand in front of my nose and just guessed he probably overflowed his diaper. I walked over to his crib.
He lay crying on his back with a pool of vomit and blood around his head. I choked on the air coming and stood there, completely still and silent. I had no clue what to do. My baby boy.
"Arnold," I yelled. "Arnold!" I picked up Chance, and immediately was covered in blood and vomit. I was now dripping in bile that was coming out of his mouth. I grabbed a towel and tried to wipe him off. Arnold came rushing in. His mouth dropped open.
He acted quickly. "Come on," He said assertively. "I'll grab Caressa and you go to the car."
Chance was screaming bloody murder in my ear as I tried to soothe him. What scared me the most wasn't that he throwing up blood; it was that he was in pain. He was in excruciating pain and I couldn't do anything about it. His little stomach writhed every few minutes. My face was wet and bloody and Caressa was now screaming in her car seat, confused and scared. Arnold and I were trying to keep and everybody calm, but it was hard when we were the most scared.
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