Page 124 of Bastian

I don’t understand what went wrong.

He was right there with me.

He opened his eyes and smiled at me.

He came back to me.

One of the nurses, a male with a pretty great poker face, stands blocking Sebastian from view before he shuts the door in my face and I am no longer able to see him.

I let go of his hands again.

“Please, Benjamin. Tell them! I need to know what’s wrong with him. Please.” I’ve never been more scared. I fall back into Benjamin’s arms, letting him hold me and give me the strength I need right now, but he stays quiet, not really knowing what else to say. What is there to say?

I clearly heard one of the nurses say there was no pulse and the doctor saying that he flatlined.

I’ve watched enough Medical series to know what’s happening here, yet I still can’t believe it.

I just can’t.

Not my Sebastian.

I silently sob, falling apart in my best friend’s arms, and wonder what life would be like if I lost half of my heart.

Forever.

Because what was life before Sebastian Kenton? Nothing.

Empty. Colorless. Just like it would be after him.

Cold.

Dark.

Desolate.

“Mommy! The pancakes!” A sweet voice screeches at the same time as a high-pitched bark, bringing me back from the heartbreaking memories that still plague me whenever I let my mind wander to that time months ago. Looking down at the cooking pan, I indeed burned the pancakes. Shit. Making sure that I lower the heat on the stove, I grab the burnt pancakes with cooking mittens, drop them on the dog’s plate and place it in front of Cupcake. “Bon, appetite, mutt.”

The ungrateful little ball of fur barks at me while my kid yells, “Mommy!”

“Oh, he loves it when I call him mutt, baby. It is our thing.” I wave Ellaiza off as she looks at me offended that I gave her dog burnt pancakes. Shit, can dogs eat pancakes? I need to google that before I end up killing my daughter’s pet slash friend. Taking the burnt pancakes off his plate, I throw them in the trash before grabbing dog treats and giving them to the dog.

“Good, mommy.” Ellaiza praises me the same way she does the dog when he learns a new trick. Brat. I roll my eyes and ask. “Are you sure you can carry the tray? It’s a long walk, you know. Let me help.”

“No, I can do it.” She smiles at me so brightly that it’s contagious, and I find myself smiling back at my girl. It’s been a hell of a time for both of us, but the sun came out after long months of complete darkness. Months where I and everyone else around Ellaiza had to lie to spare her feelings and keep her innocence intact a little while longer. After her father was shot outside of the gala, he managed to be conscious for barely sixty seconds before he flatlined two times and ultimately fell into a coma. The doctors said he lost too much blood and oxygen wasn’t reaching his brain, even though he was stable. No one knew exactly what caused it. All I knew was that the heart of the man I loved stopped two times, and mine did the same alongside his.

They managed to bring him back twice before he fell into a coma. A coma he was in for three long months before he woke up miraculously at the beginning of September.

We were all walking zombies going through the motions all those months Sebastian was in a coma. The world burst into chaos when it witnessed its president being shot on all the news TV stations and the internet. We not only had to deal with Sebastian’s condition but also with the shit storm that followed.

The country witnessed its leader fall, and panic started to rise. The Vice President stepped up and served while Sebastian was unable to carry on as president.

What pissed me off more was that, while the country was going through dark days, our enemies overseas celebrated Sebastian’s fall as if he was already dead. I guess it comes with the territory of being the leader of one of the most powerful countries in the world.

While all this was happening, Benjamin and I decided to tell Ellaiza that her father was sick and sleeping to get all his strength back. Luckily she is young and she did not question the lie although I felt like shit for lying to her. I wanted to keep her innocence intact for a while longer.

My sweet girl read to her father every night and kissed him too, hoping that like Snow White he would wake up with a true love’s kiss.

That’s how kindhearted and lovely our Ella is.

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