𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐅𝐋𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑⁰¹ʰᵉᵐᵐⁱⁿᵍˢ✓

⁷⁷t'was a pleasure to have known you

clementine

"We brought lunch!" I announce as I walk in dad's hospital room, eyes set on mom, who's hunched over her laptop, her reading glasses sitting at the end of her nose.

Promptly, she looks up, attention torn away and placed onto me, gracefully barging in with a paper bag in my hands.

"Ollie said you like these?" I show the restaurant brand to her and she grins, nodding in approval.

"Oof, thank you, darling," She dramatically leans back and groans. "I have many papers to view over today. Where's Luke?"

"Getting coffee for us," I answer, hearing the vending machine out from the hall chink and churn, pouring liquid into a cup loudly.

He and I had left the shop after a few hours of aiding Ollie, Malou, and Aimee with a lot of repotting, soiling, and needing to screw in some shelves (in which Luke was the gateway for succeeding the latter).

As we dropped by a restaurant, got lunch for mom and ourselves, and rode our way to the hospital, I prepared myself for the eventuality of my facing dad for how he is now.

Admittedly, I'm a little worn since we woke up early and worked for a few hours, so I might just sleep on the chair next to dad anyway.

Mom takes the paper bag and stands up, folding the laptop and moving her glasses to sit on the top of her head instead. "I'll take my leave now, yeah? You're sure you want to watch over him?" She rests a hand on my arm, worried eyes telling me her concern.

I give a reassuring nod and envelope her into a hug. "Yes, mom. I'll be alright. Just for a few hours. You go home and get some rest," I part and help her place her belongings into her bag. "Can Everett, Maddie, and Ollie come over later?" I ask, watching her turn to give me an unsure look.

She's contemplating, her eyes lost in thought.

"You can't keep everything from us, you know. From them," I say, recalling Everett and Maddie from yesterday, tears and confessions pouring out over dad's unwell condition.

Mom gives me a sorry look, tears sheening her eyes, making me want to go back to her arms and hug her.

"Of course they can," She finally answers, picking up her lunch and bag and giving me a one-armed embrace. "A nurse will come every fifteen minutes to check on your dad's vitals, see if he's alright. I love you, darling,"

"I love you, mom,"

Just as she parts and starts out the door, Luke comes in, two cups of coffee in hand and swerving to miss bumping into my mom. "Oh! Hi! I hope you like the lunch," He offers a large grin and walks in, resting the cups on the side table by the couch.

Mom's face immediately lights up at the sight and voice of him, whipping back to grab his face and plant a large kiss on his cheek. "You better practise your French, Hemmings!" She exclaims before walking out the door, leaving Luke to stare at the empty space in shock.

He turns to me, pointing at where she had been. "Did she just last name me?" He bluntly asks, wiping on the part of his cheek where mom had smooched.

"I believe she did, Hemmings," I smirk, taking my cup of coffee and making my way to dad's bed, partly sitting on it and looking over him.

Surprisingly, I don't feel as though I wanna cry, which is a good progression from a few days ago.

He doesn't look that bad. Besides the sunken under eyes, he looks relatively okay, which is good. This is good. He'll wake up soon.