Brown Eyes | Loubbie

Chapter Twenty Five

"You ready?" Cate asked, giving Sandy a reassuring smile.

Andrew tapped Sandy's shoulder along with a genuine nod that he handed over to her. Sunday morning felt like a rollercoaster for the brunette. The ride towards the hospital was brief, yet she felt like she was stuck somewhere in an endless loop - circling over and over, making her lightheaded. But with Cate on the driver seat, her free hand grasping her hands, she felt a bit calm and she somehow hoped it would be later.

"Do you think he'll be okay?"

"He likes you so much on The Blind Side. No need to worry." Andrew jested as he opened the door for Sandy.

The room was all cream-colored. There were flowers on the other corner and a table full of food and fruits. Dashiell was on the bed, a remote on his hand and his eyes darting towards the tv screen. Sandy noticed how much his eyes mirrored the ones that his mother owns - blue, cerulean and full of magnetism. Sandy breathed out as she walked forward. Each step weighs  like a ton of kilos, and each clunk of her own heels sounded like a death-clock. Dash turned at her, shock plastering his face, but it all went away in an instant when Sandy gave him a smile.

"Hi, Dash. Remember me?" Sandy smiled once more, standing  inches away from Dash's bed.

"You don't have to stand. You can sit on my bed."

Sandy smiled. Dash looked so timid and his voice was soft. She decided to sit on Dash's bedside. The last time she saw him personally was when he was fifteen, but now, he's all grown up. Time flew so fast.

"And yes, I remember you. I watched you on The Blind Side and you are mommy's friend..." He looked at Sandy, his lips straight as if contemplating what else to say, "best friend turned girlfriend and fiancé."

"How are you?" She tried to softly say it, trying to not crack her own voice.

"Fine."

And it was as if in movies - both fell into an immense silence. As if both were stuck in a dramatic scene. The whole room went cold and for Sandy, it stopped. It all went hazy and misty, however, she hooked it up, breaking the enormous ice blocking her away from Dash.

"I remember the first time I saw you." She started and it made Dash look at her, "... you were so small and so cute; a little bundle of joy wrapped in the cradle of your mom and in that moment, I knew you would grow up to be this dashing and handsome sunshine in your family." She smiled, gathered her courage as she took Dashiell's hand, clasped it tightly, "Your family needs you, Dash. And everybody, including me, would be devastated if something bad would happen to you. We are brokenhearted to what happened and your mom was and is still so devastated."

"Can you tell me about you and mom? Everything?" There was a small smile, a small ray of hope for Sandy.

"It's a long story, however I can make it short. Will you promise me you will never sleep?"

"I can. But first, help me sit."

Sandy laughed. For the first time in a week, she had found the mirth in her voice. She pulled pillows, arranged those, pastering the pillows on the headrest before she helped Dash to sit up straight. She looked at him, and he had a little smile on his lips before she mouthed Sandy a thank you.

"I met your mom when she was 21 and I was 27. We met at an after party of an awarding ceremony. She was this beautiful blonde, has piercing blue eyes and I got so smitten. We clicked and had a two-month relationship, but we decided to end it and became friends. She met your dad and in their wedding, I was her maid-of-honor. Your mom and your dad are a perfect match and I knew they loved each other so much. But Dash, a relationship will never be perfect. It rises and it falls. Four years ago, they ended it secretly and I and your mom became an item again. Things gone bad and she decided to start over with your dad. Ocean's Eight came in and we met again as friends. I didn't know that they were secretly divorced and we fell back into each other again. I'm sorry, Dash." She gave him a smile, but her smile didn't cover the tears she had on her face, "I am sorry that it happened, but I promise you, your parents love you and your siblings so much. And Dash, I love your mom, so much that I cannot explain it." Her voice broke down and Sandy looked at her hands on her lap, quite ashamed to be crying in front of an eighteen-year-old.

"Can you come closer?"

And Sandy did. The world stopped and everything around her went clear. Dash gave her a smile and he reached Sandy's face. A soft thumb wiping her tears away; a short clip of affected made Sandy cry even harder and it just made Dash chuckle like a child. He wiped her tears again, before he held her hand.

"I was seven at that time when I saw a photo of you in my mom's wallet. You and mom are destined to be together. I was upset at first, but now I understand."

"Thank you, Dash."

"Can you stop crying now?" Dash laughed as he looked over the glass window of his room, "I don't want mom to think I made you cry."

Sandy scoffed, "I'll tell your mom and dad you made me cry."

"I have a favor though."

"Yes?"

"Please take care of my mom. Don't lose her like my dad did."

Sandy's eyes glowed. Her tears attemping to escape again, but she was quick to wipe it away. The dusts in her lungs that made it hard for her to breathe earlier dissipated into thin air and it was replaced by little butterflies fluttering in her system.

"I won't. I promise."

"And one more thing, what should I call you?"

"Whatever you like, Dash."

Dash smiled, "Then mom it is."

***

𝑫𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒂𝒏 𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏 ysaamareh - 𝑰 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒌 𝑮𝒐𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖. 𝑯𝒐𝒑𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒕, 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒆. 𝑳𝒆𝒕'𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒖𝒃𝒃𝒊𝒆  𝒂𝒅𝒅𝒊𝒄𝒕𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓!