Take Flight

It's Time

"Okay, I'm leaving now, will you be okay ? Are you sure ? Yes, thank your brother for me. I know... I know I'll see him, but... Okay. Okay, I'll be there in ten, I love you."

You put down your phone on the wooden desk you're sitting behind and let out a long sigh.

"Everything okay ?" Ever asks from the other side of the room.

You're biting both of your lips, trying to think properly and get your mind ready for what's to come before turning towards your rather curious colleague who is sitting on the edge of their seat, already knowing which words are about to come out of your mouth.

"Today's the day. I'm gonna be a mother again ?" you reply in a questioning tone, still working on believing this whole situation.

"Wow," Ever answers, making their body lean on the back of their chair, "you are awfully calm."

They watch you in silence as you quickly turn off your computer and gather your things as fast as you can, reality hitting you more and more as each second passes.

"Seeing how you acted these last few months, I thought you would've been way more stressed out knowing your girlfriend is going into labor."

These words only make everything way too real all at once, and all the stress that was locked somewhere in your body start flooding in, making all of your muscles tense and shake. You stop for a second, unable to grab hold of anything and put both your hands on the desk, taking a big breath to try and find your balance again.

"You just made me insanely nervous just saying this, Ever."

"Oh well, sorry about it, darling. You better be quick now, though. I know you're nervous and shaky, but you don't have much time. I'll cover for you, go !"

"I love you," you say with a last glance to your colleague and friend.

You get out of the room running, your car keys already in your hand and the back of your neck already sweaty. Everything seems to be taking too long, and each minute you spend away from Angelina in this exact moment is killing you inside. It is still early, and the traffic isn't bad yet, at least not as much as it usually is when you get out of the office, but it feels like every push on the break makes you lose an hour. Your heart beats fast, too fast, and the adrenaline makes it hard for you to think. All you have in mind is her. Angelina.

After what feels like an eternity, you finally pull up in the hospital parking. In less than a second, you're already out of your car, rushing your way into the building. The world is still moving too slow, there are way too many people in front of you that you wish you could just make disappear in a snap of your fingers. Eventually, it is time for you to try and ask where Angelina is. The lady at the front desk has this motherly smile on her lips and an understanding look in her eyes as she watches you struggle to get the words out.

"Are you looking for someone ?" she sweetly asks as you can't seem to be able to catch my breath.

"Yes... yes, I... My girlfriend, she's... Is she even here yet ? Or am I too late, I..."

"Can you start by telling me her name ?"

"Oh... Oh, yes, of course, I... She's... hum... Angelina Jolie," you say, leaning a bit over the counter and lowering your voice so that the people standing behind don't hear the name of said girlfriend.

For the first time in the few minutes you've spent in front of her, the nurse's calm expression breaks a bit, letting surprise peeking through before getting her composure back. She clears her throat and starts speaking with a voice slightly more erratic than before :

"Oh, yes, that shouldn't be too hard to find. She did come through just a few minutes ago."

Not a minute later you burst the door open, making both Angelina and her brother gasp in surprise. Your lover's face relaxes in a fraction of second to the sight of you and extend her arms in your direction so that you can hold her hand. As you sit next to her, James stands up walk past you, whispering to your ear :

"I'll let you handle her, I think you do it better than me."

You can't help but chuckle no matter how nervous you feel.

"Yeah, sure, we'll pretend I didn't just hear that," Angelina replies to her brother as he exits the room in a laugh.

Your focus comes back to her in a heartbeat. You hold her hand with both of yours, tightly, not willing to ever let go, and she's just smiling at you. The light in her ocean eyes is so bright. Her face is suddenly disfigured by the pain, but she still looks like the most beautiful human you've ever seen.

"Are you okay ? Can I do anything ? I feel so helpless... Do you want me to go get you anything ?"

"Honey ! Honey, I'll be fine."

She's smiling again. You smile back to her. Oh, how much you love this woman.

"I love you too," she says to you, reading the reflection of your thinking in your eyes.

Suddenly, time flies faster than it ever had before, and it's time. You can barely hear the nurse as she is telling you what is about to happen and how, and the world seems blurry. You grab hold of Angelina's hand as your only attachment to reality. Your body moves and follows the instructions you've been given, but it feels like you're not the one in control. You're overwhelmed. You hear yourself cheer Angelina up, and you can feel her nails digging into the palm of your hand, but to your despair, you're only half there. Until these words.

"She's losing too much blood."

You're drawn back to reality right away, and your mind is flooded by all the noise and chaos that your brain blurred out just moments ago. You suddenly realize how long you have been standing in this room by Angelina's side. Your hand is bloody. So is your lover. The panic rises in you, stronger than ever.

"What is going on ?"

The chaos keeps on happening around you, but you only notice that the grip around your hand is growing weaker.

"Angelina ? Angelina ! Honey, you're almost there, don't give up just yet, please, honey..."

She smiles through her tears and looks right into your eyes.

"You did it. You called me by something else than my name."

Tears well up in your eyes, and you feel two hands grabbing your arms, making you separate from her.

"I am going to have to ask you to step out of the room Miss."

"Excuse me, what ? No ! No, there's no way I'm leaving her ! No !"

However how hard you try to get rid of the grip of the nurse, you can't escape and are drawn outside of the room. James stands from his chair as he sees you banging on the door to be let in again. The tears are now rolling on your cheeks. The cries turn into sobs, and you fall on the ground, the images of the room around you getting blurry again, and so dark. So dark.

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i know i'm an asshole no need to tell me-