Delirious Love

Chapter Thirty-Six

EMORY'S POV

It's been a hectic few weeks. I've been trying to strike a balance between work and spending time with my father. Though I couldn't help but think I'd been a shit girlfriend, I felt disappointed in myself. Ansel and I hardly have time for ourselves. Ansel assures me that he is not angry or unhappy because he knows how much I am going through. I still couldn't help but feel as if I'm leaving him in the blue.

My supervisor and I reached an agreement. I still had to go to work, but only for half of my normal shift. This allowed me to keep my job and spend time with my father.

When my father passes, I was granted a week off. It wasn't much, but it was better than nothing.

I didn't want to think about my father's death. He was everything to me. It's always been just the two of us, and I would definitely lose a piece of myself.

Because my hours were reduced, I was able to leave in just a few minutes. I checked out after collecting my belongings from my locker. I walked back to my car and drove to the cardiac hospital. When I arrived, I parked my car and went to my father's room.

I could feel my stomach twisting as I approached my father's room. I blew it off because it happened every time I came here. After opening his door, I walked over to his bedside chair.

I took the time to scan his appearance. He didn't look good at all. His regular skin tone has been replaced by a pale appearance. His breathing was significantly shallower than it should have been.

I was about to get up and go get a doctor to see if they might help, but I was stopped by a hand.
My father put his hands on top of my hands.

He coughed out, "You're here Em." He gently grasped my hand. "I have a feeling my death is near."

With a shake of my head, I expressed my dissatisfaction with his choice of words. "Don't say that, Dad," I say. "You're incredibly strong." My eyes well up with tears.

"I'll get the doctor-,"

"No, Em," he spoke. "I want to spend my final moments with you," he says, barely articulating a sentence.

I scoff and shake my head, denying that this isn't happening right now. My eyes well up with tears as I squeeze his hand. "Stay with me, dad," I whisper, my head resting on his hand. "Please," I say quietly. "I need you here with me."

Before I hear a loud beeping sound, I feel him squeeze my hand once more. I tilt my head to his oxygen machine because of the constant beeping noise.

It was completely flat.

The sound goes away, and I find myself absolutely speechless. I turn around because I felt a swarm of hands on my shoulders. I could see a slew of doctors hollering at me, but I couldn't hear them. Their mouths were moving, but they didn't say anything. They hurried me out of the room and shut the door behind me.

With tears flowing down my cheeks, I found myself sliding down the wall. I refused to believe it.

He was gone.

My legs were brought up to my chest, and I rested my head on them. I was possibly in the position for several hours. I didn't have a single thought running through my head.

When I felt someone grab my hand, I looked up to see Ansel, Ava, and Chloe. They all looked down at me, not a single one of them showed pity. That's when I started crying. I sobbed uncontrollably as they whispered to me with kind words.

"It's not right. I-I have a lot of things to do, and I need to plan the f-funeral-" I was cut off by Ansel.

"Shh, one step at a time, yeah?" He asked, and I nodded.