Mortified

Chapter 19

I stand frozen on the doorway. When she was sliding into coma, I was the only thing she was thinking about. She told someone his name just to make sure that it reaches me. I LOVE YOU SO MUCH MOM. I think to myself.

I meet mom again and this time, I cry more. I have never cried so much in my life before. What has happened to me and my life? I could have never imagined it for me.

Dallas takes me home. Robert stays there and he said that he would come later. Robert has always been close to my mom. He always gave her the respect and love that I gave her, even though he knew about the whole thing. I really admire him for that. Once before leaving for college, he had told my mother that what she had done for him was really appreciated by him, and even though she didn't give birth to him, he considered him as his mother. That was a real happy day for her. I laugh a little remembering her sweet smile and laugh.

"Dallas, I want to thank you for putting up with me. I mean you could have left and stuff but you didn't. Thank you for being by my side throughout and giving me space and not pushing further." I tell him while sitting in the car in front of the house.

He just gets down, comes to my door and opens it and plants a little kiss on my forehead. I hug him real tight.

When we go inside the house, it smells of chicken roast. Then I see Stew moving around in the kitchen.

"I hope you didn't mind me cooking? It is just something symbolic and I thought that everybody would be hungry." She looks at me, hopefully.

"Well of course. Even I am a little hungry, let's eat." I plaster a smile on my face and go ahead to help her in the kitchen.

After dinner, everybody has gone to their rooms. It has been snowing since then. I am sitting in front of the fireplace with a bucket of chocolate ice cream mixed with butterscotch. I am fiddling around with the ice cream in the spoon and that's when I hear a paper wrap crumble. I look around me as to find the source of the noise. Was that a mouse? I really don't care about that so I just stay like that.

Suddenly when I am lost in my dream land, I hear a whisper, "care to share?" first I think that it is Dallas, but when I turn around I see. Rose.

I can see dried tears on her face, and she is holding the gift that I got for her and had left it near the tree when I went to see mom. She hasn't opened it yet.

"You have a spoon?" I tell her as calmly as possible, trying to prevent the tears from welling up in my throat.

"I am sorry." She says and starts crying again. I get up and move and hug her. She is so cold. I take her to the fireplace. We sit like that for some time. I like it, we haven't been like this for quite some time now.

"How is mom?" I am so pleased to hear her call mom, 'mom' and not by her name.

"She is in coma, but they said her vitals are good." I tell her, running my hands through her hairs.

"Why did you people never tell me about it? I am 16 years old and I think I deserve to know. You never even told me that you had a missing father." Suddenly I remember him. His name is ray Marshall. Well I need to dig further into it. Soon.

"We never told you because they did not want you to have an attitude towards mom that was different only because she wasn't your real mother. I never knew about it myself until I was 13 years old. We had met when you were just one year old and I was 3. Charlie and mom had married that time. Together they brought us up, like we were always their own blood. Mom left her job because Charlie wanted her to focus on the kids, something your actual mother never did. Then one day you feel down while playing and you lost a lot of blood. I wanted to give you my blood but they said no. first they just told me that it was because I was too young, but later they told me actual reason. But that never changed how I took care of you, how I told you everything. I had forgotten about it after that because I had accepted you. I was warned not to tell you or I would have to lose you and I never wanted that, so I kept it to myself. Please forgive me and mom for not telling you this. Charlie was your real dad and Robert is your real brother. I know bits and pieces about your mother, if you want to know." I tell her smiling.

"Why? I know my mother pretty well. I have lived my life with her always. I don't think anyone can ever take her place. And I don't think anyone can take your place. Your position, role and importance in my life can never be replaced." She hugs me and I breathe a sigh of relief. She is back. My loving sister is back. We spend the night like this. Talking about small things and remembering our times with mom. It feels nice. I think about my mother, lying in the hospital bed, hooked to all the machines. I have never spent Christmas without her. The one thing I really appreciate about my mom is that she never gave me up. She stayed with me always. She could have aborted me or given me up for adoption but never has she done that. She never even hated me. I am a resemblance to him and have parts of him in me but she never pointed that out and made me feel bad.

Rose has gone to sleep on my shoulder. I can't take her to her room so just drag her and dump her on the sofa, put a blanket on her and go to my room.