Crazy Stupid Love

Chapter 53: Learning To Let Go

Rydel's POV

My world is dark, but a faint, shrill, repetitive beep registers in my ears. My entire body aches; a sharp pain tearing through my limbs as I attempt to move each one in turn.
Before long,my mind is fully alert to all the sounds happening around me. I hear Ratliff's voice call out my name, but my body won't respond to any motion I attempt to make.
"What's wrong with her?" a voice demands. "She looks like she's in pain."
Riker.
"She's still recovering from a medial induced coma. We needed to put her under to save her, and she's struggling to regain full consciousness. If she's going to wake up, she will in the next few minutes," a professional sounding voice replies.
"And if she doesn't wake up in the next few minutes?" another voice asks.
It's Ryland.
"Even the most valiant attempts are sometimes not enough to save someone. She's in the Lord's hands now."
Fingers lace with mine, and I am immediately able to recognize Ellington's firm grip. "Please," he whispers. "Wake up."
I try to scream with everything in me, but I make no sound. I can't move, I can't speak, but I'm trying with everything in me to let them know I'm still alive and fighting.
I attempt to squeeze Ratliff's hand again, and my fingers make the slightest twitch.
"Guys!" he screams. "She moved! Her hand moved!"
Trying all my movements again, I am able to wiggle my toes and fingers. With each attempt following, I regain more movement. By my fifth time around, my eyes open.
"Oh, Baby," Ratliff murmurs; pressing a kiss to to hairline. "I was so scared."
"I'm... okay," I manage, my throat extremely dry.
"Ms Lynch," Doctor Kingston smiles. "It's good to have you back. Your family was all so worried."
Looking up at Ellington, I notice tears welled in his eyes.
"I'm going to tell you one last time," he says. "Please consider chemotherapy. It's not too late to save your life, Rydel."
Immediately; I shake my head.
"I need you to be sure," he urges. "If you have another episode like this one, I don't think we're going to be as lucky."
Meeting Ratliff's eyes, I silently plead. He says nothing, but curtly nods his head.
"We're sure."
"Very well," he replies. "On a lighter note, I had my nurses preform another ultrasound. You are entering into your fifth month of pregnancy very soon, and we found no complications. Your due date is July 10 if you forgot."
Letting out a sigh of relief, I move my hands over my stomach.
"Thank you so much."
"Well I'll grab you a glass of water and get admin to being your discharge paperwork."

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Ross' POV

Snickering softly, I pull my phone out from my back pocket.
"Quiet!" Rocky hisses. "Don't wake him up till I'm done!"
Riker ended up falling asleep on the hammock instead of coming inside last night, so Rocky decides to weave the ends of his shoelaces between the strings and tie him to the hammock.
"Done," he whispers.
After snapping a picture; I take one of the airhorns from Ryland.
"1, 2, 3," I mouth.
At once, all three airhorns go off. Letting out a high pitched scream; Riker wakes with a start. He jumps up, but is quickly brought back down by his feet. The hammock flips over, and Riker lands face first on the dirt with his feet still in the air.
"What the hell?" he screams, his cheek still squished against the ground.
"That's what you get for falling asleep outside," Rocky grins.
"I hate you guys," he growls.
"Hey!" Rydel yells as she walks into the backyard with Ellington in tow. "Listen up!"
"Someone's feeling better," Rocky mocks.
Shooting a pitiful look at Riker, she says, "I'm not even going to ask."
"That would be smart," Riker replies softly, slipping his feet from his shoes and standing up.
"Anyways, we have stuff we need to do," she snaps. "So up. Marriya and I are going dress shopping, and I need you boys to help Ellington set up."
"For what?" Ryland asks.
"Ellington and I have decided to get married sooner than we had originally planned," she responds.
"How soon?"
"8 o'clock tonight."
"Rydel!" I exclaim. "That's in 12 hours!"
"Yes, that's why we need to hurry."
"What brought this on?" Riker asks. "Don't you want to plan this a little better?"
"After that last scare, we have no idea how much time we have left," Ratliff answers.
"Okay then, let's get moving, boys," Ryland orders.
"Oh, and I want you to wear these tonight," she says, handing each of us a large paper bag before turning and walking back into the house.
"How dare she!" Rocky exclaims. "Asking us to wear a paper bag over our heads, my gosh. Like she's some supermodel-"
"Rocky..." Riker trails off.
"Hey!" he grins after tearing the bag open. "She put clothes in here!"
"Riker, come here!" Rydel yells, sticking her head back out the patio door.
Grumbling, he obeys her wishes.

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Riker's POV

"What's up?" I ask, still attempting to wipe the dirt from my face.
"I invited Emily," she replies.
My heart drops to my stomach, and I am overwhelmed with a mix of emotions.
"She just texted back, and she's in the city. She said she would love to come, but only if you're alright with it."
"Oh," I answer; my voice noticeably higher than normal.
"If you're not-"
"Of course I am. You're my baby sister, and I'm not letting any of my hurt feelings wreck your special day."
"Thank you, Riker," she grins. "I have one more thing."
"What would that be?"
"I want you to walk me down the isle."
"What?"
"Dad's not here to do it, and you're my big brother. It just makes sense to me."
"Of course," I whisper, pulling her into a hug. "Of course I will."
"Thank you," she murmurs. "Marriya's waiting outside, so I should go. I'll see you soon."
"Have fun!" I call.
After washing my face in the kitchen sink, I go back out to the boys.
"Everything okay?" Ross asks.
"Everything's great," I reply. "Let's get started."
"One thing," Rocky cuts in.
"What would that be?"
"Ratliff, Man, I know you love my sister. We all know that," he says. "But are you sure you want to do this."
"I'm completely sure."
"It's going to completely destroy you when she goes. She's getting weaker every day, and I don't think she has too much time left," Riker murmurs. "As hard as it is, we all are going to have to learn how to let go."
"When you love someone as much as I love Rydel, every effort is worth the pain. I'll fight for that girl no matter what the odds of winning are. Believe me, I know her death is going to hurt. It's gonna hurt like hell, but it's gonna hurt because she mattered and we loved her. We all helped each other live, and somewhere along the way, we need to help each other die. I'm not saying by any means that it's going to be easy, but mourning her before she's gone only makes it harder on her. She isn't gone yet, and I intend to love her wholeheartedly and stay by her side until she is."
"Okay, men, let's roll. We have the next 12 hours to create the most kick ass wedding of all time."

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Hey guys :) So I know there was kind of a wait on this chapter, but it's been a tough week. I've had two deaths in the family, so writing has kinda taken the back burner.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!
Love you guys!
~ Hannah xxx