I woke up to the sound of coughing. I looked around the room, noticing that Justin wasn't here.
More coughing.
My eyes grew wider as I followed where the coughing was coming from.
"Ashton! Oh my god!" I exclaimed, running over to his bed. I pressed the nurse button on the monitor.
"W-Why am I here?" He asked, his voice raspy and weak. I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his forehead.
"You, mom, and dad got into a car car crash." I explained to him.
"Oh yeah... I remember..." He said, nodding slightly. Just then Justin walked out of the bathroom, walking over to me.
"Is he... Oh, he's awake!" He said excitedly. I nodded, pulling him in for a hug.
"Awake?" Ash asked confused, "How long was I asleep?"
"Almost four days, buddy." I told him with a weak smile.
"I remember the car accident. We were coming home from soccer practice. I saw the car come at us... It was scary." He said to me.
"It's just a good thing you're okay." I said back. He nodded.
"Does this mean.. It was my fault? The accident? I mean.... We were coming back from my practice.." He babbled, sounding choked up. I felt my eyes grow wide as I rushed to reassure him that none of this was his fault.
"No, no, Ashton, honey, this could never be your fault!" I exclaimed, "It wasn't anyone's fault. It was an accident."
He nodded, seeming unconvinced. I felt like crying. Nothing new.
"What about mom and dad?"
I sighed, knowing this question was going to come up sooner or later.
"Well, there's dad. He doing good." I told him, pointing over to my dad's bed. He was currently sleeping. I should probably wake him soon. He's been sleeping since yesterday.
"What about mom?" He pressed on. Justin scratched the back on his neck and I looked down at the floor.
Just then, the nurse walked in, saving me from having to answer.
I mean, who would want to tell their little brother that he's never gonna see his mom again?
"It's great to see you're awake little guy, how do you feel?" The nurse asked him with forced enthusiasm. I guess depressing atmosphere was rubbing off on her, as it was on all the rest of us.
"I feel fine I guess." He said.
She nodded, "Do you feel any discomfort?"
"Well, besides my broken bones, I think I'm good." He said, chuckling lightly. She nodded once more.
"Okay, well, I'll be back shortly to run some tests and I'll bring in the doctor to take a loot at you." She told him, flashing a toothy grin. He nodded, and she left.
"Justin, will you call Isaac for me? Tell him Ashton's awake."
Justin nodded, taking my phone from me and walking to the other side of the room.
"So, about mom." Aston spoke up, causing me to sigh once again.
"Mom... she... she didn't make it..." I said, tearing up. I forced a small smile, for his sake.
"What do you mean? S-She died?" He choked out, tears already rolling down his little cheeks. I nodded, grabbing his hand.
"She's in a better place now, Ash." I told him, he looked up at me with a hint of a smile on his lips.
"Yeah. I'm really gonna miss her though.."
-
"Alice, you need to come home and shower, eat, sleep..." Justin told me for the third time today. I nodded, finally giving in. I'd been arguing with him about stopping at home for who knows how long.
I've still just been doing nothing but crying. The death of my mom is eating me alive. I'm going insane.
"Okay, okay. I'll be back tomorrow. I love you guys." I said to Ashton and my dad.
Justin grabbed my hand as we walked out to the car. The drive home was silent. There was really nothing to talk about.
I must've went off in thought because before I knew it, we were in the parking lot of my apartment complex.
I slowly got out and walked up to my apartment, Justin following.
The first thing I did when I got in, was shower. I had only been able to use the shower at the hospital, and it really sucked. They had no shampoo or conditioner, just bar soap.
I turned on the hot water, taking off my clothes and stepping in. I quickly washed my hair and body before getting back out. I threw on some sweatpants and a tank top before going into my room where Justin was.
I crawled into bed next to him and he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me close to him.
"Justin... I can't sleep. I'm so tired but I just can't fall asleep..." I sighed.
"I love you so much. You're so strong and you're too beautiful to cry. Your mom is in a better place. She's happy. She would want you to be happy." He told me, kissing my forehead. I nodded, closing my eyes.
Eventually, after a long process of filling my brain with positive thoughts, I was able to fall asleep.
