As Good As It Gets

Chapter 16

PARKER'S POV
A COUPLE DAYS LATER
"Sir we found these in her clothes. We saw names on them so we suspect you know these people?" The doctor asked me.
"Yes sir. Thank you." I half-smiled.
She didn't even have a pulse. I thought as I opened the unnamed already open envelope. The letter said Park typed in Layla's favorite font: Arial in size 20.
It read:
Dear Parker,
I know you are probably freaking out about all of this but Clara Jones is dead. I needed to tell you but I couldn't say it out loud. I found her dead as I was starring out the window in my room. She was tied to a pole by the street light. A rope around her neck, her wrists were cut open. I found her there when I came home from the hospital. I know it wasn't a day dream because that was the day that you tucked both me and Ariel in. I wanted kids so badly when I saw you and Ariel. I thought that if you and I-then I could have a kid within those months that I would live but I didn't make it that long. Well at least I don't think I did. I wanted you to have something to remember me by if I did die. Which in this case, if you are reading this right now, I did. I know that you are going to cry and not get over me. But I'm telling you Parker Evans....move on. I want you to have kids and have a life. Don't let me revolve around your life. I'll be watching you in heaven. And I'll get lucky if Penny is below me burning in hell. Makes it easier so I don't have to deal with her in heaven. anyways, I want you to know that I love you so much and want to thank you for the past couple of months. They were the best of my life.
Love you with all my heart, mind and soul forever (literally),
Layla Reynolds. <3.
The letter ended and I shut it and put it back in the envelope. There were several envelopes but they were made out to other people so I didn't want to open them. She couldn't be gone. I thought.
I walked to Room 2A. Opening the door a little, I just peeked my head through. And laying there was Layla. Her face paler then it usually was, her toes a brighter white, and her lips close to the color purple.
"Layla..." I whispered. I didn't know if I was supposed to be in here or not but I didn't care. I sat down next to her bed like I had done so many times before. But this time, every time I called out her name, she never answered back.
****************
5 WEEKS LATER.
LAYLA REYNOLDS
BELOVED SISTER, DAUGHTER, FRIEND
Fucking bastards forgot girlfriend.
Layla Reynolds was the best girl I had ever met. But as soon as she came into my life, she went out just like a lightbulb goes out. Every where we went together was off. Like the brightness had went from 100 to nothing. It all seemed dark. If you are as fucking dumb as I was, I'll replay what happened that night.
I woke up from a deep sleep next to Layla's hospital bed. A nurse had come in and checked her monitor.
"Is something wrong?" I asked the nurse who seemed to be studying Layla's monitor.
"She stopped breathing. Her heart isn't beating anymore." The nurse scrambled and called the doctor. They brought in the machines and right in front of my eyes tried to bring her back to life. It was like watching a rag doll and a bouncy ball mixed together.
The doctors kept saying weird numbers and different codes. Then a few minutes later, I starred at one doctor as he mumbled just loud enough for me to hear, "Patient in Room 2A is pronounced dead at 2:35 pm on November 14th, 2015." And then all of them left. As if they didn't even notice me in the room watching the whole scene." Every night I would play the scene over and over in my head. We had planned the funeral on December 11th. It had been Layla's favorite number. 11. I didn't go to school that year. In fact, I'm not even sure I went to school until all my friends had graduated. I never preformed in the musical. It was too painful. In fact, everything was too painful. I couldn't do anything without thinking of Layla. Her name made my heart burst into a million pieces and stab my lungs making it hard for me to breath. My mother made me go to a physiologist because she was worried about my well-being. I laughed every time she said that. My "well-being" was destroyed when Layla...... Well you know what I mean. I just couldn't believe that she was just........gone. Just like that. The poison wasn't even strong enough to kill her. It was only supposed to make her weak. That's what the people at the hospital said. And they had a doctors degree to back up there evidence. If that didn't kill her then what did?  
*************
I took a trip down to the hospital after the funeral. I had gotten curious so I went up to the front desk and asked for records on Layla Reynolds. Surprisingly, they gave them to me with no money asked for and no information from me. I took them willingly and went home. I glanced at them during the car ride but could never bring myself to open them. And I couldn't bring myself to open them for a couple of months. It took me a while but by March, when the funeral and when her body was in the ground, I decided now was as good as a time as ever. Grabbing the files, I drove to St.Mary's Cemetery where she was placed in a grave. I read the head stone over and over again until I memorized it. And over and over again, I would write on a piece of paper (even though they would take it down) girlfriend, and stick it to the grave stone to let people know she was also my girlfriend. We weren't just "friends". I kissed her grave stone and smiled. Every Time I came here I would never cry. Most times I just want to. Because I haven't cried since she said she wanted to have kids.
"Hey Layla....I've missed you so much these past couple of months. During your funeral I figured you couldn't have died from that poison. It must've been something else that either you hid from me or the hospital hid from us. And I just want to know what happened and yeah.....that's really it. But I felt like I had to open it with somewhat of you here with me. Are you ready?" I asked her. I was more asking myself if I was ready to see it. I was ready.
I slowly opened the file and read through it quickly. I found a section titled:
Personal Information:
I paid close attention and read it with careful eyes.
Patient didn't want anybody to know about her pregnancy. The poison didn't kill her. The baby weakened her too which was COD.

Baby?
She was......pregnant?
And for the first time, I cried.