Dream for the Dead (Completed/Editing)

52 - *Christmas Special* (Part Three)

When my eyes landed on him, I felt really sick. I was also ready to punch him in the face.
There, walking past with a new woman on his arm, was Dad.
"What the Hell are you doing with a tart like her?! She looks like a prostitute. Is that what she is, Daddy dearest?" I yelled without even thinking.
Dad gasped and almost lost his footing. The woman also looked startled. She was the first to look at me. She looked ready to start arguing, but her eyes widened until they were almost popping out of her skull.
"Th-the!" She tapped Dad repeatedly, beginning to back away. "The girl from the photo...she..."
Did she know about me?
"She's supposed to be dead!" She shouted.
Dad finally turned to look at me, and he grabbed at his chest when he saw me, collapsing to the ground.
"You're suppose to be dead!" The woman continued to shout.
Though I was angry that he was with some other woman instead of fighting for Mum and supporting Mum through the loss of me, I couldn't be angry at him anymore for the things Analetta had made him do.
"Dad!" I ran to him. Before I fell to the floor beside him, I remembered what was in my shopping bag, and instead of slamming it down, I placed it carefully.
"Ta-" he tried to speak. "Ta-"
"Call an ambulance!" I shouted at the woman, who was still stunned herself. "Do it! He's having a heart attack, for God's sake!"
She stared for a few moments before coming back to reality and frantically searching for her phone in her tacky handbag.
Dad winced in pain, still clutching the shirt on his chest tightly.
"Dad! Dad-" I had to face the reality that Dad may die, and that he wouldn't be sticking around. "I still love you! I still love you!" I shook him slightly, waiting for confirmation that he'd heard and understood.
He breathed deeply for a few moments before nodding slowly. "I-I..."
I felt cold tears on my cheeks. "Love me too?"
He nodded again.
The young shop assistant from the ornament shop came running out. "I called an ambulance." He told me, and then placed the phone back up to his ear. "Do we, like, put him into recovery position?"
Dad struggled for a while longer, before slipping out of consciousness. Hesitantly, I checked for his pulse - there wasn't one. It was like watching another death scene, but this time I wouldn't return to a reality where all of my loved ones were still around. I choked on a whimper. "N-no..."
"Why'd this even happen?" The shop assistant asked the tart.
Consumed by hurt, guilt and anger, I didn't care what the people around thought, and I hid myself from everybody as I picked up my bag and went to walk away from the scene. Nobody would ever believe them. I heard screams and shouts from both people, but ignored it, drowning their sound out with my own thoughts.
You've killed your own Father. You've probably killed your Mum, too. Well done, Tabitha; you've lost both your parents and your boyfriend in the space of a week. What a train wreck of a human being.
I sniffled, trying to keep my sobs silent. It was all my own fault; I didn't deserve to be sad. I wanted to stop and crumple to the floor, and just lie there until I was transported back to the town. But - in case there was a tiny chance that Mum was still alive and I hadn't made her go completely crazy, I continued on.

A few hours later, I arrived at the address. I was shocked and devastated that it was a hospital for the mentally ill. I made my way inside, snaking through people and hallways, until I finally found her. She was sleeping, and looked extremely peaceful. I sat beside her for a while, relieved that I hadn't killed her. Not yet, anyway.
I stroked the side of her face, and she began to stir. Not ready to speak with her yet from the fear of making her worse - as she was clearly bad if she was in a hospital - I left, and decided to find a place to stay for the night. After all, I had until New Year's Day. Now that I was dead, it wasn't necessary to sleep, so I decided to find a place to rest and think. A tranquil, quiet, isolated place.

After a while of searching, I finally found a beautiful forest. It wasn't as breathtaking as the forest back home, but that was probably because there were fond memories attached to the one in town. I sat below a tall tree, and thought about what I'd done. Everything since deciding to kill myself.
"I think I've messed it all up." I sighed. "But what could I have done?"
I huffed and lay back in the grass. There were no cyclamen here, or any flowers for that matter. That was disappointing. I took the tree ornament from the bag, unboxing it, and carefully unwrapped the bubble wrap. I brought it up to my face and played with it in my hands, turning it at different angles and admiring every aspect of the piece. I hoped it would be good enough.

After a night in the forest, I decided that I had to speak to Mum, and I had to get the attention of a nurse who would speak to me, to prove I was real. Then I had to apologise for the trouble I'd caused, and give her the ornament.
I found my way back to the hospital, and found something surprising just outside.