Dream for the Dead (Completed/Editing)

53 - *Christmas Special* (Part Four)

"Hello." He kicked his foot around shyly.
I hesitated before replying. "Hey."
"Merry fucking Christmas." Seth gave me a mischievous grin.
I ignored him, despite how cute I found it. I didn't even smile or try to look remotely happy that he was here. Still furious, I decided he didn't deserve a 'merry Christmas' back. "What made you change your mind?"
He sighed. "I couldn't let you do this alone." His grin appeared again. "Tabs, could you look a little more thrilled, please? Analetta ranted at me for around an hour about this situation before letting me leave. Sat me on a chair and paralysed me with magic so I had to listen. She pretty much thinks of you as her own child."
"Oh, how bad I feel for you." I rolled my eyes, ready to push past him when he grabbed me and pulled me back.
"What's up with you, baby?"
"Hey!" I slapped his hands away. "Don't you dare call me that."
"I didn't have to come. You're being unreasonable." His brow furrowed, making his anger evident.
I laughed in his face. "Unreasonable? What's unreasonable about me being angry that my boyfriend decided to leave me to see my parents on my own? What's unreasonable about me being angry when I had to face Dad on my way here alone? What's unreasonable about me being angry when I didn't leave you to face your Dad alone? I had to watch him with another woman, Seth! I had to watch him die!" The whole time, I was punching him in the chest. I was too weak to even hurt him slightly. "What's unreasonable, Seth, was you leaving me to do this alone."
"Hey, hey!" He shook me slightly, but it was enough to shock me and make me stop punching. "What'd you say?"
I breathed deeply and nodded, tears forming in the corners of my eyes. "Yeah, I had to see Dad. I happened to accidentally pass him. I also happened to accidentally cause him to have a heart attack, and die. Right in front of me."
"Oh God, Tabs." All signs of anger and annoyance washed off his face, and he pulled me into a hug. I struggled for a moment, before giving up and hugging him back, crying into his chest.
"I'm so sorry. I should've just came with you in the first place. I so, so sorry." He rocked me gently.
"I'm sorry, too." I peeled my face away from his chest to look up at him, halting my tears and sobs. "And...merry fucking Christmas."
We both laughed. "So, shall we?"
I considered everything for a moment.
There's no point staying angry with a guy you're gonna spend the rest of eternity with. I thought. Especially when he changed his mind solely for your sake.
I nodded, and laced my fingers with his.
"Oh, wait, wait!" I wiggled my hand out of his, remembering the ornament.
"It's not wrapped, but..." I produced the boxed ornament from the bag.
Smiling, he opened it up, and his face filled with delight. "I love it. It's just like our forest." He re-boxed it after admiring it for a minute or two. "Thanks, sweetheart."
I winced at that nickname. "Please, Seth, don't use that one."
He caught on after a second. "Ah...right...sorry."

We made our way up to Mum's room, hidden from sight. I screamed when we got to her room, and Seth followed quickly behind me.
"What? What's up?" He panicked.
"Mum, no!" I shouted, darting towards her. She had the the string of her dressing gown tied in a noose, and it was hanging from the ceiling light at the foot of her bed. She stood on the edge of her bed, adjusting the noose.
I shoved her back onto the bed, and I heard Seth untying the string behind us.
"Don't do that! Don't do that!" I kept shouting into her face.
"What is all the shouting about? What are you kids doing here?" A nurse came storming into the room.
Without thinking, I grabbed hold of the nurse's collar and began to shake her violently. "Why wasn't she on suicide watch? She lost her daughter, she's not well, she should be on suicide watch!"
"Y-you don't know whether she-" The nurse managed to stutter.
"No! Don't try that. If she was on suicide watch, anything she could use to kill herself would be removed from her room. That would include that dressing gown string!" I stopped shaking and removed one hand from her to point towards Seth.
Seth must have agreed with my actions, as he didn't try to pull me away from the nurse or even tell me to calm down.
"What's going on in here?" Another nurse called as she walked closer and closer to the door. When she turned the corner into the room and saw us, she began to scream. "Help! Help!"
"Oops." I looked at Seth. "Help me get Mum and run!"
Seth nodded and grabbed Mum - who was sobbing and muttering 'not real' repeatedly - pulling her up and running with her. I shoved the screaming nurse as I made my way to the door, grabbing Mum's other arm.
"There's only one way Mum will believe everything." I called to Seth. Luckily for us, the hospital was understaffed, as we didn't encounter the 'help' the screaming nurse had called for until we got to the reception. I kicked the receptionist when she jumped up to stop us, and we made it out of the hospital. We carried on running until we'd gotten to a secluded alleyway, where we stopped to regain our breath. I couldn't tell if Mum was panting because she was out of breath, or if it was because she was still weeping.