Stealing Beauty

Part 7- The Bird In The Window

When Konnor returned, his face was pale. I strolled up to him gently and asked what was bothering him, but he shook his head wearily and walked on to the rest of my family.

After visiting hours were over, we went out to eat. It was nice to get out without the baby; just our double date like old times. It didn't feel unusual when Zander and Konnor argued over who would pay out. Ray and I both rolled our eyes and payed our halves, dragging the boys along behind us.

When we got back to the hotel, we said goodnight to Ray and Zander and went across the hall to our own room. I hopped in the shower and quickly washed myself, when I was soon accompanied by my future husband. We didn't do anything inappropriate; I was still worn out from the night before. Instead we just showered and talked about life, like we were out in public somewhere.

"Raylynn looks great," I mentioned, "I think once Karsyn starts sleeping through the night I'll start those police workouts with her and Zander."

"Why?"

"I don't know. You know how insecure I can get, and I feel like I'd be more energetic and able to raise a child if I was in shape."

"Well, if the police workouts become an inconvenience, I can give you MIlitary workouts."

My eyes widened at his suggestion, and then I rolled them at him. "I want to get fit, Konnor. Not save the world," I laughed and turned around to wash the front of my body.

I heard him mumbling, but the only words I could make out were "promise" and "save."

"What'd you say?"

"Nothing, love," he shrugged it off and cut the water. "Are you done?"

I looked back at the dripping faucet. "I guess."

We got dressed and I yawned constantly, ready to curl into that comfortable hotel bed. As we settled in bed and found a cheap, old movie to watch on tv, my phone started to ring. I didn't catch it until the last ring, and I could see it was my mom. By the time I answered, the call was missed. She had originally called me 14 times. My stomach churned and I knew it wasn't a good sign. My mom normally wouldn't call me that many times unless something was wrong.

My father...

I rushed to call her back, pressing the wrong passcode to my phone. I finally dialed her number and she picked up at the second ring.

"Mom, what's wrong?"

She was sobbing.

"Your dad..."

"We'll be there soon. I'll get Zander and Ray."

I hung up and saw Konnor with shoes on his feet and keys in his hand. "I'll have the truck pulled up at the door," he said simply before he rushed down the hall.

I could feel the color in my face drain. At least he was good in panic situations. I put my flip flops on and banged obnoxiously on our neighbor's door.

"Just a second!" I heard Ray say, as she giggled behind the door.

"Open up!" I demanded, frustrated. "It's dad! Something's...wrong."

"Zander opened the door in just his boxers, and Ray had just put her robe on over her...unclothed body. I rolled my eyes; I needed to see my dad as soon as possible.

"I'll just see you two at the hospital," I hung my head as I slumped down the hallway. I was scared, and my mind was already rushing to the worst case scenario.

He's dead. That's all there is to it. My dad is dead.

Somehow, my adrenaline had kicked in halfway through the elevator ride, and before I knew it, I was sitting in Konnor's truck, bouncing my leg up and down frantically. He sensed my nervousness and anxiety, so he reached over and calmly laid his hand on my leg. I could already feel the tears welling up in my eyes. I tried to keep them inside, and I did an impressive job...

...until I was sitting on the ledge, looking out the window of my father's room. He was in a lot of pain, and with the traumatic experience, the doctors said it caused a heart attack. He was now high from pain medicine, his speech slurred and his eyes restless. They were gray.

My father's eyes were never ever gray.

This was it.

I watched the Dallas traffic cross the interstates and bridges at 1:39 A.M. All of our immediate family surrounded my dad. My mom held his hand and hung her head, steadily sobbing. Ray stood by Zander's side, clutched to his side with his arm around her. Konnor stood next to me as I sat, looking outside. His hand constantly rubbed my back as tears silently fell from my eyes. It was quiet within the room; no one said a word. Suddenly I looked over and saw my dad point towards the window.

"Who's that bird in the window?" He smiled at me, and I smiled back as I got up and stood beside his bed, grabbing his free hand. He squeezed it tight, looking at me one last time.

"Sebastian, what do you mean?" My mom tried to interrogate him, but he had already closed his eyes...

And exhaled his last breath.

He had fought and lived a wonderful life. He had been through enough, and he was tired. My father finally got to rest. He was relieved from his duties when living. For now, I was okay. I knew I could look at the sky, see the birds, and always look back at the last memory I have of him.

I returned to the window, my face solemn and stoic. I wasn't sure how to react; I held my father's hand as he passed. Maybe there was no real way to react, so I didn't react at all. I propped myself up on the ledge, and looked out at the night sky.

I am the bird in the window, dad.

***

A.N.- I told myself I wouldn't publish until chapter 10, but this chapter was dramatic and I wasn't sure if y'all needed time to recover.

Just so you know, I wasn't going to kill a character in this book unless they really deserved it, and Sebastian didn't deserve it.

But with that being said, I'm kinda busy nowadays. I graduated high school and am going to start college as a twirler in the fall. But as of right now, I'm an afternoon teacher at the local daycare here in my hometown. Some things have been going on lately and I needed to reunite myself with the story.

Right now I'm getting back in the habit, so please bare with me. I'll update as soon as I can.

XOXO,

-Lucky8Girl. <3