Three Days To Live.

d a y t w o

//This chapter is dedicated to mahima_jadhav for showing so much support and love towards my book. It's also dedicated to my mother who cried reading my first chapter... love you guys!//

"That's a pretty name." Hallie said optimistically. This wasn't the first time she asked her father this question. He always avoided it. And she respected that. But she was after all a four year old girl. She did want to know about her mother.

"Yeah.. and she was prettier than her name. She was beautiful." Bradley chuckled shifting in his seat. Rubbing his nose with the back of his fist.

"She was in my university. We studied together. We were together since eighth grade." He smiled thinking about his childhood.

"Wow. That's a long time daddy. Longer than how much time you were with me..." she trailed off thinking about how she couldn't increase the time with her father.

"Aye... Bubba... don't worry." He said stroking her hair with his soothing fingers." Daddy is always going to be with you."

"Anyway.." he continued. "When we were eighth grade, she was so beautiful. Even though she had ugly pink braces and..."

"Hey! Pink is my favourite colour! How can you say that?!" She whined and lightly punched his chest with her pierced hand.

"Easy there tiger. Don't want anything coming off." He pushed her hand off and placed it carefully by her side again.

"So your mother and I grew up together. We went to junior prom together and we went to senior prom together and did everything together." He smiled remembering those days.
"I remember she wore a beautiful blue gown during senior prom. She even had a big rose on her hair. She looked just like a princess."

"My mommy was a princess!" She exclaimed. Or at least she tried.

"Just like you." He chuckled and kissed her wrist lightly.

"And then... we happened to go to the same university. We thought it was perfect. And it was..." he trailed off.

"Daddy?" Hallie's voice brought him back to reality.

"Sorry.. I was just thinking about your mommy and I.. I'm sorry." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's okay... you loved her." She said simply. Her weak eyes taking a long blink.

"I still do. I always will." He smiled and sighed again.

"And then what happened?" Hallie urged him to continue.

"And then... a few months later, after settling in the university, mommy came running to daddy." He sighed, remembering the bad weather that day.

It was dark, about two in the morning and Mia came running from her dorm room to his. And she felt weak. She was queasy.

"Mommy knocked on my room door. And I opened it. I was so worried about her. She was sweaty and tired and worried." He took another deep breath.

Her white shirt had a yellow stain on it. Her hair wet with sweat and rain. Her purple shorts were crumpled. Her hair a messy birds nest. Her hair was tired and the colour of her skin was drained out.

"She told me that she was going to have a baby. And the baby, that is you.." he nudged her chin playfully."was mine."

"And then?" Hallie asked, anxious to know what happened to her mother.

"And then... you grew inside mommy's tummy. I saw you grow. I used to talk to you every day. And I used to knock on mommy's tummy and you used to kick. Just like a powerful ninja!" He chuckled earning a giggle from his baby.

"And then you came out.. and I saw you grow. I saw you come out." He smiled wider.

He remembered stroking his girlfriend's hair as she pushed the baby out. He remembered as his heart rate grew as her head would slam down into the pillow on the hospital bed. Her breath slowed down as his quickened.
Her grip on his hand grew weak. But he held tighter. Her cries faded out. And he was the only loved one to hear them in the room.

She was slowly dying. And he knew. But he couldn't tell Hallie that.

"You came out of mommy's tummy...But mommy couldn't see you. God called him a little earlier than he should have." He looked down and wiped off the tears off his heated cheek.
Hallie slowly raised her small hands up and stroked Bradley's blond hair softly, soothing him.

"But she was a fighter. She saved you."
He smiled and kissed her arm as a tear fell on her arm. "And that's why you are with me."

"So... I guess I'll see her soon then.. right daddy?" Hallie asked, taking a deep breath of the oxygen supplied to her.

"Yeah.. you will." He sighed and smiled, feeling nauseous thinking about his daughter.

None of their parents supported the fact that they were having a baby. They were disgusted. Mia's family threw her out of their house. Her presence was a disgrace. She was abandoned. His parents accused him for being a bad person. A mistake. But they let him and Mia stay.

Both of them were rusticated from the university. Their education had come to a halt. He couldn't complete his education. And she didn't have the funds to complete hers either. So...they both stayed at home. And watched movies. And took care of each other.

Because they were only 18 at that time, there were complications in the pregnancy. They were told that she may not make it. They recommended to take an abortion. But their souls were so pure. They couldn't hurt a soul. Especially their own child. So she said no. And he said no. And they both spent every moment with each other. And never missed out on any burp or kick or ache that she went through. That's how they forgot about their problems. The baby was everything.
Hallie was everything.

Hallie had that one thing in her mind. Who was her mother... But other than that... she had nothing to ask him. Because that was how simple she was. She didn't  need anything else. Her father was everything for her. And so was she to him.

He shook his head, shaking his thoughts away. Right now.. he was with his daughter.

He looked up and saw his daughter. Her eyes shut. Soft snores escaping her plump lips. She had slept. And that was the end of day two.

He had just one day left.

And he couldn't do anything about it.

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      Heart count 63 beats per minute.