"tyler, she said she told you.. i couldn't go around her and tell you, she's not a little girl."
"bullshit! you're telling me that our daughter has a heart condition, one that she's probably dying from, and you didn't think that it was up to you to tell me?!" tyler snarled, clenching his jaw.
"tyler, come on." frank whispered to him quietly, trying to back him away from jenna. "we're all hurt and scared but you can't do this right here."
tyler shook his head, stepping closer to her, eyes turning a deeper red. "why didn't you tell me, jenna? why didn't you tell any of us?" he growled lowly, fists clenching as well. how could anyone expect him to just be calm after all that's happened?
'they don't understand you like i do, tyler. come on... let me talk with them... ruby's ours, not theirs..' a raspy voice, one that'd been haunting him for years, whispered from the back of his mind.
"tyler... babe, you gotta calm down." a quiet voice came from behind him. "just wait until the doctor comes back, okay?"
but he still swung, not acknowledging who'd he hit. the anger was so strong, it blinded him. different memories of ruby ran through his mind: her first tooth, first steps. the first time she plucked a string on his bass, her first dance recital. the two of them sitting in a park, ruby trying to braid flowers into his hair.
but they were all followed by the thoughts of never having any more memories of her. and he lost it. he just blindly threw punches, knuckles clashing with different surfaces. but suddenly, he felt multiple arms wrap around him, trying to forcefully pin him in an effort to calm him down.
"stop, just stop, ty. you're scaring the kids, look at them!" frank yelled, trying to hold his arms together as he still tried to throw punches. but tyler could feel himself getting tired.
"what's gonna happen if ruby wakes up and you're not here? you're in jail or something. just calm down. when nova gets back, we can go see her next, okay?" jenna whispered, wiping some loose tears away, hands shaking.
"i should've been there.. i knew something was wrong with her before i left but i didn't want to... didn't want to think about something like this." he mumbled to himself. "where's pete?"
"well, you, um, you swung a little too close to me and he stepped in front of me.. and you hit him.." jenna coughed out, pointing over to pete and a nurse, him wincing in pain as she gently tried to set his jaw in place.
"oh god." tyler blinked, a twang of guilt playing at his heart. had he really been so blind to the point where he hadn't noticed that he almost hit jenna? completely blind to him dislocating pete's jaw?
"hi, dad." a small voice squeaked from behind him. as he turned around slowly, nova gave a small smile, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "um, the doctor said you could go see her.. she's still sleeping but she's doing good."
he nodded softly, going in to give her a hug. "you did good, okay? you took care of your sister and no matter what happens, you did good." he whispered in her ear, rubbing her back gently. "go sit by your father, okay? i'll be back."
as he watched her walk off, tyler exhaled a shaky breathe that he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.
"come on, ty. we're gonna go see ruby, okay?" jenna said, holding his hand gently. "come on, the doctor's waiting on us."
and so the pair walked off, a million silenced questions pushed down by each of them. the hospital walls seemed to taunt him, all white yet certain sections balcked out due to electrical issues.
'that's all our life is, buddy boy... we're livin' in a black and white movie... pretty soon, poor ruby's gonna be nothing but another scene in our movie.' blurryface taunted, a small chuckle echoing around in ty's brain.
approaching the quiet ICU unit, it scared him as he saw all these kids, each in critical condition, and the anxiety came rushing in.
"jenna, jenna, where is she?" he whispered quietly, hands trembling as he fiddled with his ear pieces. "i-i don't see her."
"ty, we're right here, okay? she's... she's right there." she whimpered out as they stopped right in front of the door.
ruby lay still, almost a spitting image of sleeping beauty. blonde hair spilled all over the pillow as it was held in place by a thick white bandage wrapped around her head. her once pale skin was littered with bruises of varying colors, face scratched up as if she'd managed to roll around in a pile of barbed wire. but nothing compared to the heavy amount of gauze and bandages placed around her chest, no doubt where the surgery took place. her hands, once so perfectly manicured, were scratched, nails no longer that beautiful yellow polish color he'd given her right before he left for tour.
"oh, my baby.." jenna cried quietly as she took a seat next to ruby, hesitantly reaching out to hold her hand. "im so sorry, baby.. so sorry."
"mr. and mrs. joseph, dr. melendez wanted me to inform you that ruby flatlined during surgery. they managed to resuscitate her after a few minutes but she'd been... she'd been legally dead for 10 minutes. there's a chance that she may not wake up from her current comatose state but her vitals are good. she's just sleeping. but your girl's a fighter. she put up with our strongest nurses and doctors as she went through her seizure.."
"wait, w-what does that mean, she may not wake up?" tyler frowned, looking over at doctor brown. "is she gonna be like this forever?"
"sir, nothing's for sure right now. but the prognosis for now is that she's in a coma.. but there's still a chance. she can wake up today, tomorrow, a week from now, who knows? but she will wake up."
jenna kissed the back of ruby's hand, petting her little girl's hair as if she was still a baby in her crib. "she'll wake up soon.. I can feel it."
'she looks like she's dreaming.. could she be dreaming of us? well, more me than you, but still.' blurry mused quietly. 'we're not leaving, so sit your puny ass down and hold her hand.'
and he sat. tyler just sat and watched her sleep, just like he used to. he hadn't noticed when jenna left, saying she was going to tell everyone else go home and that she was going home as well. a few nurses came every once and a while, asking him to move slightly so they could check her vitals but he still watched her.
he'd missed out on so much the past few months and it was because he didn't watch her like he promised. he'd watched her when she slept in the incubator for a few weeks after being born, tiny lungs struggling to breathe. he'd watched her go from sleeping in his arms to a crib to a bed and he missed this. she looked peaceful, oblivious to the fear she'd put in everyone's heart.
but still, he watched, not willing to miss any sign of her waking up. the distant beep of the heart rate monitor worked him into a sleepy state.
"it's funny, kid... you used to fall asleep listening to my heart beat but here i am, struggling not to fall asleep listening to yours.." he laughed, playing with her hands lightly.
eventually, he laid his head down on the hospital bed, eyes drooping ever so slightly before he'd blink them to an alert state. but even still, he fell asleep next to her, still holding her hand, listening to the beeps from the monitor. tyler just held her hand and slept with her.
but of all the things he hadn't noticed before, he definitely noticed when those small heart beats turned into one long beep.
//; please don't kill me but 1362 words ✌
