"She's dying"
Maddy's parents were both at the hospital with Elle, and with the 3 person per room limit except for select situations (which this was not), David went home for a few hours to be with Cecelia. Maddy had been diagnosed with pneumonia 3 days earlier, and was in critical condition. Cecelia was sleeping soundly against his chest as he sat checking his phone obsessively to make sure neither of the Laurents had reached out to him.
Scott, Kristen, Natalie, Jason, Trisha, and Casey were all sitting on the couches around him. Casey, who was planning on leaving that day, had cancelled his flight to stay with David. He saw him almost like a son, and wanted to be there for him. David was in and out of hysterics, currently crying softer than he had, as someone had placed Cecelia in his arms.
"You know what David, you're right, you're absolutely right. Maddy is dying." Casey said.
The whole room looked at him warily.
"You've said it enough times, it's all you've been saying. And yes, this is going to be the most devastating thing you have ever gone through, or fuck, that half the people in this room have ever gone through. But look at that fucking baby in your arms, David. Look at that amazing thing that you and Maddy made. Your life is not over, and her life sure as hell isn't. What are you going to tell her about her mom?"
David looked slightly stunned.
"What... am I going to tell her?"
"Yes, David, are you going to sit there and repeat 'she was dying' to her?"
"Well, no..."
"Right. Because Maddy will only be dying for a few days, then she will have what, 24 years of healthy memories that should be shared with Cecelia. Then what are you going to say? What are some stories you're going to tell her?"
David sat quietly for a moment, along with everyone else, before speaking.
"I think i'd tell her about the first time I met Maddy"
"Here, practice on us. Tell us the story"
"I met Maddy in the airport before playlist live, like, at baggage claim. I was trying to figure out the uber app and then I saw her waiting for her bag, so I walked up to her and said hi. She's so pretty in pictures and videos but like..." David smiled wider. "She was even more beautiful in person, you know? She had just gotten off of a 4 hour flight and was wearing like, leggings and a sweatshirt, but she looked so cute. I think that's when I found out she had a boyfriend, in that uber that she ended up calling because I couldn't figure it out"
He laughed, making everyone else laugh a little too.
"We both flew in a day earlier than all of our other friends so we ended up at Downtown Disney at Rainforest Cafe, both drunk from some wine she had in her luggage. By some wine I mean literally a bottle each. We were absolutely hammered. She kept getting so excited when the stupid fucking animatronics would move, it was so funny. That's when I found out she loved animals. Then she told me Twenty One Pilots were playing in Orlando in an hour and then made some executive decision we should go, so she literally is sitting there on her phone buying tickets and calling an uber. We get in the car and she calls her boyfriend and is like 'Me and my friend David are seeing Twenty One Pilots' and she was so excited and her boyfriend just seemed so apathetic. It blew my mind. He was like 'Oh is that that band you always talk about?' and it was like he didn't even care that she was so excited, but it didn't phase her. We went to the concert, she was literally wearing like leggings and a sweatshirt and she knew all the words to all the songs, and she got so excited when House of Gold came on, that song still reminds me of her. She was telling me that it was their most popular song because it was so good. Like, she loves music but she doesn't care about looking cool or anything, she just loved the song. I don't know but hanging out with her that night I just... fell in love with her...."
David paused, looking down at Cecelia.
"....so fast. I had only been friends with her online for a few months and I thought she was cool then but when I met her in person she was so much cooler than I expected. She had a boyfriend and she was definitely in love with him, but I just couldn't get over how cool she was, and how nice, and smart, and funny she was. I mean, there was a period where I was in love with someone else, but when we were both single she was so easy to fall for again. That was also so damn fast. I think it took her a little longer to be into me, but she's just so... I don't even know"
"When did you realize you were in love with her when you started dating?" Kristen asked softly after a moment of silence. Natalie stood up and walked out of the room in tears. Luckily, David didn't notice. After being friends with David for so many years, it hurt Natalie to her core to see him go through what he was going through. She had become incredibly close to Maddy as well, making the whole thing even more painful.
"I think when I realized I was seriously in love with her when we actually started dating was when she drove me to El Segundo to watch the planes land at LAX. I asked her if it was because she liked to imagine where they were going or coming from and she looked me dead in the eye and said 'No it's because planes are fucking awesome, like how do they even work? They shouldn't be able to just take off like that' "
Everybody laughed, relating to how Maddy that story was.
"She's herself. She's not anybody else. She's not like, a brooding dream girl from a movie with all this depth and old dark backstory stuff. She's just Maddy"
David's phone began to buzz. It was Elle. He very quickly answered the phone, standing up while still holding Cecelia and listening intently.
"Hello? Oh, god, i'll be there as soon as I can. Ok"
David lightly placed Cecelia in Natalie's arms, stroking her tiny arm and kissing her on the head.
"I have to go to the hospital. Her doctor wants to talk but I have healthcare power of attorney so I have to be there"
"I'll drive you" Jason said.
"Ok" David said, letting out a shaky breath.
"No matter what, David, it's gonna be ok"
Even though David wanted that sentiment to be true, he had a gut feeling that it wasn't.
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Hey, i'm pretty busy today so I decided to post earlier in the day since I got a chance, the next chapter is short i'll probably post it late tonight or tomorrow before school haha
