Return II

Chapter 10

Paris's POV

When Blanket and I enter the house, we immediately go our separate ways. He walks to the living room and turns the TV on and I make my way upstairs to my bedroom. I close the door behind me and throw myself on my bed. As I stare at the ceiling, memories and unnecessary thoughts flood my mind. I'm hurt that Prince would say such a thing about our father, and more hurt that Blanket would compare my situation to Natalie's. 

I mean sure, I do see where he is coming from when it comes to Natalie, but that gives him no reason to look down on our dad. He had his reasons for leaving, and the boys to not seem to understand that. They have done nothing but get angry with him and it's not fair. It's worse for our father because he hadn't seen Natalie in so long, and neither had the rest of us.

I can't help but feel as if I am the only one who sees my dad's point of view. 

And the fact that Taryn told the doctors and nurses that she wanted to put Natalie down makes this all the worse. How can she do such a thing? That's her daughter! She says she's doing it for the best because she doesn't want Natalie to suffer anymore. None of us want her to suffer, but she can't be so quick to make such a permanent decision and be okay with it.

Maybe she is  doing it for the best, though.

Yeah, it hurts to know that my baby sister is in a coma, lying on what could be her death bed, suffering and fighting to live. I don't like the idea or the sound of it at all, but we can't be thinking about what is best for us, but what is best for Natalie. It's not fair to let her go so soon, but it's not fair to keep her here and let her suffer, either. 

We can tell ourselves over and over and over again that she will get better and that she will wake up soon, but for all we know, she may not. 

I shake my head and throw my hands up to my face. I need to stop thinking like that. We all need to stop thinking like that.

Natalie is going to wake up.

Soon, she will be healthy and sitting up on her own and laughing. She will be smiling and talking and telling us thank you and how much she loves us. 

Soon, she will be okay.

Two taps sounding from behind my door yank me from my thoughts and before I know it, I'm sitting up and wiping tears away from my eyes that I didn't even know were there in the first place. I inhale and exhale deeply before telling whoever is on the other side of my door to come in.

I watch as the door opens and Prince walks in. He shuts the door behind himself and we stare at each other for a few moments before I motion for him to sit on the love seat. He does, and I stay silent, waiting for him to speak.

My oldest brother has always been a hero to me. Though we are not too far apart in age, I have always looked up to him as a father figure ever since ours left. The argument we just had in the car was the very first in years. Prince and I hardly talked since our father left, but we always got along when we did. And since we have never really been close, Blanket and I's relationship has grown. Since our father left, we have become best friends.

Prince sits up and rests his forearms on his knees. He folds his hands together and glances at me, then sighs and stares at the floor.

"I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean for things to go down like that and I never intended on sounding like an asshole." He spills and I try to hold back a smile. "You did, though." I tease and he roles his eyes at the floor. He drags his foot across the blue fuzzy carpet just below the love seat then glances up at me again. "I know, damn. I came to apologize, please don't start again." He pleads and I move my legs onto my bed in a cross-legged position. 

"I'm not starting anything." Prince rolls his eyes before staring between me and the wall behind me. 

"I guess I don't really open my eyes to other people's perspectives," He explains. I nod slowly with widened eyes. He looks at me and we both giggle. He sits back and folds his hands over his abdomen. "I was out at the garden and I did a lot of thinking. There's a lot of memories with that garden." 

Goosebumps cover every inch of my skin and Prince's mention of the garden. Each and every flower out there has been planted for each member of our family. I remember when we planted two flowers for my dad. I never knew why, and nobody told us why, but they just said that "Daddy had a little piece of him that he no longer has, and this flower is for that little piece."

"And so when I was thinking, I thought about how dad feels and how Taryn feels and everyone else. I saw where they were coming from. I understood. I mean, I don't agree with them, but I see where they're coming from." Prince finishes and we look at each other simultaneously.

"Remember when grandma said that we were planting two flowers for dad because he had a small piece of him that he no longer had at the time?" I ask and my brother nods. "I think she was talking about Natalie." 

Prince nods and stares up at the ceiling. "Natalie. It always comes back to her." He says softly. I can't help but agree, though. Every little situation and every word or emotion seems to come right back to her. It's like they are the roots and Natalie is the tree.

"Maybe we can do something about it." Prince says and I stare at him confusedly. "About what?" I ask and my brother sits up and looks at me. "Her being taken off life support," He answers and I shake my head. "We need to do something. She needs us now more than ever."

But there's nothing we can do. Whatever happens to Natalie is beyond our control. "The only thing Natalie needs from us is to be strong for her." I say, standing from my bed. Without taking another look at my brother, I exit my bedroom, leaving him alone to think.