Time Ahead

chapter fifty-five

Leigh's POV:

I awoke the next morning in the same small chair I had been sitting in for a few hours now. Andre was still hooked up to all the machines and there was no change. I rub my eyes and yawn slightly as I readjust myself in the chair. I didn't sleep much last night. I woke up each time a nurse had come in to check on Andre, hoping for news but there was none.

My phone began to ring and I quickly went to grab it. I smile as I see a FaceTime request from Jade. I answer it and see Jade, Jacob, and Rhea in the frame. "Hi!" I tried to say as cheerful as possible. Jacob gained widely when he saw me. "Hi mummy!" he said waving. "Hi buddy, what are you doing?" I ask. "Eating breakfast. Auntie Jade made us pancakes!" he said in a excited voice. "Yay!" I cheered and saw his face light up.

"Hey Rhee," I say gently. She smiles and says a small "hi," before hiding her face into Jade's neck. My heart melted at the sight. "When are you coming home?" Jacob asked. That question hit me like a ton of bricks. "I'm not sure, but Grandma will be there soon," I say hoping to cheer him up. "Grandma's coming!" he asked happily. "Yeah, she also told me she was going to take you to the park and for ice cream," I say. "Yay!" he shouted and ran out of the frame. I laugh at him and turn my attention back to the phone.

I saw Jade stand up and set Rhea down. She mumbled something to them before walking into a quiet room. "Sorry, they wanted to talk to you and I figured you could use a distraction," she apologized. "No, it's fine," I say. "It was nice talking to them."

"Is Andre alright?" Jade asked tentatively. My heart dropped at her question. I realized I never told her what had happened, figuring she would have gone to bed after she got to my house. "He got into an accident and has a severe head injury. His lung collapsed but they fixed that and he has a broken ankle. He's in a medically induced coma now. They're just waiting for him to wake up," I say, growing sad at my words.

Jade had a horrified look on her face. "Aw, I'm sorry Leigh," she said sympathetically. "He'll be alright. He's strong. I can take the kids for however long you need when they get back from your mam's," she says sweetly. "Thanks Jade, I don't know what I would do without you girls," I said, my eyes beginning to water.

"It's alright Leigh Leigh. Jesy and Perrie will be there soon and i'll be there a bit later, okay?" she says softly. I nod and she smiles. We ended the phone call and I take a tissue from beside me and wipe my eyes.

Shortly after we hung up there was a knock on the door. It opened slowly, revealing a Jesy and a basket of goodies and Perrie with a sleeping Luke in her arms following closely behind. hey each came over and gave me a quick hug before pulling two chairs over. As Perrie sat down I reached my arms out and she placed the baby in my arms.

"Here, there's some nachos, magazines, movies, and headphones," Jesy said, placing the basket on the floor next to me. "Thanks guys," I smile and look down at Luke who is beginning to wake up.

"How were the kids last night when you were over there?" I asked curiously. When we got there both kids had woken up. Rhea was watching Frozen on the tv and Jacob was coloring with Jade at the table," Jesy said. "Jacob can tell something's up. I was FaceTiming them earlier and he looked curious and was asking questions," I say, feeling guilty. "Don't worry babe, kids pick up on a lot of things. I'm sure Jade came up with a clever excuse for you two to be gone," Perrie said. I nodded and slowly rock Luke.

Luke began crying so I quickly handed him back over to Perrie who cradled him closely until he quieted down. "I just don't know what I'm going to do guys," I said desperately, leaning my head in my hand. "It's okay, we'll be here for you no matter what. We aren't going anywhere," Jesy said reaching out to squeeze my shoulder. I smile and nod at her words.

"Jade just texted, she's on her way. I guess Jed had to go back to America this morning so she had to drop the twins off to Norma," Perrie said looking at her phone. "Oh, I didn't realize. I wouldn't have asked her to stay the night last night," I said feeling slightly guilty. "I'm sure she wouldn't have come if she didn't want to help," Jesy said comforting.

A little while later there was a soft knock on the door. Jade came into the room quietly, closing the door behind her. She smiled when she saw us and sat a one of the chairs next to Jesy, placing Kaiden in her lap.

"Hey Leigh, how're you?" she asked. "I'm alright, thanks for watching the kids," I said. "Of course, they were lovely," she said. "I didn't know Jed had to leave for America. I wouldn't have asked you to stay," I said apologizing. "It's okay. I called him before he left," she said. "How long's he gone for?" Jesy asked. "Two and a half months," Jade said. "Oh, wow," Perrie said. "Isn't Kaiden's birthday next month?" I asked. Jade nodded. "We've been by ourselves before. Nothing we can't handle," Jade said smiling at Kaiden in her lap.

"How's Luke been doing?" Jesy asked. "He's really good. He sleeps all the way through the night now, which is great," Perrie says. "How are your kids such angels?" I ask laughing.

"How has Izzy been doing with him being here?" Jade asked. "She's good, a lot better than I thought. She understands how much attention he needs because he's so young," Perrie says.

After a while a doctor came in. "How are you?" he asks. "I'm alright," I say nervously. "Good. I do have some good news for you. He is beginning to breath on his own. While stuff can still change when he wakes up, that's a good start," he said. "Okay, thank you," I say, breathing out a sigh of relief.

Once the doctor left I smiled at the girls. "Thanks for being here. I really needed the distraction and you all just make me feel so much better," I say. "Of course, we're always here for you. Whenever, whatever, wherever," Perrie says smiling.

a/n: hey, so i'm currently putting this story on hold. i'm going through a ton of personal stuff at the moment so once i get that sorted i'll be back (which also explains why i haven't been updating frequently as it is). i plan to be back updating regularly probably in about a month or a few weeks. i have a short break coming up where i can have time to write a lot. if you read other stories of mine, i'll be posting a similar message on all of them but this is the only one i'm putting completely on hold because i already have pre-written chapters for those. don't worry, i fully intend on coming back, i've already gotten started on the sequel for this book and i'm really excited for it. i hope you understand :)