PROMISE

The Accident

Gaga wakes up from a deep slumber to her phone vibrating off the night stand. Her eyes still closed, she clears her throat, "Hello?"

"Hello, is this Stefani Germanotta?" She sits up at her full name.

"How did you get this number?"

"My name is Kathy, I'm a nurse practitioner at Cedars-Sinai. Is this Stefani Germanotta?"

"Yes, yes, what's wrong?"

"You are Lilly Hall's emergency contact. I'm afraid Ms. Hall was involved in an accident..." Gaga jumps out of bed and immediately works to get dressed.

"What happened? Is she ok? What can I do? What do you need? Where do I go?" Her ears determined to listen while her eyes fill with tears. She exits her home, starting her car before her garage even opens. The moment it does she is speeding out of her driveway. 

Gaga runs from the parking lot to the emergency room entrance. She sees a motorcycle parked right at the front glass sliding doors. "Fucking idiot." She mumbles and follows the loud, all too familiar voice towards the front desk.

"What happened and why can't I see them?! No, I won't calm down." Gaga runs up and calms Bradley down with one touch. He feels her near and looks down at her, softening his gaze. "Stef, they won't let me see them." Her heart slows at his change from angry to pleading eyes. Her stomach was in knots as she steps in front of him.

"Hi, I'm Stefani Germanotta, I was called about Lilly Hall."

"Like we told Mr. Cooper, they are currently in surgery and it's better if he can wait until a doctor is available to speak with you... both." 

"Ok. Surgery. They are in surgery. There. Ok. We'll wait." Gaga goes through the motions of calming herself down. "No need to act like an animal-" He shoves her hand off his arm. Their minutes in the waiting room turned to hours. Both taking turns pacing. Neither speaking a word. 

"Mr. Cooper, Ms. Germanotta?" The two turn to see a doctor. "My name is doctor Singh. Earlier tonight Henry and Lilly were involved in a car accident. They both arrived with internal damage and bleeding. We did everything we could..." The remainder of the medical closing was a blur as Gaga's eyes glaze over, her ears burned as her heart beat heavily against her chest. She turned around trying to process where she was and what she just heard. She finally let herself understand what happened, sobbing into her hands. Her eyes a river of emotion. She was brought back from her momentary breakdown when she saw the doctor rush over to Bradley to stop him from hitting the wall again. "Sir! Sir! We will have to call security if..." Gaga runs over and pulls him into her, grabbing his face to look him in the eyes. His face was tear stained and red. She communicates her own pain holding tightly to the sides of his face, his anger turns to sadness as he tumbles into her arms, holding her tightly. She wraps her arms around his neck crying. Neither knew who was trembling more. Neither knew who was crying harder. She  wraps her arms around him, burying her head into him. She wasn't sure if she was holding him up or if he was holding her up. Their crying began to subside. Bradley could feel the front of his shirt wet with her tears. He heard her mumble something almost above a whisper. "Baby?"

He wipes his eyes with one hand while the other held her tighter, "What's that, baby?"

Gaga pushes him away angrily, "I said babies." She turns toward the front desk her lips tremble as she approaches, "Ava and Jackson, where are they? Please, tell me they are ok. Please, tell me they weren't-" The nurse stares back blankly. 

Gaga rummages through her purse pulling out her phone and searching for a number. Bradley stays close watching her every move. "Pick up, pick up." 

A groggy teen answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Molly, right? Hi, it's Stefani..." She hesitates, clearing her throat, her voice failing her "Lilly's friend." Bradley wraps his arms around her from behind, resting his head on hers, to listen better.

"Oh my God, Lady Gaga! Right? Right, you're-"

"Please, tell me you are with the babies." 

"Oh my God, this is so crazy. Yes, I'm over the Hall's now. Ava and Jackson are sleeping. Mr. and Mrs. Hall are super late but it's cool. I could use the cash." 

Gaga felt Bradley's hold tighten at the confirmation. She squeezes her eyes shut accepting the small peace at knowing the twins were ok. "Ok, please, stay a little longer, we'll be over soon." She heard the girl scream in excitement as she hung up. She cleans her face, wiggling free from Bradleys' grasp. "I have to relieve the babysitter. Excuse me nurse. Nurse? What-what do we do now?"

"I want to see them." Bradley paces in front of the nurse. After a few minutes of paperwork. Bradley and Gaga make their way into a private room where the nurse had cleaned and arranged both of their friends' bodies. Gaga muffled her sobs with her hand. How was this possible? She turned to hear the door slam noticing Bradley had left. 

By the time Gaga finished more paperwork and made a few calls, she felt strong enough to drive towards Lilly's home. She arrived at 6:30 am. She let herself in.

"Psst, Molly. Molly." She shook the teen awake. 

"Oh my Gaga! This is so crazy, I can't bele... where is Mrs. Hall?" 

Gaga walked around trying to avoid crying. "Did Bradley come by?"

"No. I don't... Sorry, I'm confused, Where are-"

"Molly, last night... Henry and Lilly got into an accident and..." she broke down crying. Molly guided her to the couch. Molly understood and began to cry too. 

After some time, the sky started to turn light blue. "I'm-I'm going to go. I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry." 

"Wait..." Gaga cleared her face. "...Thank you for watching over the babies. How much do you usually-"

"No, no, I don't-" Gaga handed her a few hundreds. Molly took $200 but left the rest on the coffee table. "Thanks. Call me for anything." She left a shaking Gaga.

Gaga has been in this home hundreds of times. She almost loved it more than her mansion. It was the epitome of home sweet home. Now, she felt like an outsider invading a private place. It felt cold and blue. She walked up the stairs to check on the babies. Both lay awake just staring. Upon seeing her they wiggle their arms in excitement. "Oh God, I can't do this." She mumbles, feeling her eyes fill with tears once again. She picks up the phone and dials, wiping her nose and eyes as the phone rings. "Bradley?"