He Came Through the Window

Part 13

(Ayden's Perspective)

Slowly I emerged from a deep slumber when I realized my phone was ringing. Rubbing my eyes with my fists, I sat up and answered the phone. It was just after three AM. "Hello?" I slurred into the phone, clearing my throat as my mind became less blurry.

"Ayden..." His voice was faltered and trembling as he spoke, and he hesitated before trying to continue. "you need to..."

"Holland?" My heart skipped a beat when I noticed the instability in his voice. "Babe, what's wrong? Is everything okay?"

"India," He choked out in a bit of a whimper. In my head I could picture the tears rolling down his cheeks, which sent nausea through my plummeting stomach. "j-just get over h-here..."

There was a click at the other end that left me cross-legged on the bed, hands trembling and eyes wide in horror. Shutting my eyes tightly, I tried to convince myself that I was dreaming, but as I rocked a little on the bed, I realized that I wasn't having another nightmare. I stumbled off the bed, biting down on my lower lip to keep from spewing my dinner as I tied my tangled web of brown hair in a ponytail. My mind switched on autopilot as I clumsily slipped a black coat over my pajamas and grabbed my phone from the bed. My fingers tingled nervously as I tied my shoelaces in loose knots thoughts running rampant.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," I mumbled to myself as my shoes slid across the kitchen floors, squeaking over the patter of light rainfall against the windows. My only logical thought was to run like hell and stay far away from my father and the cops loitering around the streets.

~~~

I nearly plowed into an elderly nurse in the hallway, one whose head hung low and eyes were filled with accumulated tears. She patted my shoulder when my eyes caughts hers and tried to stifle a little smile. "They'll be glad you came, honey."

I could already feel the moisture building up in my eyes as I nodded and thanked her. She brushed past me quickly, taking a wadded tissue from her scrub pocket as she disappeared from sight. Sucking in a deep breath, I shuffled down the hall in my squeaky sneakers. Every door on each wall was closed, some with names scrawled across them and some without. I weaved my way through unaccompanied wheelchairs and IV stands, humming a tune to myself to keep from breaking down. The dimmed lighting added an aura of eerieness to the surroundings. Another nurse, a male with blonde, shagged hair and youthful complexion, rounded the corner with a clipboard in one hand and a small bouquet of white daisies in the other. I smiled at him as he passed, but he stopped me and stetched the flowers out to me.

"You here to see the Ambrocks?"

I nodded and cleared my throat.

The man placed the bouquet in my hand and pushed a strand of hair behind my ear. His green eyes were red and puffy. "Take these to Kate? My supervisor said she likes daisies."

It felt as if someone was crushing my heart in their beefy fist when I gripped my fingers around the bouquet. "Her son told me that. She'll love them, thank you."

The man left, leaving me to turn the corner by myself. My heart thudded loudly as I slowly put on foot in front of the other. My knees wobbled when I caught sight of him. He was sitting with his back against the wall, knees drawn up to his chest and face buried in his hands. As I quietly stepped forward, it was obvious that he was shaking. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out as he looked up at me.

"Hey," He said blandly. The color was drained from his cheeks and transferred to his eyes, where red rings and bloodshot eyes stood out against the hospital's bland surroundings. There was a glistening moisture on his cheeks, one that drove a stake into my heart. I sat down without a word, keeping a few inches between us. Neither one of us spoke for a few seconds before he inched forward and wrapped me in his arms.