A Pocketful of Elavan

Fakery

"Daddy! Mommy!"

Liz was pulled out of her slumber state at the sound of her daughter's voice. It was only 6:00 P.M. which was way too early for one to be asleep but she couldn't help but doze off. She didn't do anything strenuous today but even the simple things she did exhausted her. It was not out of the ordinary for her to be feeling this way since she was in the dawnings of her third trimester.

She felt the baby in her womb kick against her ribs, making her wince. She caresses her protruding belly before slinging both her feet off the edge of the bed.

"Mommy, Daddy, I need you!" Luna wails again.

Even if she knew that it would be easier for her if Avan attended to their eldest, she also knew that Avan has been doing most of what she usually should be doing. So, she struggled out of bed and carefully rushed into her 4-year-old's lilac bedroom. She found the little girl clutching her left leg, curling herself into a ball.

"Mommy, my foot hurts," she cries.

Liz sighs. Luna's leg has been hurting on and off over the past few weeks. It was worrying her more than it should have.

"Baby," she breathes out through her nose and sits at the edge of her daughter's bed. "Are you okay? Does it hurt really bad?"

"It hurts so much," she winces before moaning in pain.

Anxiety fills Liz at the sight of her daughter looking so pained. She comfortingly runs her fingers through Luna's dark hair.

"Babe!" Liz hollers. "Avan, come quick!"

"Mommy," Luna whimpers.

"Shh, I know. We're just waiting for Daddy," she kisses her forehead. "Avan, hurry up!"

"Daddy!" she hollers, her voice cracking.

A few seconds later, Avan jogs to Luna's bedroom. He just came straight from the kitchen where he was making dinner for his little family. He catches the sight of his pregnant wife with their daughter curled up right beside her and the panic-stricken look on both of their faces.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"Daddy, my foot hurts so bad," Luna whimpers, clutching her foot.

"Baby," he coos before scooping the child into his arms. "Are you alright? Is it so, so bad?"

Luna nods, crying into his shoulder.

"Babe, I think we should bring her to the hospital."

Liz nods and gathers herself before taking Luna's pink, bunny-patterned robe to drape over her daughter's pajama-covered body. Avan rushes to the door and Liz follows closely behind him, all the while Luna was whining and whinging in his arms.

They buckled her into her car seat and drove to the pediatrician's office. The married couple could only hope that Luna's pediatrician had an empty slot for their daughter. Avan drove as fast as he possibly could without compromising the safety of his family.

As the car raced through the streets, the worst thoughts raced through their minds. The possibilities were endless. It could vary from a fractured bone to something as grave as bone cancer.

"She'll be okay, right?" Liz asks her husband once they were in the parking lot of the hospital. She was searching for the strength and the assurance she currently didn't have from him.

"I hope so," he gives her a small smile before they both exited the car.

Avan gently picks Luna up from her car seat, making sure to be extra careful with the entirety of her lower half. Even if he was a gym regular and had an adequately toned body, he couldn't deny the fact that Luna was getting heavier as the years gone by.