Song: La Llorona // Alanna Ubach & Antonio Sol

Sorry?

•••

"You look drop-dead gorgeous, Rose," I complimented as she walked out of the walk-in closet dressed in a yellow gown, her hair up in a styled messy bun. It looked amazing on her olive skin and accentuated the curves she'd developed after her pregnancies.

Rose looked as elegant as ever, and I wondered how my dork of a brother managed to marry her.

"Thank you, hon," She said with a beaming smile and shimmering eyes. I sat on her and Dylan's bed, my legs crossed in a yoga position, and watched as she made sure her clutch contained everything she needed.

She then pulled open a drawer and pulled out a small, portable machine. She made her way towards me and took a seat on the bed right next to me. I pulled papa's hoodie off my body so that I was left wearing just a bra.

Ever since my diagnosis, Rose volunteered to check my vitals every day to make sure I was alright. I didn't want to have to keep going to the hospital for check-ups, and this guaranteed that I had a health care professional looking for any other symptoms.

I held my arm out for her, and she wrapped the cuff of what I called the 'blood pressure machine' onto my bicep, just above my elbow. She made sure it was tightly wrapped around my left arm before she pressed a button on the machine. With a whirring sound, the cuff started tightening against my arm. I simply focused on making sure I was relaxed while Rose read the screen on the machine.

After a few seconds, the cuff loosened around me. I glanced down at the screen and pursed my lips once I realized I didn't understand the numbers it displayed.

My eyes flickered up to Rose who lifted the back of her hand to press it against my forehead, "So, what's it lookin' like?" I asked, referring to my blood pressure.

With a sigh, she removed the cuff from around my arm and glanced back down at the screen, "Amber, sweetheart, your blood pressure is higher than usual. I think you're coming down with a fever since you also feel hot."

"That's because I am hot," I tried to joke, but I was met by the sight of her unusually serious expression. My smile faltered and I rubbed my arm, "Rose, I feel fine, honest."

"Does your abdomen feel worse?" She asked, cocking her chin its direction. 

"It feels the same as it always does," I replied honestly with a shake of my head. "It only hurts when I sit down or lean forward, but that's just normal at this point."

Rose thinned her lips, "None of this is normal, Amber," She said in a slightly dejected tone. She wrapped the cord around the machine and stood up to put it back in the drawer. I frowned at her back, watching as she pulled her phone out of her clutch to make note of my blood pressure like she always did.

With a wince, I stood up and walked towards her. I wrapped an arm around her waist in a side-hug and rested my head on the side of her arm. Her heels made her slightly taller than me, "Rose, I feel okay. I promise."

She glanced at me through the mirror, "Maybe I shouldn't go. Dealing with two one-year-olds and a six-year-old may be too much. It might just make your blood pressure heighten."

I snorted, "I doubt my blood pressure could go any higher than it already is," I smiled, but she remained contemplative. I let my smile fall, "Rose, you need a break. What's better than dressing up and going somewhere that'll serve you food while you're away from your kids for a while?"

"Cody did pee on me this morning," She said with a tilt of her head, the corner of her lips tugging up into a very faint smile.

I patted her on the back, "That's the spirit... Sort-of," I grimaced at the thought of my child peeing on me. "Come on, let's go downstairs."

I put papa's hoodie back on and walked out of the bedroom. Rose and I made our way downstairs and towards the sound of Dylan's voice. My brother was in the living room with three of his kids, one of which was in his arms. Dylan was dressed in a tuxedo and Cody was in his arms.

"Pa-pa," Dylan sounded out as he popped the P's. He bounced Cody up and down as he kept repeating it, "Papa."

"His first words will not be papa," I cut him off as picked Cody up from his arms.

He frowned, "Why not? If Céline's first words were mama, it's only fair he says 'papa'."

Rose chuckled, making Dylan snap his head in her direction. His eyes widened at the sight of his wife and the man looked like an awestruck teenager. Rose came up to me and tickled her son's stomach, "The kid is lazy," She said as she kissed Cody's nose. "He'll only talk when he absolutely needs to."

Dylan snapped out of his shock and outstretched his arm for Rose. She took his hand with a smile, and he twirled her before pulling her into him. She stumbled into his chest and Dylan looked down at her with a grin, "You look fucking stunning, love."

I rolled my eyes and glanced at Antoine, who crinkled his nose in disgust at their public display of affection. He looked down at Céline, who was sitting right next to him on the couch as she mindlessly tapped on his iPad.

Rose blushed and leaned up to peck my brother on the lips, "Don't swear in front of the kids," She murmured. "I don't want Cody's first words to turn out like Tony's."

She shot me an accusatory look which I pretended not to see. I looked away and started whistling, which made Cody stare up at me in awe as he probably wondered how I made the noise. 

"Are you not going to say anything about how I look?" Dylan asked with a pout.

"You should take a break from hanging out with Nick for a while," I commented with a snort. Rose chuckled and leaned up to place a chaste kiss on his lips before whispering something that I couldn't– and probably didn't want to– hear.

She let go of his hand and walked past me towards Antoine, who was trying to explain a game to his younger sister, who obviously didn't understand anything she said. She crouched down in front of her two children and spoke to Antoine.

Dylan placed a hand on my shoulder to catch my attention, "Did Rose check up on you?"

"Yup. Everything is okay," I told him with a convincing nod.

Rose tutted from behind me, and when I looked at her, I found her staring at me with narrowed eyes, "Everything is not okay," She corrected before glancing at Dylan. "Her blood pressure is higher than usual and she might be coming down with a fever."

I let betrayal mask my expression, and she raised her eyebrows at me. I huffed and let my gaze avert from her to my brother, who was now very concerned.

"I feel okay," I decided to correct, but he was having none of it.

"Did you get enough rest last night? How long did you sleep for?" He asked in a tone that made me second-guess lying to him.

"Like four? Which is pretty normal, if I'm being honest. I mean, I haven't slept for that long in a while now," I trailed off once I realized that I just let that slip. Dylan knew I was having trouble sleeping, but I hadn't told him how bad it was. I usually sugarcoated it.

Cody laughed as I slapped my forehead when Dylan's eyes widened, "Four hours?" He repeated incredulously. "Amber, what the fuck?"

"Listen, it's all fine–"

He cut me off with a shake of the head, "No it's not fine. The diagnosis isn't something to take lightly Amber. You need to tell us when shit like this happens; it can only make everything worse." I tuned out the rest of his rambling, feeling a headache stir at the base of my head. I pinched the bridge of my nose as he continued scolding me, and I couldn't help but feel like I was a fucking teenager again.

"Are you even listening to me?" He snapped, eyes blazing with anger but I could still tell he was concerned.

"I'm not," I replied honestly. A laugh threatened to escape my lips when I saw his nostrils flare, then, it was his turn to pinch the skin between his eyebrows. He opened his mouth to start arguing with me, but I rolled my eyes, "Aren't you going to be late to the gala? Isn't your presence mandatory or something? Who's gonna play the violin like they do every year if you're not there–"

"This is more important, Amber!" He retorted, cutting me off.

Rose placed a hand on my shoulder and she gave me a reassuring smile before glancing at her husband, "How about you guys continue this conversation later when you've had enough time to process everything? 

Dylan swallowed loudly, but he nodded nonetheless, "I'll be waiting for you at the door," He told Rose softly before spinning on his heel and leaving the room, not sparring me a second glance. I frowned at his hostility and glanced at Rose, who was staring at his retreating figure solemnly.

She averted her gaze to me, "He's really worried about you, sweetheart," She said in a motherly tone. "He's scared something bad is going to happen to you."

Ignoring how the nickname made me feel uneasy, I stared down at the baby in my arms, "He could've conveyed that without fucking yelling at me," I mumbled.

She nodded, choosing to skim over how I swore in front of Cody, "He shouldn't have yelled at you, and he's going to get an earful for that." She told me definitively. Then she glanced down at Cody and kissed him on the forehead before walking back towards her other two children. Antoine hugged his mother and kissed her on the cheek, and Céline tried to do the same.

"You'll behave for your tata, yeah?" She asked in an expectant, motherly tone. Antoine nodded and Céline copied him, even if she didn't understand what she said. Rose then pulled me into a hug and kissed my temple. "If they give you any trouble, or if you feel really sick, you call me, alright? I don't need to be at the gala."

I waved a dismissive hand, "Don't worry about anything. Just enjoy your time with your husband."

With a final look around the room, she blew us all a kiss, picked up the bottom of her gown, and scurried out of the living room. I stood in the living room silently until I heard the front door slam shut.

I glanced down at Cody, who was staring at Céline and Antoine. Once he felt my gaze on his, his eyes met mine and he started babbling, "Your papa is very dramatic." I huffed, walking towards my niece and nephew.

Nick was rubbing off on him, and I don't think I liked it. One Nick was enough.

•••

Antoine spent a good thirty minutes with his siblings trying to teach them how to play a game on his iPad before he gave up on both of them. He said something about them being very boring, and I couldn't argue against the logic given they could only babble and walk around very awkwardly. Antoine said he wanted to do something fun, so I suggested UNO, which he quickly agreed to.

He ran up to his room to get the cards while I set up the playmat for the two babies. Doing work like this made my abdomen hurt slightly more, but it wasn't something I couldn't handle. It wasn't as bad as my period cramps, and those were painful as shit.

With the twins sitting beside me on the carpeted floor, I placed a card down onto the pile and watched as Antoine looked through the seven in his hand. The poor kid was holding them in a way that made them all visible to me, and I tried my best to resist the urge to cheat. It would've been hilarious if I won all the games.

Céline crawled over to her older brother and placed a hand on his thigh. He ignored her and picked a card to drop onto the pile. I groaned at the choice and went to pick up another card from the deck which I'd stationed as far away from the twins as possible.

Céline pushed herself up so that she was standing and placed a hand on Antoine's shoulder to steady herself. She leaned over to pick a card from his hands, but he pulled them away from her reach.

"Tata," He whined as he tried to shake her off. "Can you get Cece off of me?"

"Cece?" I asked, quirking an eyebrow. "I've never heard of that before."

His eyes brightened, "I came up with it! Since my nickname is Tony, and your's is Bee, I thought maybe they should have a nickname too. Céline is Cece and Cody is Coco."

I chuckled, picking up Cody to place him on my lap. His back rested against my pregnancy bump and I leaned over to place a card on the pile, "They're really nice, Antoine. I'm sure they love it too."

His face contorted into a scowl at the sight of the plus four, making me grin. Céline gripped her brother's hair in a tight fist and pulled it, making him yelp, "Tata! Cece is hurting me."

"She just wants your attention, hon," I told him. I patted Cody's tummy and gestured towards him by jerking my chin, "Put her in your lap, like Cody."

"Coco," He corrected, glancing at his sister with a calculating expression. With an overdramatic sigh, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her down so that she was sitting between his legs. She clapped in excitement and started babbling, which made Cody reply with incoherent words.

Antoine glanced at me and pouted, "I don't want to take four cards, tata."

I let a smile tug at my lips, "It's part of the rules, hon. You have to take them."

He crossed his arms, "But if I do you'll win! You only have two cards left and I have..." He paused and started counting the number of cards he had. "I have six!"

With a sigh, I nodded, "Okay, you don't have to take them. But I'm changing the color to red." I said as I placed a red card down, knowing damn well he didn't have any. If he wouldn't play by the rules, I wouldn't either, which meant I could cheat. "Uno!"

He furrowed his eyebrows, "But I don't have any red cards!"

I shrugged, "Maybe if you took the four cards, you'd have one." I taunted playfully, making his frown deepen.

He threw his cards onto the floor, "I don't want to play anymore."

I placed my final card down, "I win!" I sang as I did a small awkward dance. Cody started wiggling on the floor, and Céline joined too.

"That's so unfair," Antoine grumbled, crossing his arms over his chest. With his puckered lips and furrowed eyebrows, he reminded me of my brother whenever he was angry.

I tapped his nose with my finger, "I'm sure you'll win next time." I told him with a soft smile. I started picking up the cards and stacked them into a neat pile. I handed him the cards, "Can you please put these on the coffee table?"

With an adorable pout, he nodded and gently stood up, making sure not to hit his sister. He took the deck from my hand and placed it on the table. I started scooting back until my back was pressed against the couch. I placed a hand on the chair and tried to get onto my knees so I could stand up. The pain in my abdomen intensified at the action, making me hiss. Antoine hurried towards me and tried to help me up.

Once I was up on my two feet, I thanked him and glanced down at the two babies who were now also trying to stand up, "Okay, what should we do now?"

"Can we make muffins? I forgot to ask mama, but I need to bring muffins into school tomorrow. We're having a picnic, and that was what I was told to get." Antoine asked innocently.

I crinkled my nose at the thought of cooking, but then glanced down at my belly. I'd have to learn to do more shit soon, so why not start now?

"Sure," I replied with a soft smile. I took Céline and Cody's hands in mine as we walked towards the kitchen. "We're going to have to look up a recipe, though, since I don't know how to bake."

Antoine shrugged, "Okay, tata. Can we make blueberry muffins? Mama bought some yesterday."

I nodded as I picked up my phone from the countertop so I could look up a recipe, "Do you think you can bring your sibling's strollers into the kitchen? I don't want to drag the baby seats from the dining room."

Wordlessly, Antoine ran out of the kitchen as I scrolled through the search results. When I finally chose a recipe that seemed easy to follow, my nephew wheeled the stroller in. At the sight of it, the twins instantly ran towards it and climbed into their respective seats. Céline was on the right and Cody was on the left, just like they always were.

"Alright," I said as I pulled an apron off the hook. I tied it around my waist and walked towards the oven. "First we preheat this."

"Can I help?" Antoine asked from his seat on the counter.

"Of course, hun. Do you think you can get me the muffin tin?"

At the request, he jumped off the stool and ran towards the cupboards to rummage through them while I pulled out the ingredients. Once we had everything in front of us, we went to work. Céline and Cody watched as Antoine helped me pour everything into the stand mixer. After we made the batter that resembled the picture on the website, we scooped it into the muffin tins, putting a few blueberries on top of the batter.

After we finished, I took a seat on the stool and rested my chin on a fist. My headache felt worse, the panadol did nothing to reduce the pain, and I was extremely naesous. The mere thought of eating the muffins was enough to make me want to vomit.

"Tata, do you think Cece and Coco can eat the muffins?" He asked from his seat in front of me.

I blinked and processed his words before nodding tiredly, "Yeah, hun. Of course, they can."

"Mama doesn't like it when we eat sweets before we go to sleep. She says it makes our teeth go black."

"It can," I said, glancing at my phone to check the timer. Five minutes until they were ready. "But if you brush your teeth before bed, everything will be fine."

"Papa told me that there's a baby in your tummy," Antoine voiced out, his high-pitched voice making me wince since it made my headache worse. I felt exhausted as shit, and I felt ready to go the fuck to sleep. 

"Yeah, hun. The baby's going to be your cousin," I replied as I forced my eyelids to stay open.

"Is it going to be a boy or a girl?" He asked again.

My ears started ringing, and alarms started blaring around my head. This isn't normal, Amber, fucking call Dylan. I glanced at Antoine through my spotted vision, "Hey, Antoine?"

"Yeah, Tata?" He said, looking directly into my eye.

"Remember–" I started, feeling hot spit collect in my mouth. "Remember how I showed you how to call an ambulance?"

The room started moving, but I could see him nod his head.

"I'm gonna need you to do that," I slurred. With that, the black spots connected into one, and I couldn't see anything anymore. My head dropped forwards, falling onto my arm, and I heard Antoine hurriedly pick up my phone.

"Hello?–" He started in a panicked voice.

And then, I succumbed to the darkness.

•••

DYLAN

"I really appreciate your donation, Mr. Lewis," I said, shaking his hand gratefully.

The night was going well. Many of the guests have started donating after a short speech I gave, and according to Lillian, we were on track to surpassing the amount we collected last year. I glanced at the image of my dad that hung proudly above the stage and smiled. This was all for him– I wanted the underprivileged to get the help papa was able to get.

"Of course, Dylan. Your dad was a close friend and colleague– this is the least I could do," He patted my shoulder with a genuine smile. He glanced at Rose, who's arm was intertwined with mine, "How are your kids? I don't see Antoine anywhere here."

Rose grinned at the mention of her children, "They're at home with Amber– she volunteered to take care of them."

"Amber's in town?" He asked, pleasantly surprised. "How is she?"

I felt Rose tense at the question, but the grin remained on her face, "She's feeling slightly under the weather, but other than that, she says she feels fine."

I bit my lip at the mention of my sister's health. I was angry at her for not taking it seriously. I didn't understand how she wasn't worried about her health and the health of her baby. I also didn't understand why she wouldn't tell me that she rarely slept at night. She knew I was always there for her, didn't she? I would do anything for her, and I thought I made that crystal clear over the years.

After Rose practically scolded me in the car as we drove to the venue, I started feeling guilty for yelling at my sister like that. She was dealing with the aftermath of a robbery, and it was something I would never understand. She told us how she'd been diagnosed with mild PTSD, and Rose made it clear to me in the car that she didn't need me yelling at her.

She didn't need anything else to stress about.

Rose wrung her wrists as Mr. Lewis frowned, "Amber's always been a woman of steel. She won't let some sickness get in her way."

My wife forced a chuckle and nodded, "She is the strongest person I know." She agreed. I glanced at my wife to find her looking down at her wrists worriedly. I frowned at the sight and pursed my lips before giving Mr. Lewis a smile.

He glanced between both of us before returning the smile, "I'm going to go talk to McLaughlin over there. He just came back from his son's movie premiere and I want to hear all about it." And with a nod and a pat on my shoulder, he walked past us, towards Dean's father. I scowled at the mention of the kid but pushed the thought to the back of my head when Rose looked up at me with furrowed eyebrows.

"What's wrong?" I asked in a soft tone, placing both hands on her shoulders before I rubbed her arms reassuringly.

"Dylan, Amber's blood pressure was really high," She stressed, concern evident in her voice.

I felt my heart sink, "Do you want to check up on her?"

She nodded before hurrying over to our table. She fumbled with her clutch before opening it to pull her phone out. Her forehead creased once she saw her lock screen, "I've got a lot of missed calls from an unknown number."

She tapped on the number and held up the phone to her ear. I tapped my foot on the floor anxiously before pulling my phone out of her clutch. I also had missed calls from an unknown number, and I knew that this wasn't a coincidence. My stomach twisted into a knot at the thought that something bad might have happened.

"Hello?" Rose started as I pulled up Amber's contact so that I could call her. "I received some calls from this number– my name is Rose Amity."

I pressed the phone against my ear and waited for her to answer, but all I got was the ringing of her phone. I pulled the phone away from my face and glanced down at it, waiting for a text to roll in. Whenever she didn't answer my calls, Amber always texted me.

Rose's breath caught in her throat, and I snapped my eyes in her direction. With wide eyes, she gestured for me to grab her clutch, and ran towards the entrance of the venue with determination I've never seen before. People glanced at us curiously, but we ignored them as we walked into the lobby of the hotel.

"Go get your car, right now," She commanded, and I didn't have to think twice before running towards the valet. I gave him the ticket and told them to hurry up. I glanced down at my phone again, waiting for the text. Please, Bee, for the love of fuck, just text me back.

Feeling overwhelmed, even with the lack of information and fear, I pulled up Lillian's contact and told her something came up, which meant she was now in charge of everything. She read the text but didn't reply. Rose was talking on the phone and she seemed nervous. I ran away from the valet's desk and heard her asking about our children.

"Rose what's happening?" I asked, letting fear seep into my voice.

"We'll be there in twenty minutes, thank you," She hung up the phone and stared at me, tears pooling in her eyes.

"Amber's in the hospital," She started, and I felt my heart stop beating for a second. "She fainted in the kitchen– Tony called an ambulance. Her liver started bleeding and her organs started to shut down. She's in surgery."

"Surgery?" I asked, my voice cracking. "Will she be okay?"

No, no, no– I couldn't lose Amber too. Dad was enough to throw me out of a loop for a good year, I didn't know what I would do if I lost my baby sister.

Rose watched as the driver pulled my car into the driveway. She then looked at me with a defeated expression, "They said her condition is critical, Dylan. We have to get to the hospital, now."

And with that, Rose stepped into the driver's seat. I didn't have it in me to protest because I knew that I wouldn't be able to focus on the road. All I could focus on was my sister, who insisted she was fine even though she wasn't. You guys need a break, she'd repeat every time I told her I could stay home; looking after three children was too much.

In reality, it was Amber who needed a break the most. A robbery; sleepless nights; nightmares; PTSD; pre-eclampsia; an unexpected pregnancy– did she need anything else added onto her plate?

•••

We parked the car outside the emergency department. As soon as Rose turned off the ignition, she threw the door open and I did the same, following after her as she ran through the hallways she was familiar with. She ran up to the nurse's station and placed two hands on the counter.

"We're here for Amber Amity," She said steadily as I stood behind her, looking around the waiting room. There were so many people sitting in the lounge looking at the nurses or the doors anxiously. That's how I felt– I was fucking anxious.

"Miss Amity is still in surgery," The nurse said gravely after checking the computer. "I'll call the surgeon and inform them of your arrival– someone will be up here shortly to give you an update."

"And our children?" She asked, biting on her lip. "They said they brought our kids here too. Two one-year-olds and a six-year-old."

The nurse's eyes widened and nodded, "The firefighters brought them in–"

"Firefighters?" I interrupted, confused as to why they were needed.

The nurse looked at me, and once she noticed my state, her expression softened, "The door to your house was locked. The firefighters usually come with paramedics to break down the door. if need be." She informed us before stepping out from behind the counter. "Your children were taken to a private room where we usually keep kids to entertain them. Follow me."

I reached for Rose's hand and grasped it tightly before following the nurse. She walked through the double doors and turned right. She opened the door and we were met with a very blue room filled with toys. A TV was hung up on the wall, opposite to a couch that held my eldest son, who was watching some cartoon while his brother and sister played on the floor.

Antoine glanced in the direction of the door, and when he saw us standing there, he jumped off the couch and ran towards us. He wrapped his tiny arms around my wife and I's legs and buried his head into the space between them.

I leaned down and picked him up, "Hey, bud. Are you alright?"

He nodded before his bottom lip trembled, "Tata fainted– it was so scary."

Rose, who'd moved to sit down on the floor with our twins, glanced up at us, "It's okay, Tony. You did the right thing by calling the ambulance."

He reached up to wipe the tears in his eyes, "We were making muffins for school tomorrow, and we were talking on the counter. She looked at me and told me to call the ambulance. Then, her head just fell on the counter." He said, before looking back at me. "Is tata okay? I heard the doctors at home say she vomited blood."

I felt the blood drain from my face and I glanced at Rose, who was looking at me with wide eyes. I didn't know what to say– what the fuck would I tell my child? He saw her vomit blood and faint, she clearly wasn't okay. 

Rose saw my hesitancy to reply and shook her head, "We don't know, sweetheart. We have to wait for the doctor to come and tell us how she is."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door before it was pushed open to reveal a man dressed in scrubs. He looked at me then at Rose, and recognition dawned on his face at the sight of the nurse, "Amber Amity's family?" He asked, just to be sure.

"Yes," I replied, desperate for any sort of information. "Are you the surgeon?"

He nodded, "I'm assisting on the surgery– the main surgeon is still working on your sister." He said before pausing as he tried to figure out how to tell us the information. "Tests point to the fact that Amber's liver has started to fail a few days ago, and her kidneys were on the verge of failing too. Her blood pressure was unusually high when she was brought in, even for someone diagnosed with pre-eclampsia. We've had to go in to repair any damages done due to her liver failure and have administered substances that will flush the toxins out of her body."

I had to set Tony down, feeling overwhelmed by everything the doctor told me. My son rushed to Rose, who greeted him with wide arms. She was staring up at the doctor in shock.

The doctor looked between the both of us before continuing, "The only way for us to save Amber's life was by performing a c-section to retrieve the baby. Thankfully, she was twenty-six weeks pregnant, which means that the fetus will be able to survive– the doctors are currently checking up on him to make sure everything is okay. Other than that, our main concern right now is looking for any more internal bleeds, which brings me to another point. Amber has lost a lot of blood, which hints that she started bleeding around last night. Her body isn't able to regenerate that much blood in a day, so there's also the risk of brain damage due to lower levels of nutrients and oxygen, as well as high levels of toxins."

"Do you know when she'll be out?" I chocked out, feeling tears prick the back of my eyes.

I shouldn't have gone to the gala; I shouldn't have yelled at her before I left.

"Hopefully, in the next hour. We're doing our best to make sure everything is okay," He told us with a nod. "If you have any other questions please ask nurses for updates, and we'll try to supply them."

I swallowed the lump in my throat and blinked back the tears, "Thank you, doctor."

Rose cleared her throat. I glanced at her to find tears running down her eyes, "You said the baby was a boy?" She asked breathily. The doctor nodded, and I felt my heart warm at the thought that her child, my nephew, was alive and well. "Are we allowed to see him?"

The doctor flattened his lips, "I'm sorry, but right now, that's too risky. The NICU is filled with premature babies, and we don't want to run the risk of exposing them to germs. I'll give you an update on whether you can see him after I have the information regarding his health, but for now, I think it'll be best if you guys wait here."

She nodded, "Thank you."

The surgeon gave us a reassuring smile before walking out the door. I took a seat on the floor, next to my wife, and pulled the twins onto my lap. I hugged them tight and stared at Rose, who was rubbing the back of a crying Antoine. 

She sniffled, "Amber's the strongest person I know." She repeated her words from the gala.

A tear escaped my eyes at the thought of losing my sister.

I shouldn't have yelled at Amber before leaving.

•••

– 08/07/20

I've been planning this chapter since I started writing the fucking book.

Until the next chapter y'all, where a favorite character of yours will return :p (maybe, I still haven't decided).