Status: Updated regularly
Dark Rider
.27
“Rider, my babies,” Kassie couldn’t even build up the tears to cry or even sob, exhaustion had consumed her. “Those are my babies.”
“They are my babies to,” Rider chocked out as he pulled her from the plastic waiting room seat into his lap, where he cuddled her to his chest. “They will be okay, I talked to Christ and he said he would watch over them. He’ll make everything okay, he always does.”
“If they will suffer in life, will—won’t they be better off if Christ saves them from all of this, so they won’t hurt?” Kassie felt horrible asking such a question but it was true. She didn’t want her daughters suffering if they were better off with the Lord. He would take care of them; she knew they would be safe and loved. But it didn’t make it any easier to deal with, not at all. “Don’t think I’m being heartless or cruel, Francis. I just want them safe and in no pain at all, I couldn’t live with them hurting each and every day.”
“I would never think of you as heartless or cruel, you are one of the most caring individuals I have ever met, and in my line of work before and after comatose death, I met a lot of people, a lot of cruel and heartless people,” he said softly, still choking on his words as he pecked her on the forehead and looked up at the ceiling, calling out for his master. “Christ—“
“He won’t come,” Kassie interrupted. “He’s with the girls, don’t call him away, he needs to be in there looking over them. Please don’t call him away.”
He agreed and kept quiet, just holding Kassie close as the minutes past, waiting for some sort of update, any news at all that would tell them of their daughters. “What happened?” A.J. ran in the waiting room dressed in sweats and an old hoodie that he used for working out purposes. “I got a call from the nurses’ station saying that since I was on the emergency contacts list that I needed to be notified that two of the babies are in surgery.”
“They think that Theo and Shay have Cardiac arrhythmia,” Kassie spoke smoothly as if she were explaining she was cold in January, she was going into shock, she couldn’t process anything besides the fact that if she stayed numb that she could deal.
“C—cardiac arrhythmia?” A.J.’s chest heaved and his face twisted in surprise, to keep from falling to the linoleum floor, A.J. grabbed hold of an armrest and sat down on the nearest chair. “H—how—w—what happened—why?”
“I don’t know how,” Rider said softly instead of explaining what he did know, it hurt to much to say it out loud and it caused him intense pain to hear Kassie tell the tale, he knew she was going through traumatic shock but he still couldn’t let it happen. “They don’t expect them to make it, that’s what Belinda said.”
“Belinda could be wrong,” though Rider gave him a look that proved differently, A.J. remained hopeful even when hope was long gone for him.
“She could be,” Rider agreed even though his hope was far past broke; it was shattered like a mirror. “I pray that she is, I pray that she is so very wrong.”
For the three of them, five hours had never been so long. It had felt like a lifetime since they had seen even a glimpse of any nurses or doctors. When a doctor finally did come out, Kassie who had come out of her shock with a glass of hot cocoa that A.J. had found in a vending machine made for coffees down the hallway, wished he had stayed away until there was a smile put on his face. “Mr. and Mrs. Bouvier?” he questioned even though they were the only people in the waiting room for the OR, at least for now.
“Yes?” Kassie answered anxiously while Rider pulled her to her feet. She looked at the doctor with wide, terrified eyes as she walked over closer to him, with Rider and A.J. behind her the whole way.
“I—have some news about Shaylah and Theodora,” he said weakly with a sigh to match, he took a minute to compose himself before he spoke, he had no clue how much pain those three people before him were in for as long as he took to be silent. “I’m sad to say, that Shaylah didn’t make it through the surgery, but we did manage to keep Theodora revived, she is very weak and most likely not going to make it through the night, I’m sorry to say this to you, very sorry.”
“No,” Kassie’s eyes began to tear up as she fell back into Rider’s arms. She had never felt so heartbroken and weak and it was all because she lost something so—so precious to her, her child. “Please, please don’t tell me that.”
“I’m sorry,” the doctor repeated with a nod towards the ground and then quietly he left the room so that the family, Rider, A.J. and Kassie could grieve in peace.
“Is it not enough that I’ve lost everything in my life, could I not have a family? Just once be happy?” Kassie shouted with tearless sobs wracking her whole body, her sadness towards her lost daughters’ departure was something no one should have ever felt. Rider was unable to speak, all he could do as of the time the doctor spoke and Kassie cried, was blink in a frozen state of shock.
“Take her to bed,” A.J. spoke, his voice deep from the sorrow he refused to let out, firmly he stood behind Kassie and lifted her to her feet, after she had fell to her knees, weakened and given out. “K.K. you need rest.”
“It’s my baby girl, blue boy,” Kassie gently spoke, her voice as weak as her body; she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around A.J.’s thick neck. “I lost my baby…”
“I know, Kass,” he decided to take her to her room since Rider sat lifeless in his seat, A.J. headed down the hallway towards the elevator, unaware that Rider woke from his trance and was on his way to the NICU so he could treasure what gifts he still had and mourn over the one he didn’t. “Alright, I know your tired, rest your head.”
A.J. lay Kassie on her bed while she limply let him put her under the sand like sheets and pull the plum colored blanket that felt like paper Mache over her waist. Before he had the chance to leave her alone with her thoughts, she scooted up in her bed and held out her hand to him. “Alexander—don’t leave me please.
Looking back to the woman he called his hero throughout his life, he seen the fear and misery in her blue eyes, he’d do anything to take it away. “Scoot over—Kass, our big butts won’t fit in that bed with you taking up the middle.”
Kassie grinned weakly as she scooted over more and made room for her beloved cousin, once he made his small behind in the bed, he let Kassie cling to him like a wet rag, crying as she did. She had no clue how to handle the loss of such precious things in her life like Shaylah. She felt her whole world had been turned upside down and inside out but she knew she had to keep a strong hold on reality for her other children but that didn’t mean she couldn’t mourn, she knew then that she would never stop mourning her, she loved her. She was her child. But she had to live, if not for her surviving children but for A.J. and Rider and most of all, Shaylah. If it took every ounce of strength she had left in her body. She would survive and carry on; she was a mother now, a mother, wife and cousin.
“They are my babies to,” Rider chocked out as he pulled her from the plastic waiting room seat into his lap, where he cuddled her to his chest. “They will be okay, I talked to Christ and he said he would watch over them. He’ll make everything okay, he always does.”
“If they will suffer in life, will—won’t they be better off if Christ saves them from all of this, so they won’t hurt?” Kassie felt horrible asking such a question but it was true. She didn’t want her daughters suffering if they were better off with the Lord. He would take care of them; she knew they would be safe and loved. But it didn’t make it any easier to deal with, not at all. “Don’t think I’m being heartless or cruel, Francis. I just want them safe and in no pain at all, I couldn’t live with them hurting each and every day.”
“I would never think of you as heartless or cruel, you are one of the most caring individuals I have ever met, and in my line of work before and after comatose death, I met a lot of people, a lot of cruel and heartless people,” he said softly, still choking on his words as he pecked her on the forehead and looked up at the ceiling, calling out for his master. “Christ—“
“He won’t come,” Kassie interrupted. “He’s with the girls, don’t call him away, he needs to be in there looking over them. Please don’t call him away.”
He agreed and kept quiet, just holding Kassie close as the minutes past, waiting for some sort of update, any news at all that would tell them of their daughters. “What happened?” A.J. ran in the waiting room dressed in sweats and an old hoodie that he used for working out purposes. “I got a call from the nurses’ station saying that since I was on the emergency contacts list that I needed to be notified that two of the babies are in surgery.”
“They think that Theo and Shay have Cardiac arrhythmia,” Kassie spoke smoothly as if she were explaining she was cold in January, she was going into shock, she couldn’t process anything besides the fact that if she stayed numb that she could deal.
“C—cardiac arrhythmia?” A.J.’s chest heaved and his face twisted in surprise, to keep from falling to the linoleum floor, A.J. grabbed hold of an armrest and sat down on the nearest chair. “H—how—w—what happened—why?”
“I don’t know how,” Rider said softly instead of explaining what he did know, it hurt to much to say it out loud and it caused him intense pain to hear Kassie tell the tale, he knew she was going through traumatic shock but he still couldn’t let it happen. “They don’t expect them to make it, that’s what Belinda said.”
“Belinda could be wrong,” though Rider gave him a look that proved differently, A.J. remained hopeful even when hope was long gone for him.
“She could be,” Rider agreed even though his hope was far past broke; it was shattered like a mirror. “I pray that she is, I pray that she is so very wrong.”
For the three of them, five hours had never been so long. It had felt like a lifetime since they had seen even a glimpse of any nurses or doctors. When a doctor finally did come out, Kassie who had come out of her shock with a glass of hot cocoa that A.J. had found in a vending machine made for coffees down the hallway, wished he had stayed away until there was a smile put on his face. “Mr. and Mrs. Bouvier?” he questioned even though they were the only people in the waiting room for the OR, at least for now.
“Yes?” Kassie answered anxiously while Rider pulled her to her feet. She looked at the doctor with wide, terrified eyes as she walked over closer to him, with Rider and A.J. behind her the whole way.
“I—have some news about Shaylah and Theodora,” he said weakly with a sigh to match, he took a minute to compose himself before he spoke, he had no clue how much pain those three people before him were in for as long as he took to be silent. “I’m sad to say, that Shaylah didn’t make it through the surgery, but we did manage to keep Theodora revived, she is very weak and most likely not going to make it through the night, I’m sorry to say this to you, very sorry.”
“No,” Kassie’s eyes began to tear up as she fell back into Rider’s arms. She had never felt so heartbroken and weak and it was all because she lost something so—so precious to her, her child. “Please, please don’t tell me that.”
“I’m sorry,” the doctor repeated with a nod towards the ground and then quietly he left the room so that the family, Rider, A.J. and Kassie could grieve in peace.
“Is it not enough that I’ve lost everything in my life, could I not have a family? Just once be happy?” Kassie shouted with tearless sobs wracking her whole body, her sadness towards her lost daughters’ departure was something no one should have ever felt. Rider was unable to speak, all he could do as of the time the doctor spoke and Kassie cried, was blink in a frozen state of shock.
“Take her to bed,” A.J. spoke, his voice deep from the sorrow he refused to let out, firmly he stood behind Kassie and lifted her to her feet, after she had fell to her knees, weakened and given out. “K.K. you need rest.”
“It’s my baby girl, blue boy,” Kassie gently spoke, her voice as weak as her body; she closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around A.J.’s thick neck. “I lost my baby…”
“I know, Kass,” he decided to take her to her room since Rider sat lifeless in his seat, A.J. headed down the hallway towards the elevator, unaware that Rider woke from his trance and was on his way to the NICU so he could treasure what gifts he still had and mourn over the one he didn’t. “Alright, I know your tired, rest your head.”
A.J. lay Kassie on her bed while she limply let him put her under the sand like sheets and pull the plum colored blanket that felt like paper Mache over her waist. Before he had the chance to leave her alone with her thoughts, she scooted up in her bed and held out her hand to him. “Alexander—don’t leave me please.
Looking back to the woman he called his hero throughout his life, he seen the fear and misery in her blue eyes, he’d do anything to take it away. “Scoot over—Kass, our big butts won’t fit in that bed with you taking up the middle.”
Kassie grinned weakly as she scooted over more and made room for her beloved cousin, once he made his small behind in the bed, he let Kassie cling to him like a wet rag, crying as she did. She had no clue how to handle the loss of such precious things in her life like Shaylah. She felt her whole world had been turned upside down and inside out but she knew she had to keep a strong hold on reality for her other children but that didn’t mean she couldn’t mourn, she knew then that she would never stop mourning her, she loved her. She was her child. But she had to live, if not for her surviving children but for A.J. and Rider and most of all, Shaylah. If it took every ounce of strength she had left in her body. She would survive and carry on; she was a mother now, a mother, wife and cousin.
