12. Never Letting Go
On the way to the hospital, Nicole called Georgia and told her to rush down as well. On her own, she couldn't stop tapping her feet and biting her lower lip - she was terrified.
Theo tried his best to calm her down but she just couldn't stay still. When they got to the hospital, Nicole came down from his car in a frenzy and rushed into it. She took the corner that lead to Nicholas's ward and stumbled upon Darcy.
"Nicole! Thank goodness you're here!" Darcy exclaimed.
"Where is he?" She asked in a rush.
"He had a cardiac arrest. The doctors are trying to..."
She didn't wait to hear the rest and pushed past her. She got to Nicholas's ward and entered to see four doctors around him. They were trying to resusicate him with a defibrillator.
One of the doctors turned back to see her standing there, "Please, you have to leave madam." He said politely while gently pushing her out.
She couldn't unsee what was before her - Nicholas looked lifeless on the hospital bed. She couldn't move and had to be pulled out by Theo.
"Nicole, look at me." Theo said, his voice sounding like it was coming from a mile away. She turned to him absentmindedly as he kept shaking her vigorously.
"Earth to Nicole!" His voice echoed through the walls of her sanity. She shook her head in disbelief as a tear fell down her eye. Desperate for comfort, she pulled Theo to her and sobbed in his arms. Thankfully, he didn't try to comfort her with empty words and just held her while she cried.
Georgia arrived at the hospital fifteen minutes later, with Seth and the kids trailing behind. Presently, they all sat tensed, waiting for a doctor to come give them information on Nicholas's wellbeing. Georgia's arms were wrapped around Nicole while Seth's were wrapped around her - they were holding on to any fragment of hope they had left.
Finally, a doctor came out. They all got up in anticipation.
"We managed to bring him back. He has asked for his family." The doctor said with a smile.
They all rushed hysterically with Nicole leading them, into the ward. Nicholas was awake but he was extremely pale and weak. When he saw them, he tried to talk but Nicole knelt beside him and held his hand tightly.
"It's okay. Don't stress yourself with talking." She said as unconsented tears began falling from her eyes yet again.
He smiled at her and looked at everyone standing in front of him which included Georgia, Theo, Seth and the kids. Georgia came forward and knelt beside Nicole as her eyes shone with unshed tears.
"I love you both." He croaked.
Georgia sobbed while Nicole nodded in response, "We love you too. You will be fine, okay?" She told him.
He nodded, kept his smile on his face and suddenly went quiet. Nicole could feel his hand slipping from hers as the ECG machine started beeping continuously.
"Georgia, Georgia what's happening?" She asked in panic.
Georgia ran out to call a doctor but she hadn't come with the doctor yet, when the machine stopped beeping and released that flat high pitched sound that she had only heard in reality, when her mother died of a heart attack years ago.
Georgia came back with the doctor but it was already too late. She started crying while Nicole just stared at Nicholas's real lifeless body while Theo held her quietly.
Alexander was at work when he received an email from Nicole two days ago, saying she would need to be absent from work for at least two weeks because she had lost her brother. He had known Nicholas in high school; he was Nicole's beloved twin, a stubborn fellow, quick to anger but cordial all the same. He knew how close they were and he couldn't begin to imagine the pain Nicole was feeling.
He planned to go see her today. He called Derek and told him he wouldn't be back early so he had to take care of Violet till he got back. Derek agreed without hesitation.
After work, he used his GPS to track Nicole's house address. She had written it in the employee record sheet he had given her, which she had then submitted back to him.
He drove as fast as he could and came to a stop when the GPS took him to a street with replica houses. He didn't know her house number because she hadn't indicated it in the address. He came out of his car under the hot summer sun, and picked up his phone to call her.
"Hello?" She inquired with a scratchy voice that showed she had been crying for a long time.
"I'm outside your house." He said and hung up so she didn't have to argue.
He prayed she would come out, and much to his relief, she came out and stood in front of her house with her hand shielding her eyes from the sun.
She turned and saw him. He then drove to her direction, came down from his car and walked towards her.
She looked terrible which was perfectly understandable. She wore an oversized shirt, some baggy pants and tied her hair in a messy bun. Her eyes were swollen and red.
"What are you doing here?" She asked in surprise.
"I came to see how you were doing." He told her with a small smile.
She sighed, "You didn't need to."
He looked over her head to see a woman standing on the porch.
"Who's that?" He inquired.
"My sister." She answered him and then raised her voice while tilting her head towards her sister's direction, "And she was just about leaving!"
Alexander heard the woman chuckle demurely; she then turned and went inside.
He didn't know Nicole had a sister but he could see the resemblance in their eyes and nose build.
"Come in." She told him and walked forward while he followed her behind.
Alexander went into the house and found it welcoming; everything was in place from the couches to a framed family picture on the wall. Although, there wasn't anything expensive to drool about and it looked like an average home in the US, Alexander liked it majorly because it was Nicole's. He was impressed that she had been able to achieve as much as affording a decent home for herself.
Her sister was prepared to go but then, she gave him a knowing look before walking out of the house.
"I didn't know you had a sister?" He began. He was nervous, he didn't know what to expect of her now that she was grieving the loss of her brother so, he kept his fingers crossed.
"She was in college when I was still in high school." She answered and sat on her couch.
"Please, sit."
He obeyed and sat down opposite her. She rubbed her face with the palm of her hand in frustration, "Why did you come again?"
"To see you..." He pointed out and waited to be yelled upon and thrown out of her house but to his surprise, she kept silent and nodded, "Thank you for coming." She said instead.
He didn't know he had been holding his breath until he released it in a rush.
"For a moment there, I thought you were going to throw me out like you just did to your sister..." He joked.
She chuckled dryly, "I threw Theo out this morning too before my sister came in. I just needed some breathing space and time to myself, that's all...they've been huddled all around me since Nicholas's death."
He tilted his head in surprise, "Theo?"
"Yes, long story." She waved her hand dismissively. Her eyes suddenly lit up like she had remembered something important, "How is Violet doing?"
She was so in love with that kid, Alexander thought. "She misses you." He answered.
Nicole chuckled genuinely this time, "I miss her too." She told him quietly.
"Your sister looked at me like she knew me, why is that?" He asked curiously.
"Sisters gossip." She smirked.
He nodded in realization, "Yeah, I guess."
They settled into a comfortable silence. "Beer?" Nicole broke the silence.
"Water, please." Alexander answered. He didn't take alcohol in any form.
She got up to go bring a glass of water and when she came back, she dropped the glass on the table and sat beside him.
Alexander was taken aback by the fact she chose to sit beside him but when she leaned on his shoulders and began sobbing, he forgot about everything else and wrapped his arms tightly around her, never to let go.