French Rose

Chapter 38

Christina King

"Call me as soon as you get there, okay?"

The sunny Saturday afternoon wasn't the best time to leave for France but in circumstances like this, it was either that or I'd be the worst person on the planet. There were a lot of things I had to do back at home and although things went well after the delivery, there were still gaps that needed to be filled. It was such a relief to hear nothing bad happened during and after she went in labour and even more to know dad was right all this time, Alex wasn't his. When we first got the information, there was the urge to sprint to mom and tell her everything but that'll just be awkward so we had to keep quiet till she was done. Of course, we were praying for everything to go well and at the end, two new babies came into the family.

Michael and Samantha were the cutest things in the world. Although they looked a little too much like dad and absolutely nothing like me and mom, I would still call them beautiful cause they were still little fragile balls of cuteness. Staring at them just made me wish I came as a twin instead, what joy it would be to know I wouldn't be the only one to get annoyed by my parents. They barely did a thing but sleep and it was hard to see their eyes when they were closed but every once in a while, Samantha would wake up crying out of hunger.

At least, one of them got a trait from me.

We left the hospital two days after and settled at home with the babies. By that time, mom already knew the whole thing and everything was supposed to go back to normal but dad wasn't happy that his wife easily lost the trust she had for him. Honestly, it wasn't something I thought would ever become a problem. All he wanted before was for her to finally believe him and now she does, he's upset she didn't trust him. This is why these two would always discourage me about getting into any serious relationship. I didn't understand the whole thing but dad wasn't the kind to yell when angry and stuff like that so all he did was keep quiet eighty percent of the time, only pay attention to the babies and little to me while mom, well, it's easy to say she was out of the whole thing. She was like a speck of dust, completely unnoticeable to him.

It wasn't something I could solve, unfortunately. What I wanted was to find something to prove Alex wasn't my sister and that was the whole reason I came here at the first place so already knowing that, I had to leave. The babies were fine, every other thing could come after and they would always come back together one way or the other so I was least concerned about it. I did speak to him when I had the chance to but I didn't know a lot about relationship stuff and he ended up laughing and calling me immature but whatever, who needs him to call me mature anyways?

It's not that it hurt or anything but whatever.

Anyways, I left for France a day after I got the news she opened her eyes and Leo mentioned it was getting to a point he could no longer do it alone. I asked of her mother and noticed it was something he didn't want to talk about so I got the message even before he said it. There were a lot of things I knew about this woman but not being with your daughter when she needs it the most is out of it. It wasn't that I ever expected much from her but this is just too much.

Jenifer insisted she stayed with my parents. It seems she loves the babies even more than the mother does. I left without questioning her decision and alone I went on a flight back to where I came from. It was a little boring and I even tried reading a book like those girls in movies do but I got bored and didn't make it past the first page. It wasn't until I was just a few minutes away from landing that I got a call from mom.

"Okay, but are you okay?"

"Of course I am. I have babies here, remember?"

"I know but dad isn't treating you well"

"He is, he gets me food when I need it, he took a break from work for the kids and he even helped change the diaper once"

"Those are normal mom, I know he does that but he's not talking to you like he used to. Things have changed and I want you to know you can always talk to him or buy him a box of chocolates or something, they do it in movies and it works"

"It's always the man sending chocolates to the woman, not the other way around. Do you even have any idea what it's like to be_"

"I don't and that makes it the end of this call, bye!"

*~*~*~*

It was seven in the evening when Leo came to pick me up. An hour late but better than nothing. It was only a few days away from the day I left but it looked like a whole year already. Being there was like leaving one mess right into another. It's a good thing I would be there for a friend but at the same time, I had to straighten things out with Lucas and Alex too while making sure things get better at home.

If this is what being an adult feels like, I'd like to be a child again.

"Welcome back home"

"All I've gotten from here is troubles upon troubles, this isn't my home"

"Well, that's painful"

My bags were in the trunk and I was in the front sit with Leo as he drove. Originally, I thought we were going to the hospital where she was but changed my mind when I saw he was passing a different direction.

"Just when I thought things are getting better, you decide to kidnap me"

"What are talking abo_Oh! I'm not kidnapping you, I'm taking us to see Lucas. You don't always have to be dramatic Christina"

"That was offensive but I'll let it slide. Why are we going to see Lucas, I'm not ready for that"

"Neither am I but Alex begs me every minute to have him come over and I can't do it alone so you're coming with me" Alex wants to see Lucas? Well, I wouldn't call it a surprise but I definitely didn't expect it to be during this time. Everyone knows the truth already, Lucas is the good guy and he deserves an apology but she was in the worst state she could ever be in, if it was up to me, I would say it'll be better if she got better first.

"Why does this have to happen?"

"Take a look at the bright side, you'd just end up doing something you procrastinated and that's hard work if you ask me"

"You're not helping. This will not end up well. Do you have any idea what we've done to him?"

"Even more than you do. I've been here from the very beginning and trust me, I've been the coldest to him than you've ever been so yes, this wouldn't be easy for me too but Alex needs to see him and I can't afford her getting any worse than she already is"

"Do you even care about how he feels at all? This isn't just about Alex, you know"

"It's more about Alex, Christina and I am guilty of everything I've done to Lucas but this will always be more about Alex"

"That's so selfish of you. You talk like Lucas is just a puppet"

"Listen, Alex is dying, okay? I didn't want to make it sound that bad so you wouldn't be scared but she's getting worse every day. It's like nothing is working and if seeing him will make her better then by every cost, we'll get him to her. I'm sorry if I sound selfish but I don't have a choice here"

The rest of the journey was quiet, neither of us uttered a word after what he said. We were two different people with different perspectives of the situation, all he wanted was Alex's wellbeing while I wanted to set things right. Not that I didn't care about her condition, but the whole thing affected everyone as well.

Lucas' house was further than I thought. It was a struggle to keep myself awake throughout the whole ride and the cool air from the window wasn't helping. I was tired from the start, even before I left home and there was always this urge to lay down and rest but there would always be a reason to wake up.

"That's the restaurant, his family owns it"

"I know"

"How? He brought you here too?"

"Yes, and what do you mean too? Is there someone else he brought here?"

"Never mind, just didn't know you were both so close"

"We're not the closest but you can call us good friends"

"Well, I hope your friendship is strong enough cause here he comes"