𝐌𝐲 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝

29 - Mixed emotions.

~𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒆? 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒘? 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔? 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒃𝒂𝒃𝒃𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈? 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆? 𝑾𝒉𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒕𝒉 𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔? 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒏𝒆.~ 𝑷𝒓𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒃𝒔

*****

Dylan's first thought was Heaven as he grudgingly lifted his lids. White filled his vision then it became blurry. Was he in heaven? Snippets of conversation flowed around him before faces came into focus. Five females all staring at him, practically in his face. He rubbed his eyes and tried to lift his head when a jolt of pain seared through it eliciting a low rugged groan from his lips.

Nope. Not heaven. Far from it.

He felt a wet cloth slap his head and involuntarily squeezed up his face while simultaneously grateful for the coolness it brought to his skin.

"Stay down." The voice ordered, the professional emotionless voice. His shoulder sagged. Emma.

"Is Uncle Deelan okay?"

"Mum, he's squeezing his face."

"Wake up, Uncle Dylan."

As his nieces and nephew spoke, they pressed on his body, and some went as far as slapping his cheeks.

"Hey, hey. Move back, guys." Emma ordered, using her hands to wave them off like birds. Through squinted eyes, he watched as they dropped from his bed murmuring and watching him. "We need to give him rest okay?"

"Okay," they all chorused, the word sounding like resounding thunder in Dylan's head. He shut his eyes completely and raised a hand to touch his head.

"I'll need you to sit up," the emotionless voice spoke up again and he internally groaned. "You can't get up, can you?" She added and he wasn't sure if he detected a hint of mockery there or if it was just his ears.

To prove her wrong, he tried to lift himself but his head pounded harder. Despite that, he locked his jaw and pressed his hand on the bed to lift himself. Pain roaring like a wave in his head, he raised the upper part of his body and leaned against his bed rest.

His breathing was a bit heavy as his eyes roamed around the room but stopped short when Emma stretched out her hands in his face, three differently shaped pills laying on them. His mouth was parched."I-"

"Open your mouth."

Weakly, he parted his lips open and allowed the pills to drop unto his tongue, flinching slightly at the medicinal taste.

"Here, water," Mel said, stretching out a green plastic cup to him. He sighed softly at the feel of cool water on his tongue and gulped down the medicine with a slight wrinkle of his face.

"Did you-"

Mia's slim fingers filled his vision, cutting off his sentence, this time, another white pill in her palm.

"Again?" He grumbled out.

"Nope. Mint. For your breath." She motioned to his mouth, one hand resting on her bump.

He nodded, of course. Slowly, he raised his hand and she dropped it into them. The pain was throbbing behind his right eyebrow as he slipped the mint into his mouth.