Ryder the Love Genius | Protector 2.2

Epilogue I

Epilogue I

~Ryder: Age 22~

Date: February 10th

       Today was going to be a very bittersweet day. Mae and I were both looking forward to and wishing this day would never come. However, it came before we knew it --even earlier than we assumed. We couldn't avoid it forever. It had to come, and today was it.

       "Do you want my family to come?" I asked softly. "Or would you rather go through this with just the two of us?"

       "I want them to come," she said, her voice just was soft. "They are my family too."

       "Okay, I'm going to call them," I said. I kissed her forehead, then stepped into the hallway before dialing my dad's cell number. "Dad? Mae and I are at the hospital now. We want you all the be here."

       "Okay," Dad said. "I'll call the others, then we'll head over. I'm sorry you two have to go through this."

       "Yeah...."I said quietly. "There's nothing we can do about it."

       "Do you want me to get anything for you two?" Dad asked.

       "Not really," I said. "Actually, a chocolate gift basket might work."

       "And I will do exactly that," Dad said. "See you soon."

       After we hung up, I went back to Mae's hospital room and I sat down beside her. Grandpa soon walked in, giving us a small smile. I was glad he was still working at the hospital because Mae and I would rather have a family member help us get through this.

       "Is your family coming, Ryder?" Grandpa asked.

       "Yeah," I said. "All seven siblings, and most likely my stupid brother-in-law."

       "He's not that bad," Grandpa said.

       "I had to live with him for a few years," I said. "He is that bad."

       And unfortunately for me, my stupid brother-in-law was the first to show up alongside Nolan. "Hey," Jerome said softly when they walked in. "How are you two doing?"

       "As good as we can be," Mae said. "You two got here fast."

       "Yeah, Dad called me when we were on our way back from eating out," Nolan said. "The restaurant wasn't even a five minute drive away from here."

       Jerome sat on one of the chairs and pulled Nolan onto his lap. "So....did you pick any names yet?"

       "Uh, no," I said. "We'd rather wait until after since the genders weren't for sure. It's going to be hard naming them...."

       "Yeah, sorry for asking," Jerome said.

       "No, it's fine," I said. 

       The rest of my family soon showed up. Rose immediately ran over to the hospital bed. "Hiya, Mae," she said.

       Mae was finally able to crack a smile. A small one, but a smile nonetheless. "Hey, Rose," Mae said.

       Dad was holding Lilac, the youngest Prince child, and she kept squirming because she wanted to be let down. However, like the rest of us at her age, she liked running around and Dad didn't want her running around in the hospital.

       "You know, I still can't believe you and Mom had another kid," Orchid said. "You know what you said after Tulip? That she was your last one. Then came Rose and she was your supposed last one. Then William and once again, the last one. But nope. Here comes Lilac."