Unconditionally

Chapter 0.35

  October 2018

|| Freddie ||

"Hey, Freddie?" My little sister said to me that morning at breakfast.

"Hmm?" I hummed, not taking my eyes off the figures report that I was reading for my dad's firm.

"You remember when I went out for fro-yo with Marabelle like a week back?" She asked.

"Yeah, I remember," I murmured.

"So how do you feel about you guys getting married one day?" She asked me, causing me to look up at her.

"Excuse me?"

"You're not deaf, Freddie," She scoffed. "You heard me."

"Karliegh, Marabelle and I aren't getting married," I told her.

"I said one day, genius," She said with an eyeroll.

"I don't know. Maybe," I mumbled.

Honestly, marriage hasn't even been on my mind since Marabelle and I started dating. Its been like, only four months or something. We're happy with where we are.

"And babies? What about those? Are you guys gonna have one?" She asked.

"Karliegh, why all the questions?" I asked her.

"I'm just wondering," She shrugged. "You and Marabelle would have like, perfect babies and probably the perfect marriage."

"We're still young, Karls. There's plenty of time in the future for all that stuff," I told her.

"Ah, so there is a future for you guys," She grinned at me.

"Of course there is," I said without a doubt. I care about Marabelle a lot and I plan on making our relationship work.

"So you love her then?"

I stared at my little sister. "L-love?"

"Yeah, you know, you get the lovey dovey feels and you can't stop thinking about her and she makes you smile all the time and you can't imagine life without her and she's practically flawless to you, blah, blah, blah," She rambled on.

Do I love Marabelle? I mean, yeah I care about her a lot and I would do anything for her and she's absolutely perfect. But love?

I narrowed my eyes at my sister. "Since when do you start speaking like you're older than you really are?"

"I'm eleven, Freddie. In the sixth grade already. I know a thing or two about life," She shrugged.

"Trust me, princess, you still have a long way to go," I told her.

"I know enough already," She said.

"Go brush your teeth otherwise you're gonna be late for school," I told her, wanting to end this conversation.

Talking about marriage and babies with my eleven year old sister is not a way I want to start my day.

After I had finished my coffee, brushed my teeth and said goodbye to my parents, I took Karliegh to school.

"What time am I picking you up later?" I asked her.

"Two thirty," She mumbled while staring out the window with a smile on her face.

I followed her gaze and saw that she was grinning at the Finnish dude that she's so obsessed with.

"Okay. I'll pick you up then we'll have lunch with Marabelle if she's not busy," I told her.

"Great, sounds good," She said and then kissed my cheek before getting out the car. "Bye, Freddie! Love you!"

"Love you too!" I called but she was already meeting up with Elias. I shuddered at the sight of them hugging and then him kissing her forehead. They're eleven! Is that even allowed?!

The thought of my little sister practically having a boyfriend makes me extremely uncomfortable. If it were up to me, she would be in a single sex school and not even know what boys are.

When I had gotten to campus, I met up with Scott for coffee before our calculus class.

"Have you spoken to Marabelle this morning?" My best friend asked me.

"Nah, not yet," I told him. "Why?"

"Mal said that she wasn't feeling well. Throwing up all over the place apparently," He told me.

With a frown I took out my phone and composed a message to my girlfriend.

07:52am
Belle♥: Good morning, Belle ♡ Is everything okay this morning?

"So you and Mara still going good?" He asked me.

"Yeah, we are," I nodded with a smile.

"So you love her?" He asked and then took a sip of his coffee.

"Dude. Please don't start. I already got enough of it from Karliegh," I groaned.

"Ay, even the little munchkin can see it," He laughed.

"Dude, don't get me wrong, I care about Marabelle a lot and she's fucking amazing but its way too soon for me to be in love with her," I told him.

"There's no time limit as to when you can start falling in love, you idiot," He said. "Its all about how you feel inside."

"Bro, Delilah and I were together for how long? And not once did I say I love her," I pointed out.

"Because Delilah wasn't the right girl!" He said. "Tell me you don't feel the blood rushing through your veins when you see Marabelle and it doesn't matter if she's wearing a tight dress and lots of make up of if she's in sweatpants and your t-shirt, she still looks like the most beautiful girl in the whole world and you find yourself wondering how you've gone through life without her because she's the center of your universe. You find yourself cherishing the moments you spend together, doesn't matter if she's being the worlds biggest bitch or the cutest thing ever, because you just love being around her. Tell me you don't feel that way about Marabelle."

I didn't say anything because my best friend was right.

"I'm right, aren't I?" He grinned.

Everything Scott said was right. That's exactly how I feel about Marabelle.

She's beautiful and funny and I love being with her. She makes me smile when things aren't going right and her megawatt smile just lights me up. She can be full of attitude sometimes but at the same time I'd rather deal with that than not be with her. Even when we don't talk during the day, she's still the only thing on my mind and I want nothing more than to make her happy.

"Fuck, I'm in love with her," I murmured.

"Yeah you are dude," He chuckled.

Oh my fucking god.

I'm in love with Marabelle Jaimeson.

***

Marabelle's reply about her current heath status came to me many hours later. Apparently she was just feeling nauseous and her stomach hurts so she suspects it may be a stomach bug.

After my classes, I picked Karliegh up from school and made due on my promise to take her out to lunch before I dropped her off at ballet and then headed to target to get her some of Marabelle's favourite treats and then I went to Starbucks for her favourite drink before dropping by the pharmacy to pick up some medication for her.

"Hey, babygirl," I said to her as I walked into her room.

"Freddie?" She mumbled.

"Yeah, its me, baby," I said as I leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I feel so gross," She groaned.

"I got you some stuff to make you feel better," I told her. "Twinkies, gummy worms, lots of chocolate and Starbucks amongst other things."

"Damn, you're so nice," She said with a small smile.

"Are you still feeling nauseous?" I asked her as I sat down on the empty side of the bed.

"Not as much as this morning," She told me. "My stomach just hurts like crazy though."

"Are you sure you shouldn't go to the doctor?" I asked her.

"I'll be fine, Peaches," She said with a small laugh. "Let's spend the night watching Shameless?"

"Of course, baby," I said and then kissed her forehead before grabbing her laptop and accessing her Netflix page.

A few hours later I was woken from a short-lived sleep by Marabelle.

"Freddie, please wake up," She pleaded through what sound like tears.

"Belle?" I murmured as I opened my eyes.

"Freddie, it hurts," She cried.

"Huh? What's hurts?" I asked, now fully awake.

"My stomach," She sobbed. "I think this is more than a bug."

Her face was streaked with tears and a painful expression while her arms were wrapped around her stomach.

"Okay, I'm taking you to the hospital," I decided as I quickly slipped on my shirt and shoes.

"I don't know why it hurts so much," She cried.

"It'll be okay, baby," I said as I grabbed my car keys and phone and then gently picked her up out of bed before leaving the apartment.

My heart constricted tremendously throughout the drive to the hospital as Marabelle's quiet sobs filled my car. Fuck, I hope she's gonna be okay.

After parking as close as possible to the entrance of the ER, I carried her inside as quickly as possible.

"Can I help you, sir?" A nurse asked me just as I rushed in.

"I don't know what's wrong with her. She's in pain and she thought it was a stomach bug but its not and she needs help and -"

"Sir, please calm down," She told me as she gestured to the team of nurses standing by. "We'll get her the help she needs."

As they wheeled Marabelle away on a gurney, I tried to follow but the nurse stopped me.

"You can't follow us, sir. You need to stay here," She told me.

"But she's my girlfriend and she's in pain. I need to be there with her..."

"We're gonna do our best to help her but you need to stay here so we can do our job properly," She said before giving me a sympathetic smile and then following the other nurses.

Silently cursing to Satan below, I quickly texted Scott and my mother before having to resort to waiting.

Three hours later I was ready to go crazy. No one has been able to tell me anything about Marabelle.

"Freddie, sweetheart, please sit down," My mom said to me while I was pacing up and down.

"Mom, why haven't they told me anything yet?! Its been three hours!"

"The doctors know what they're doing, my baby," She said gently as she sat me down.

"Evan's flight just took off and her parents are flying in from London in the morning and my mom just flew out as well," I heard Mallory telling Scott.

Oh my god, someone just tell me what's wrong with my girl already!

"Freddie Rivers?" A woman in a white lab coat said as she walked into the living room.

"That's me," I said almost immediately as I stood up.

"I'm Doctor Lacy Reynolds. Marabelle is asking for you," She told me.

"When will we be able to see her?" Mallory asked.

"In a while if she's up for visitors," Dr Reynolds told her. "But for now she just wants to see Freddie."

I followed the doctor down a series of hallways before she stopped at the room Marabelle was in.

"Hey, baby," I said softly as I sat at her bedside. "How're you feeling?"

"Its doesn't hurt anymore," She said with a weak smile.

"Do you know what was wrong with her?" I asked the doctor.

The doctors expression turned grim and she sighed. "You two seem like a beautiful couple and I'm so sorry for your loss."


***

 How's that for a cliffhanger? I swear some of you saw this coming. But if you didn't or are confused, fear not! It will all be explained in the next chapter. Things are gonna take a little bit of a somber turn in the next few chapters and Liah is gonna help me write those chapters bc she's good with sad writing.

Till the next chapter

-Ava ♥  

Liah's got me hooked on Shawn's album and I absolutely love this song (Li and I lowkey feel like it was written about Hailey but anyways...)