Romed: A Rosebrook Series Sequel

Chapter 4: Joy & Pain.

A redheaded 13 year old girl sat in the front seat of a Honda Accord, with a young, redhead, crinkle eyed, gentleman. His name was Lucas.
Lucas Simmons.
And he was Alex's father.
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"I stay out too late, dun dun dun, there's nothin' n my brain mmh mmh, at least that's what people say-ay mmh mmh!" Mr. Simmons started dancing like he was a lunatic, ALL the windows down.

"Dad stoopp you're embarrassing me!" Alex cried with a slight giggle.

"C'mon Allie you know you like it." Mr. Simmons replied with a shimmy.

"Omg! Stop!" Alex pleaded, shaking her head.

"Okay I'll stop." He turned to Alex, "Allie we need to talk-"

"Yeah dad?" Alex cut off still laughing and turning her head.
Once she saw her dad's face, she stopped laughing.
Lucas Simmons had never looked that serious in that in his life.

"Dad, what's wrong?" Alex asked, terrified.

He turned to look at her with his green-blue eyes. They were full of sadness and tears.

"Allie, baby I'm sick." Mr. Simmons replied with salty hot tears rolling down his cheeks.

"Sick? What do you mean by sick?" Alex asked.

He looked down, sniffed, wiped his face, and looked up at Alex.

"It means.. Alex I'm dying."

Right then and there Alex's heart broke into billions of pieces. It would never be fixed again no matter what anyone did or tried to do.
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A day later Alex was still in shock. Her whole world had just come crashing down on her.

What would she do without Lucas Simmons, the person she loved most in the world?

She moved around her house like a zombie. Droopy eyes, slow pace, and feeling dumb.
Maybe they didn't feel dumb but that's not the point.

She walked downstairs and starting. When she looked all over downstairs, she decided he must be upstairs.
She walked back upstairs and into his room with it's master bed, flat screen TV, and french doors leading to their outside balcony.
She heard Gold Rush playing in the background as she realized the room was empty so restroom came to mind.
She slowly walked up to the restroom door. It was cracked so she slowly knocked "Dad, are you in there?" She pushed it open and saw the sink water running but still nobody.

Now she was starting to freak out.

She had looked everywhere, but he wasn't in the house.

Where could he be?

She ran outside onto her brick porch.
"Dad. Dad!" Alex called.
She did a complete 360 and something caught her eye. Their garage door was open. It was never open unless her dad was going somewhere and her dad wouldn't go somewhere without telling her unless..

Alex took of in a sprint.

"Dad! DAD!" Alex called.

The car was running and driver's door was open.
Alex ran up to the car.
There he was Lucas Simmons hunched over in the driver's seat of the car.
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"Dad!" She said shaking him like a rag doll.

She noticed that his hands were cupping his stomach. She slowly picked up his hands out of the way and noticed wetness all around that area.
She picked up the shirt and almost fainted.
It was a tumor and it had burst.
????
*Beep *beep

A knock came at the door in Rosebrook Hospital, room 104.
Alex quickly came to. She was in the armchair next to the hospital bed. Before answering the door she took a glance at her dad. He looked so helpless and she felt so helpless. Her dad was sick and hurt and she couldn't do anything about it.

"Come in." She called.

The door clicked open.
A middle-aged doctor with dirty brown and dimples the size of craters.
He held out his hand for Alex to shake.

"Hello young lady, my name's Dr. Formby. You must be Mr. Simmons daughter, am I correct?" Dr. Formby asked.

"Yes sir." Alex replied.

"By any chance is your name Alex?" He asked.

"Yes sir. How did you-"

"I'm Josh Formby's dad. I believe you two go to school together." Dr. Formby cut off.

"Oh. Yes sir." Alex said blushing immediately.
She had liked Josh ever since elementary school, and now she was about to be in highschool. The sad part was that he would never feel the same way.

"Is a guardian present with you?" Dr. Formby asked.

"Yes sir."

"Where are they?" He replied.
She pointed at her father.

"I meant another guardian, like your mom." He added.

Immediately Alex's mood dropped even further down than it already was.
Two years ago her mother, Harper Simmons, had left her and her dad for her secret lover in Paris, France.
After that Alex could never look at her mother the same way again.

"No! You're not contacting my mom! That's NOT happening!" Alex demanded.

"Alex dear I can't leave you unattended without a guardian watching over you, you're to young.

"I'm thirteen." Alex challenged.

"Yes thirteen not sixteen." Dr. Formby replied.

"But-"

"Alex I have no choice-"

"We all have choices Dr. Formby." Alex cut off.

"I would lose my job." Dr. Formby added, standing up from the doctor's stool in front of the bed.
Alex had been pacing on the right side of the bed.

"I'm sorry." Dr. Formby said and walked out of the room.

"Son of a-" Before the last words came out of her mouth she hit the bedside table.
She heard a snap and a second later a gust of pain hit her hand and wrist like wind hits a hurricane.

"Ahh!" Alex cried with her hanging off her wrist. She ran outside of the room to get a nurse to check her hand.
It was broken.
She was taken into the ER where they wrapped and splinted her hand and wrist.
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She was a few steps away from room 104 when she heard the most frightening sound she had ever heard.

A flat line.

"Nurse! Nurse! I need a nurse!" Alex cried and ran to the nurse's station.

Once they got in there it was to late.
He had flat lined for ten minutes straight.

Alex screamed and fell over her father sobbing.

She felt so much pain it felt as if she felt none at all.

Alex Simmons was completely numb.