The Last Wish (Austin Carlile Father/Of Mice And Men)

Chapter 3

Austin's POV

The guys and I came inside to give Erin and Ariel some privacy, but nobody talked. I think we were all in shock. Here was this amazing girl and her daughter, who were about to go through a pain that I knew all too well. It broke my heart. I lost my mother at 17, but to see this adorable little girl go through it? That's horrible.

The silence aloud us to hear everything that Erin and Ariel were saying. It was heartbreaking. I looked up at the guys, most of whom were just looking at their laps solemnly, but Kellin, he was crying softly. I stood from the couch, before sitting next to him at the table, wrapping an arm around him.

Kellin looked up at me. "Ariel kind of reminds me of Copeland, and now I'm worried about when this will happen. Will I die today? Tomorrow? Will I leave the kids by themselves? I'm the only father figure in Liam and Rowan's life. What happens when I leave?"

I knew that Rowan and Liam were Katelynne's children from a previous relationship, and I knew that Kellin cared for them like they were his own kids. "Kells, Erin had cancer. That's why she left so soon. You don't have cancer. And honestly, if anything happened, your family has others to fall back on. Don't feel bad about it."

Kellin nodded. "I know. Just seeing what's happening, I can't stand it."

I nodded sadly. "I know," I whispered.

Suddenly, loud wails of "Mommy!" Came from outside, and I threw open the door and rushed out their to see Ariel, sitting on her moms lap, shaking her shoulders. She must have heard the door bang, because she looked up and saw me, running over to me. I picked her up, placing her on my hip. "Mommy said that she was going to sleep. I thought that when she fell asleep forever, I could still wake her up!" Ariel cried, wrapping her arms around my neck, and securing her legs around my waist.

I tried not to cry myself. "Sweetie, your mommy's in a special kind of sleep. See, death is a very deep sleep, one where you can't wake up from. That's what your mommy's doing right now."

"She said I'll never see her again. Is that true?" She asked, tears in her eyes.

I knew I had to tell her the truth, so I nodded. Immediately, she broke out into sobs, and I quickly turned around to see the rest of the guys had come out of my bus. "Shh, shh, Sweetie. Calm down, you're going to make yourself sick," I spoke to Ariel, heading back to the bus. "Phil, can you call 9-1-1?"

Phil nodded. "Sure," he said, grabbing his phone.

I walked up the steps to the bus, sitting on one of the couches and pulling Ariel onto my lap, the guys surrounding us. "Ariel, honey, you have to calm down." Still, she cried on. "Kellin, what of I do? She's going to make herself sick!" As soon as I said that, I could feel warm slime sliding down my back.

Kellin frowned. "Too late. When Cope's upset, I usually try to sing her to sleep. Sometimes it works more than others"

I looked up at Kellin. "Can you sing to Ariel right now? To try and get her to sleep? I have to change my shirt."

Kellin smiled a small smile. "Sure." He grabbed Ariel from my arms, and cuddled her into his chest, singing his cover of "Iris" to her.

I walked to the back lounge, flinging my top into the garbage as I went. I went into my bunk, and grabbed a random tank top that was lying around and pulled it on. I traveled back into the front lounge and saw Ariel asleep on Kellin's shoulder, her thumb in her mouth. I gently pulled her into my arms, sitting on the couch with her on my lap.

"Thanks, Kells."

He smiled at me. "No problem."

Vic spoke up. "What are we going to do with Ariel? We can't just leaver her here."

I frowned. "Well, when the ambulance gets here for Erin, we'll have to go to the hospital so we can find out if they have any family," I whispered, so I didn't wake up Ariel.

"I don't think Erin has any family. She said that she was the only one Ariel had left," Kellin said quietly.

"Well, what else can we do? We have to at least go to her grandparents house to tell them the news, if she has grandparents. I'm sure they'll take care of Ariel when we see them." I said. Kellin just shook his head, and I frowned.

"But what if they don't want Ariel?" Mike asked. "Then what will we do? We're not even sure if they're still alive."

"Bring her to an adoption center." Alan said.

"But she's a fan! We're just going to abandon her? She's a baby!" Phil said angrily.

"Shhh!" I warned.

"Phil, we can keep in contact still. There's an orphanage in our town, but what else can we do? We don't have what we need to take care of her on tour. Even if we did, tour is no place for a kid," Aaron said rationally. I sighed, feeling Ariel shift in my arms as she dreamed.

"Guys, I think I hear the sirens," Tony said. I listened, and I could hear the tell-tail sign of the sirens, the unmistakable wee-woo! Ariel woke with a start, clinging to my chest.

"What's wrong, Princess?" I asked.

She frowned. "It wasn't a nightmare?" I just shook my head. She started to cry once again.

"Come on, how about we go outside to say bye bye to Mommy again?" Jaime asked.

I was confused. How could that possibly be a good idea? But there wasn't much I could do because Ariel nodded eagerly. "She's already sleeping though," I warned her. She nodded understandingly. I walked out the door with Ariel on my hip, the guys trailing behind me. I could see some other bands come out of their buses because of the sirens. There were no Warped- goers as it was already night time. I felt Ariel start shivering against my chest, and I looked down at her. "Cold?" She nodded, and I held her closer. By the time the ambulance arrived, the some bands looking in in confusion, other sympathy, and others blank due to their drunkenness, though it was only 8pm.

Ariel looked at bag that held Erin. She pointed, and asked, "is that my mommy?"

I nodded, and she returned the gesture before looking down. "Want to say bye? One last time?" I asked.

She nodded, and I walked closer to the bag, one of the medics opening it in understanding. Ariel leaned closer to Erin's pale face, whispering, "I love you, Mommy," before kissing her nose all to cutely. A tear dripped down Ariel's face, splashing onto her mothers cheek before the medic closed the bag again. I walked back towards my bus as the medic loaded Erin into the ambulance before driving away. "Austin?" Ariel asked.

"Yeah, Princess?"

"Where do I go after this?" She asked. She looked terrified, her eyes wide with fright, and I could feel her heart racing inner tiny chest that rested against mine.

I frowned, not knowing how to answer this question without frightening her further. "You'll be safe." Is all I could come up with, but it seemed to be enough for her.

"Okay."

"Okay?" I questioned.

"Okay," she confirmed.