A Complicated Life [COMPLETED]

Chapter Thirty-Two

Clawd's Point Of View

Calvin stared at his feet as he swung them back and forth. I put my hand on his knee. He jumped, his legs hit the side of his chair, and he looked up at me. "I know you're holding something back, kiddo. What do you want to say?" I asked.

"There's a lot I want to say. I just don't know how much of it would be good to say to you," he said quietly.

"Try me," I said.

Calvin sighed. "I just wanted to say thank you," he said softly.

"For?" I asked.

"For donating blood so that I could heal faster. It means a lot," he said.

"Of course. I'd do just about anything for you," I said.

He smiled. "You know I'm going to marry her when she turns eighteen, right?" he asked.

I draped my arm over the back of his chair. "You have my blessing," I said.

***

"The surgery was a success," Jackson said.

"And?" I pressed.

"We almost lost her about half an hour into the surgery. She's fine. We brought her back, we stopped the bleeding. However, it was a very close call. She's not stable, anymore. We'll have to wait another week or more for the next surgery," he said.

I let out a short breath and nodded. "And the next surgery will be what, exactly?" I asked.
"Kidney. From what I know, Narissa has yet to speak to her mother," Jackson said.
"Her mother? Her name's Lagoona, Jackson. I'm sure you remember that much from high school," I said.

"Sorry, Clawd. I'm not really focused on names, right now," he said.

"Sure. I get that. I was just... clarifying," I said. "Are you absolutely sure she's not a match to me? On anything?" I asked.

Jackson shook his head. "I don't know how many times we have to go over this, Clawd. Your blood type isn't going to randomly decide to change itself, Nicole's blood type isn't going to randomly change. Sorry, but you need your lungs to breathe, I have a feeling you want your own vocal chords, and I believe you want your own esophagus," he said.

I sighed. "Speaking of that. Have you people finished fermenting that esophagus?" I asked.

"Yes, they'll be doing that when I do the kidney transplant. Again, she needs to stabilize, first," Jackson said.

I nodded. "After those are done?" I asked.

"We'll work on reconstructing her vocal chords," Jackson said.

"And then?"

"Skin grafts," Jackson said. "And then it'll be months of healing and physical therapy," he added.

"When do you think she'll wake up?" I asked.

"She woke up shortly after the surgery was over. We put her back under, Clawd. She's in too much pain to be awake, right now. She's currently in a medically induced coma to make time for all these surgeries. Respectively, she'll be awake at the end of this month."

One Month Later

Draculaura's Point Of View

"This is the day," I said quietly.

"I know," Nicole whispered. "I don't want to go, Mommy. There's so many things I didn't get to ask you," she said.

"Shh." I pulled her into a hug and ran my hand over her hair. "It'll be okay, darling. You shouldn't be here, anyway. You belong with the living, not the dead. It's not your time. Not for many of hundreds of years," I said.

"But I don't want to go," she repeated.

"It's going to be okay," I said softly. "You'll get to back to your father, and your grandpa, and Calvin, and Narissa... And Grandma. Clawdeen, Howleen... Everyone," I said.

"And only one of them will be able to remind me of you," she whispered.

"You know what, Nicole?" I asked as I held her out at arm's length so I could see her face. "All you have to do is look in the mirror. That's all. And then you'll see me," I said.

Nicole's Point Of View

I felt so helpless as I slipped into the faded darkness, my mother's face disappearing with it. Before I had time to mourn over losing her, a bright light momentarily blinded me.

"Daddy?" I asked. My voice was squeaking and foreign-sounding to me. Yes, it almost sounded like my voice, but I could still hear the difference.

"Nicole? Sweet pea?" he asked.

I turned my head to the side so I could look at him. A smile spread across his face, tears sprang to his eyes. "Please don't cry," I whispered.

"Oh, baby girl," he said, his voice thick with both sadness and joy. He moved towards me and wrapped his arms around me. This was the first time I had been in my father's arms in over a month. A few minutes ago was the last time I would ever be in my mother's arms.

The universe was full of sick, twisted jokes to play on me.

Later That Evening

Calvin's Point Of View

For the first time in over a month, I held Nicole's hand in mine. Her fingers were intertwined with mine. "I missed you so much," I whispered.

She reached up with her free hand and brushed her fingers across my cheek as a small smile crossed her face. "I've been right here. I never left," she said.

"I thought you did," I said. No, no, Calvin. Please do not cry again. Nicole wouldn't want to see you cry. I was pretty certain that she had seen enough tears for the day.

"Shh, I'm not leaving ever again," she said softly.

"You better not," I said.

She smiled and pushed my hair back from my forehead. I hadn't cut it the entire time she had been unresponsive. I guess I hadn't done much of anything while she was unresponsive. "I missed you, too," she whispered.

This time, I smiled. I leaned forwards and lightly kissed her cheek. "What was it like?" I asked.

"What? The... the acid?"

"No! God, no... For us, you were just unresponsive, like you were sleeping. What was it like for you?" I asked.

"I saw my mom," she said quietly. "The entire time I was unresponsive, I was with my mom in the afterlife," she said.

"That's amazing... Right?" I asked.

"I guess. It's good and bad. Good, because I got to see my mom. Bad, because now she's been ripped from my life a second time," she said.

"I'm sorry," I said.

"Shh, no apologies. Not today," she said. She closed her eyes and shook her head. "I can't wait until my voice is back to normal," she added.

"I thought I was the only one that had noticed that," I said.

She opened one eye to look at me. "If I tell you something, can you pretend my voice isn't all rough and squeaky?" she asked.

"Anything for you," I said.

She closed her eye and smiled. "I love you," she whispered.

I smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. Her nose scrunched up and she giggled. "I love you, too," I whispered.