A North Carolina Autumn - Chapter 3: Chapter 3

When Rylie's parents finally come back to the waiting room, Jeremy and I jump to our feet. Well, I carefully and slowly get to my feet so as not to wake Harper, who is fast asleep in my arms. I'd spent the last while watching her, unable to tear my eyes from her perfect, sleeping face.
"Any updates?" Jeremy is the first to ask.
"Not really. They're worried..." Brad pauses, and swallows hard. "They're worried she won't make it through the night."
The breath whooshes out of my lungs. It takes me a moment to understand his words. I must've misheard him, that couldn't be true. I slowly sit back down in my chair, not trusting my legs to hold me up. Trying to distract myself, I stare down at Harper as Brad continues.
"They're going to keep monitoring her all night, but they recommended we all go get some rest. We're going to book rooms at OceanView since it's the closest hotel." Brad Says. "Aspen, is your mom on her way?" My eyes lock with his and I see a raw pain there that I'm sure must mirror my own.
"Yes. She's meeting me at our hotel... It's at Oceanview too."
"Okay. The doctors talked about moving Rylie to a bigger hospital, maybe Charlotte, but they haven't decided yet. For now, we're just planning one night at the hotel. How long is your reservation for?"
"We were going to check out tomorrow morning."
"Okay. I'm assuming you'll want to be back here as soon as possible?" Brad's eyes are soft.
"Yes. Please."
"Of course. You love her just as much as the rest of us. Let's plan on meeting back here at 9:00am."
Dillon and Kristen nod before Kristen carefully takes Harper, buckling her safely into her car seat. She gives me another hug once she's finished.
"I'm glad you were with her when it happened. She's going to be okay."
We can only hope.
Jeremy walks me to my car before saying goodnight. "I'm leaving my phone on, so call me if you need to and I'll be where you are as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'll see you right back here at 9:00am. After a good night's sleep."
"As good as can be expected, all things considered. Thank you, Jer." He gives me a long hug before getting into his car, and I get into mine.
It instantly feels wrong. I assume it's just because my seat is not in the right spot since Ava drove the car here, but even after I readjust everything, the feeling is still there. Then I realize it's the absence of Rylie. The thought brings a new wave of emotion, but I swallow it down before pulling onto the road.
I can't do it. I think as I stand outside our hotel room door in the long, empty hallway. I couldn't go in there alone and see all of Rylie's things, not knowing when she would come back. Then I'm struck with the realization that she won't be coming back here.
Finally, after taking a deep breath and summoning all of my strength, I slide the keycard into the slot, and walk through the door, letting it close softly behind me. What's left of my heart completely shatters as I take in the scene before me.
The first things I note are the rose petals scattered on the floor and bed. Next, are the individual pictures hanging from strings on the ceiling. Pictures of Rylie and I. Then finally on the bed, I see the letter, the teddy bear, and the small box.
Tears stream down my face and collect on the backpack still clutched in my arms. Several minutes pass before I can move, but finally, my feet carry me almost against my own will towards the bed, and my fingers involuntarily reach for the letter.
My sweet Aspen,
I'm going to put this simply: you are the love of my life. When I first saw you that first day at camp, I knew my heart wasn't going to be my own for much longer. You quickly took it, but I wasn't mad. Well, I was for a little while. I hadn't wanted to feel the things I felt for you, until I realized how incredible you were. I quickly understood that there was no point in trying to pull my heart back from your grasp. It was yours then in the same way that it is yours now.
This past year with you has been a dream. Some days, I'll wake up afraid to open my eyes, afraid that I imagined you. Imagined us. But then I'd roll over and see you asleep beside me, I'd see that it wasn't a dream. Then I'd just wonder over and over what I did to get so lucky. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that you chose me.
I am so in love with you, Aspen. I thought love like this was fake. Thank you for proving to me that it's real.
When my parents split up, I swore I'd never get married. I refused to marry someone and bring children into this world just to end up hating that person and hurting our children the way I was hurt. But when I fell in love with you, I realized that wasn't how it was at all. It is possible to work through problems, and still love someone afterwards. You proved that.
So, there went my resolve. I wanted to get married someday, but I only wanted that if it was with you. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want children with you. I want to fight and then make up with you. I just want you.
So Aspen, please turn around now so that I can ask you the question I've been wanting to ask for months.
I love you.
-Rylie
The tears blur the letter, making it hard to read, but I memorize every word. As I read the last line, my heart threatens to rip itself from my chest. I can't turn, knowing that Rylie isn't there like the letter says. Like she wanted to be. I somehow manage to keep the sobs in, although the tears continue to spill from my eyes. But as I reach for the teddy bear and clutch it to my chest, the sobs flow out of me in time with the tears.
The smell clinging to the bear's soft, cream colored fur, is Rylie's smell. A small bottle of her perfume sits next to a small note that reads: I know we're not long distance anymore, but I still wanted to give you this. For when you miss me.
There can't be a pain worse than this. It felt as though my heart was being torn to shreds and then burned. I suddenly can't handle the pain, and slide to the ground, still clutching the bear to my chest. Sobs wrack my body, and I struggle to pull in a full breath, just to have another sob take it.
I have no idea how much time has passed when I hear the lock click, and my mother enters the room. It takes one look at my eyes full of agony, torment and heartache before her bag is on the ground and I'm in her arms.
"My sweet girl. Oh, I am so sorry." She whispers words of comfort into my hair, but they do next to nothing to ease the seemingly endless pain in my heart.
"She has to be okay, mom." I cry, my tears soaking my mother's blue shirt. "She has to be."
"I know, honey." I cling tightly to my mother as my world continues to shatter around me.
Eventually, exhaustion forces my sobs to stop, and my tears to slow. My mother quickly and carefully cleans off the bed before I climb under the covers after changing into a t-shirt and shorts. I pray for sleep to come quickly, and thankfully, it does.
When I wake the next morning, my head instantly starts pounding, and my eyes feel swollen and heavy. It takes a minute for everything from the previous day to come rushing back, and when it does, I have to swallow the lump in my throat.
I had to believe that Rylie would be okay. I had to be strong for her, because heaven knows she would be strong for me if I were the hurt one.
I wish it was me. Rylie has done nothing in her life to deserve this. I would take this from her in a heartbeat if I could.
My mother appears at the bedside with a glass of water and two Advil. "How are you feeling?" She asks softly.
I sit up against the headboard, and my eyes flit over to Rylie's empty side of the bed. "Okay. Like I've been crying a lot." I manage a small laugh.
"This'll help." My mom replies before handing me the glass and pills. "I spoke to Rylie's dad. He said they have an update for us."
Suddenly, I'm wide awake. "Is she okay? Did she wake up?"
"I don't know. They haven't told us yet, but we're going to meet them at the hospital in 15 minutes. Can you be ready by then?"
"Yeah." I down the pills and get ready within five minutes, and spend the remaining time packing up our things. We hadn't packed much which makes it easy to put everything away, but the hard part was carefully packing away all of the proposal things. I tentatively pick up the small ring box and take a big breath before opening it. Inside sits a beautiful dainty silver ring with a beautiful round diamond. The simplicity of it made it even more beautiful the more I looked at it.
Tears form in my eyes again as I stare down at the ring. I wanted so badly to slip it on, but another thought prevents me from doing so. I wanted Rylie to be the one to put this ring on my finger. I close the box gently before sliding it into my bag, right next to the small box holding the ring I had gotten her.
My mom and I had grabbed breakfast before leaving the hotel, but I hadn't even touched my muffin by the time we reach the hospital. I was too nervous and worried to eat.
Kristin, Dillon and Brad are all in the lobby when we arrive, and Jeremy and Austin are right behind us.
"Hey, Aspen." Austin says, pulling me into a hug.
"Hey." I smile softly. "Did you sneak away from camp?"
"It's Sunday, so they didn't notice. But yeah." He laughs lightly.
"How are you feeling?" Jeremy asks, hugging me next.
"I'm okay. I slept more than I thought I would. Or could."
"I'm glad. You need to keep up your strength. Rylie would want that."
"I know." I reply with a genuine smile. "Thanks for being here. Both of you."
"The others will be here too, I just wanted to get the update." Jeremy says.
We follow Rylie's parents to the front desk, where they direct us upstairs to a new floor. We only have to wait in the waiting room for a few minutes before Rylie's doctor finds us.
"Rylie made it through the night." He jumps right in, and I feel the huge wave of relief course through me.
Thank God.
"She's still not completely in the clear, and she still hasn't woken up, but she's doing much better than we initially expected. Her progress is rather surprising."
"Oh, thank God." Kristen echoes my thoughts, and I can hear the emotion in her voice. I briefly wonder if this would have been any easier on her had she and Rylie not reconnected.
That's not fair, Aspen. That's Rylie's mother. Of course it still would have been hard for her.
Brad's eyes are filled with tears, and it takes me a moment to realize mine are, too.
"I know we talked yesterday about moving her to a bigger hospital, and I think that is our best option. Charlotte would be ideal, as I believe they can best handle her situation and provide the car she needs. But, if that is too far, we can look into options closer to home if you'd like." The doctor continues.
"Charlotte is fine. We want the best option." Kristen says before turning to Dillon. "You have a brother there, right?"
Dillon nods. "I already spoke with him. He's happy to have us stay with him for as long as we need."
"Will Charlotte work for you, Brad?" Kristen asks softly.
"That's fine. I can make the drive and book a room if needed."
"Actually, that won't be necessary. My brother insists you stay with us, too. He's expecting you to bring the boys, as well. He has two sons of his own that would get along great with the triplets."
"And," Kristen cuts in. "It will give the boys more time to get to know Harper. If that's alright, of course."
Brad's eyes soften. "That is very kind of you and your brother, Dillon. Thank you. I'll have to smooth out a few things at work, and with my mom, but I'll see what we can do."
"She could probably use a vacation." Kristen suggests, and Brad's eyes flash with surprise, which Kristen notices. "I know she really stepped in when..." She pauses, taking a breath. "When I left. Maybe she can finally take a vacation while we're in Charlotte."
"I think she'd appreciate that. Although I'm not sure how relaxing it will be with the worry of Rylie on our minds."
"Oh. Right." Kristen says, and her face falls. "Anyway," She says, turning back to the doctor. "Charlotte will be perfect." Suddenly, her eyes land on mine. "That's where she and Aspen live, too." A small but genuine smile rests on her lips, and I'm suddenly overwhelmed with emotion.
She truly does care.