Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Five

When they landed in San Francisco Ian took a cab straight to the hospital. Skylar didn't go with him and instead took a separate cab to his house to drop all their things off. She was worried, of course she was. How could sweet little Emily be in a coma? How could something like that happen to a child like her? It wasn't right.

The thing that bothered her the most was that she hadn't really offered much comfort to Ian on the plane. Yeah, she was extremely worried and could only imagine what Ian, as Emily's father, was feeling at that moment. But she didn't know how to comfort him. She didn't know what else to say besides telling everything was going to be okay. And she knew that any other girlfriend would have known what to say. But she wasn't one of them. And she hated that. She'd always had a hard time comforting other people. It just wasn't in her to know the rights words to say. Unlike Ian who had helped her so much when she'd broken down. He'd known what to say and do. There were two types of people in this world apparently.

When Ian arrived at the hospital he quickly paid the cab driver and rushed inside. He asked for Emily and was directed toward the wing she was in. And when he reached it, he saw his parents sitting in the waiting room. They looked at him with looks that said they felt sorry for him.

His mother was the first one to say anything as she hugged him. "Oh, honey, she's going to be okay."

But was she? She was just a child. All he wanted was to talk to a doctor and know for sure how bad her condition was.

"Where is she?" he asked. "I want to see her." It took a lot for him not to start crying. No. He had to be brave for his little girl. He wouldn't think the worst. Not right now.

"Christina is in the room with her right now," his mom explained. "Poor thing, she's been crying so much. She's really worried about Emily."

"Yeah, well so am I," he snapped. "And I want to see my daughter."

One of the nurses led him to Emily's room. His heart broke at the sight of his unconscious daughter on the bed. Christina sat next to her holding Emily's hand. Her face was blotchy and her eyes had dark circles. She looked as if she was in pain. But Ian understood, because so was he.

"You're here," Christina said, a look of relief washing over her.

Ian took cautious steps towards Emily as he took the sight in. "I'm sorry for not answering sooner," he said, but he wasn't really paying attention to what he was saying.

"It's understandable," she said. "What matters is that you're here now."

"What exactly happened?" he asked.

"She fell off one of the swings at the park," she explained. "I'm so sorry, Ian. I was there. I was watching her. But all of a sudden she was on the ground and she wasn't moving." Tears started to stream down her face.

"Calm down," he said walking over to her, taking her into his arms as she cried.

"It's my fault," she said. "I try to come back into my daughter's life and this happens. Maybe it's a sign that there is no forgiveness for someone like me. I'm a terrible mother."

Ian hugged her tighter. He didn't believe that. Sure, at first he'd been weary of her and didn't believe she had good intentions, but now...well, now he thought differently. He'd noticed just how much Christina loved Emily, and she made his daughter happy. "No, you're not," he said. "This isn't your fault. Accidents happen. But what is her condition?"

"Well," Christina said pulling away and trying to compose herself, "she has a concussion. She's in a coma, still hasn't woken up. Doctor said he won't know exactly how bad her condition is until she wakes up. But she's stable."

That was a good thing. She was out of immediate danger and that was what mattered. It made him feel better to know that. His little princess would be alright. Of course she wasn't awake yet, but she would wake up eventually, right? She had to.

"She's going to be okay," he said reassuringly, more to himself than to her.

Christina nodded. "We just have to pray."

By the time Skylar got to the hospital it was close to noon. She'd changed into something comfortable, jeans and a baggy hoodie that belonged to Ian, knowing that she would probably be spending a while in the hospital. She didn't want to leave Ian alone in this situation. She was already bothered that she'd spent a while without him.

She's texted Ian to let him know that she was there and he quickly went out to meet her. He didn't seem as broken as he'd been earlier. His eyes were brighter, and he seemed happier. They embraced quickly and then went back into the hospital.

"How is she?" Skylar asked.

"She's stable," Ian explained. "But they won't know how bad her head injury is until she wakes up."

She squeezed his hand and looked at him hopefully. "I'm sure she'll be just fine."

Ian led her to the waiting room, but paused before entering to warn her about his parents being in there.

"Oh." She had not been expecting that. "Well, now I feel nervous."

He gave her a warm smiled and leaned down to kiss her softly. "You'll be fine."

Hand-in-hand they walked inside. There were a few people in there, but she could easily distinguish who Ian's parents were. They both seemed to be in their sixties, dressed smartly. Their eyes looked her over and she felt self-conscious. What a great day to meet Ian's parents, huh?

"Mom, Dad," Ian began, "this is Skylar. My girlfriend."

"It's a great pleasure to meet you both," Skylar said, offering them a big smile.

Mrs. Rinaldi spoke first. "Hello, Skylar." But she didn't sound too happy to meet her.

Then Mr. Rinaldi spoke, with an accent that was obviously Italian. "Nice to meet you." But his pleasantness seemed forced.

Well. That wasn't at all awkward.

"Do you want to see her?" Ian asked noticing the awkwardness of the situation. It wasn't at all how he hoped it would go. Why couldn't his parents just try to be nice?

Skylar agreed eagerly and followed him into the room where Emily was in. She quickly noticed that Christina was there, but it did not bother her. Of course she was there, she was Emily's mother. When Skylar walked into the room Christina smiled at her and got up to greet her with a hug.

"Hi, Skylar," she said. "I'm glad you're here."

Skylar nodded. "How is she?"

"Well, she's not in any danger," Christina explained. "We just don't know how it affected her because she hasn't woken up yet. But she will. Soon." She sounded really hopeful.

Skylar didn't know how to reassure her in a kind way. She really did want Emily to get better, really. But, like before with Ian, she couldn't really find the right way to comfort her in a non-cheesy way. It just wasn't in her. So she just nodded and said, "Of course she'll be okay, Christina."

After about an hour in the hospital Skylar decided to go find some coffee in the cafeteria. She really needed it. Everyone else was in the waiting room, and Ian's parents still didn't seem all too happy about her presence. But she noticed that they were really nice to Christina. But she couldn't really blame them. They cared about Ian and probably just didn't think she was good enough.

"Do you want anything?" she asked Ian before going.

"A bottle of water would be nice," he said.

She nodded and started to make her way when Mrs. Rinaldi stopped her. "Hold on, I'll go with you."

Of course she was surprised. She hadn't really thought his mother would want to be anywhere near her. Much less be alone with her. But she let his mom accompany her nonetheless. For a while they didn't say anything, both just walking side-by-side in silence. But when they reached the cafeteria Mrs. Rinaldi finally spoke up as Skylar paid for the cup of coffee and bottle of water.

"Why are you with my son?" she asked bluntly.

Skylar was taken aback by the question. Why was she with Ian? "I love him."

The older woman sighed in exasperation. "Girls your age always fall in love."

She raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that girls like you will always fall for the first guy to be nice them. It's not even real love, it's just the idea of being in love that has you girls going crazy. But soon some other guy will come along and you'll leave my son. And then you'll do the same thing to the other guy or he to you. And so on and so on. But it's a learning process, and one day you might find your true love. But I can assure you my son isn't the one. So save yourself and him the pain." The way she said it sounded like she knew from experience, and Skylar wondered how many men she'd be 'in love' with before marrying Ian's father.

Skylar wasn't having any of it. "I can assure you that I truly do love your son. And trust me when I say I've learned my lesson." Because Mrs. Rinaldi had been right about one thing. She had fallen for the first guy to be nice to her, but that had been Gregg and he had broken her in the end. She'd learned. But she knew what she had with Ian was real.

But Mrs. Rinaldi shook her head. "Maybe you have. But life isn't perfect. You don't belong with Ian. I'm sorry but it's the truth."

"Mrs. Rinaldi, I-"

"It's Amelia," she corrected. "And you need to open your eyes and see that my son has a daughter. And my granddaughter's mother is back. Christina truly has changed. She has bettered herself. Can't you see it's a sign? Ian is meant to be with Christina. He's meant to be with his family. And Christina is a part of that. Not you."

Her words were like daggers. Everything she said made sense. But she didn't want to believe it. She loved Ian. And he loved her. They couldn't possibly be apart. "That's not...you don't understand...I..." But she couldn't get the right words out.

For the first time Amelia looked at her with kinder eyes, but eyes that seemed sorry. "Sweetie, you're so young. There will be other men. And maybe you really do love my son, and no one can blame you for that. But you're the brief burst of passion and excitement in his life, and soon enough he'll go back to what's comfortable. To what is easier."

At that point she was trying very hard to fight back tears. She didn't want to believe any of that, but it all just sounded so right. Like her happiness alongside Ian was only temporary. Maybe she'd never be able to love anyone else like she did Ian, but Ian could live on without her. He had his daughter to care for and make happy. And Christina really was a better person. She could make a good wife. But none of that could happen, right? They had to be together for a very long time. Or so she hoped.

"I know you don't want to believe any one of my words," Amelia said. "But just think about it, Skylar. You'll realize how right I am." Then she surprised Skylar even more by bringing her into a hug. "I'm sorry if I seem harsh, but you need to understand."

Amelia didn't say anything else after that, but she wasn't as rude anymore. That was something at least. But that didn't mean Skylar was more at ease. No. She felt terrible. Every single word still etched into her brain. She couldn't stop thinking about them. Not one bit. Even when Ian embraced her and told her just how much she meant to him. She just couldn't stop feeling so...so very damn sad.

"Are you okay?" Ian asked. They were both standing outside the room Emily was. Christina and his parents were inside with her. It was safe to say that she didn't feel comfortable being in there with everyone.

She gave him a small smile and nodded. "Yeah."

"No." He didn't believe her at all. "You're lying. What's wrong?"

But she just shook her head. "It's nothing, Ian."

"Skylar."

"Just let it go. Please."

Ian was stubborn and wasn't about to just leave her alone. Not while she seemed so down. "Skylar, something is bothering you and I need to know what it is."

"It doesn't matter," she snapped. "I think I'm just gonna leave."

Ian didn't like it when she was too stubborn to let him in. He also didn't like feeling annoyed. "Are you serious?" he demanded. "You're just going to leave because you don't want to tell me what's wrong? Nice, Skylar. Nice."

She didn't want to get angry. She was already pretty bummed out, anger wasn't going to make things any better. But damn it, why couldn't Ian understand she just wanted to be alone with her thoughts? "I guess I am," she said.

It was then that the door to Emily's room burst open and Amelia stepped out. "She's awake!"

In a flash Ian and Skylar entered the room to see a tired-looking Emily. But she was awake. The entire brightened up for everyone. Christina even cried more and hugged her tights. Skylar wanted to hug the little girl, but she didn't think Emily would appreciate that very much considering her attitude towards her lately.

Ian rushed over to her and hugged her tight as well. Both he and Christina looked at each other and smiled kindly towards each other. Then Ian wrapped his arms around Christina too, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

Amelia caught Skylar's eyes and slightly nodded her head as if to say, "You see what I mean?"

Looking at them Skylar saw it. They looked like a family. And Emily's face was full of happiness seeing her parents together next to her. She couldn't feel more like an outside at the moment. She didn't belong there. Not one bit. So what was she still doing there?

Two seconds later she was out the door and on her way outside to catch a cab. The whole way trying to hold back tears.