Page 42 of Fixing Emilee

“Emilee, are you there? Emilee?” my brother’s voice comes through, laced with regret and sadness.

Parker walks around the corner and is by my side in an instant. His arms wrap around me as my knees give out, and he has to catch me. He moves us to the couch, grabbing my face to make me look at him. I feel the color drain from my face as the room spins.

“A-dam,” I stutter into the phone.

“Sissy…”

“Emilee, what’s wrong? What the fuck is going on? Breathe, baby, you aren’t breathing.” Parker screams at me, but I can’t focus on anything other than Adam’s voice coming through the phone, bringing my world to a screeching halt.

“Sissy, you need to come home… You need to come back now.”

“W-.”

“It’s Dad, sissy. He’s dying, and it’s only a matter of hours before we lose him forever.” He finally says what my body knew was happening.

“No! Adam, you are wrong. Stop, this isn’t funny. I just saw him three days ago, and he was fine. There has to be some mistake… there has to be.” A sob breaks loose as more tears fall down.

“No, Sissy, there’s no mistake. Hospice says time is running out. They said it would be a miracle if he held on for the next twenty-four hours.”

Someone pours cold water over me, steals all the air from the room, and rips my heart out. This can’t be fucking happening. Twenty-four hours is all I have left? I’m only twenty-three, and I’m not ready to lose my father. Parker’s warm hand brings me back from the edge of darkness as he pulls my phone from my hands. Placing it on speakerphone, I hear Adam repeat what he just told me. I snap out of it when I hear Levi’s name.

“Oh god, Levi. What are we going to do?” I say, grabbing Parker’s hands in a death grip.

“I’m calling the Red Cross next. I don’t care what he is running from in this town. He needs to come home. We have to bring him back, Sissy, no matter what,” Adam says.

“Call us if you need us. We are getting in the car now and heading that way. We will be there soon, Adam,” Parker says, jumping up and into action. My phone sits on the couch beside me.

“Adam… tell him… tell him I love him and to please hold on until I get there. He can’t leave without knowing how much…”

“I will, Sissy, and he knows. He has always known how much you love him, just like he always told you how much he loved you. Just hurry, please. Hurry.” He hangs up as the tears fall, and a sob breaks through my gritted teeth. How did this joyous day go to the worst day of my life in an instant?

Parker has our bags packed and is standing in front of me within ten minutes. He pulls me up off the couch and into his arms. “I’m so sorry, Butterfly. Let’s get you home so you can say goodbye,” he says as I cling to his shirt, crumbling inside. I’m heading back to say goodbye.

“So we can say goodbye,” I whisper.

“Yeah, baby, so we can,” he repeats.

Pulling back, I hand him the pregnancy test. His eyes go wide with shock as he stares at the little stick that, at this point, doesn’t feel so great. “I’m pregnant, and my dad is going to die before he gets to see the baby,” I say as another huge sob is pulled from my chest, hurting my throat.

“Oh, baby girl. I’m so sorry, but he will watch over us all. He will never leave us.” He holds me until I get my crying under control.

Within two hours, we are pulling up at my childhood home.

Twelve hours later, I whisper to the only father I’ve ever had, “If you have to go now, I understand. Don’t hold on anymore, Daddy. I love you.”

Four hours later, we all stand around as my dad takes his last breath.

On September 12th, I gave birth to a beautiful baby boy naming him George, after the man who pushed me to save my life.

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