24 | mend love

HER EYES PARTED, taking in the bright light of the hospital room just before they closed and opened again. Once she adjusted to the light, she was able to see Adrik and Marina sitting in a chair just beside her bed. She gazed down at her baby and still couldn't believe she was real. It felt like it was a dream, but no matter how hard she pinched herself, Mariana and Adrik were right there.

Avelina moved her hand, grasping Adrik's attention. He looked at Avelina with a smile before standing up and holding out Marina for her to take. She giggled as she pulled her baby to her chest, smiling down at her. If only Miss Paola could see how beautiful she was.

Suddenly, Avelina looked around the room, hoping to see the loud woman and her fierce ebony eyes. As she searched the room, she quickly noticed that there was no one to be found other than Adrik. A frown came across her face.

Miss Paola was going to kill Avelina for not giving her time to be present for her child's birth. She could just hear her yelling about how she should've held that baby in her stomach until Miss Paola was able to be there.

"Miss Paola... she's on the way, right?" she asked Adrik.

"No," he answered. She sharply turned to him with her brows furrowed.

"Why not?" she questioned.

"She is sick and weak," he answered. Her heartbeat was skyrocketing. Not only could see feel it in her chest, but she could hear it.

"What are you talking about?" Avelina demanded. "Did she say that?"

Before Adrik could open his mouth, the nurse entered the room. She held a kind smile on her face as she gazed at Avelina and the baby. The nurse was completely oblivious to the obvious tension in the room.

"You know, Mom, babies thrive more with skin-to-skin contact," the nurse said, heading over to her. She allowed the nurse to help her with her hospital gown just before gently laying the baby belly-down on her chest.

Despite her mind going crazy with different scenarios about Miss Paola, she couldn't help but swoon at the sight of her baby girl's face.

After the nurse checked Avelina's vitals, she left the room.

"Cheyenne did. She mentioned she was Miss Paola's daughter," Adrik answered.

Her heart dropped to her feet. It was all beginning to make sense. From Miss Paola taking time out to visit her daughter, someone who once told her she wanted nothing to do with her, to the urgency the other night on the phone to speak with Avelina. She didn't want it to be true.

"Can you hand me your phone please?" Avelina asked, holding out her hand. She was still exhausted from giving birth. Not to mention, the pain medicine was wearing off, so she was really starting to feel it more and more with each passing second.

The only thing that kept her going was knowing that Miss Paola would do the same for her if the roles were reversed. The one person she could always count on and who was always right by her side, pushed her to grab the phone from Adrik's hand and dial Miss Paola's number.

The phone rang. It rang and it kept ringing. Not too long after, someone picked up the call.

"Hello?" Cheyenne's voice came across the phone's speaker. She recognized it from the countless times Miss Paola would try to reach out to her and only receive a voice recording of how she couldn't get to the phone and to leave a message after the beep.

"Cheyenne? I'm not sure if you've heard about me or anything, but this is Avelina. I really need to speak to Miss Paola—"

"Avelina? Yes, I've heard all about you. Thank you for watching over Momma," she said. There was a sense of longing in her voice that Avelina couldn't help but not ignore.

"It was no problem, really. She's done more for me than anybody in my entire life," Avelina said honestly.

She still couldn't understand what Miss Paola could've possibly done to push away her own daughter. Miss Paola was the best mother she never had.

"I've heard. She never stopped talking about you, you know." Cheyenne chuckled. "I got jealous the first time she came to visit because it was like you were all she could talk about. At the time, I wouldn't allow myself to be grateful for her having someone who could look after her..." she sniffled. "Now, I am just so damn grateful."

I could hear her sob through the phone. A tear came to Avelina's eye as she stared off at absolutely nothing. Something was off, she could feel it.

Adrik walked over to Avelina and grabbed the baby from her. Her breast was practically exposed so Adrik helped her fix it. He seemed to sense all of the nerves poking at Avelina.

He sat back down in his chair with their baby glued to his chest, staring at her, admiring her.

"What..." Avelina hesitated, not wanting to hear the answer. "...happened?"

"Momma was sick, Avelina. She was sick for years and never got treatment, never told a single person, and never done a damn thing about it. The only form of treatment she agreed to was a caregiver—you," Cheyenne answered. The word 'was' hung in the air, and Avelina's heart physically broke at the sound of it.

"Was?" her voice cracked.

"I'm so sorry!" Cheyenne sobbed.

"No," she said in disbelief. "What kind of sickness—"

"Pancreatic cancer. Doctors predicted it to have ended her life months ago since it was left untreated, but she survived this long," she explained.

"I-I just don't understand," she began with tears rolling down her cheeks and waiting to spill from her glassy eyes. "Why wouldn't she tell me?"

There was silence on the phone. Avelina could hear the sounds of muffled sobs and she knew it was Cheyenne doing her best to contain herself. It was hard enough to hear about Miss Paola as a best friend... never mind being her daughter. If she wasn't so hurt herself, she would've done her best to console Cheyenne.

Cheyenne sniffled. "There's something she wanted you to have. Is there any way you can come down to the hospital? So you can say your goodbyes?"

Avelina looked around the hospital room and managed to capture Adrik's gaze. She knew she couldn't leave, but that didn't mean Adrik couldn't.

"I just had my baby," Avelina answered sadly. It was like it still wasn't hitting her as much as she thought it would. Like her heart numbed itself to keep from falling into a state of depression. She had a baby to stay strong for.

She wiped her tears and sniffled. "I'll send my boyfriend, if that's okay. Can you text me the address? He will be there shortly."

"Yes, of course. Congratulations on your baby," she said and hung up the phone. Avelina handed the phone back to Adrik.

"Adrik..."

"Avelina..."

"I really need a hug right now," she told him.

Just when she thought she could be strong, it all came crashing down on her again. Miss Paola should've been there, right beside her, cracking the most inappropriate jokes. She was supposed to be holding Marina, going on and on about how beautiful she was.  Miss Paola needed to be there. Avelina needed her.

"I will hug you," Adrik said. He carried the baby around her bed and carefully placed Marina into her carrier. Once she was safely in the carrier with her eyes closed and sleep covering her like a warm blanket, he turned to Avelina.

He sat down beside her on the bed and softly wrapped his arms around her. Avelina couldn't help but sob against his chest as he held her, carefully combing through her strands of hair with his fingers and telling her that everything would be okay.

"I'm really sad, Adrik," she cried.

"Everything will be okay," he repeated. It wouldn't. It wouldn't be okay without Miss Paola. She didn't say anything, though. One thing she learned about him was how he picked up on behavior by observing it. It was probably something he learned from a movie or song.

"She was the only person who really understood me," Avelina said. "It's just too sudden. It doesn't make sense. I didn't get the chance to tell her goodbye. I-I didn't even... I didn't even get to see her. Oh my God!"

The physical pain from giving birth was nothing compared to the emptiness swallowing her heart. Adrik only held her tighter, and she was grateful to feel his heartbeat strumming against her, almost as if he were begging her own heart to join him.

"I just want to tell her how much I love and appreciate her," Avelina cried.

Just in time, Adrik's phone dinged. They both looked at it to see the familiar number along with an address written beneath it.

Slowly, Avelina pulled away to wipe her tears. "Can you please go and tell Miss Paola that I had the baby, and she's healthy, and beautiful. Tell her that I love her."

"I do not wish to leave you alone," Adrik stated.

"Please," she begged.

Adrik glanced at the door. He seemed to be in deep thought before looking back over at Avelina.

"Yes. I will send someone to watch over you and Marina," he answered.

She cracked a sad smile, nodding her head.

"I love you," she whispered sadly.

"I love you. Do not cry anymore," he said.

She let him wipe her tears just before he pecked her forehead. He went over to Marina and did the same for her.

After sparring one last glance into the room, he walked out of the door.

—

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Hi babies! This story hit one million reads not too long ago and I was in shock. You guys really love this Care duet, and for some reason, I get so much anxiety with this story and I'm not sure why. Care was such a success and I want Mend to be just as amazing, but it's kinda overwhelming me. I realized the more I try, the more I despite it. It's weird. I'm weird.

I start my senior year of high school soon which is more than exciting! By soon, I mean tomorrow lol.

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