City Of Dreams Ch. 13

The last two weeks have been the greatest of my life. Not only was I married to the man of my dreams, but also my mom was back in my life! Gina and Austin had gotten us a room at the hotel for our wedding night. I had a very hot sensuous night with my husband. Just thinking about it now made my face turn tomato red. That man amazed me every time we had sex. He could write a flipping book! One of the best things has been all the time I’ve been able to spend with my mom. It was wonderful to get to know her. She is such a sweet and compassionate person. I had a blast showing her around the city and playing tour guide. Unfortunately she hasn’t been feeling well the past couple of days. We made her leave the hotel she was staying in and come stay at the apartment. This way I could take care of her. Of course everyone else pitched in and helped out.

I was lying across one of the couches sipping my coffee and having a smoke. I was watching one of my morning talk shows as Austin came into the living room.

“Morning, bro. How is it that you are always up before me?” he asked.

He stood next to the couch.

“I’m always up first cause you can’t get your lazy ass out of bed.” I said with a grin.

He motioned for me to move so he could sit down. I leaned up a bit giving him some room. As he sat down though I plopped my head down in his lap and made myself comfortable. This had actually become sort of a morning routine for us. Gina and Bailey could sleep forever, but Austin and I were always up early. It was always good bonding time for us.

Austin glanced at the TV.

“So is Kelly giving Regis hell again this morning?”

“I wouldn’t be watching it if she weren’t.”

Anyone that lived with us would have thought the conversation was scripted because we said that every morning. It was nice though. Comfortable. We sat through the rest of the show without talking. We just enjoyed each other’s company. The past few weeks Austin and I seemed to be getting closer. At first I thought that Gina or Bailey would be jealous of the bond Austin and I had formed, but they weren’t at all. The two of them seemed to have bonded in the same way Austin and I have. The four of us had really become a family. That meant so much to me because it was something I never got the chance to have but always wanted.

I heard movement in the kitchen and looked up to see my mom getting some coffee. I started to get up to help her, but she was already on her way into the living room.

“Lay back down, Miah, I’m fine. I am not an invalid. I’m just not feeling well honey.”

She smiled at me.

“I’m glad to know though that you are concerned about me baby.”

I grinned back at her. Bailey stumbled in and plopped down on the couch opposite us. You could tell that the boy was barely even awake. He glanced over at us.

“Austin, you better not be getting fresh with my husband over there.”

My entire body flushed with happiness. I loved hearing him call me that. I was a very lucky guy.

“I’m not getting fresh, B, besides, Miah is the one who put his head in my lap.”

Bailey shot me a look.

“If you feel something poking the back of your head you better remember that it’s not me, baby, I am the only person who gets to enjoy your talented…”

I cut him off quickly.

“Bailey! My mother is sitting right there. You just be quiet about what goes on behind closed doors.” My mother grinned at us.

“Your door may be closed, honey, but it isn’t sound proof. From what comes out of Bailey’s mouth you are obviously doing something right.”

Bailey turned the brightest shade of red. I’ve never seen him blush like that.

“If you stand by the door it’s almost like you are right next to them.” Austin said with a laugh.

I looked up at him.

“And how would you know that, bro?”

It was Austin’s turn to blush.

“Well…I was on my way to the kitchen to get something to drink and I can’t help it that you two were going at it like rabbits and…”

I raised my hand up and put it over his mouth.

“Just hush, Austin, before you get your other foot stuck in your mouth.”

Bailey stood up and stretched and headed towards the kitchen.

“I’m going to make some breakfast for us.”

My mom stood up and followed him.

“I’ll help make sure you stay awake, Bailey.” She said with a laugh.

As they went into the kitchen I sat up and looked at Austin. He looked back and forth between the TV and me a few times, and I grinned at him.

“What, Miah?”

I licked my lips and giggled.

“Did you really stand by the door, Austin?”

He blushed again and looked away from me. I leaned over to look at him, but he moved up against the arm of the couch away from me. I moved over and tapped him on the shoulder. He ignored me. What the fuck? I tapped him on the shoulder again. His snapped towards me.

“What, Miah?” he snapped at me.

Oh shit. I shouldn’t have teased him about it. I put my arm around him and rubbed his shoulder.

“Don’t snap at me, buddy.” I said in a low, but kind voice. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

He sighed and looked away from me again.

“I did stand by your door, but not for very long. I couldn’t help it. It just sounded so hot. I am so fucking embarrassed.”

His face turned red again, and I could see the tears build up in his eyes. I reached over and turned his head. I looked him straight in the eyes.

“I’m sorry I teased you about it. I can understand you’re embarrassed, but why are you crying, bro?”

He tried to turn his head away again, but I kept my hand on his face. Our eyes locked together.

“Tell me, Austin.”

“I’m jealous.”

My eyes widened in shock.

“Austin…”

He interrupted me.

“Don’t misunderstand me, Miah, I’m not saying that in a sexual manner at all. It’s just that…”

His voice trailed off. I moved a bit closer to him and tightened my arm around him.

“It’s just what, bro?”

My voice was barely above a whisper.

“You mean a lot to me, Miah, I know we are friends…”

“Best friends.” I said interrupting him.

He smiled at me.

“I’ve had close friends before, but this is different. It’s hard to explain. I feel connected to you, Miah. To be honest, I was freaked out about it. I talked to Gina about it and she suggested I talk to Bailey. I would have done that even if Gina didn’t suggest it. I didn’t want Bailey or Gina to think I was trying to make a play for you or something because I felt drawn to you. I just wanted to be close to you.” He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “This isn’t coming out right.”

He might have thought it wasn’t coming out right, but I understood exactly what he was saying. Since day one Austin and I seemed to click. We had similar personalities and we seemed to be in sync a lot of the time. It was weird at first, but then it became comforting. It’s very rare to find a friend that you have so much in common with.

“I know what you mean, Austin, I understand completely.”

His face lit up with a brilliant smile. I didn’t want to ruin the moment, but I had to ask my question.

“Why are you jealous though?”

He looked down at his lap, and I was barely able to make out what he was saying.

“I was jealous because Bailey is able to show you how important you are to him. He shows you that you are special. I can’t do that the way he does. I know I must sound stupid, but you’re very important to me, Miah, and…I feel stupid.” He shook his head and wouldn’t look up at me. I leaned over and rested my forehead against the side of his head.

“You’re not stupid, Austin.” I whispered into his ear. “Don’t ever think that. I don’t understand exactly what you are saying bro. I can feel the connection between us as well. You’re important to me too, Austin, and I love you as much as I love Bailey.”

He pulled back a bit and looked at me.

“What?”

I smiled at him.

“Bailey is the love of my life. He’s my husband and my best friend. I am totally in love with him. I love you just as much, but it’s a different kind of love. You fill a role in my life that Bailey isn’t able to fill.”

Austin looked at me with confusion written all over his face.

“What role is that?”

“My brother.” I said as I ruffled his hair.

Austin wrapped his arms around me and laid his head on my shoulder.

“I love you, Miah, thank you.”

“I love you too, bro.”

* * *

Later that afternoon everyone in the apartment was sitting in the living room and watching a movie together. We had a blast. Just as the movie was finishing up Gina looked over and winked me. She stood up and headed towards the bathroom. I leaned back against Bailey a bit more and tried to relax. Gina and I had planned a huge joke. We planned on getting everyone at once. This was going to be a big one and I just hoped it worked. After about five minutes we heard Gina’s voice echoing down the hallway.

“Holy shit!” All of our heads turned to look at her as she came back into the living room. She was carrying something in her hands and looked shocked. Man she was good!

“Are you ok, honey? What’s wrong?” Austin asked.

Gina didn’t say a word. She just held up the object that was in her had. It was a pregnancy test. Silence engulfed the entire living room. Austin looked at Gina. His mouth flapped up and down but no sound came out. Gina just nodded her head. Bailey was the first one to say anything.

“You two are good. I will give you that. I never expected that either of you would be sneaky enough to pull this off.”

Everyone looked at him.

“Come on, guys, this would be the biggest joke the two of them ever pulled off. I have to admit that I am impressed.”

I looked at him and laughed.

“I can’t you believe you were on to us, B, either we are slipping or you overheard us talking about it.”

Bailey grinned at me.

“Ok. I’ll admit that I heard you talking about it. I warned everyone though. I couldn’t let you two get us again.”

I looked up at Gina. She still hadn’t said anything. Tears were filling up her eyes.

“Gina…”

My voice trailed off. Gina reached into her back pocket and took out the marker we bought to fill in the test with. It wasn’t opened. It was still in the package! Oh. My. God.

“I don’t know what I was thinking. I took it before I tried to color it in. Just to see you know. I…I can’t believe…”

I jumped off of the couch and raced over to her. Our eyes locked as she handed me the test. I looked down at the test and my eyes widened. My head snapped up and a huge smile was starting to form on my face.

“You’re…you’re pregnant.”

Gina nodded her head. A brilliant smile lit up her face.

Before I could say anything else a blur of motion shot past the corner of my eye. The next thing I knew Austin was in front of me lifting Gina up in the air. He was hooting and hollering.

“We’re gonna have a baby! We’re gonna have a baby!”

Gina was laughing and nodding her head. Austin put her back down and they kissed passionately. Bailey, Sara, and my mom came over and stood next to me.

“I can’t believe it!” Bailey said.

Everyone looked at him.

“Has anyone else realized that these two bitches still got us?”

He had a mock glare on his face. Everyone laughed.

“Miah and I are just that good B.” Gina said with a laugh.

My mom went over and hugged both of them.

“I am so happy for you two. Gina, you are going to be an amazing mom. Austin, I know you are going to a phenomenal dad! This is so…so….”

My mom’s voice broke off a bit and she swayed back and forth. I ran up to her and put my arm around her waist.

“Mom, are you ok?”

She was blinking her eyes trying to get everything back into focus.

“Yes, Miah, I just got really dizzy there for a second. I thought I was going to…” Before she could say anything else her body slumped against mine. She was out cold. My other arm shot out around her and I was barely able to stay standing. Bailey was right there though and helped me keep my balance.

“Mom….mom!”

She wasn’t waking up.

“We need to get her to the hospital. Now!”

I was practically yelling.

“Let’s get her downstairs to my car. It will take an ambulance too long to get here. There’s that hospital a few blocks down from us. I’ll go get the car started.” Austin said as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door.

I could barely breath. I felt like I was going to pass out myself. What the fuck is going on? Bailey moved over and scooped my mom up into his arms.

“Come on, guys, let’s go.”

We raced downstairs as fast as we could. Just as we walked out the front of the building Austin pulled up in his car. Somehow we managed to get everyone inside. Austin peeled rubber towards the hospital. Bailey had his arm around me.

“Everything is going to be ok, Miah, don’t worry.”

I appreciated his words, but I couldn’t stop the fear that was rising in my chest. Will everything be ok?

* * * Three hours later we were all still sitting in the waiting room at the hospital. They took my mom back almost immediately, but we hadn’t heard anything else. I was totally freaking out. Hospitals just aren’t my favorite place. I don’t know what it is about them, but they freak me out completely. I was pacing back and forth. Bailey came up to me and put his arms around me.

“Why haven’t the doctors come out yet, B? Why isn’t anyone telling us what is going on? I need to know what is going on!”

Bailey ran his hands up and down my back trying to soothe me.

“We’ll find out as soon as they know anything. I’m sure they are doing the best that they can baby. We’ll…”

A voice interrupted Bailey.

“Mr. Summers?”

I spun around to find a nurse standing in front of me.

“That’s me.”

“Can you come with me please, sir? The doctor would like to speak with you.”

I felt Bailey’s arms tighten around me once more and he let go.

“You want me to come with you, baby?”

I shook my head.

“I’ll be ok. Thank you, honey.”

I followed the nurse down the hallway and she led me into an exam room. The doctor was looking at x-rays on one of the light up screens that hung on the wall. He turned as we entered. The nurse quietly left the room and closed the door.

“Jeremiah?” He asked.

I nodded my head. He put his hand out and I shook it.

“I’m Dr. MacGregor. Please call me James.”

His name seemed so familiar, but I just couldn’t seem to place where I knew the name.

“I know you must be wondering what took so long, but we needed to run another MRI before we really could distinguish what is going on.”

“What’s wrong with my mom?” James motioned for me to sit down. As I sat down he pulled a chair over and sat down facing me.

“Your mom has a tumor in her brain, Jeremiah.”

I gasped. I must have thought a million different reasons on why she would pass out, but this certainly was not one of them.

“Can you operate? There’s something you can do right?”

James locked his eyes with mine.

“We took the second MRI to make sure we had everything correct, Miah, the tumor is buried slightly in her brain. With the way it’s positioned we wouldn’t be able to operate. If we tried to remove the tumor it would actually damage the brain even more.”

I could hear the compassion in his voice. It helped a little bit, but it certainly wasn’t making things any easier. I could feel the tears building up in my eyes.

“How long…” I managed to say before my throat closed.

He leaned over and grabbed my hands.

“When we got the results from the second test, Miah, the tumor had grown. I really wish there was something I could do but…”

I managed to find my voice and I interrupted.

“How long do we have, James?”

I could see pain in his eyes.

“With the rate of growth we observed, Miah, I would say a few hours. I’m so sorry.”

My mouth opened, but before I could say anything a sob ripped through my body. James pulled me to my feet and wrapped his arms around me. He didn’t say anything and I appreciated that. There was nothing he could have said that would have eased my pain.

“Can I see her?”

James nodded.

“Of course. I’ll go in with you. I haven’t had the chance to meet your mom yet. The doctor that was handling her case had called me down to look at the test results.”

“I’ll meet you back here ok? I need to go talk to the people that are here with me first.”

“That’s fine. I’ll meet you right at the nurses station.”

“Thank you.”

I turned and walked out the door. I headed straight back to the waiting room. I don’t know how I was even able to get back there without walking into anything. Tears blurred my vision completely. As I walked back into the waiting room all four of them jumped to their feet and rushed over to me.

They all saw my face and no one said a word. Bailey rushed over and pulled me into his arms.

“Miah…”

I sobbed against his chest. This wasn’t fair. I just got her back and now she’s being taken from me again.

Austin, Gina, and Sara crowed around the two of us.

“What’s happening, bro?” Austin asked as he rubbed my back.

I was barely able to talk.

“It’s a….there’s a…in her head…”

Bailey’s soft voice carried over us.

“There’s a tumor in her brain.”

I nodded my head. “What are they going to do?” Gina asked.

I held back another sob that threatened to rip through my body.

“There’s nothing they can do, Gina, the position makes it inoperable. The doctor said it’s growing and she only has a few hours left…”

My voice broke off. I didn’t know how I was going to handle this. Everyone was hugging me now and no one really said anything. I understood though. There really wasn’t anything they could say. As I was trying to compose myself something clicked in my head from the conversation we just had. I stepped back a bit and looked at Bailey. His eyes locked with mine.

“How did you know it was a tumor? I didn’t say anything…”

I could see him gulp and he licked his lips.

“I…”

My eyes flared with anger. I interrupted him.

“You knew didn’t you?”

Bailey didn’t say a word. He just nodded his head.

“This entire time you’ve known why she was sick. You knew what was fucking going on and you didn’t tell me??”

My voice had gotten louder by the end of my question.

“Baby, she already knew what was going on. She knew there was nothing that could be done. She didn’t want you to know. Your mom didn’t want the time you two had together to be sad. She…”

He reached over to hug me, but I stepped back.

“Don’t touch me.”

The look on his face would have made you think I just slapped him.

“Miah…”

“Just shut up. I can’t believe you would keep something like this from me. You should have fucking told me. Yes, things might have been sad, but unfortunately it’s a sad situation. Instead of knowing about what was going on and trying to deal with it I had to find out this way. I had to find out about it when my mom collapsed in my arms. A doctor had to tell me what the fuck was going on, and I should have fucking heard it from you.”

Complete silence engulfed us. No one said a word. The three of them looked back and forth between Bailey and me.

“I have to go see her.” My voice broke off a bit. “There isn’t much time.”

Bailey stepped forward to go with me, but I put my hand up.

“No. You stay here with everyone. This is something I have to do alone.”

Bailey’s eyes filled with tears.

“Miah…I’m sorry.”

I locked eyes with him.

“Yeah, I’m sorry too, Bailey.”

I turned and walked away from the group without saying another word. How could he know and not tell me?? I understand my mother wanting to keep it a secret, but this isn’t something you should keep from people. I didn’t think this situation could be any worse. Obviously I was greatly mistaken.

“Miah! Miah, wait!”

I spun around at the sound of Austin’s voice. He came running up to me.

“I know you said you wanted to be alone, but I thought I could at least wait outside the room. In case you needed anything.”