Ellise let out a sigh, leaning against the wall as she watched different people move around in a lively manner. The whole place was nicely decorated. Men and women of high class moved about with glasses of champagne in their hands.
She sighted Valentino in the far corner of the hall. He didn't look happy despite the fact that a celebration was going on. Noelle was standing beside him with her head on his shoulder as she talking to him. Ellise watched him sigh and embrace her, his eyes slipping close. She felt a painful jolt in her heart watching them embrace. She could picture herself in Noelle's position with her Dre replacing Val. It was so hard to look at her husband's brothers and not break down. At the other end of the hall stood Xanthis, he looked just as gloomy as Valentino. Tasha had embraced him from behind, whispering something in his ear. Flashbacks of her doing the same to Dre appeared in her mind and she bit her lips trying to stop the tears. A strangled sob escaped her lips and Amelia turned to look at her.
"Ellie-" she whispered.
Unable to hold back the tears, she ran off to the washroom.
Dre's birthday.
She was in the washroom bawling her eyes out when she was supposed to be celebrating her husband's birthday with his brothers.
The pain in her heart felt like it wouldn't go away.
It had been roughly eight months since she saw her husband's emerald green eyes. Eight horrible months since her husband was placed on life support. It hurt so much.
Even now, she couldn't seem to get over the horrid pain that exploded in her chest each time she looked at her children. There was a knock on the door and she quickly wiped the tears off, splashing cool water on her face. "El?" Amelia said, still knocking on the door.
She sniffled and unbolted the door, letting her in.
"Oh, El. Come here" Amelia said, moving closer to Ellise who turned to look at her.
She was pretty sure that she looked like a mess. Her nose was pink, cheeks flushed, eyebags clearly visible with her mascara ruined.
"Dre wouldn't want to see you like this, you know" Amelia said, embracing her friend. At the mention of his name, the tears began to spill once again.
"It's okay, let it out" she whispered. Ellise sobbed harder, her body trembling under the weight of her grief.
"Do you feel better?" She asked after she'd cried until she had no strength left to cry anymore.
She nodded her head.
She didn't know if she would ever feel better.
"C'mon, Your kids need their mum" Amelia said and Ellise began to wash off the ruined make up.
She wiped her face clean with a handkerchief. They both left the washroom and went back to the hall.
Xanthis walked up to her, concerned. Up close, he looked far worse than she thought. He was hurting just as much as she was.
"Are you okay?" He asked.
"No" she replied honestly.
His gaze softened.
"I understand, none of us are. I just..... I just wish this was just a nightmare and that I would wake up from it and realize that it wasn't real" he said.
She sighed again.
"Too bad it's actually real" she shrugged.
"I'm going to see Dre at the hospital" she said and he nodded.
"Val and I were about to go there too. Do you need a lift?" He said and she nodded.
"Let's go, then" he said.
Alicia was standing just outside the hall. "Ellie" she said, hugging her.
"Are you doing okay?" She asked. "I'm not" she replied, tiredly.
"It's okay to feel like that. I felt just as bad when I thought I'd lost Alessio. A woman's strength is her husband but there are times when she needs to be her own strength. My son wants you to be strong for him. Take care of yourself and your kids. Everything will be fine, I believe" she said and Ellise gave her a small smile.
Alicia embraced Val and Xan one after the other, speaking to them in Italian language.
They both kissed her cheeks and followed her to the car.
Xanthis drove while a heavy silence rested on them.
When they got to the hospital, they got out of the car. Ellise fiddled with the white rose she'd brought her husband as well as his birthday gift. Xanthis wanted her to go in first, so she did.
He was still as lifeless as the first time she'd visited him but he looked thinner and more frail. Everyday for the past eight months, she would come in to shave his beard and clip off his nails. He still looked as handsome as always but there was no denying the truth. The truth that his health was deteriorating. The truth that her husband was dying and she might never get the chance to tell him goodbye.
"Please Dre don't leave me. You can't leave me, Dre. Seeing you like this is killing me. You're breaking my heart, D. Everything is so hollow without you. It hurts to breathe without you. Today's your birthday. I want to tell you how much I'm proud of you. You've always protected me, loved me and cared for me. I don't want it to end because no one else can love me like you do. I love you, Dre....." She choked out, tears blurring her vision.
"This is not how our story ends. This is not how-"
She froze when she felt his fingers move against hers in a way that was almost unnoticeable.
Blinking away the tears, she stared at him. There was no movement. She broke down again, kissing his free hand.
"Happy birthday, my love. Happy birthday" she croaked, brushing his hair away from his face.
Suddenly, the machines started to beep so noisily, two doctors and two nurses rushed in.
"There's no heart beat......."
"We're loosing him........"
"Charge......."
"Clear......"
Ellise was so close to hyperventilating as those words were processed by her brain.
"You should leave" one of the nurses said to her.
She refused to move, fear paralysing her as she watched them try to restart her husband's heart. She watched as Dre's back arched on the bed, his body going limp.
She let out a scream, moving past the nurse to get to Dre as they kept trying to restart his heart. Someone grabbed her and held her as she struggled to get to Dre.
"It's okay, it's okay. Come on, let's go"
It was Val who was leading her out of the room as she continued to stare at her husband.
She cried and sobbed against Val's chest after they'd left the ward.
She wanted to go back.
She wanted to see Dre but they wouldn't let her.
Xanthis' blue eyes were bloodshot and Val's green eyes were just as bloodshot. After they managed to calm her down, she sat on the bench and pulled out her phone. She called CeCe to make sure that her kids were okay.
"They're all tucked away in their cots asleep" was her reply.
Ellise told her what had happened and CeCe broke down into tears as she comforted her the way she could. It was ten minutes past ten at night when the doctor told them that Dre had been stabilized and that she could see him later. Ellise was anxious and nervous because she'd just come very close to loosing him forever.
Few minutes past eleven that night, she was sitting by Dre's bedside, talking randomly. Initially, the doctors didn't want to let her in because it was past visiting hours but they had to consider her after she'd pleaded with them severally.
The stress of everything she'd been through was weighing down on her. She was exhausted and sleepy but she kept talking to him, pretending that he was awake and could hear her. She knew Val and Xan were at the door watching her but she didn't care.
She saw his fingers twitch in her hand but she was too tired to react to it. She didn't think it was possible for him to wake up hours after he'd flat lined. His fingers twitched again and she gasped, realizing that his eyelashes were fluttering too.
"Dre, can you hear me? My love, can you hear me?" She said, stroking his hair. He let out a sound somewhere in between a moan and a grunt. Her heart was pounding faster against her rib cage. Val and Xan were now standing beside her, watching Dre. His eyelashes fluttered a bit more and slowly fell open.
"Oh my God!" Ellise gasped as his glazed eyes gazed into hers.
Val sped out of the ward to get the doctor.
"You're awake" Xan breathed, tears of relief filling his eyes as he held onto Dre's hand.
Dre shifted his gaze to look at his brother, emotions swimming in his emerald orbs.
The door opened and the doctor burst in. "You are one lucky young man, Mr Montero" he said as he took off the oxygen mask. They watched as he checked Dre's vitals.
"He's doing great. Far better than he was. He won't be able to say anything yet until we take off the feeding tube"
Ellise nodded, tears of gratitude filling her eyes.
"Happy birthday, Dre" Ellise whispered.
He didn't smile but his eyes lit up like a thousand stars.
He squeezed her hand gently, not taking his eyes off her.
....
"Are you ready?" Ellie asked her husband as she helped him onto a wheel chair. She was finally leaving the hospital with her husband.
His survival and recovery was a miracle.
Due to how long he'd remained unconscious, his bones were stiff and his movements were painful. He had to go through several therapies. Xanthis helped Dre into the car, a giant grin on his face.
When they got home, Dre laid down on the king sized bed in his bedroom.
"Take care of my brother, El" Val said and she grinned, propping up the pillows behind Dre's head.
"Who else would do it?" She laughed.
"Wanna see our kids?" She asked suddenly.
"Yeah, I wonder how big they are now" he said with a smile.
"You'll see"
She walked to the door and opened it. Three adorable infants crawled into the room.
"Oh my goodness, look at these adorable gems" Xanthis chuckled, picking up Gabrielle.
Ellie laughed and placed Jullian and Giovanni on the bed. They crawled into their father's side, their heads on his chest.
Tears filled his eyes as he took them in his arms for the second time in his life.
"How-- how can they recognize that I'm their father?" Dre asked, his eyes glassy. Ellise smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"When you were still unconscious, I would bring them to you and make them lie on the bed, by your side. I didn't want to think of raising the children alone. I did so with the hope that you would come back to us" Ellise explained.
She leaned in and kissed him. Dre realized how much he'd actually missed this.
He was so glad he was back with his family.
Ellise moved closer to him and whispered in his ear.
"Have I told you how much I missed you?" She asked.
"Yeah, a dozen times" he said.
"Well, I'll keep saying it over and over again. I love you, Dre"
"I love you too, mi amor" he responded as she kissed him again.