The Children Of Rage & Love (Sequel to Give Me Novacaine), chapter 6

"What Happened?!?" Carlos stormed into the ICU waiting room.
"She had a heart attack. What do you think!?" I cried.
"WHY?!" He demanded.
"Where's Rosa?! Our mother is in the fucking ICU, and she doesn't give a rat's ass to come check on her?!" I said, noticing that our dear baby sister was nowhere in tow.
"She didn't need to. She didn't put our mother in critical condition!" Carlos sneered.
"Oh, and I suppose I made her have that first stroke, too! You Cumshitters don't give a fuck if our mother is rotting away in a nursing home just waiting for her babies one hour visit! But the second she might die, you come in high and mighty, ready to blame it all on me! Tell me Carlitos if my mom had been with you instead of me, what would you have done?! Somehow found a way to blame it on me right?! Because I'm yours and Rosie's fucking scapegoat. I clear no one's concious, not even my own, so don't come bursting in here, making a scene about how it was me who put the stress on my mom. If you even gave a shit you would have been there to help me help her!!!" I screamed before pushing my baby brother on the floor and stomping to my mother's room or at least in front of it, anywhere to get away from that fucking asshole.

The doctor's had been in the room with my mom for hours trying to stabilize her. I took a peek in her room from a window that only made me want this to be a nightmare. The tubes shoved down her throat, all the needles in her arm, and the constant beeping of the machine to let us know she was still alive, even if just barely. After I stuck my head back in, I didn't have the nerve to look back there, I needed someone to be there, and hold me, to tell me it would all be okay. Then, if it wasn't, do something to make me feel better. What was great was the one person who would always do that no matter what was my daddy, and he wasn't here anymore. This made me feel even worse. I kicked the wall in front of the room, and it ended up dented with a black skid mark running along it. I walked to the elevator, so I could go down to the lobby, and use my cellphone to call one of my friends, and hopefully they would be able to come down here to join me in my tear fest. I pushed the button to go down, and waited. I was just about to leave, when the elevator doors finally dinged open, and before I could leave, I grabbed the person who had walked out of the elevator, and cried into his chest.

At first Ubber didn't know how to react, so he tried pulling me away, which was not going to work because it just made me hold onto him tighter. So he finally got the clue, and just held me, rocking me gently back and forth, stroking my hair, trying to soothe me. But he just reminded me of all the times my mother would calm me, and I completely lost it.
"I'm so scared Ubber. I can't lose my mom. I can't handle that. I just lost my dad. I'm so scared. It's my fault. It's all my fault."
"Shhh, Veronica, don't worry about it. Your mom has handled worse. She'll make it out without a scratch, Okay? But it's not your fault. Don't say things like that."
"But it is! If I hadn't mentioned that stupid picture of my dad, and his other two kids, she wouldn't have had this fucking heart attack. I'm so stupid. I didn't think it would happen like that, Ubber. If she dies, everyone is gonna hate me." I couldn't handle taking the blame that it was my fault my mom had died.
"Wait... Your dad's other kids?" Ubber said pulling me away so he could make sure I wasn't mumbling.

I was embarrassed to have to repeat that. I had always made my father out to be the best kind of person there was. Never lied, cheated, hit, or screamed at my mother, or any of us. But this was a horrible exception, he'd kept half siblings from us, and in a way, inadvertently made my mom have a heart attack because of the sheer shock from hearing this.

I nodded my head shamefully and buried myself back into Ubber's chest clutching his t-shirt for dear life as he just dropped the subject and comforted me best he knew. He suggested we go to the waiting room to which I quickly fought against.
"Me and Carlos got into a major fight and I knocked his ass down for being a prick I really don't want to have to deal with his bullshit right now can we just stay with my mami?" I said pointing to the two chairs next to my mom's room. He nodded and let me lead the way, I held his hand tightly as we both sat and he immediately wrapped his arms around me for comfort. I felt so safe in his arms, almost as safe as I had with my parents and it was a bit nerve-making to know that my almost brother could make me have so many damn feelings for him. I blushed a bit at the thought of him holding me like this every day when I wake up and go to sleep. Then again that would be implying he would of been in my bed for more then then JUST a "sleep over". My mind was so busy being filled with thoughts of Ubber and guilt from my mother, that I didn't even know I had fallen asleep on Ubber's chest until he was shaking me awake.
"Vero wake up the doctor's want to talk to you." I opened my bloodshot eyes and tried to fix my disheveled hair, but I suppose it didn't matter since he was a paid professional and could deal with the fact that I looked like shit ran over twice.
"What is it? Is she OK? Will she make it?" I said sitting up straight when reality came back hitting me hard and reminding me why I was in this god forsaken place to begin with. The old worn out doctor smiled at me and calmed me down.
"No need to worry Miss Armstrong you're mother is in serious condition but she's a fighter I have no doubt in my mind that she'll be fine. I will allow two visitors at a time as long as you are quiet and let her get her rest. You may not want to see her though because she will not be able to talk seeing as she still has the feeding tube down her throat as she is clinically comatose and we are not certain of when she will wake." I didn't know what to say I felt like I had a tube down my own throat that I couldn't move so I just nodded and held Ubber's hand as I walked into my mother's room.

I wanted to run away and throw up when I first saw her. She was in the middle of the room with IV's inserted into her arms and a heart rate monitor on her finger she had an oxygen mask on and a thick tube jammed down her throat. It was getting to much to handle, just a few hours ago me and her were joking by the lake having a good time and now? She was unconscious with the constant beeping of a stupid heart rate monitor that was driving me insane.
"I can't be here." I quickly got up from her bedside and ran out of the room past the lobby, even though I heard my name being called out by everyone. I ran down one flight of stairs and out of the emergency room looking for my car in a frantic pace. The whole world felt like it was spinning I didn't know what to do. The sight of seeing my mother was to much for me to handle I couldn't take knowing that it was my fault and that beeping, that persistent beeping was the only thing that let me know she was still hanging in there! Not the shell of a woman who I had admired all my life laying down in that hospital bed, counting down her days. I was getting dizzy and I could feel my tears burning up again this was all just so much to swallow I found my jeep and sat in the driver seat car just closing my eyes and taking deep breaths to try and relax. But the only thing I saw when I closed my eyes was the image of my mom in the bed with a feeding tube down her throat because even if she was going to live it she sure as hell wasn't waking up any damn time soon. I wanted to cry but every time I started to I had a constant and worsening headache, that was making me want to hit something. I heard a knock on my window and I looked up and thankfully came face to face with a security guard and not any family or friends.
"Are you OK Miss? Would you like some help?" I slimed best I could and dried my eyes.
"No thank you sir I just.... I'm going home right now and get some rest, seeing as it's 2 in the morning."
"Are you sure? No one's hurt you?"
"Oh of course not! I'm just a little bit unstable because I've gotten no sleep whatsoever thank you for your concern Mister I'll just be leaving now though." I hurriedly turned on my jeep and backed out of the pretty much empty hospital parking lot. I had to leave I couldn't handle it, I was a horrible daughter.

<center>But then again since when Have I known that?</center>

I tried to follow after Vero but I got stopped by everyone waiting for me in the lobby.
"What happened?!"
"How's my mom?!"
"What's wrong with Greeny?"
"Why did she run out is Tia Natalie fine?" I was so overtaken by everyone's question I took three steps back and yelled at everyone.
"Will you guys shut the fuck up?! God dammit man! She's fine, Vero's fine too she's just in shock of everything and seeing her mom like that didn't help her guilt and she had to leave." Everyone took a big sigh of release except for Carlos who still wouldn't leave Veronica alone.
"It's just like her to run out when my mom needs her most."
"Y tu que?" Rocio said angrily.
"What do you mean and what about me?" He said in a defiant tone.
"Yeah why the fuck are you always taking the blame off of yourself and throwing it on everyone else?!" Jonathan asked.
"You too Rosa!" Hella added.
"What did I do?!" Rosie said defending herself."
"What did you do?! She's your mother and we were all here before you! What were you doing? Fucking a supervisor for a raise?" Joni said pissed at Rosa's lack of concern that her mother was in an emergency room.
"Well at least I would be able to! Your a fucking prude Johanna do you think any guy is going to be willing to stick around for you? Hell no! Celibacy is non existent now so get over yourself."
"Don't talk to my sister like that it's better for her to be a virgin then to have her be like you! Fucking a different guy every day, do you think anybody respects you OR your opinion of them?! Fuck no Rosa! so if anyone needs to get over themselves it's you!" I screamed at her.
"Why the fuck are you always stepping into my arguments I can handle myself so butt out!" Joni screamed
"You might want to try being grateful that he cares dumbass!" Muy yelled at our baby sister.
"EVERYONE BE QUIET!" We all turned to see an aging nurse who looked a little bit more the upset at all of us. "What's the reason for all this fighting? It better be damn good if your disturbing everyone here, I don't care how high profile your parents were they still respected others and I would have assumed they past that quality to their children." We all looked down ashamed at our actions, we really were slurring our parents reputation for being so close knit.
"We're sorry we're just a little upset over our aunt's condition." Jonathan tried to explain.
"Well I understand and that's fine, but if you were all going to end up fighting we could have given you a private room to wait in gladly, but for right now I am going to ask you to leave once and only once, if you don't I'm afraid I'll have to call security to escort you out.
"Like they would do anything." Carlos said trying to be defiant, I quickly shot him a death glare and returned to the middle-aged woman.
"We understand but can I just go in real quick to tell her we'll all be back tomorrow?" The woman smiled at me and agreed.
"Well seeing as how handsome and polite you are being. OK. But only five minutes." I flashed her my father's infamous smile that had luckily been passed down to me and thanked her as she led me to the room where Vero's mom was. She left me alone and reminded me she would be back in five minutes. I sat down next to her, it was an awkward thing for me to be there because even though I loved everyone in my life dearly I never really connected with anyone, not even Greeny which was why me and my emotions were totally out of sync.
"Hey there Tia." I said awkwardly, it felt even stranger to say it knowing the feelings I had for Veronica which made it feel like incest whenever I called her tia knowing my non-platonic feelings for her daughter. She didn't respond, and I didn't' expect her to.
"Well I just wanted to let you know we got kicked out, I know we're dumbasses right? But it's because Carlos just likes to give Veronica nothing but shit when he's to blame to. I know they're both your kids and don't get me wrong Carlos can be a good guy, he just needs to learn to be a man. It hurts Veronica a lot more then she lets on for her brother to think those things of her even when she knows that it's complete bullshit especially on days like today when everything seems wrong she somehow ends up believing everything anyone tells her. Well my time's almost up and I don't want to let anyone hear what I have to say so I just came in to tell you we'll be back tomorrow OK? So try and wake up for us especially for Vero we know she's not to blame but I think it would be best if you told her yourself, she's really beating herself up over this and it sucks to have to see her crying, because she's at her best whenever she smiles. Well I'm sure you don't want to hear me carry on about your daughter, and I probably will anyways so I better shut up and let you get your rest OK? good night Tia we all love you and want you to get better." I kissed her cheek and left the hospital room, the nurse already coming to get me.
"I gave you two extra minutes I figured you might need it, but now I'm sorry but you have to leave you can come back in a few hours, but when you do come back I expect all of you to be calm and act in a mature manner do you understand?"
"Yes ma'am." I said light heartedly, she rolled her eyes and pushed me back to my friends and family.
"all right you guys can leave now I didn't get any special treatment." Carlos rolled his eyes and limped out the door, because that's how G's do and he of course being raised in the better part of LA knew about hardship. Rosa flipped me off and stomped out, I really didn't give a rat's ass about her she always tried to annoy me and get underneath my skin but the only time I ever cared about anything she did was when she insulted my baby sister, who at this minute was pretty fucking pissed off at me and just left without saying a word. Since me, Ubber and Muy all came together they just looked at me and sighed. Rocio and Jonathan both just hugged us apologizing for how we all acted and left together since they shared an apartment close to Vero's I asked them to check on her for me.
"We will don't worry and I'll see if we can't get her to come tomorrow I know she wants to see her mom." Rocio said kissing my cheek and Jonathan patted my back.
"If that doesn't work I'll just tell her that you want to bone her that might get her here quicker." I socked his arm and glared at him.
"Suck cock buddy." Jonathan stuck out his tongue and gagged. Muy and Ubber both looked at me with tired looks on their faces and said.
"Could you drive please?"
"Don't worry about it, but one of you drives next time and pays for my gas." I said trying to lighten up the mood as much a s possible, they chuckled and hugged me.
"Should we even come tomorrow? I don't feel like fighting with them all over again, Rosa and Carlos are so spoiled I mean I know we're pretty high maintenance about some things but them? It's just ridiculous." Muy said as we walked out her head resting on my shoulder, Hella nodded linking her arm in mine as we walked out to my Explorer.
"I say we do you guys really don't have to if you don't want to but I at least want to make sure that Tia Natalie is OK I wouldn't let them get to me if I were you guys they just have a need to be the center of attention just be glad we didn't have to live with them." I joked as I helped my sisters into the Explorer. They laughed as I closed their doors and walked to the driver's side.
"Yeah I don't know how Vero handled it for 19 years." Hella commented.
"Beyond me." Me and Muy both answered, sometimes this triplet thing was kinda annoying, but entertaining at the same time. I thought as I made my way out of the hospital parking lot.