Chapter eighteen
Officers stood in front of me. Some of them tried to hold me back. I continued to scream. Continued to fight. I needed to see if my baby was alive. She couldn't not be. I felt a new pair of arms on my body.
"Aly! Aly baby calm down. Please baby. Shh." He said into my ear. My knees hit the concrete. I sobbed into his chest. Harry held my shaking body close to his. We had moved back to the Cadillac to wait. To wait for survivors. People would walk out of the smoke and to their families, bloodied and bruised. We saw one person holding another small one. Alana. I lurched to my feet and barreled towards them. I started to slow down when I saw the older woman's face. It wasn't Alana. But Mel was in her arms, her eyes shut, lifeless. No, not my baby. The woman placed Mel in my arms. Mel opened her eyes a little.
"Mummy? Where's auntie La?" She said weakly. I shook my head. Mel's eyes fluttered closed again. She lay motionless in my arms. Her breathing was shallow. I felt a presence behind me and turned around. Harry. This was the first time he was seeing his daughter in person. His eyes were on her. His baby. His hand went up to his mouth, covering it. Tears started to spill out of his emerald green eyes. He held out his hands, hesitantly, I put Mel into them. He pulled her up to his chest, holding her tight. I thought for a moment. Alana. My big sister. She was gone. The only person who helped me raise my daughter. My best friend. She died to save Melanie. My sister.
*The next day. Hospital*
*Harry's P.O.V*
We sat in the hospital room together quietly. The beeping of Melanie's monitor keeping the room from silence. Melanie had two broken ribs, her left arm was fractured and her right ankle was sprained. This wasn't exactly what I had thought of when I pictured mine and Mel's introduction. I sat by the hospital bed, holding on to my baby's hand. She was so little. So broken already. She was so much more beautiful than her photographs. Her short, curly brown hair lie messy on the white pillows. She had little freckles lining her circular cheeks. I didn't understand how this could have happened. Why her plane? Alyson had fallen asleep on the sofa next to me. All of the lads had gone back home, giving the three of us a bit of privacy. I pulled her little hand up to my mouth. I placed a soft kiss on it. Then I stood again, leaning over the white bed. I softly kissed her forehead.
"I'm so sorry baby girl." I whispered in to her ear. I saw her face twitch. Her eyelids started to reveal her eyes. They were electric blue with little speckles of green. They darted around the room, soon meeting mine.
"Daddy?" she said. Her voice was weak. I felt tears start to drip out of my eyes as I nodded my head.
"Daddy's here baby." I said to her. The corners of her small mouth tilted upward, into a pained smile. I took her hand and held it tight. "Daddy's here and I'm not going anywhere." Melanie was quietly laying on the bed as Alyson sat up beside me.
"Hi Mummy!" Melanie said. Her voice cracked within her excitement. Alyson smiled a little bit. She was devastated about her sister. There had been no word on her. I had never met Alya- Alana. But I knew how close Aly was to her. I looked over at her. Alyson's dark brown hair was pulled into a tight bun on the top of her head, with a few strands hanging in her face. Her eyes were red from crying. She had locked herself in the hospital bathroom and cried. She hadn't let anyone see her. All of the lads had sat in the hospital room with me and Melanie. Clara had sat in front of the bathroom door, trying to get Aly to come out.
"Hi baby. How are you feeling?" Aly said. Her voice was tinged with sleep as she spoke.
"My chest hurts. And my arm. I had a bad dream mummy. Where is Auntie La?" Melanie asked. I saw Aly take in a deep breath before answering.
"What did you dream about baby girl?" Aly asked her. Her hands were holding on to Melanie's little ones.
"There was fire everywhere Mummy. And Auntie La, she was screaming. But you weren't there Mummy. Where were you and Daddy?" Melanie said.
"That doesn't sound like a very good dream. I bet you'll have a better dream tonight though. Okay?" Melanie nodded her head.
"Mummy, I have a question." She said.
"Anything baby girl." I watched Alyson close. Her petite body was shaking as she spoke.
"Are we going to live with Daddy now?"
