Beyond This Moment

25 Day Ten- 12:52 P.M.

When my dad wakes up again, I'm the only one in the room with him. There's a lounge down the hall from the reception area where the wedding is being held, where everybody is now eating dinner, probably moving onto dessert. He's lying on a long beige couch and I'm sitting in the matching armchair beside it eating a piece of cheesecake.

"Good morning," I greet him slowly. "Water's on the table."

He looks to the side and, just as I had said, there is water in front of him on the clear coffee table along with some aspirin and heart medicine that Brandy had brought in.

"What time is it?" He asks me.

I look at my phone to see the time. "One. You only missed the meal, the reception is still going on. Super embarrassing of you, if you ask me, to pass out at your own wedding."

"I won't ask you then," He mumbles, slowly sitting up but he still looks very tired and like his head is very heavy. I don't want to be in this room alone with him because I don't know what to say so I am quick to get my phone out and text Gabe. He had been in here for a while but I insisted that he go get something to eat and he'd only leave with the promise that I'd text him as soon as our dad woke up.

"Gabe will be here soon," I say after sending the text. He's probably staring at his phone constantly, waiting for the text that I just sent him. He doesn't say anything after that so I continue, wanting some answers as to what's going on. "So, what happened? Are you sick or something?"

"A little bit. It's nothing serious," He assures me as he takes some of the pills that Brandy had brought in, using the water to swallow them easily. "Nothing to get worried over."

"I wasn't worried," I lie. "I'm asking for Gabe, he was freaking out and due to being his twin, I have to care about things that he cares about so that I can be prepared for whatever is going on."

"Nothing is going on."

"Something is going on," I don't know if he really thinks that I'm that stupid but he must if he thinks that I'm going to believe that nothing is wrong after he just passed out and Brandy had heart medicine at the ready for him. "I know that you don't think so, but there is a brain up here, shaking around," For emphasis, I tap the side of my head.

He closes his eyes and leans back. I wish that Gabe would be here already. "I don't want you or Gabe to worry."

"Too late," I mumble, also leaning back in my chair. "What is it? Cancer? Old age?"

"Peyton,-"

"I deserve to know," I snap at him, losing my patience with him not answering me. I don't think that this one situation is serious because if it was, Brandy would have insisted that we take him to the hospital instead of telling some guys to carry him into this lounge but that doesn't mean that whatever caused him to pass out isn't serious. And as much as I hate to admit it, I still really care about this man who barely knows my name and I don't want there to be anything wrong with him. I take comfort in annoying him to no end with my ruthless sarcasm. "I mean, whether you like it or not, you're my dad and if something is wrong, I deserve to know."

"I don't dislike being your father," Is apparently what he got out of that.

I roll my eyes at him doing whatever it is that he's trying to do. Having a bonding moment or something? I have no idea but I'm not interested. "That's not what we're doing right now."

"It's important to me," He continues, apparently deciding that this is what we're doing right now and I text Gabe again to tell him to hurry his ass over here so that I can go dance or something and escape this conversation. "That you know that I love you dearly."