Memorable triad (chapter 21)

"Do you regret last night?" Asher stroked my thighs cradling me in her arms while Raymond snored halfway in and halfway out of the bed.

"No, I don’t, was I supposed to?"

"No, but I—" Asher immediately started coughing rousing Raymond from his sleep when the cough refused to subside.

"Geez you didn’t tell me you had a cold" I huffed patting her back with a slight frown on my face.

"It’s not a cold love, something just lodged itself in my throat" she wheezed still coughing.

"Well tell the thing not to wake us all up from sleep" Raymond yelped when I kicked him off the bed. "Yeah destroy the man who made you feel like goddesses last night ok?" I threw a pillow at his stupid face. idiot.

"You ok now? you've been acting really weird lately, are you fine?" my face didn't show my worry, but my voice carried it.

"Yes I'm fine love I promise it was just a cough"

"Great just a cough, can we go back to sleep now?" Raymond whined falling face first into the bed.

"Of course, you big baby we can do that, c'mere" Raymond scrambled into her arms, well compromising wasn't in our dictionary, so we kicked and fought for the best position. What can I say? her bosom was an amazing spot.

"I love you guys don't forget that" She kissed our fore heads. Raymond and I were already far into wonderland to hear her.

**

"Wake up sleepy head" Asher whispered into my hair.

I whined dragging myself out of her embrace to land on something... sticky.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I had Raymond's drool all over me.

"YOU IDIOT!"

"Huh Huh what’s happening?" Raymond said directly into my face, I shrieked not just from his morning breath but from the drool too.

"That was not attractive you pompous jackanape animalistic buffalo!" a string of curses followed after that, Asher just kept laughing at our exchange, Raymond had managed to pin me down while trying to expel his breath directly into my nose, there was a lot of shrieking, squirming, and laughing.

We didn't see Asher fall until she hit the ground.

"Are we playing dead now or what Asher?" I giggled trying to disentangle myself from Raymond.

"Ash get up come on, it's not funny, we need to get to the park to pick out the dog you've always wanted remember" Raymond tapped her with his foot but she didn't budge.

"Asher, what the? Come on, we'll even share a shower if you get up" I smiled down at her unmoving form "Asher come on get up"

My smile fell off my lips when Asher still didn't budge, slight panic coated my voice when I called out for Raymond.

"What now?”

"She's not waking up" my hands shook when I touched her pale skin.

"Is this a joke? Asher come on" She still didn't move.

"Call an ambulance oh God!" I checked frantically for a pulse but found none, my heart stopped when I searched every point for a pulse. "She doesn't have a pulse"

"What do you mean no pulse? Check the goddamn thing"

"I'm checking! I. Am. Checking dammit" my hands shook as I tried to find a pulse.

"Get out of the way, just direct the ambulance over" Raymond pushed me roughly out of the way, the attitude hurt but my fears were far worse.

The ambulance got here in record time, they started CPR right away, we were kept aside while they spoke in weird terms and wheeled a stretcher in. We were allowed in the ambulance where they were still trying to get a pulse, twenty minutes out and still nothing.

Doctors and Nurses greeted us at the door of the hospital, taking over the CPR session immediately; she was wheeled into the emergency unit.

"Raise to a hundred" The Doctors clipped voice called out before he zapped her. A strangled scream caught in my throat.

I felt it before I heard it, but I refused to believe it, tears blurred the vision of my Asher being covered, Raymond caught me just in time before I dashed into the room, his grip was downright painful, but I didn't care, she wasn't dead, it couldn't be, I just spoke to her, I just held her. I just had her.

"We're so sorry, I'm Doctor Lyndsey Asher's Doctor, I assume she told you before this happened" The kind Doctor said guiding us both to a chair.

"Told us what?" Raymond asked gruffly.

"She didn't have time, she had three months left to live, she was asked to reach out to her extended family to clear out everything before her death, but this is a month into the diagnosis, was she stressed? Did she have any extracurricular activities?" Doctor Lyndsey asked pointedly staring at Raymond.

Raymond flexed his jaw almost painfully "Yesterday evening, we were... busy"

Doctor Lyndsey's voice didn’t waver neither did the softness in her eyes ebb "I understand, that explains the situation we've found ourselves, I'm sorry it had to end like this, she was loved, and she loved those around her. We tried our best to help her or at least extend her life span, but I guess our little girl was tired of fighting her body"

"We didn't get to say goodbye" Raymond's lips trembled. His body shook as he tried to hold in his sobs. He recoiled from me when I reached out for him making the burn in my chest spread wider.

"You could say goodbye now before we move her" Doctor Lyndsey offered.

Raymond walked into the room not checking if I followed him in, that stung.

"I don’t know if this will help but grief does quite a number on people, you might think he doesn't need you, but he does, that also doesn't mean the words won't sting" Doctor Lyndsey placed her hands on my shoulder with a sympathetic look on her face.

Sting? I could think of a thousand words worse than what I felt.