HER LAST WISH Chapter 41

(Moremi)

Zeemah Writes 📝

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Layla walked into the house, just getting back from the church.
She couldn’t wait to visit Aria, she had been so unhappy and down since yesterday after Phil broke the news to her.
Imagining how Aria must be feeling now is just breaking her heart more.
She had cried yesterday and couldn’t even make dinner for Phil, Phil ended up ordering something after yelling at her to stop crying.

“Hi Phil” She said, stepping into the living room.
She untied her scarf and dropped her Bible on the table.
“Hi.” Phil turned back to the TV.
“Have you called Aria?” Layla asked.
“Yeah, her husband picked up. She had been discharged already, we’ll go visit her soon, go get ready” Phil said.
“Okay Phil” Layla said, hurrying to her room, feeling so glad she’ll be seeing Aria soon.

She pulled off her church wear and quickly freshened up.
Feeling refreshed and better, she threw on a large T-shirt and a pair of jeans, gently pulled her hair in a loose ponytail, slipped on her slippers and walked out of her room.

“I’m ready” She announced to Phil as she walked back into the living room.
“Aren’t you going to eat anything?” Phil asked.
“I’m okay” Layla said.
“You didn’t have anything yesterday night and you didn’t eat out of the breakfast you prepared this morning!” Phil complained.
“That’s because I don’t feel like eating anything, besides I already ate with Dan and co before coming home yesterday”
“And today?… It is 1pm already and you’re not going to eat anything because you don’t feel like? Layla, you’re not in the condition to choose to eat whenever you like and you know that. Don’t aggravate your condition. I know how much Aria means to you but you can’t do this to yourself”

“I seriously do not feel like eating anything, it feels like I’m gonna throw up if anything goes down my throat. Let’s just go, I’ll try to eat when we get back”
“Suit yourself” Phil sigh, getting to her feet, she switched off the TV and told Layla to get her bag from her room.
Layla returned with the bag almost immediately and Phil wondered what kind of speed that was.

Once outside, they flagged a cab to Aria’s address.
None of them has been there before, though they were familiar with where Aria lived before relocating to this new place with her family, the old place was not so far from the Cafe and Layla drops by once in a while after church to say hi to them, Phil’s only been there once.

~~

Dave opened the door after they rang the bell and after exchanging greetings and telling him how sorry they were about what happened, he led them to the living room where Aria was laying on the couch with Jane huddled beside her. They were both watching the TV, yet to notice their presence, Aria had a faraway look in her puffy eyes. Her always bright and cheerful eyes looked so dark and gloomy.
That’s very much expected.

She looked sick and pale, not like the Aria Layla laughed with just a day before. How things can completely change within seconds, minutes, hours, days remains a mystery.
Seeing how puffy and red Aria eyes looked explained to Layla just how much Aria had hurt, cried and the fact that Aria is even yet to notice their presence even when Jane got off the couch and said hi to them shows how faraway her mind is.
It made Layla burst into tears, finally alerting Aria of their presence.

“Layla!” She got to her feet, looking startled.
“Aria” Layla moved closer to her and they both cried embracing each other.
After a long embrace and so much tears, they finally sat, sniffing back more threatening tears.

“I’m so sorry about what happened Aria, so sorry” Phil said, holding her hand and patting it gently.
“Thanks Phil” Aria said, blowing her nose into an handkerchief.
“I can understand how painful it is, just let out your emotions okay? Don’t try bottling anything in. You’ll be fine” Phil consoled her more.
Aria nodded.
“I’m so sorry Phil, I’m so sorry about the baby.” Layla hugged her again.
“Thanks Layla” Aria said.
“Everything will be fine okay?” Layla assured and Aria nodded.
“Look how puffy your eyes are, you must have cried so much” Layla said, trying hard not to burst into tears again. ” I don’t want you hurting yourself, you really need to stop crying okay? I know how painful it is but your eyes need to be in perfect condition for when another baby comes” Layla said and Aria smiled for the first time since the incidence.

Dave sigh in relief, he had thought it’d be ages before he would see his wife smile again.

“Did you request to get discharged this soon? I know you must still be hurting, you couldn’t have healed completely so soon” Phil said.
“Yeah, I badly wanted to come home so I insisted on getting discharged, staying there made me feel so uncomfortable, I’m going to continue my treatment at home”
“Good enough” Phil said, nodding.

Aria was starting to look a bit better than she had when they walked in and Layla felt glad.
She patted her back, consoling her silently.

Jane was fast asleep in her dad’s arms, snoring softly, it’s been a while since Layla saw her and she smiled at how much the girl had grown. Jane’s so pretty and smart, as jovial as her mum.
If it hadn’t been for the present situation,she would have been so glad to catch up with the little girl and she’s sure Jane would have loved to also catch up with her.
Dave’s a good-looking guy also, very kind and really befitting of Aria.

“The work would have been so stressful yesterday right?” Aria asked Layla.
“Don’t dare feel guilty or bad about that, it’s not your fault okay? You didn’t mean for what happened to happen. Besides, my friends came over to help”
“Really? They did?”
“Yeah, they did”
“That’s so nice of them, I’m glad they came over to assist you” Aria said.
“Yeah”

“You know I told you I was going to come over after I visit the clinic?” Aria said and Layla nodded.
“So, I woke up yesterday to slight pains in my stomach, i didn’t even take it serious but then it started getting intense and I knew I had to rush to the hospital, by the time we got there it felt like I would die from the pain I was feeling, I was already bleeding heavily by the time we stepped out of the cab…it all happened so fast, so sudden, shocking….” Aria trailed off, fighting back tears.
“OMG” Phil sigh, feeling so sorry for Aria.
“God! It must have been so hard to bear. I’m so sorry Aria” Layla said, holding her hands in a comforting manner and trying hard not to cry.

“And the doctor said it’s as a result of stress, I’m sorry to have spoken to you that way Phil but Aria won’t be coming to work anymore” Dave said.
“Dave” Aria said, sitting up.
“Yeah babe, you won’t be going anymore” Dave said looking like he’s made up his mind.
Phil swallowed hard. “It’s fine, it was nice to have Aria work with us”
Layla sigh deeply. She understands how Dave must be feeling. He had lost his baby to the stress of his wife’s work. Any other person would react the same way, besides she still needs some time to completely heal. But she’s really going to miss Aria, the thought of not working with Aria anymore brought fresh tears to her eyes.

“I’m going to drop Jane in her bedroom” Dave said, getting up with his daughter in his arms, he walked into a door.

“C’mon, wipe your tears, I’m still going to work there, Dave only said that in the heat of the moment, he doesn’t mean it” Aria assured Layla.
“No, I’m also in support of Dave. You should stop working, the work made you loose your baby, how could you continue without feeling any type of way, it’s going to keep coming to your mind, you won’t be able to stop thinking about it. I’m really going to miss you Aria but I can’t support your decision just because it’s going to make me happy” Layla said.
“No! You guys don’t just get it, do you? Not working at the Cafe anymore is even going to make me feel worse than staying at home, I need to get my hands on something, sitting idly is going to make it all worse I swear” Aria said.

“Alright, but even at that, I can’t allow you resume so soon, you still need lots of rest. Besides, your husband seems to be very against it so I guess you guys still need to talk about it” Phil said and Aria nodded.
“Whatever conclusion you come to, I just want you to be fine, anything that makes you happy is fine” Layla said.

Dave walked back into the living room with three glasses of water on a tray and Layla realised how thirsty she is, her throat is parched from the tears.
“I’m sorry, I should have offered you this earlier” Dave said, dropping the tray gently on the table.
“It’s fine” Phil said accepting a glass from Dave, he passed one to Layla also and then Aria who refused it.

“You need to drink water” He said, crouching in front of her.
“I don’t want to”
“You’ve literally not had anything since yesterday!” He complained.
“That’s because I don’t feel like, it’s not like you’ve had anything to eat also”
“You need it more than I do, please, you’re only going to complicate your health further”

The conversation going on between Aria and Dave made Layla remember how Phil had also tried to persuade her to eat something before they left the house and it made her smile.

Dave sigh loudly after he was unable to persuade Aria to drink the water.
“C’mon Aria, I understand it must be hard to eat something but you should at least stay hydrated or it’s gonna tell on your health and you’re not even in a good health now, don’t try to complicate things further” Phil advised.
“You really need to not only drink water but also eat something, please” Layla added.
“Like you’ve also eaten since you came back yesterday” Phil said, rolling her eyes.

“You’ve not eaten since yesterday!” Aria looked alarmed.
“Yeah, after I broke the news to her, she refused to have anything” Phil said.
“That’s not true though, I had something before going home yesterday and I was so filled up. Today, I just don’t feel like eating anything yet”
“You’ve not had anything to eat today? You need to eat Layla” Aria said, looking at her worriedly.
“Well, you need to eat also” Layla said.
“No, you need to eat”
“If you do not eat anything, I’m also going to starve myself” Layla said.
“What? C’mon!” Aria scolded.
“Yeah, so I need to see you eat something”
“Are you really going to eat if I also do?” Aria asked.
“Of course”
“Okay, I’m going to”
“Yes!” Dave said excitedly. “I’m going to microwave the pasta immediately”
“But…” Aria said, looking at Layla.
“What?”
“You’re going to eat with me”
“Well…fine, if that’s gonna make you eat something” Layla said.

“And Dave, you also have to eat” Aria said.
“I will” He said.
Aria looked at him skeptically..
“I promise” He chuckled and she smiled.
“Phil, do you also care for some?” Aria asked.
“No, I had something before coming. I’m fine”
“Alright, I’ll be right back” Dave said, so glad Aria’s finally going to eat something, he had made the pasta immediately they got back from the hospital and spent some time trying to persuade her to eat which yielded to no result, he was starting to get really worried. The doctor had said she needed to eat before using her medication and she was refusing to eat, that means she won’t be able to use her medication which literally means she won’t get better soon, all those thoughts made him really worried and now…she finally agreed to eat, he couldn’t be more glad.

“You have a nice apartment by the way” Phil said, and Layla also took the time to look around.
The apartment is indeed beautiful, a minimalist apartment with white and brown aesthetics. Everything looks super clean and well arranged.

~~~

“Thanks for coming, I must admit you guys lifted my mood a bit” Aria said as she and Dave walked Phil and Layla to the door.
They were ready to leave after spending enough time with them.

“Make sure to take a lot of rest okay?” Phil said.
“Alright Phil”
“I’ll call you from time to time, take care and say hi to Jane for me” Layla said, kissing Aria’s cheeks.
Aria smiled and nodded.
“And Phil, I’m sorry to have spoken to you that way yesterday” Dave said, looking ashamed.
“C’mon, it’s fine. I totally understand, anyone would react that way in that condition. Just take good care of Aria okay?”
“Okay Phil. Thanks”

“Okay, we have to leave now” Phil said.
“Bye” Layla gave Aria a quick hug.
“Bye” Aria waved.

“We’ll need to stop by the grocery store before heading home” Phil said to Layla as they stepped outside of the house.
“Oh okay” Layla said.

***

“Gracias!! Layla, where have you been?” Daniel asked when Layla finally picked his call.
He had chatted her up yesterday night and she hadn’t replied, which is unlike her, even if she does not reply immediately, she’s definitely gonna reply..he expected her reply late into the night yesterday and then thought she had probably slept off due to her tired she was.
He also slept, knowing he would receive a morning text from her but this morning, he saw nothing and then he started calling, she didn’t pick up till this minute.

“I’m sorry Dan” She said and by the tone of her voice, he knew something was wrong.
“What happened? Are you okay? Do you want me to come over” He asked worriedly.
“No, I’m fine. I’m going to tell you everything tomorrow” She said.
“Okay”
“Yeah, Bye”
“Bye”

“Layla!” Phil shouted from the living room.
“Coming” Layla said, getting up from her bed.
“Don’t think you’re going to skip making dinner like you did yesterday, I only let you because your tears could boil potatoes! Now, get up..we already got things from the grocery store, go put them to use” Phil shouted loudly from the living room.
Oh…well..
“Okay Phil” Layla said loudly, smiling as she slipped on her slippers.