Their Beautiful Broken Queen

Chapter 4

Tulip

The next morning, when my alarm went off, I got up and started getting ready. After I put my prosthetics on, I got dressed and went to the bathroom. After using the bathroom, I went through my morning routine and finished getting ready. When I was done, I went out to my bedroom to finish getting the stuff that I needed to take with me together.

I knew that I'd have to stop at least once on the drive down to sleep. So I packed a bookbag with an outfit of clothes, pajamas, and the little travel bottles of shampoo, conditioner, body wash, toothpaste, and a toothbrush. And I packed a hairbrush and hair things. And anything else that I'd need.

When I was done, I grabbed my travel shower chair and all of my bags that I had left to take to the car and took them to the living room. And I grabbed my pillow, blanket, and a throw blanket to take with me. Then I went back into my bedroom for my purse, phone, and my son's urn. I made sure that everything was off or unplugged, and then shut the light off and shut my door.

Back out in the living room, I set my stuff on the coffee table and then went to the kitchen to get the food packed into my coolers and add ice to them. Thankfully, I thought ahead and bought a big bag of ice so that I didn't have to stop this morning to get ice. When they were ready, I took them to the living room.

Just as I grabbed my keys and was about to start taking stuff downstairs to my car, Riley came through the door.

"Hey, chick, you look tired as hell. Was it a busy night?" I asked her.

"Ugh," she groaned, "Like you wouldn't believe. Some asshole had to say the dreaded word, you know, quiet, and then, bam. It was busy as f**k the rest of the night. I got a few hours off this morning to come see you off and get a couple of hours of sleep before I have to go back and work another double. One of the interns who started when I did called in sick. And she keeps calling in. I'm so f*****g over it. I wish they would fire her already. Anyway, are you about to head out?"

"Yeah, I've got the last of my stuff in here. Now, I just need to take it all down to my car. And then after a quick stop at a drive-thru to grab coffee and breakfast, I'll be off. I have to call my dad in a couple of hours to let him know I'm on my way. I talked to him last night, and he said that if he would have thought of it, he would have had one of my brothers fly out to drive down with me. I told him it wasn't needed when he said that he could have them meet me on the way down somewhere. I'm not really ready to explain that I'm missing my legs, and that's why there are extra controllers in my car for your hands. I'll know that I'll have to explain soon, though," I told her.

"I wish that I could be there for that conversation. But you know that if you need me, you can call me. And if things get too tough, call and make a video appointment with your psychiatrist. Dont try to handle it all on your own if you need help. Now come on, I'll help you take your stuff to your car so that you can get a move on," she told me.

We grabbed all of my stuff and loaded what we could on our wagon and carried the rest. Once everything was in my car, I locked it back up and we went back upstairs. We folded the wagon back down and put it back in the closet. We got it to make bringing groceries up easier. Then I grabbed my purse, phone, and Gab.

I hugged Riley and then headed down to my car after saying goodbye to her. It was a little after five, and I needed to get a move on. As I was on my way back down to my car, my phone rang. I grabbed it out of my pocket and saw that my daddy was calling, and I had missed a call from him.

"I answered the phone and said, "Hey, Daddy, what's going on? I thought that I was going to call you around six?"

"Hey, my Pebbles. Did you leave your apartment yet?" he asked me.

"No, I just got the last of my stuff loaded up. I'm getting into my SUV now to take off. Why, what's going on?" I asked him.

"Everything is fine, but I need you to stay at your apartment for another five or ten minutes. I talked to your mom after I got off the phone with you last night. And I decided that I would fly out here and ride back down with you. Your brothers are all helping your mom. I don't want you driving that far alone. And this will give us a chance to talk without the others around. And I know that you're quite able to drive down to Texas on your own. But I'd feel a lot better if I were with you. I'm in a cab now and will be at your place soon," he told me.

"Ok, Daddy. While I wait on you, I'll move stuff around. I had put my coolers in the front floorboard so that they were easier to reach. My SUV is parked right out front, so you'll be able to see me when you get here," I told him.

"Ok, baby girl, I'll see you soon," he said and then hung up.

I put my phone down and set Gabs's urn in one of the cup holders for now. Then, I went around and moved the coolers to the back seat.

My dad has long legs, so he'd need to be able to move the seats back. And I know him, he's going to want to drive. And it will be most of if not all of the way.

Once I had everything moved around, I got into the driver's side and waited for Daddy to get here. It didn't take long, and a cap was pulling up to the curb in front of my building. I watched as Daddy got out of it after a minute and then headed my way. I got out of the SUV, and when he got to me, he pulled me to him and hugged me tightly.

When he pulled back, he said, "I've missed you so f*****g much, Pebbles. You need to move back home so that you're closer to your mom and me. We all miss you and hate not having you close to us. I feel like we've lost you."

"You haven't lost me, Daddy. You guys are not the reason that I'm not down there. I have other reasons, and I'll have to explain those on the way. But the main one is Dad Sean. Honestly, I don't trust him or like being around him, and I think that you and I need to go and have a DNA test done. I don't think that I belong to him. I think that he somehow got the test messed with to show that he's my dad. But I don't look anything like him. I look like you and Mom. There are other reasons, and I'll explain them all. For now, though, let's get on the road. I need coffee and food. Do you need anything before we go, or are you good?" I asked him.

"I'm good for now. I'll let you start driving, and then I'll take over in a little while. I need to grab a couple of hours of sleep. I slept on the plane, but it wasn't much. I'll wait until we get out of town before going to sleep. Do you have everything that you'll need for the next month?" he asked me.

"Yep, everything's in the back. You can put your bookbag back there if you need to. Once we get out of town, if you want to use them, I have my pillow, blanket, and a throw blanket in the middle of the backseat," I told him.

He nodded as he helped me into the driver's seat and then went to the back to toss his bag in. Then he got in the passenger seat. I put my phone on the attachment that I have for it and then put my seat belt on. When I looked over at Daddy, he was looking at the extras that my car has by the steering wheel. And then he looked down and saw the urn.

"Babygirl, what is that? And what are those extra controllers for? I mean, Rex has a shop, and I've watched him install them. So I'm pretty sure that I have an idea. But why do you have them?" he asked me.

"Let me stop at a drive-thru for coffee and then I'll tell you. I need lots and lots of coffee for this conversation. And that urn is Gabriel, and I'll explain him as well," I told him.

Then I started my car and pulled out. I went to a drive-thru and grabbed us coffee and breakfast, and then headed in the direction of the highway. After I got on the interstate, I started to tell Daddy everything.