I've Lost the Power to Feel

My breath stops short in my throat and my heart skips a beat. My dad has had health issues in the past, but never on the scale where my mother would call me in the middle of the night. I hear my mother sobbing on the other end.
"Mom, I, I'm leaving now. I'll be there as soon as possible. I'll wake Maya. I'll, uh, see you soon."
"I love you, Jordan."
"Love you too, Mom."
I hang up and lay facing the ceiling, unmoving. [i]My dad[/i]. I love him more than life itself. I don't know what I would do without him.
After a tense minute, I get up and put on a bra and fresh underwear, a college shirt, and flannel pants. I brush my teeth hurriedly; at this point I am wide awake. I trip over a rug into Maya's room and see her nestled peacefully in her blankets, snoring softly. I shake her roughly.
"Maya. Maya, wake up!" She groans and swats at me.
"Go away, the fairies are brushing my hair," she moans. Maya's dreams are record-weird.
I lose the little patience I have. "Maya Justice Gordon, Dad is in the fucking hospital, get the fuck out of your bed NOW!" I scream at her in desperation. Lucky for me, she shoots upright with fear in her eyes.
"What?!" I can barely see her soft brown eyes in the darkness, but I know they're wide-eyed with shock.
See, my family's relationship with Maya is different than just the best friend's family. Maya's parents divorced when she was nine; her mother was a drug addict and her father was abusive. Maya is the middle child, and her mom acted like she didn't even exist. Maya ran away from home when she was in seventh grade, and, since her parents couldn't care less about her existence, they never filed a report of her being missing. I had dragged her into my house despite her protests one rainy night and from then on she became the most special member of our family.
My dad and Maya have a special bond. Granted, my dad has two other daughters to take care of, but he takes special care of my best friend. My sister and I were never hurt in any way about this when we were younger. Maya had no good father figure in her life until she met my dad, and none of us will stand down if her parents ever come after her.
"Come on, Em," I goad. "We have to leave. He's at Mayo." She nods and climbs out of her tangle of bedsheets, slips a shirt over her sports bra which she always wore to bed--God knows why--and a pair of gym shorts. I walk into the kitchen, Maya trailing slowly, and grab my purse and two granola bars for each of us. Maya enters the kitchen, hair all askew and a hardened expression on her face. I know only one thing stirs in her mind.
We hopped into Maya's little Prius, since it's better on gas than my Viper, not to mention that I still haven't gotten it towed. Maya stabs the keys in the ignition and we commence the 2 hour drive to Rochester. Visits to the Mayo Clinic were often when my dad had kidney disease, deemed incurable by other doctors but cleared twice at Mayo. To go back there will bring horrible memories shooting back for the whole family, and possibly create new nightmares.
We drive along the dark roads in a horrible silence: Maya going 15 mph over the speed limit and me trying to bear the tension in the car that was so thick you can probably cut it with a knife. At 5:30 we arrive in the city of Rochester. Maya parks the Prius in one of the parking ramps dedicated to the Mayo Clinic and we travel to the Graham building where, according to my mom, my dad is being treated. We enter the nearest entrance and walk the familiar halls decorated with familiar paintings of animals, geometric shapes, and any mix of the two. Eventually, we encounter a reception desk.
"Hello," I say, my words void of emotion. "What room is Daniel Myers in?" The receptionist peers over her red-rimmed glasses at us.
"And you are?"
"We're his daughters, ma'am." Maya interjects, a hint of venom in her voice. She hasn't spoken for hours, ever since I woke her up.
"Yes, yes, alright," the receptionist replies, typing something on her keyboard with irritating fake nails. "He's in room 261. Take the elevator to 2 and it will be on your left." We mumble our thanks and trudge to the elevator.
Maya and I stop together at the wooden door with the plate marked "261" in brass lettering. Both of our breathing becomes ragged, and I grab Maya's hand, squeezing it tight. I let go and turn the shiny brass knob and open the door slowly.
We are met with loud beeping and the stench of strong disinfectant.
I cry out when I see my beloved father, limp under the sheets and hooked up to a shit ton of machines and IVs. I've only seen him like this once, when he was suffering from kidney disease. However, this time it's different. My father's face is sunken and pale, dark rings line his eyes. The blood vessels in his arms pop out so badly it seems they will break free of his paper-like skin. [i]What in hell's name is hurting my dad?![/i]
My mother sits in a little green chair in the corner, completely silent, just staring at my dad. There is no expression on her pallid face. My mom was like this when her mother-in-law died; she didn't cry, didn't yell, just sat there. It had confused me as a child, but now I understand.
I decide to leave my mother alone for now and instead kneel beside my father's bed.
"Hey Dad." I whisper hoarsely. His eyelids flutter and his failing eyes take time to focus on me. "Maya and I are here, Daddy." He smiles genuinely; the crow's feet on the sides of his eyes grow as he smiled and his blue eyes twinkle. Maya kneels next to me, but I barely notice.
"Hi, Cooder. Hi, Peanut," he uses his pet names for us. Although I don't know how my nickname came about, when I first introduced Maya to my family, my father used to joke about her hair being the color of peanut butter. Hence, Peanut. Maya began dyeing her hair after that. I am pulled away from memories by the sound of Maya's wet sobs next to me. I get up and let her have time with Dad.
I stand guard solemnly next to my mom before I say anything.
"Mom, what's wrong with Dad?"
My mother sighs. "A couple years ago, your father learned he had lung cancer, a very severe form. He told no one about it until yesterday when he fell unconscious at work. Honey, I won't lie to you. Your father won't live for much longer. It, it could be hours."
I am rigid with shock. My dad, lung cancer? My father hadn't smoked in 50 years! "How." I say bluntly, sadness draining all other emotion.
My mother wipes a tear forming in her eye but doesn't change her expression. "The doctors think it had to do with the Predizone he took when he had kidney disease. We won't know for sure."
I am completely unable to move. The horrible reality that Dad was going to die, actually die, was killing me on the inside. He can't die. He [i]couldn't[/i] die. He was my daddy, my superhero. I can't live without him.
My mom wraps her arms around me in a silent embrace, but I do not move from the blue tile I am standing on. I try to be strong, but as soon as I think that I begin sobbing into my mom's jacket.
"Where's Vic?" I ask, wiping still-flowing tears from my cheeks. Victoria is my little sister. She goes to college in Florida while I chose the University of Minnesota.
My mom rubs my back comfortingly, making it harder to hold back the dam of tears. "She's flying up here now. She got a private jet from one of Kalvin's contacts." Kalvin's Vic's boyfriend who works for the government, secret stuff. I like him okay; the two are happy together and that's all that really matters to me. I nod cordially to my mother and stand by Maya. Tears now flow freely from my eyes onto the sickly white bed sheets. I hold my father's arm, trying to be gentle but most likely failing.
Time flips itself over and before I know it, Vic bursts through the door, horror written all over her face. She bolts to the other side of the bed and cries shamelessly onto his free hand. As I did with Maya, we both leave my sister be to talk to Dad in relative privacy. My mother wraps her arms around us as we watch Vic and Dad speak in whispers. Finally, my dad calls us over in a weak voice and we silently crowd around his bed.
"Girls, I love you too very much. I'm so sorry that this will be your last image of me." He sighs, then wheezes. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay longer to walk you down the isle or see my grandkids and your husbands. I-I wish I could stay for those things, but I'll be watching from heaven, okay? All of you are so special and so dear to my heart. I am so blessed to have you as daughters.
"You both have such sparkling personalities and hearts of gold. Your smiles light up the room. You three girls grew up into beautiful women, and I feel so lucky to have experienced that. Victoria Marie, Maya Justice, Jordan Sophia, and Ruth Ann. My special girls. I am so proud of you all. I am so sorry I didn't tell you about my cancer before this." Tears spill from his eyes, but his loving smile doesn't waver. "I just wanted you to live happy lives and not worry about me all the time. I love you all more than I can explain, but it is my time. I must go. I'll see you girls in Heaven. I love you." My dad sighs and his body relaxes, but his smile doesn't fade from his lips.
And with that, my father passed out from this life and into the next.

Notes

Chapter 4, complete. This chapter was tough to edit, but these next couple should be a bit more fun.
Kissies! Hope you all enjoyed!

Madi

PS I love hearing what you guys think! Criticisms welcome as well as compliments!