Chapter 9

The Dunbar family stood in silence as they waited for Lily to answer Dean's question. The girl's frightened eyes moved from her father to Ella as she opened and closed her mouth.

"Lily!" Ruby lifted her daughter's hair. "What is this?"

"Mom," Lily started to cry. "I can explain, please. I will tell you everything. Just please let me see Charlie."

"Mia," Dean said through his teeth. "Take Lily to her room."

"No!" Lily pulled away from Mia's arms. She tried to dash for the door when Dean caught her.

"Enough!" he yelled again.

Suddenly, Dean dropped his hands from around Lily's arm and grabbed his chest. He gave a wretched gasp of air as his face paled and legs quivered.

"Papa?" Ella said with worry as she stopped him from falling over. "Papa!"

"Oh my god, Dean," Ruby rushed forward. "What's wrong?"

Dean didn't answer. He gasped for air as his legs gave out and he sank to the floor. Ella's heart began to shatter as she watched her father and sank to the floor with him.

"Papa!" she shook his face.

"Mia, call the doctors," Ruby said over her shoulder.

Mia rushed to her phone as Lily stood by the door terrified. Her face drenched in tears as she watched the horrific scene in front of her. Ella helped her mother pick Dean's head up and place it on her chest.

"Mom," she said urgently. "Go get Aspirin. Lily, go get me some water."

Ruby climbed to her feet immediately and ran for the medical cabinet in the bathroom. Lily stood frozen by the door.

"Lily!" Ella said with urgency. "Get water!"

The girl snapped out of her shocked state and ran to the kitchen just as Piper came into the room rubbing her eyes.

"What's going on?" She asked, her voice thick with sleep.

Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw her father on the floor. Ella supporting his head, Mia on the phone with the paramedics, and Lily rushing to get water.

"Daddy?" Piper started to cry. "What's wrong?"

"It's okay, Pip," Ella said looking up. "Papa is fine."

"Why isn't he talking?" Piper demanded. She took a step forward but Ruby pushed past her.

"I have the Aspirin," she said.

Ella pushed the table into her father's mouth and held the glass of water to his lips.

"Drink, Papa," she begged as tears clouded her eyes. "You're going to be fine."

"The paramedics are on their way," Mia said as she rushed to the floor.

It took the ambulance ten minutes to reach their home. Ten minutes had never seen so long. It was agonizing to watch the minutes pass as they waited for help. Ruby held Piper as the little girl cried. Lily sank to the floor by the kitchen as Mia and Ella took turns performing CPR right after Dean fell unconscious.

When help finally arrived, they took Dean into the ambulance and said only one family member could come along.

"I'll go," Mia grabbed her purse. "Ella, watch Leo. Mom, get to the hospital as soon as you can."

"Okay, go," Ruby nodded without wasting time.

Mia shut the door behind her as she followed the paramedics. Everyone in the house sat on the floor listening to her footsteps running down the stairs. The clock on the cable box read 5 AM. Ella was the first to slowly get up. Her tears had stopped as she pulled her mother up and then Piper. She then walked over to Lily and held her hand out.

Lily's bottom lip quivered as she looked up at her sister. Ella gave her a simple nod and put her arms around her.

"Piper, Lily," Ruby said slowly. "Go to your room."

Piper obeyed without hesitation. She reached the hallway and looked back at Lily. Ruby lifted her eyes off the floor and looked at her two middle children standing by the kitchen.

"Lily," Ruby said in a stern voice. "I'm going to the hospital with Ella. You need to stay here and watch Leo and Piper."

"Mom, I-" Lily tried to speak.

"Not another word from you," Ruby held up her finger. "Not another word."

Ella gripped Lily's hand and held her back as Ruby turned on her heels and headed for her room.

"Lily, please," Ella begged. "Just work with us for a few minutes."

"Ella," Lily looked at her sister. "It's all my fault. Dad....I.....I didn't-"

"No," Ela shook her head. "No, it's not your fault. Don't think like that."

She urged her sister to pull herself together and go to Piper's room with Leo.

"Don't worry about Charlie," Ella whispered. "I'm sure he will be okay. We can go see him when I come back to the hospital."

Lily nodded through her tears. Ella waited until she disappeared into Mia's room before she headed to her room to get changed. But as soon as she entered, a small scream bubbled out of Ella as she spotted Maksim standing in the middle of the room.

"Are you okay?" Maksim asked in worry.

"What are you doing here?" Ella demanded, making sure to keep her voice down.

"I was informed paramedics were at your house, I got worried and I already couldn't sleep because I left you worrying."

"You were informed?" Ella narrowed her eyes. "By who?"

Maksim hesitated for a second, "There are palace guards stationed outside your building."

"Why?" Ella's eyes grew wide in shock. "Are you spying on us?"

"What? No!" Maksim said. "It's for your protection."

"Max," Ella took in a deep breath. "I can't do this right now. Please, go home."

"Tell me what's wrong," Maksim pulled her into his arms. He was surprised when Ella didn't fight him.

"Papa...." Ella choked. "The paramedics said it looked like a heart attack....."

"I'll call Mimzy, she can talk to the doctors at the hospital," Maksim kissed Ella's forehead. He held her tightly against his chest as tears came down her face.

"You need to leave," Ella said after a pause as she looked up at him.

"No," Maksim shook his head. "I'm not leaving you in this condition."

"Max, please," Ella begged. "It'll only mak-"

"Ella!" Ruby's voice hissed from the doorway.

Ella jumped out of Maksim's arms and turned to her mother with a look of worry and panic. An overwhelming urge to throw up rose inside of her as she felt lightheaded.

This was not happening.

Ruby's shocked eyes moved from her daughter to the prince. Maksim opened his mouth to speak but Ruby stopped him.

"Your grace, I think it's time for you to leave."

"Mrs. Dunbar, I c-"

"Please," Ruby held her ground. "We're simple people. We live in a small community. If anyone sees you coming in and out of my daughter's room in the middle of the night, people will talk."

Maksim shut his mouth as he looked at Ella with a pained expression.

"Please leave," Ruby said again.

Maksim let his eyes linger on Ella for a second longer before he dropped his eyes and headed for the door. Ella lifted her gaze to her mother who looked as if she could devour her in one bite.

Piper and Lily gasped in the living room as Maksim walked past them and exited the apartment. Ella took a step towards her mother.

"I can't believe you," Ruby shook her head. "Did you two plan this together? Did you get Lily involved in this, Ella?"

"What?" Ella shook her head. "Mom, no!"

"Your father is in the hospital!" Ruby couldn't stop the tears in her eyes. "Do you have any idea what this would do to him? His daughters going crazy? One running out of the house in the middle of the night to meet some boy while the other has a werewolf in her room?"

"Mom, it's not like th-" Ella tried to speak.

"I do not want to hear it," Ruby held up her hand. "I need to think about Dean right now."

Ella felt her world spin out of control as hot tears rolled down her face. She didn't know what to say or do as she followed Ruby out to the living room. Lily looked up as they passed with a mountain of worry in her eyes.

"Stay here," Ruby said through her tears. "Please, if you have any love for your father, you will stay here and not do anything else."

Ella felt like a ghost in a shell as she walked past Lily. She wanted to tell the girl not to lose hope and to just let the storm settle, but she wasn't sure who she was trying to fool. She didn't even believe her own words.

Outside, the dark streets were deserted. Maksim stood talking to two palace guards as Ella followed her mother out of the building. Ruby spied them and moved towards the opposite end of the street.

"Mrs. Dunbar," Maksim called to her as he walked up to them.

Please, please, please, Ella wanted to scream at him. Please, don't do this.

"Please, let me give you a ride to the hospital," Maksim said.

Ruby shook her head, "No, thank you. We will take a cab or the bus."

"There are no buses at this hour and a cab will be impossible to flag down," Maksim pointed. "Please."

Ruby kept walking. Ella followed her with her head down.

"Mrs. Dunbar," Maksim called again. "Mr. Dunbar needs you right now. Please, I have to get you to the hospital as soon as I can."

At the mention of her husband, Ruby's feet stopped. She placed a hand over her mouth and tried to keep the tears in. Maksim waited behind her as his eyes watched Ella.

"Please," he said once more with desperation in his voice.

Ruby slowly nodded her head and turned around. Maksim took a step back and called the guards. He traded cars and led Ella and her mother to the black SUV. Ruby thanked him as he held the back door open. She quickly climbed in and Ella followed.

Maksim wasted no time in getting into the driver seat and starting the car. He rushed down the empty roads and headed for the hospital. But as he watched Ella's worried eyes in the rearview mirror, he slowed down just a tad bite. He could sense her wanting to look up at him, but she was trying her best to look everywhere but at him.

When they finally arrived at the hospital, Maksim pulled into the underground parking lot and got out. He walked around and opened the door as Mrs. Dunbar and Ella got out.

"Thank you, your grace," Ruby said.

"Of course," Maksim nodded. "I called Mimzy, she already spoke to the doctors here. They're moving Mr. Dunbar into a private room. I think he's i-"

"Max," Ella called to him as he began to head for the hospital door.

Maksim turned to look back at the mother daughter still standing by the car. Ella's eyes watered as she chewed on her bottom lip. Maksim flet this heart shatter as the first tear fell down her cheek.

"Thank you for the ride," she said, her voice shaking with each word. "But....you....you should go home now."

Maksim felt the reminder of his heart sink. He knew she was scared of what her parents would say right now. Ruby's expression already told him he wasn't welcomed. But Maksim couldn't help but want to be near Ella at a time like this. He wanted to hold her and shield her from all the worries. He wanted to make everything better for her.

But he couldn't. And that frustrated him even more.

"Thank you for your help, your grace," Ruby said once more.

Maksim didn't know what to say as she grabbed Ella's arm and dragged her into the hospital leaving him standing alone in the parking lot.   

Poor Maksim. He just wants to be a good prince.