Unsung Heroes

“Indy? Indy!” Ash’s voice rose in alarm as I collapsed on the ground, my phone clutched in my hand. It continued to vibrate and my eyes were glued to the number and name on the screen.
The phone clattered from my hand onto the ground as I collapsed, my head nearly making contact with Ash’s cowboy boots before I felt someone grab my shoulders and pull me upright against the edge of the couch.
I shut my eyes as my blood pounded louder and louder in my ears, and the room started to spin faster as my head throbbed and my chest constricted. I felt the phone get wrenched from my grip and I started to shake violently.
“Indy, baby, what’s wrong?!” Ash urged, and I felt him grasp my shoulders. I whimpered and choked on air in response.
“Ashley, what happened?” That sounded like Liv, CC’s girlfriend.
“Indy’s having a panic attack.”
There was a collective gasp from those still awake and I felt them get nearer. This made my draw my legs closer to me and I yanked myself out of Ash’s hands so that I could wrap my arms protectively around my head and press my forehead against my knees.
“Crap, where’s the whiskey?” I heard Jinxx murmer. I felt my chest burn at the thought of drinking whiskey and started to gasp.
“No!” Maya and Ash both shouted at the same time, making me jump and whimper loudly.
“What?” Jinxx sounded startled. “Isn’t that what you use normally?”
Maya paused. “Yes, but she’s trying to wean herself off of that idea. She’d rather we gave her decaffeinated tea.”
“I don’t know if we even have any of that.”
There were noises around me as people scuffled around, trying to find tea.
“Indy, baby? I’m going to put my hands on you, okay?” Ash said in a soothing voice. I could only gasp in response, my voice and mouth basically rendered helpless.
I felt Ash gently take hold of the tops of my shoulders and pull. I slid across the floor to Ash, and I felt him settle me with my back to him between his legs, against his chest. He started to rub my arms and he took hold of my hands, wrenching them away from my head and he gripped my hands tightly, bringing them to my chest. He brought his face next to mine and kissed along my cheek.
“Indigo, baby, come back to me. You’re okay, I got you. I’m never letting go of you, never. I love you so, so much baby, please come back to me.”
I leaned against him the best I could and struggled to take a deep breath. But I found myself still hyperventilating the more I tried to, and started to really freak out.
“Baby, baby, slow down,” Ash whispered. He started to rock me back and forth slowly and he started to breathe rhythmically and deeply for me to copy. I started copying the movement of his chest, trying to get my breathing under control.
“That’s it, baby,” Ash cooed. “Breathe for me, you’re doing great.”
I felt my chest loosen up and the pain started to go, but my head continued to throb. I whimpered and fell against Ash’s chest, turning my nose into his throat.
I felt my chest start to ache horribly, and my face felt hot. My eyes felt hot and I realized that I had tears running down my face and I was sobbing. I buried my face in my hands and turned to bury myself in Ash’s chest.
I felt him freeze around me, unsure of what to do, but he brought his arms around me and stroked my hair.
“Baby, what’s wrong? Who was that on the phone?”
I looked at my phone, which had by this point just had an image of the missed call with my Vovό’s name and number.
Maya stepped forward, her eyes wide. Then I noticed that the whole band – minus CC who was still drunk, but including Jake who must have woken up with all the excitement and was watching me warily – was watching me with a scared look on their faces.
Maya stooped over to pick up my phone, and she read the caller ID, bringing a hand over her mouth as she gasped in shock.
Jinxx jumped up from the couch to hover over her shoulder and he looked at the caller ID. “Who’s Luiza?” He asked, looking at me confused. “And why does she have a crazy-ass long number?”
I swallowed and tried to calm down my sobs, but I ended up just hiccupping until Andy handed me a glass of water, which I chugged and then gave him the glass back.
Maya sighed and gave me a sympathetic look.
“Jinxx… Luiza is Indy’s grandmother with whom she hasn’t spoken with since moving to America when she was sixteen nearly eight years ago.”
There was a collective gasp and I whimpered again at the thought of… her trying to reach me. Ash brought his arms protectively around me. I curled into Ash’s chest and tried to slow my breathing.
“Indy, why would she be trying to contact you now?” Andy asked me slowly, trying to gauge my reaction. “If you guys haven’t spoken in so long, I mean.”
I sighed and wiped my tears away.
“Um…” I muttered. “I… I don’t…”
Maya jumped when my phone started ringing again, and i felt my heart hurt, again.
“Indy, it’s her again. Do you want to just let it ring?”
I pushed myself off of Ash and stumbled to my feet and held my hand out for my phone.

“Allo?”
“… Allo, Indigo,” Vovό said in a cold, unfeeling voice, and I felt a chill run up my spine.
“H-How are you?” I whispered. I was standing in the bunk area of the bus, the door closed behind me.
“Fine.”
“That’s good.”
“ It’s been a long time, Indigo.”
“Yes, it has.”
“… Indigo, the only reason why I’m calling you is because your grandfather felt you should know.”
I swallowed, feeling myself shake slightly.
“K-know what?”
“That your grandfather is sick. He was diagnosed with stage four liver cancer last week. He wants to see you before he dies.”
I dropped onto the floor. “W-what?
“You heard me. He wants you to come back to Rio. He says he has something to tell you before he dies.”
I felt my hand go to my stomach as she spoke
“Did the doctor say how long he has?”
“About six months. They caught it too late.”
“Oh.”
There was silence for a while, and I started shaking again.
“So…” she said slowly. “It’s been a long time,” She said, repeating her earlier statement.
“Yes, it has,” I agreed.
“How long?”
“Almost eight years.”
“Hmm.”
“Grandma, I’m sorry, but I didn’t think you would even answer my calls if I tried.”
“Maybe you aren’t as stupid as we originally thought, then.”
I flinched and felt myself start to shake again, and I rubbed my eyes furiously as the tears started to drip down, again.
“Are you seeing anybody?”
I groaned internally, knowing this was going to happen. My grandmother was very strict about my dating when I lived in Brazil. I never really dated, and when I did, it had to be in our house, under her watchful eye.
“Yes, I am, Grandma. I have a boyfriend.”
“Do you, now?” She sounded condescending.
I cupped my stomach again, and swallowed, deciding it was now, or never.
“Actually, Grandma… I’m pregnant. My boyfriend is the father. I’m due in December. I’m going to keep it and my boyfriend wants to be the father the baby needs.”
She didn’t say anything for a long time, and I could hear her breathing thickly through her nose.
“Just get down to Rio before your grandfather dies, you whore.”
*click*

The phone clattered from my hand, and I brought my knees up to my chest, and started to sob, again. I knew that was going to happen, I just knew it. I knew she was going to speak to me that way and I knew she was going to do that.
My Vovô is sick? Grandpa?
Of the two, Vovô was definitely better. He was hard on me, but he didn’t force me to wear long skirts, nor did he make me learn to cook with the maids, like his wife. He made me study overtime in school and wouldn’t let me date boys, nor could I go out and party with the few friends I actually had.
But of the two, he was the only one of them who ever said that he loved me.
“Indy?”
I jumped and looked up to see Ash peeking through the door. When he saw my puffy eyes and tear-stained face, his face turned somber and he crept in, shutting the door behind him. He got down next to me on the ground and pulled me onto his lap.
“Baby, what’s wrong? What did she want?” He asked quietly.
I wiped the tears from my eyes.
“Um, she was telling me that my grandfather has cancer and six months to live. He wants me to come back to Brazil before he dies. Apparently he has something important to tell me.”
He froze underneath me. “I thought you said that they hate you.”
I sighed and pulled away to stand and turn away, rubbing my eyes. He stood behind me.
“Yeah, I know. They do hate me, Ash. Of the two, my grandfather hated me less, but yes, they hated me. The only reason why my grandma called was because she was told by my grandfather to call me because he wants to see me before he dies. He has six months left to live, Ash.”
He rubbed the tops of my arms gently. “I’m sorry, baby. When were you going to go?”
I sighed. “I don’t know, soon, I guess. Maybe after Warped is over.”
He brought his hand around to my stomach. “Are you going to tell them?”
My face felt hot again, and tears started to flow again as I broke down, turning to curl up against Ash’s chest.
“She called me a whore and hung up when I told her.” I sobbed.
Ash gasped quietly and guided me to his bunk, sitting on the edge and bringing me onto his lap, holding and rocking me. I sobbed in his chest for a while, feeling the ache in my chest start to give the longer I cried, till sleep eventually took me.

When I woke up, I was laying on Ash’s bunk, his comforter thrown across my hips, and the curtain shut. There was a weight around my wait and pressed against my back, and breath was shallowly hitting the base of my neck.
Carefully I craned my head around to see Ash sleeping peacefully behind me, his face completely relaxed, the corners of his lips turned down slightly. I shuffled to turn over and cuddle my face into his bare chest, realizing then that he was only in his boxer-briefs. I was only in my t-shirt from the previous day and my panties.
Ash groaned as I cuddled closer to him.
“Baby?”
I whimpered and wrapped my arms around his middle, burying my face in the hollow of his throat. He sat up slightly and brought his arms around my shoulders. My chest burned and I could feel my belly do flip-flops, like my baby knew I was in distress.
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
I groaned and rolled away enough to sit up. Ash propped himself up on his elbow and watched me. Rubbing my eyes, I sighed and looked back at him.
“My grandparents,” I whispered. “They want me to come home, but I don’t know if I can do it, even if my grandfather wants me to. I know they only thing they’re going to do, along with the rest of my relatives, is criticize and bully me, and then tell me about how they were right and I’m a no-good lay-about who will never amount to anything.”
Ash sat up very quickly all of a sudden and pulled me further around so that I was facing him. He had a very stern look on his face that I hadn’t seen before. Ash isn’t known for getting mad, so to see him like that is… kind of frightening.
“Indy, I want you to listen to me and listen well,” he said in a very slow and precise voice. “You are NONE of those things. They are wrong about you on all accounts. You have a life they would only ever be jealous of. You’re starting a family without their interference, and our baby will have the best mommy in the world, because she knows to never treat her baby the way she was treated.”
I sighed and smiled around my tears at Ash’s words, and leaned forward as he met me halfway in a kiss, cupping my face while I wrapped my arms around his shoulders. Ash pulled me closer to him and then gently pushed me onto my back, with him hovering over me. He moved lower toward my stomach on his knees, and pushed my shirt out of the way, so that it was just below my bust.
He started to press kisses all over my lower stomach, between my pelvic bones. He brought his hands up to gently grip my hips and rub at the edges of my naval with his thumbs.
“Hey there, sweetheart,” he whispered to my stomach. “I know you can’t hear me, but I want you to know that I love you more than anything in this world, other than your beautiful mother. And I can’t wait to meet you and raise you with her. She may not know it yet, but she is going to be the best mother, ever.”
By the time he finished his little conversation with the baby, my eyes were tearing up all over again. Damn, it must be the hormones; otherwise I would never be crying like this. Bringing my hand up to wipe my tears away, I reached down and ran my fingers through Ash’s hair, and brought him back up to kiss me, letting him wrap his arms around me and lay me back on the bunk, stroking my exposed belly and kissing the side of my face.
“I love you so much, Indy. You and our baby,” he whispered. “If you wait until after Warped is over, I’ll go with you to Rio so you don’t have to deal with that alone.”
I sat up suddenly, almost knocking heads with him.
“Really?” I whispered excitedly. “You would do that?” I felt the corners of my lip creep up into a smile without me controlling it.
Ash smiled and cupped my face, bringing my head closer to press our foreheads together. I brought my hands up to rest on his arms comfortably.
“I’ll be there for you, Indy. Always.”

Notes

Hi!!!
Just so you guys know, the stuff italicized is spoken in portuguese, but i didn't want to write that out XP and in the previous chapter, the stuff in portugues basically just means "oh my god, it fucking stinks in here!"

I just saw my story is in the popular section! That makes me so happy and i love you guys for making it happen!

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