Chapter 13: Isadora

       Artemis, Evelyn, and I were in the village, checking out all the shops we haven't checked yet. One of the things we had to check out was the gift shop because Bryson has been asking me for a souvenir. He was texting me every single day, asking if I bought a souvenir yet.

       I was tempted to buy him a really lame one, but I wasn't that mean. Most of the time.

       The three of us were looking around the gift shop when my cell phone suddenly rang. I pulled it out of my pocket where Dax's name was written across the screen. "Hello?" I answered.

       "Mommy, can you come back please?" Wilder asked in a quiet voice.

       "Wilder?" I asked. "What's wrong? And why do you have your dad's phone?"

       "Daddy's really mad," Wilder said. "He keeps saying it's all his fault, then he yells at Uncle Seb. Mommy, what is Daddy's fault?"

       I sighed. "Nothing. I'll be there soon, okay? Just....Give Daddy some space, okay?"

       "Okay," Wilder said. "Please hurry."

       "I will," I said before hanging up. I then walked over to where Artemis and Evelyn were. "I have to go. I think Dax is having a mental breakdown."

       "Okay, we'll come too," Artemis said.

       Looks like I was going to have to go through another day of Bryson asking me if I bought him a souvenir yet.

       As soon as we got back to the ski lodge, I hurried to the suite. Atticus and Wilder were sitting at the table in the kitchen, watching as Dax was yelling at Seb who was trying to calm him down. 

       I walked over to them. "Dax, please just calm down."

       "I am calm!" Dax said. "I just....I can't....It's my fault and she would still be alive if it weren't for me and she would be here at Christmas time and she would have met her grandchildren and I had to be selfish and made her take me to the baseball game where...."

       "Dax," I said, cupping his face in my hands. "Stop it. It's not your fault. You didn't make the car crash. You just wanted to spend time with your mom, there's nothing wrong with that."

       "But if I didn't go...."

       "Yeah, and if they other driver was paying attention, it wouldn't have happened," I said. "We've been through this many times before. It's not your fault, Dax."

       Dax sat down on the couch and dug his face in his hands. "They won't stop," he muttered. "I thought I would have made it through the vacation without my medication, but I can't do it. They're not going away. It's as bad as it was when I was a teenager."

       I sat down beside Dax and rubbed his shoulder. 

       Dax moved his hands away and looked at me. "I'm worried, Isa. I'm worried I'll see her."

       "And if you do, you'll just have to tell yourself that it's not real," I said.

       "It's not easy," Dax said. "I know she's dead, but it's always so real. My brain just tells me that it's real."

       "Are you okay now?" Seb asked.

       "Not really," Dax said. "But I guess I have to deal with it. Like always. I'm sorry I yelled."

       "It's okay," Seb said before looking over at Atticus. "Come on, Att, let's head back to our suite."

       Atticus nodded and stood up from the table before following his dad out of the suite. Wilder got up and walked over to us before sitting on the other side of Dax. "I didn't like that," Wilder said.

       "I know," Dax said. "And I'm sorry if I scared you."

       "S'okay," Wilder said. "Why were you mad, though?"

       Dax looked over at me and I shrugged. We didn't really tell him about Dax's schizophrenia, mainly because he was too young to understand.

       Then again, he was also too young to swear but that didn't stop Dax from teaching him all the swear words.

       Stupid husband.

       Dax sighed and looked back at Wilder. "I have this thing where sometimes, I see and hear things that aren't there and it stresses me out sometimes."

       "Oh," Wilder said. "Good things or bad things?"

       Dax didn't reply. Instead, he changed the subject. "I think Skittles wants to go for a walk," he said. "He's been cooped up in here almost all day. Want to go to the village?"

       "Okay!" Wilder said.

       "Ooh, then I can finally find a souvenir for Bryson," I said. "He keeps texting me about it and I'm ready to block his number so he can't do it anymore."

_________________

Ugh, little Wilder is so cute. cx

I'm adding yet another character to the crossover. cx I'm trying to keep it go on longer because I miss all these people ESPECIALLY CANTER. I love Canter, but Hunter had to be stupid and ruin it. :/