When it was time for Mariana to get discharged, Crystal came to help her and held onto her arm as she limped out on crutches.

The chilly wind blew across their faces, it felt like branches scraping their cheeks. Mariana shivered as it caused her eyes to water up, but not because she was cold, it was because she felt let down that Micah never visited her. Her body felt even more weighed down and exhausted than it was because of that.

She let out a deep, hollow sigh as she walked along while leaning on Crystal. She struggled to keep herself upright because she felt like all her body weight was being put on the crutches, making her want to fall on the concrete ground as she was fed up. But at least she was finally allowed to go home now.

They ended up at Crystal's gray, metallic Lamborghini to which she paused in front of its sleek and shiny design. It beamed in her eyes and she gasped as she couldn't believe what she saw.

"Is that yours?" Mariana asked slowly, still in bewilderment.

"Yes, it's mine."

"Are we actually going in it?" Mariana mumbled as she couldn't stop staring at it. She was also in disbelief that she was going to ride home in it.

"Yes of course we are," Crystal chuckled and shook her head. She found Mariana's questions amusing.

She pulled the door upwards and helped her into the passenger seat. She fluffed the pillow that she had prepared for Mariana, making sure it was extra cushy.

"Are you comfortable?"

"Yes thank you," Mariana answered politely, as she looked up at Crystal's motherly face and settled into the seat.

Crystal got into the driver's seat and fixed her bun before pressing the start button, vibrating the car into life. She started driving and Mariana rested her arm against the window. She sulked against the cold, damp glass, sniffing her nose as her eyes burned up.

She didn't want to cry but she felt forlorn and abandoned like he didn't care about her. She really wondered where he could be.

"Are you okay Mariana?" Crystal asked as they stopped at a traffic light. She lightly lifted her chin because Mariana's head seemed glued to the red part of the seat.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You sure? I hope you weren't too lonely at the hospital."

"No, I'm just tired."

"Oh, I understand. I had a long day at work so I'm a bit tired too."

"Oh, I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you."

"No no, you're not disturbing me. I'm happy to take you home, just to make sure you're safe and alright." Crystal smiled and patted her knee in assurance of her words.

"Aw, thanks." Mariana smiled in her seat, she felt the sun kiss her cheeks, warming them up, tinting them pink as she felt so loved by Crystal at this moment.

Once they reached her house, Crystal helped her upstairs and into her bed. She folded several sheets over, making sure she wouldn't be cold.

Mariana just watched her intensely, with only her small face and her big brown eyes being visible.

She started to get sleepy but to pass the time, she studied Crystal's features and compared them to how her grown-up children look. Her lovely, melanated skin made her look young and fresh, with her thick, arched eyebrows shaded above her dark brown eyes that were gorgeous and glossy. Now Mariana could really see how Micah's face shape really resembled his mother.

"You know," Mariana said as she sat up a little, "Micah has your face shape." 

"Really? Maybe it's because he's my son." She started to laugh at her pretty obvious observation.

"But yeah, he looks more like his dad though, the spitting image of him."

"Yeah, I agree." Since having dinner with his family, Mariana got to notice the strong similarities.

"Meanwhile, Mason looks more like me, even though he doesn't deserve my good genes," she said with a slight chuckle at her own words.

Mariana snickered because it had a hint of truth in it, but she also thought of something else with the choice of her words.

"So does that mean Micah is your favorite then?" She sat up and then leaned towards Crystal on the bed. She was enjoying this conversation and it cheered her up a bit.

"Yes, only because he's more well-behaved than Mason."

"But the difference between me and their dad is, I never made it so blatantly obvious who was my favorite when they were growing up." Crystal then pulled out her phone and went to a photo. "Sometimes I would do the same hairstyle on them for special events so they wouldn't get jealous." She then showed the picture on her phone to Mariana.

"Look at my boys," she exclaimed with a big smile on her face, filled with affection. The picture was of Mason and Micah stood on both sides of their mother, wearing leather jackets and pants, with their hair in cornrows braided in a criss-cross fashion and a little fade.

"Wow, they look really good," Mariana said, gazing over the neatly parted lines, the sun glossed over them, making them look so pleasing to the eyes.

"Thank you." Crystal put the phone back in her pocket.

When she was done making Mariana into a little cocoon, she gave her cheeks a little squeeze, and sat on a chair, and began folding some other stuff. She looked so relaxed and elegant with her wavy black pants, and her white high heels.

Mariana just watched her from the corner of her eye. Her head was on the pillow and she finally had a little smile on. It wasn't much but it was something.

Crystal could see that she wanted to sleep so she got off her seat.

"I'm going to be heading home now Mariana, but I hope your leg gets better, it was nice seeing you."

"Okay thanks for everything Crystal, I really appreciate it." She smiled like she was a sunflower, even though she was still feeling a bit down.

Crystal was about to walk out of the door when Mariana called her.

"By the way, can you do one more thing for me please?"

"Sure what is it?"

"Um, do you mind singing to me?" She was a bit embarrassed by this request, but Crystal was so much like a mother figure to her, and her parents had always sung to her before she went to bed. With her father holding her hand, and her mother sitting on the side of the bed.

"You want me to sing you to sleep?"

"Um yes..." Mariana didn't want to repeat the question as she felt her cheeks go red at how childish it sounded.

"Um...okay." She went back to Mariana's bed although she was trying not to laugh at the unusual request.

She sat back on a chair and Mariana held onto her hand, hugging it tightly with her eyes shut.

"I know the perfect song," Crystal said, her face brightening up like a light bulb went off in her head. The light surrounding then seemed to have simmered down as the wind slowly waved the curtains around.

"A dream is a wish your heart makes. When you're fast asleep," she sang softly, her voice fluttering around the whole room.

Mariana was slowly falling asleep to the sound. Crystal's voice was the most beautiful thing she's ever heard. It made her mind travel back to where she started to hear her mother's own voice, calling, echoing, and she felt herself slowly drifting out of her bed, and into the tranquil waters of her princess bed.

"In dreams, you will lose your heartaches.
Whatever you wish for, you keep," her mother sang as she tucked Mariana into bed.

"Have faith in your dreams and someday, your rainbow will come smiling through," her father continued as he lightly patted her small, delicate hand.

She smiled as she snuggled into the covers, holding onto her brown teddy with a red bow. Her big, curly locks were like a blanket over her fair face as she let out a little giggle. It was now time for bed, but she didn't want to go alone.

Even though she had her fairy night lamp, which kept all the scary monsters away by spreading its magic all over, she would prefer her parents to be there by her side, with her mother's loving, singing voice that in her hopeful, bright eyes, had the power to make her nightmares go away, and her father's hand to always rescue her if she was in danger. So no matter where she was, she could always count on them.

Forever and ever.

"No matter how your heart is grieving," Crystal continued to sing as a tear dripped off Mariana's eyelash and trickled down her cheek.

"If you keep on believing..."

"The dream that you wish will come true..."

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

I love Crystal so much😭♥️ ✨my black beauty✨ I kinda feel bad that I don't have scenes of her and Mariana moments like this 😅❤️