“Molly called on the way back from the airport and asked her to come over. She sounded really weird too, but Callie said it would be okay. She also said if she wasn’t home in an hour to come looking for her. It hasn’t been an hour yet.”
“Do you think we should go over there?” I turn around and ask Brody. I know Molly would never hurt Callie, but I also know it usually doesn’t end well with the two of them in the same room.
“I think that would probably be a good idea,” he says, looking back at Leighton. “Do you want to go with us?”
“Sure, she hasn’t been gone fifteen minutes yet. Are y’all sure we need to interrupt?” she asks
“I don’t see how it could hurt anything,” I say, walking out the door. Brody has parked behind me so we all three climb into his truck to head to his parents. As soon as we pull up, I see her jeep and feel instant relief. I really don’t ever feel completely calm anymore unless I can see or touch her. She definitely keeps me calm.
We all get out of the truck when we hear a sound I know all too well, a gunshot. Brody and I look at each other before we take off running into the house. When we get inside all the lights are off. The only sound is a muffled sobbing. I run into the living room toward the sound. I trip over something when I run into the room. It’s a man, a man that has been shot. I have no idea who he. I just need to find Callie. I look up to see the most terrifying sight in the world. Callie is sprawled out on the couch with blood all over her leg. Molly is tied up next to her crying with her mouth taped. I run over to Callie while Brody runs over and starts untying Molly. He pulls her tape off of her mouth and starts asking what happened but she just keeps sobbing.
I grab Callie and try to find a pulse. She has one, but it is very weak. I have to find out where all of the bleeding is coming from. I start touching all over her body, trying to stop the bleeding. I finally find a horrible gash in her upper thigh. I mash my hand on it trying to stop the bleeding. I turn around to find Leighton standing behind me with her mouth wide open and tears streaming down her face.
“Leighton, look at me. I need you to find something I can tie around her leg and I need you to call an ambulance,” I say, trying not to scream at her for just standing there and not helping me. She nods her head and takes off running.
I hear Brody next to me calling an ambulance while trying to calm Molly down who keeps repeating “I’m sorry” over and over. Leighton finally runs in with a towel and a belt.
“I didn’t know what to get,” she says, between sobs. I put the towel on her and tie the belt around the gash. I start looking all over her body to see if she has any other injuries. I don’t see anything until I lift her shirt up and see the boot mark on her stomach. She has to have some broken ribs from being kicked that hard. I don’t know who this guy is, but he better be dead for doing this to her.
I turn around to Brody, “Can you please check to see if he’s dead. If he’s not, let me know and I will take care of it,” I say. He walks over to him and leans down.
“He’s dead,” he says, looking at Molly. She is still sitting there repeating how sorry she is. Finally I can hear the sirens coming down the driveway. I’m just praying it’s not too late.
I ride in the ambulance with Callie. Brody rides with Molly even though she is insisting she is fine. Leighton follows us in Brody’s truck and calls Bo and Cindy on the way. I know I need to call my dad, but I want to be able to tell him what is going on before I do. As soon as we get to the hospital they make us all go into the waiting room while they take her back.
Bo and Cindy are already waiting when I get in there and Jaxon and Collin join us a few minutes later. Brody and Leighton come in right after me and soon the doctor walks in.
“Callie Scott’s family,” he says, walking over to us when we all jumped to our feet. “She is going to be fine. She has a bad cut on her leg, but it’s being taken care of without surgery. Her stomach is bruised and she has two broken ribs. She is going to be fine, but will probably be in a lot of pain. She is going to need a lot of rest. I need to know if she is allergic to anything. Does she have any medical condition I need to know about?” We all just look at each other.
“You can’t give her any pain medication, at least nothing strong,” Leighton says, looking at the doctor.
“What do you mean she can’t have pain medicine? She just got stabbed in the leg and kicked hard enough to break ribs. She is going to need something,” Brody yells at her.
“Is there a reason she can’t have anything?” the doctor asks Leighton.
“I think she may be pregnant,” Leighton says, looking at me.
“Why would you think that?” I ask her, knowing if Callie knew she would have told me. She’s probably not happy about it, but she would have told me.
“I found a test in the bathroom when I got to your house. It had two pink lines. I don’t know what that means, but I know she wouldn’t want any medicines that could harm her baby.”
“Thank you, we will run a pregnancy test on her before giving her anything. She should be awake in a couple of hours. One person can come back with her right now, but that’s all,” the doctor says, before leaving.
I start walking toward the door when Brody stops me. “You are not going back there with her. You have done enough,” he says, grabbing my arm.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask. There is no way he is keeping me from her or my baby.
“You were supposed to take care of her, protect her. She is lying in a hospital bed right now. You didn’t protect her,” he says. I have never seen Brody so angry at me about anything. We have been friends my entire life and we have never had any problem. I guess big brothers really can be over protective. “You knocked my sister up,” he screams. “I knew she should never have moved in with you.”
“I didn’t knock your sister up,” I yell back.
“She would not cheat on you, it has to be yours. You did knock my sister up,” he says back.
“Stop saying that, I did not knock your sister up. I got my wife pregnant, there’s a huge difference. So stop talking about her like that,” I say, before realizing I just told them the one thing she wanted to keep a secret.
“You two are married?” Cindy asks, speaking for the first time since she got here. “When did you get married?”
“We went to Vegas after I went to Miami to get her. I wanted to tell you, but she didn’t think it would be a good idea. I had no idea she was pregnant,” I say, turning around to Leighton. “When do you think she found out?”
“Probably this morning, it was in the top of the garbage. I’m sure she was planning to tell you. She wouldn’t keep anything from you. I think you should go back there before she wakes up.”
I turn to walk back through the door when Brody stops me again. “I’m sorry man, I know you would do anything to protect her. I just don’t want to lose her.”
I just nod back at him and walk through the door. I walk into the room to find Callie lying on the bed. I sit down in the chair next to her and pull out my phone to call my dad. He picks up on the first ring.
“Hey, I need you to come to the hospital.”
“Okay, are you alright?” he asks.
“It’s Callie. She’s going to be okay, but she was hurt pretty bad. I don’t know who did it. They tied Molly up too. Callie shot him, whoever it was. He’s dead. Can you get here soon?”
“I’m on my way right now. She’s going to be fine, she has to be. I’ll be there in about half an hour,” he says.
“There’s something else. I think she may be pregnant. What if something happened to the baby? She got kicked hard in the stomach, broke two ribs. How do I tell her if something happened to the baby?”
“She is going to be fine. That’s the important thing. The two of you can get through anything. I know that. I also know if that baby is anything like his or her mother, he or she will definitely be a fighter too. I’m on my way,” he says, before hanging up. I really hope he’
s right.
Chapter Eighteen
I feel like something is sitting on top of me keeping me from breathing. I move my arm up to try and knock it off. When there’s nothing there for it to hit, my arm falls on my stomach and a pain I didn’t know was possible hits me. I try to open my eyes, but I am having trouble keeping them open. What has happened to me? I try to think back but I can’t remember anything. I finally get my eyes open to find everyone sitting around me. We are in a hospital room. I am in a hospital bed. I look over beside me to find Ash staring back at me.
“Hey,” he whispers.
“What happened?” I ask him, looking around the room. Everyone is in here.
“You don’t remember?” he asks. I try think back again and figure out what happened.
“I remember Molly called to talk. I dropped Leighton off at the house and went to meet her. I got there and………….” The eyes, the blue eyes were there. I am shaking and there is no way I can stop the sobs that are coming out of me now.
“Baby, it’s okay. You are safe. You’re going to be fine. Calm down,” Ash keeps saying. How he can say that? He must not know what I did. I killed someone. I had to though. He killed my parents. He would have killed me and Molly. Molly.
“Where’s Molly? Is she okay?” I ask, looking around the room. I find her sitting in the corner with tears streaming down her face.
“I’m so sorry,” she says, before running out of the room. Everyone is just sitting around staring at me.
“Somebody go after her,” I whisper through the pain that is keeping me from breathing right now. Finally Cindy runs out of the room to find Molly.
“Is he dead?” I ask Ash, looking into his eyes. He just nods his head at me and continues to rub my cheek.
“I killed him,” I say. “I had to do it, he was going to kill us both.”
“It’s okay baby, you did the right thing. I am so proud of you. You saved your life and Molly’s life,” Ash says, still looking into my eyes.
“Ash, I have to tell you something. I am so sorry. I should have done more to protect it, I am so sorry,” I say, sobbing uncontrollably now. My baby, the one person I was supposed to protect, I let down. There was no way a baby could have survived that kick.
“Hey, it’s okay. Look at me,” he says, trying to pull my face back even with his. “They did some bloodwork and said your some kind of levels were good. I don’t know what that means, but they think the baby is fine. They want to do an ultrasound when you are ready to make sure.”
“You know about the baby?” I ask him, watching him nod his head at me.
“Leighton found your test in the bathroom and told the doctor so they wouldn’t give you anything that could harm it. Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was going to tonight. I just took the test yesterday afternoon. I was trying to think of some clever way to tell you. I’m so sorry. I really do want this baby though. I was so excited.”
“I know you were. Why don’t I go find a nurse and they can come in and do an ultrasound now so we can make sure our baby is okay?” he says, standing up from the chair beside my bed. He walks out of the room to find a nurse and I take a look around the room. Everybody is just staring at me with pity on their face. The one thing I can’t stand.
“I can’t believe you got married and didn’t even tell your best friend. I am so mad at you,” Leighton says, coming over to give me and very soft hug. “I’m also very proud of you and so thankful you are okay,” she whispers in my ear.
“When you are better and Ash isn’t totally flipping out, I will probably beat him up.” Brody says, coming over and giving me a quick kiss on the forehead.
“You better not,” I say to him. He just looks down at me and smiles.
“I really am happy for you two. I would have given you privacy if you had just told me.”
“I know you would have. Ash was planning on you moving in being enough for me to give in and tell everyone. I just didn’t want to do that to Molly. Speaking of Molly, is she okay? Did he hurt her or something? I know she went through a lot, but I’m kind of the one that got stabbed, so what is wrong with her?” I ask, watching everyone just look around at each other. Finally Ash comes back in the room with a nurse pulling an ultrasound machine behind her.
“Everyone out except the daddy,” she says to everyone in the room. Slowly they all start walking out of the room to give us some privacy. Bo and Clay are the last ones out after coming over to give a quick hug and tell me congratulations. I don’t know if they are talking about being married or having a baby. I guess they have had lots of surprises today. I just really hope this baby is okay.
“The first thing I am going to do is measure the baby so we can get an idea of how far along you are. After that we will look for the heartbeat and if you are far enough along, we will listen to it,” the nurse says, getting everything set up.
I grab Ash’s hand and look over at him. “I’m so sorry,” I say to him for what feels like the hundredth time since I woke up.
“Stop apologizing. It’s not your fault,” he says, wiping the tears off of my face. “This is a happy time. We are about to see our baby for the first time.”
“What if something happened? What if I killed our baby?” I ask him, turning my head to look at the screen in front of me.
“This baby is going to be just fine,” the nurse says, smiling at me.
“I’m going to get a measurement really quick, and then we will listen to the heartbeat. See this little dot beating. That’s your baby’s heart beating,” she says, looking at the screen really close. This has to be one of the most amazing moments of my life. Somehow after everything my body has been through today, my baby has been so strong and survived it all.
“It looks like you are around eight weeks,” she says, standing up to look closer to the screen. “Can you see this right here?” she asks, pointing to a blob on the screen. “Do you know what that is?” she asks, smiling back at me.
“I thought that was the heartbeat,” I say to her confused.
“It is a heartbeat,” she says, “a second heartbeat.”
I look over at Ash who looks just as confused as I am right now. “I don’t understand. Babies only have one heartbeat, why does mine have two?” Why is this nurse looking so excited about my baby having two heartbeats? That can’t be safe, unless there are two babies…………. I’m having twins.
“Wait, do you mean there are two babies?” I finally ask the nurse.
“Congratulations, you are having twins. Both babies look very healthy. Are you ready for those heartbeats now?” We both just nod our heads at her while watching the screen. I don’t know what I was expecting to hear, but the sound coming out of the machine right now was not it. I never knew you could hear a baby heartbeat so early. They are just little dots on the screen, but they already have a beating heart. “One is beating 156 times per minute and the other is 148. Everything looks really healthy right now. I’ll print off your babies’ first photos for
you to keep. The doctor will be in when he makes his rounds and tell you more then,” she says, handing me the three pictures. Baby A was printed on one, Baby B was printed on one and they also had a picture together. This has to be the most amazing things I have ever seen. “Congratulations to you both,” she says, standing up and taking the machine back out the door.” I’ll tell your family to give you a few minutes before coming in.”
“Are you okay?” Ash asks, looking down at the ultrasound pictures I can’t stop staring at.
“I’m great. My leg is killing me and I feel like I can’t breathe, but I am so happy,” I say, looking up at Ash. “Are you okay with this, two babies?”
“I have never been happier. I was so scared when I walked in that room and saw you laying there covered in blood. I thought I had lost you. Now I not only have you but two babies we created together, I am definitely the luckiest man in the world,” he says, leaning down to give me a quick kiss on the lips.
“I am so sorry. I have no idea how he found me or Molly. He knew everything. Do you know his name?” I ask. Ash just nods his head and looks at me with the saddest eyes when the door busts open and Leighton and Brody come back into the room.
“Is everything okay? The nurse wouldn’t tell us anything,” Leighton asks, while everyone except Molly and Jaxon come pouring into the room. I guess this conversation will have to wait. I feel like I am missing something again.
“Everything is great. Where’s Molly, is she okay?” I ask Cindy, while she just looks at Ash.
“You didn’t tell her?” she asks Ash.
“I was about to tell her when you all came back in the room.”
Something was definitely going on. Had something happened to Molly while I had been out of it? I know she was tied up and that had to be a hard thing to live through, but she wasn’t lying in a hospital bed like I was. “Ash, what’s going on?”
“His name was Kyle Smith,” Ash says, taking a deep breath and looking around the room. I have never heard that name before. Maybe he is a family friend of theirs or something. I hope not, they probably wouldn’t appreciate me shooting him. Finally Ash looks back at me.
“Molly has been dating him for the past couple of months or longer. We’re not really sure where or when she met him. She’s not saying much.” She has been dating the boy that murdered my parents. This could not have been a coincidence. He had to have looked us up and found her. Was she mad I shot him?
“I’m sorry I killed him, but he was going to kill us. He killed my parents. He was crazy. His story was ridiculous, there is no way my parents did what he says they did to his mom. I need to talk to Molly. Where is she? I’m so sorry.” I can’t stop the tears now. I have cried more in the past six months than I have ever cried. He had her tied up. She can’t blame me for killing him. He really would have killed us both and probably everybody else.
“She’s not mad at you for killing him. She’s mad at herself for falling for his lies and calling you to come over. She thinks she killed your baby. She’s really not a bad person, this has just been really hard on her,” Cindy says, coming over to sit by me. “How did the ultrasound go?” she whispers. I look at Ash and take the ultrasound picture from him and hand them to her. If anybody knows what they mean it will be her. She has had twins after all.
Finding You: The Switched Series book one Page 13
