Defect

by Danielle James

  EZRA

  “Where is Solana?” Amaris rushed through the triage doors frazzled, scanning the empty space for her sister. Something in my fucking gut was wrong. So wrong. I’d been feeling it since the ambulance pulled off.

  “She went back home to get files for when CPS came and she wanted to call the lawyer.”

  “Okay. That’s smart. How is Malachi?”

  “They’re giving him an x-ray right now so I’m waiting…” My words halted in mid-sentence.

  Something hit my chest.

  Something heavy and sharp gripped my heart so tight that I had to put my hand over it. I rested my elbows on my knees and coughed. “Ezra, what’s wrong?” Amaris put her hand on my back then snatched it away like I was on fire. That’s exactly what it felt like though. It felt like my entire chest cavity had been set ablaze.

  “I gotta go, Amaris. Please stay here with Malachi. Tell him I went to check on Solana.” I pushed to my feet and bolted toward the doors.

  “Ezra! Wait a damn minute,” she fussed, running after me. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know. All I know is I have a horrible feeling and I need to get to Solo. Now.”

  “Didn’t you ride in the ambulance?”

  “Fuck. Yes, I did.” She tossed me her keys and looked at me with tears in her eyes.

  “Please go check on my sister.” I thanked her, took the keys and ran to the parking lot looking for her car. When I found it and got in, I called Solana.

  No answer.

  Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

  I called her twenty times in a row and got nothing but voicemail. When I pulled into the driveway and saw the front door ajar, my stomach sank to my shoes. I walked through water and fire until I reached her.

  My sunflower.

  Crushed and lying on the floor.

  I fell to my knees beside her and let out an excruciating roar.

  My heart was bleeding on the floor. I put her head in my lap and smoothed back her beautiful dark hair. “Solana, please wake up, baby.” I put my hand on her chest and felt for her heartbeat.

  I felt nothing.

  I pressed two fingers to her wrist and felt the faint thump of her pulse.

  She was alive. I patted my pockets for my phone but it wasn’t there. It was in Amaris’ car.

  Shit.

  I didn’t want to leave her for a second. I had to call for help though. I leaned down and kissed her bloody forehead, staining my lips with her life force. I didn’t care. I slid from under her and took my shirt off to cushion her head. I rushed out to the car and nearly yanked the door off when I opened it. I felt around inside until my hand connected with my phone. When I closed the door, I heard sobbing coming from the bushes on the side of the house.

  I quieted the thundering of my heart echoing through my ears and turned on my phone’s flashlight. I jogged over to the side of the house and searched the bushes to find Vince sitting on the ground with his head hung low. When the light brushed against his hands, I saw blood tinting his knuckles.

  “I killed her. I…I killed her,” he sobbed. Tears and snot dripped from his face and soon blood would be added to the list. He didn’t need to know that she was still alive. If I had my way, he wouldn’t be.

  I dropped my phone and lunged for him, dragging him from the bushes and onto the lawn. I took my sorrow and pain out on him throwing heavy blow after blow to his face until I couldn’t feel my knuckles anymore. Until my shoulders burned and my fingers ached. I stumbled backward only when I realized I needed to get help for Solana.

  I found my phone lit up in the grass and grabbed it. It slipped out of my grasp because my hands were wet with Vince’s blood. It caked crimson under my fingernails and swirled in the grooves of my fingerprints.

  I grabbed it harder the next time I picked it up and called for an ambulance. I was sick and fucking tired of ambulances. Then I called the police to report an attack. I went back to Solo’s side and held her in my arms, resting my forehead against hers.

  “I love you,” I told her quietly. “You’re my sunflower. I’ll never leave you so please don’t leave me.” My salty tears dripped onto her beautiful face and I shut my eyes. “I can’t do any of this without you. You gotta hold on.”

  Red and blue lights flooded the entire street but I still didn’t budge. I couldn’t leave her. She’d never leave me. I held on to her hand and skimmed my finger over the red string tattoo.

  “Sir you need to stand up now!” I didn’t care if cops yelled at me. My heart was broken. I stood up slowly, resting Solana’s head on my shirt for support then I held my hands in the air.

  “I’m the one who called you,” I said quietly.

  “Hands behind your back, now!” I followed directions and told them where they could find an unconscious Vince.

  “I live here. That’s my fiancé on the floor. I came home and found him attacking her.” I lied a little bit but so the fuck what? I knew if I said anything about me dragging Vince from the bushes and fucking him up, they’d throw my ass in a cell. I had to be there for Solana and Malachi.

  The paramedics put Solo on a stretcher and immobilized her neck then loaded her in the back of the ambulance while I answered a ton of fucking questions. “Am I under arrest?” I asked, frustrated. The ambulance was pulling off and I wanted to be in there with Solana.

  “No, Mr. Fredericks.”

  “Then I need to go be with my fiancé.” I stood up and grabbed my shirt off the floor, pulling it on over my head. “If y’all wanna question me more you can follow me to the hospital.” I stood in the hall while the officers begrudgingly cleared out of the house. Before I locked the door, I made sure to grab the files Solana intended to get. I hopped into Amaris’ car and peeled away from the house.

  I didn’t give a fuck what they did to Vince. They could lock him up. They could take him to the hospital. As long as he wasn’t anywhere near Solo or Malachi I didn’t care. He’d done enough damage for one night.

  …

  “Oh my god, Ezra. What the hell happened to you?” Amaris rushed over to me, patting me down for injuries. “Is Solana okay? Where is she?” She was hurling questions at me faster than I could answer them.

  “Vince got to her. I don’t know how but he beat her…bad. She was unconscious when I got there.” Amaris’ knees went weak when my words sank in. She grabbed the nearest chair and fell into it.

  “Is…is she okay?”

  “I don’t know. She’s alive but they took her in the ambulance while the police were still questioning me.” I looked over at Malachi and sighed. He was sound asleep. I walked over to him and leaned down to kiss his forehead. “Has CPS been here yet?” I asked.

  “No. His caseworker is on the way though.”

  “Okay.” I sat down and handed Amaris her keys. “I know you want to go find, Solo.” I ached to be at her side but I knew family came first. Amaris reached over and rubbed my shoulder.

  “Go find her, Ezra. Text me when you know she’s okay.” I lifted my head and raised my eyebrows.

  “You sure?”

  “Yes. Go. I know if she sees me when she wakes up she’s going to ask about you.” I stood up and headed out of Malachi’s room. “Hey, Ezra…thank you for not leaving her.” She blinked away the tears shimmering in her eyes. I nodded and gave her a hug.

  My feet carried me down brightly lit hallways until I reach information. I begged the woman behind the counter to tell me where Solana Monroe was. After five minutes of asking, she told me that Solana was in triage room four. I tossed a thank you at her and ran back toward triage. I came to a stop in front of room four and steadied my breathing. When I walked in, nurses surrounded the bed and Solana’s petite body laid there looking around, scared. She was awake though.

  “Ezra,” she creaked out.

  “I’m right here, Solana.” I held her hand, reaching through the sea of workers and she grabbed on.

  “Sir, you can’t be in here right now.”

  “I�
��m her fiancé,” I said, looking directly into those brandy eyes I’d fallen madly in love with. The nurses looked to Solana for validation and she nodded her head quickly. They let me stay, thankfully. I didn’t let go of her hand once.

  It took them twenty minutes to take her vitals, take her blood, and check her injuries. Once they finally left, I moved closer to her and kissed the back of her hand. “How are you?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions in check.

  “Not so good,” she said sadly. “I think my ribs are broken. They hurt so fucking bad.”

  “I’m sorry, baby. I am so sorry.” A few beats of silence passed then I said, “I fucked him up. He was still sitting in the bushes when I got to you. He thought he killed you. I thought I killed him.” I looked down at my red, swollen knuckles and shook my fists out.

  “He was still there?” She said in shock. “I was so scared, Ezra.” Tears spilled out of her beautiful eyes and I wiped them away. She didn’t need to cry over that motherfucker anymore.

  “I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”

  “I don’t regret you being here with Malachi. Is he okay?” I nodded and kissed her forehead.

  “Amaris is with him.”

  “Oh, thank god.” She gave my hand a squeeze.

  “Miss Monroe, we’re going to stitch up your cuts. By then your blood work should be back and we can go get your x-rays done.” I watched the nurses work to sew her up and I wished I could rewind time and beat Vince’s ass again.

  Solana needed five stitches on her cheek and three at her hairline. As they finished, another nurse came in, crowding the already small space. “Okay, Miss Monroe we have your blood work back. No infection. We’re going to get you right over to ultrasound to check on the baby. Do you know how far along you are?”

  I blinked repeatedly as if it would help me hear better. I looked at Solana and she had an expression that matched mine. “I’m sorry…did you say baby? I had no idea I was even pregnant.”

  The nurse smiled a little and said, “Well, your blood work is showing a pregnancy that seems to be pretty far along. I assumed you knew. I’m sorry if this was a shock. Let’s get you an ultrasound.”

  “Wait, wait…she thinks her ribs are broken. Can she get an x-ray?” I asked. I was still in shock and didn’t know what else to say. My mind was reeling. I wanted to postpone the ultrasound for a little while because I was terrified that something would be wrong with the baby after the way Vince beat Solana. If she lost the baby before I even know there was one, I’d crumble.

  “We need to check on the pregnancy first, sir. After that, we’ll check on her ribs. She has been given pain killers to dull the pain.” Solana looked at me and tried to smile but I could see she was scared too.

  While we waited for someone to come with an ultrasound machine, I sent Amaris a text telling her that Solana was awake and doing okay. I didn’t tell her about the baby because I was still scared.

  Time ticked on forever while we waited.

  Then finally, the ultrasound machine rolled in. I waited with bated breath while they squeezed goop on her belly and searched for a baby. They couldn’t find one. The tech looked at the nurse in the room and frowned.

  “You said her HCG levels were showing a twelve-week pregnancy, right? We should be able to see it. Ma’am, do you know how far along you are?”

  “No. I didn’t even know I was pregnant,” Solana’s voice trembled and I kissed the back of her hand. I felt helpless. All I could do was stand by while they fired questions at her.

  “Okay. Don’t worry. We’ll do a transvaginal ultrasound.” I watched them probe inside of her with a wand and after a few seconds, I heard a staggered woosh over the speakers on the machine.

  “There’s the heartbeat,” The tech said slowly.

  Woosh. Woosh.

  Then.

  Woosh. Woosh.

  Once, then again. Once, then again. The pattern puzzled the nurse and the tech as well until she adjusted the probe.

  “Oh…well. Look at that. No wonder you’re hearing such an irregular heartbeat. Because there are two heartbeats. You’re pregnant with twins, mama. Identical too.” She pointed to the screen while my world faded in and out of focus. “See? They’re sharing a sac.” My heart thundered to life. Pride and gratitude surged through my veins. I couldn’t hold back my joy or my tears.

  “Twins?” I said, making sure I heard her correctly.

  “Yes, sir. Congratulations, you two.”

  Suddenly, my world grew bigger by two heartbeats.

  I was going to be a father. Solana was having identical twins.

  When we were finally left alone after all the commotion, I let out a laugh. “Twins. We’re having twins.”

  “Fucking twins. I don’t even think I care about my ribs anymore,” she said. “This is your fault. You know that, right? You and your sage dick, cleansing everything and making way for not one but two babies.” She flashed me a beautiful smile even though her face was swollen and she was in pain.

  She was still my sunflower.

  She was still glowing.

  That was Solana. She was a true goddess no matter the situation.

  …

  SOLANA

  “Miss Monroe, it’s my understanding that you requested an emergency hearing. Correct?” The judge looked at me from the bench and I smiled politely. My face still throbbed even after three days.

  “Yes, Your Honor,” I answered.

  “My client called for an emergency hearing after Malachi Wallace contacted her when his father Vincent Wallace brutally beat him then left him alone,” My lawyer, Charles Allen said.

  “Your client is petitioning for full legal custody of Malachi Wallace. Is that correct?”

  “Yes, your honor. We are asking that Vincent Wallace’s parental rights be terminated on the grounds of severe neglect and abuse. I believe you have copies of the numerous reports filed by Malachi’s principal and teacher in addition to the open welfare case from child protective services.”

  “I’ve reviewed them all,” the judge said. “Is Malachi here?”

  “Yes, Your Honor. He’s here,” my lawyer said.

  “Good, bring him out, please. I’d like to speak to him.” We all waited quietly as Malachi was brought into the courtroom. I smiled when I saw how brave my baby was. He held his head high and took slow deep breaths like I taught him. I gave him thumbs up when he sat on the stand.

  “Hi, Malachi. I’m Judge Harris. Can I ask you a couple of questions?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he nodded respectfully.

  “Thank you. We’re making a very important decision today and I want to know what you want to do about it. Would you like to live with your dad or would you like to live with Miss Monroe?”

  “I want to live with Miss Monroe. I love her. She’s already my mommy in my heart.” I had to fight back tears and I couldn’t tell if it was from his sweet words or the double dose of hormones coursing through me.

  “Do you think you’d ever want to live with your dad?” Judge Harris asked.

  “No. He’s mean. He won’t let me eat and he hits me all the time.”

  “Judge, I’d like to point out Malachi’s physical record. He’s currently ten pounds underweight for a child his age. The pediatrician cited malnourishment and neglect as the cause,” Mr. Allen said.

  “I’ve heard enough. Thank you, Malachi.” She smiled at him and waited for him to be escorted out of the room before she spoke again. She turned her glare to Vince and said, “Mr. Wallace you are a despicable human being. You have purposefully neglected and abused your son as well as your ex-girlfriend. You’ve proven yourself to be unfit and a monster in general. The court has been unsuccessful in locating Malachi’s mother and there are no other family members that wish to step forward.

  I am therefore moving in agreement with Miss Monroe and terminating your parental rights as Malachi’s father. You will have no visitation, no responsibility, and no contact. Malachi is gratefully no lon
ger in your care.” Vince didn’t look fazed in the least. Judge Harris turned to me and said, “Miss Monroe, you are hereby granted full custody of Malachi Wallace effective, immediately making you his legal mother. Congratulations, and I hope you give him a better life than he had before.” She sounded the gavel and stood to her feet leaving the courtroom.

  I fell to the chair behind me in a fit of happy sobs. Ezra rushed over to me and held me while I cried. I didn’t even see Vince being escorted out of the courtroom but I was glad he was gone when I looked up. “You did it, Solo,” he said, speaking into my hair. “He’s ours.”

  “Oh my god, I’m so happy,” I sniffled. Amaris walked over and took a shit ton of pictures of the moment until Ezra pulled her in for a hug too. “Thank you so much, sissy. You have no idea how much your love and dedication helped us get to this point.”

  “Yes, I do. That’s why once a month me and my nephew are having sleepovers at auntie’s house.”

  “Fine by me. You gotta take these two too though.” I pointed at my stomach and Amaris rubbed it gently.

  “Aww, my heart is so full, Solana. I’m so happy for you and Ezra.”

  “Even though you kinda hated me at first,” Ezra said with a shrug.

  “I did not kinda hate you. I pre-judged you based on your age, which was wrong to do and I sincerely apologize. You’re not like every other eighteen-year-old.”

  “Does that mean you’re admitting to being wrong?” I quizzed in shock.

  “I’m not going to say all that. Listen…where is my nephew?” I shook my head at her then sent for the caseworker to bring out Malachi. My new son.

  “Did it work, Solo? Are you and Hulk my parents now?” His eyes were so hopeful.

  “Yes, baby. We’re your new parents.” God, it felt good to say those words to him. They were words he deserved to hear. I didn’t expect his eyes to fill up with tears. I thought he would smile and be happy instead, he broke down. His little body was flooded with relief.

  Ezra scooped him up and he cried like a baby on his shoulder. “Hey, Malachi, you wanna go get some ice cream and pizza and go party at home?” Amaris asked him while she rubbed his back. He didn’t speak he only nodded. He was too overcome and I didn’t blame him one bit.