Absolution (The Infinity Series Book 2)

by Michelle Dennis

  ‘We may be in luck,’ I say.

  Jed stares at me, completely confused. ‘Huh?’

  ‘That’s Zane’s mum, isn’t it?’

  He follows my gaze and watches the couple take a seat on the opposite side of the room.

  And the penny drops.

  Jed pushes his chair back, grins at me and stands up.

  ‘You coming?’ he asks.

  Chapter 4

  We weave our way toward the café exit – skirting around Zane’s parents – and take off running. Jed leads us toward the fire stairs and pushes the door open without glancing back. He’s on a mission.

  When I finally reach the fifth floor and push open the fire exit door, Jed’s already running down the corridor – either he’s fast, or I’m unfit.

  Jed stops at Zane’s door and uses the sanitiser mounted on the wall before pushing open the curtain and disappearing. A moment later he reappears and gestures for me to follow him.

  ‘Come on man. Keep an eye out for me?’

  ‘Yeah of course,’ I pant, ‘sure thing.’

  As I squirt my hands with sanitiser and move into the dreaded dark room, my heart lightens at the sight of Abbie. She’s leaning over Zane, holding his hand and resting her head on his shoulder. She lifts her head at Jed’s arrival and quickly notices me. A smile spreads across her tired face and she rises from her chair.

  ‘Hey you two.’ She shakes her head a little, probably shocked that we’ve waltzed in together.

  I try to explain. ‘We saw Zane’s parents down at the café and thought it would be a good opportunity—’

  ‘—good idea, but they won’t be gone long,’ she interrupts me, moving into my embrace.

  ‘This won’t take long,’ Jed says quietly. He takes Abbie’s place and pulls the chair in closer, so he’s able to lean over Zane. He takes hold of Zane’s limp hand and pulls it up to his lips. It’s a motion I do with Abbie all the time; a soft caress that says a thousand things. It’s a kiss, a promise and a hope that passes from Jed’s lips to Zane’s skin with the faith that Zane will feel it.

  He whispers, ‘I’m here, Church Boy,’ and Abbie starts to cry.

  I pull her into a tighter embrace and kiss the top of her head, closing my eyes. I know her heart aches for these two, and so does mine, now that I’ve spent some time with Jed.

  I hear Jed sniff and when I glance over, he’s wiping away tears with his shirt sleeve. He reaches over and delicately caresses Zane’s bruised face. ‘Look what they’ve done to your pretty face, Church Boy.’ He wipes his tears away again and adds, ‘Don’t you worry though, you’ll be back on that dance floor soon enough.’ He tries to laugh a little, but starts to sob instead.

  Abbie moves out of my embrace to stand beside him. ‘Jed, he’s going to be okay. I heard the doctor say the swelling on his brain has come right down. It’s just a matter of time before he wakes up, and we’ll be here when he does.’

  Jed looks up at her, swallowing down the last of his tears. ‘You’re right. He’ll be fine. He’s tougher than he looks.’

  ‘What’s this, then?’ A man’s voice speaks from behind me.

  We all turn to see Zane’s parents enter the room. They look pissed off.

  ‘We were just saying that Zane will be fine, Mr. Williams,’ Abbie says, standing her ground next to Jed.

  ‘And who are you?’ Mr. Williams says to Jed, clearly noticing that the guy has hold of his son’s hand.

  ‘I’m Zane’s… um, friend… Jed, sir,’

  Mrs. Williams stands beside her husband, her arm threaded through his and looking completely out of sorts.

  ‘I think you kids had better leave now. We need some time with our son,’ Mr. Williams says firmly.

  As Jed slowly stands up, Abbie puts her hand on his shoulder, a show of support. Jed looks at Zane with so much pain in his expression, it makes my gut twist. ‘Okay,’ he says quietly as we leave the room.

  Stepping into the light of the corridor, Jed leans his back against the wall, sliding down until he’s sitting on the floor and drops his head into his hands.

  ‘Jed, it’ll be okay,’ Abbie says, crouching next to him and placing a hand on his knee. ‘When he wakes up, he’ll tell them everything.’

  I have a suspicion they already know, but denial is a pretty safe place to be.

  ∞~∞~∞~∞

  The situation with Zane takes most of Abbie’s energy, and while I would never deny her time with him, it doesn’t leave much room for anything else. I drop her at the hospital each morning before heading off to my shitty job, and pick her up in the evening, neither of which she really welcomes. I know she loves me, and I know that when I walk into the hospital room, I’m a renewed strength for her, but it’s draining for both of us.

  It’s a week before we get a chance to talk about our future. Now, on a Saturday morning and my day off, I have plans to spend some quality time with her. But, even as I become aware that the sun is already up, I quickly realise that Abbie is, too. I rub my eyes and run my hands through my hair, before climbing out of bed and pulling on a pair of boxers. They do little to hide my morning erection, so I throw on a t-shirt for the sake of decency; I don’t want Abbie thinking that sex is the only thing on my mind.

  Stepping into the hallway, and passing one of the bedrooms, I find her. She’s sitting cross-legged on an old armchair, wearing a cotton nighty and gazing down at a book she holds open in her lap. The room was empty, except for this old chair; now the floor is covered in books and baby clothes. She’s opened the dusty blinds and the sunlight highlights her red curls. I’m in awe of her graceful beauty, enhanced by the glow filtering through the window.

  She must sense my presence, because she lifts her head and smiles at me.

  ‘Good morning,’ she says, her eyes fixed on mine.

  I grin. ‘Good morning.’

  I know that look. She wants me close and I obey. It’s an automatic response.

  She wraps her arms around me and kisses just above the waistband of my boxers. Gentle kisses across my abdomen that set me on fire. There’s no hiding my erection now.

  ‘Do you want to talk?’ I ask quietly.

  ‘Not now.’

  I draw in a deep breath and push her hair back. Running her fingers between the waistband of the boxers and my skin, she slowly pulls them down and glides her hand along the shaft of my hard-on; holy shit, I need to remember how to breathe.

  ‘Okay.’ I take her hand – pulling her up to a standing position – and then I reach up beneath her nighty, tugging her panties down so they fall to the floor. I feel her tremble slightly.

  ‘Just relax,’ I whisper, taking a seat in the chair and pulling her closer.

  Grasping her hips, I position her to straddle me.

  She covers me now. With her curls loose around her face and her eyes closed, I feel her quiver with wanting me. She feels weightless, vulnerable and powerful all at once, and I want her – God, I want her! I can’t take her fast enough. We moan together and she moves like she’s floating on a cloud, skimming over mountains. I go there with her.

  Away.

  With no thoughts. No cares. Just ecstasy.

  Warm and sensual, in the morning sunlight; the promise kept of starting a new day together. I want a lot of these days.

  When we reach our peak, she moans and falls against my chest.

  ‘I love you,’ I breathe out. I have a flashback of the night we officially became “hooked” and how girlish she was. This thought makes me grin.

  ‘I love you, infinity,’ she whispers. I think she’s crying, so I lift her face and notice she has a single tear sitting on the edge of her eyelashes.

  I cradle her closer and wipe away the tear. ‘Why are you crying? Did I hurt you?’

  She smiles and rubs her hands over her face, ‘No, of course not. I’m just being silly. You know, pregnancy hormones – that’s all.’

  ‘I know, it’s a lot. We’ve been through a lot.’ I look around at th
e room, now bathed in strong sunlight. ‘How about we work out what we’re gonna do with this room? We can’t really keep it as our rumpus room with a baby on the way.’

  She giggles and hits my chest playfully. ‘Oh God! No, we’re not keeping this as our rumpus room – you caught me at a weak moment!’

  ‘Okay, well, how about we shower and get the day started?’

  ‘Okay,’ she agrees, getting to her feet. ‘But back to the hospital later?’

  I can’t deny her this, although I’d love nothing more than to spend an evening at home. ‘Of course,’ I say, standing up and offering her an exaggerated bow. ‘My lady,’ I add.

  She throws her head back and laughs, ‘Oh my God, you’re so full of it!’ before planting a kiss on my cheek. ‘Thank you.’

  I find her panties and hand them to her with a grin I know will make her blush; and it does.

  ‘I’m getting in the shower first – and alone,’ she says, waving her panties at me, before disappearing.

  I take a deep breath. What just happened? Another memory created. Another moment I’ll cherish forever – and I’m beginning to feel the pieces of my heart coming back together. I rub my face and pull on my boxers. I have to accept her sunshine will eventually push back the rain; and it’s going to be one hell of a rainbow.

  Chapter 5

  Saturday. The first of many to come. And after the way our Saturday morning started, it holds great promise.

  I step out of the shower, dry myself off and pull on a pair of jeans. I’ll see what Abbie wants to do with the rest of our day, before we head back to the hospital.

  As I stroll out of my room I hear singing. No music, just a woman’s voice, singing, ‘You are my sunshine, my only sunshine... You make me ha-ppeee, when skies are grey. You’ll never know dear, how much I love you, please don’t take my sunshine away.’

  I stop and listen. It’s Abbie. She sounds like Julie Andrews. Bloody hell, she sounds like an angel. I take a deep breath. Do I go and see what she’s up to? Do I let her be? I want to wrap her legs around my hips… Shit! Okay, I’m just going to see what she’s doing, without startling her.

  Creeping along the corridor, I get to the “Rumpus Room”, soon to be known as the “Baby’s Room”, and she’s sitting on the floor, opening up the boxes and bags Sam delivered last night. The rays of midday sun are warm, her hair is a mass of crazy red curls, and she’s wearing a white cotton dress. She’s my sunshine – for real.

  She holds up a tiny pink dress and her smile is wider than I’ve ever seen it. The dress looks like a doll’s dress, but I know who it’s for. She really does have a hunch that we’re having a little girl. She places the dress on the floor beside her and pulls another one from the box; this one is lemon-yellow with little white flowers – geez, I hope she’s right about this.

  I don’t make a sound. I stand there, leaning on the doorframe; listening to her sing and watching her unpack. She pulls out baby blankets, books, dummies, bottles and more clothes.

  Girls. They’re different to us guys. They’re all pink, and soft. But sometimes, they’re also strong and witty, with hearts so easily broken. How the hell am I going to take care of two girls? Or maybe I should rephrase that; how am I going to handle two girls, who may not always want me to take care of them? They’re not as pink and soft as they always seem, I know that. My mum was the toughest woman I’ve ever known. She was generous, soft and loving – but damn strong. She lost most of her heart to grief, but she never lost her kindness – and that was her greatest strength.

  Me – I lost my whole self.

  ‘Hey!’ Abbie’s singing stops when she notices me and she starts to laugh self-consciously.

  I bow graciously, holding one arm across my stomach, and give a melodramatic flourish with the other. ‘Greetings and salutations, Princess Abbie.’

  ‘Ha! You’re hilarious!’ She blushes and covers her face with a baby blanket. ‘Were you listening?’

  ‘I came out of the shower to discover a Disney princess singing in my house and couldn’t believe my ears!’ We’re both laughing and I’m already crossing the floor and pulling her into my arms before I realise I must sound like a twit.

  ‘Disney princess, huh? Well, at least you didn’t say Shrek.’ She covers my lips with hers.

  I pull back. ‘Shrek! No way! You sounded like Julie Andrews… or Sleeping Beauty…’

  She covers my mouth with her hands this time. ‘Oh, I doubt that.’

  I pull her hands away and pull her into a tight hold, lifting her from the ground and twirling her around. ‘I don’t doubt it. Our baby’s lucky her mum can sing.’

  I stop spinning and set her down, but keep her pulled close to my body. We kiss, for longer this time, and butterflies erupt in my gut before dizziness engulfs me. I push my hands up under her dress and she pulls back, breathless.

  ‘Not now.’

  ‘Oh.’ I catch my breath. ‘Really?’ My heart is racing and blood is pumping hard through my whole body.

  ‘I… I didn’t feel the best after… well, when you had your way with me this morning.’ She smiles, but it’s a little forced.

  ‘Oh God! Did I hurt you?’ I immediately sweep her back into my arms, but there’s no laughter this time.

  ‘No! Valentine… No, you didn’t hurt me.’ She places her hands on my face and forces me to look into her eyes – they’re green, bright green.

  ‘Okay, then what?’

  ‘It was just a little, I don’t know, dizzying? It felt as if I was drunk. It made me feel, unbalanced – and you know, it’s been a while since I’ve taken my meds. And I feel bad about being dizzy with happiness, when one of my best friends is in hospital – and I know Patrick feels the same. He was at the hospital yesterday and when I congratulated him on his engagement to Isabelle, he said he was over the moon, but sad that Zane wasn’t able to celebrate with him. I just needed to sit quietly and find my balance again.’

  ‘Oh, okay. I get that.’ I kiss her gently. ‘I really do. And I know Zane will be happy for you. He’ll be so excited when he wakes up, you’ll see.’ I kiss her again.

  ‘I know, he will. He’ll want to go dancing.’

  ‘He will. Now, take a deep breath.’

  She does and snuggles against my chest.

  ‘So, I made you feel drunk?’ I grin. I can’t help it. I’m a little self-satisfied; a little proud of myself, but I know it’s more than that. She’s doing it tough, with no meds and with everything she’s been through lately. I have to allow her to breathe a little.

  ‘Yes, you made me feel drunk. And as nice as it was, I need to regain my balance. I’d like to spend the day setting up this room. Doing adult stuff.’

  ‘Well, sex is adult stuff, but, okay, your wish is my command.’ I bow again and she laughs.

  ‘Can we move that little white shelf from Tyler’s room and bring it in here?’

  ‘Yeah, sure. I was meaning to ask you what you’d like to do with Tyler’s room. His furniture is pretty dismal, and that white shelf is really too girly for a boy.’

  ‘It is. It’ll be perfect in here. And I think we’ll get Tyler one of those boy’s bunk beds, with the little desk underneath it. I’ve seen them around. They’re not expensive and I could maybe ask Sam and Patrick to go get it for us?’

  ‘Sounds great. He’d love that. He’s so excited to see you again.’

  ‘When was the last time he was here?’

  ‘The weekend before I came to see you. About two weeks now.’

  ‘Can we have him tomorrow? Do you think Jacquie will allow that?

  ‘Sure she will. She likes to have a break sometimes.’

  ‘Okay, well, can you call her later and organise it?’

  ‘No problem. We’ll get his room set up properly today, ready for his visit.’

  I let go of her and head out of the room, planning to move the small white shelf into the “Baby’s Room”. It’s definitely no longer going to be called the “Rumpus Room”. Halfw
ay to Tyler’s bedroom, there’s a loud knock at the door. It sounds urgent.

  ‘Sam! Hi, mate!’ I say, swinging open the door and moving aside to gesture him inside. He’s smiling. Really smiling, and out of breath.

  ‘Zane’s awake! Mum sent me over! Where’s Abbie?’

  I don’t have a chance to answer before Abbie bursts into the living room, as if she has a strong wind at her back.

  ‘Sam! Really? Zane’s awake? Oh my God!’ She throws herself at her brother and he lifts her into a twirl before placing her carefully back on her feet.

  ‘Yeah, Sis, he’s awake. Everyone’s headed over to the hospital. Mum sent me to let you guys know.’

  Abbie turns her beaming face toward me and I don’t wait for her to ask. I look at Sam and ask, ‘Can we go in your car? Or do you want to come with us?’

  ‘My car is packed with some more of Abbie’s gear, so I’ll leave it here and come with you two.’

  ‘Okay, give us a minute. I’ll just throw on a shirt and shoes. Princess, you grab a cardigan, it might get cold later.’

  ‘Okay,’ she answers softly. She sounds as if she’s in shock, but I’m certain she’s really happy to get such good news.

  And our Saturday, the first of many more, seems to be on a roll.

  ∞~∞~∞~∞

  Making our way up to Zane’s room, I can see a small group of people waiting in the corridor. Abbie’s parents are there, along with her sisters, Patrick and a young woman I don’t recognise. They’re all deep in conversation and seem quite calm in comparison to the anxiety which had filled the air just a few days ago.

  ‘Abbie!’ Jade lunges toward us and embraces her sister. ‘He’s awake! He’s going to be okay!’ she adds, pulling back and smiling widely.

  Mrs. Bennet walks over to Abbie and gently pulls Jade away. ‘Jade, honey, don’t squash her.’

  Abbie reaches out to hug her mum, ‘It’s fine,’ she breathes out a small laugh. ‘I can’t believe it,’ she adds. And everyone agrees.