The Missing Pieces

by H. S. Strickland

  I slipped the sweater over my head, and grabbed my phone. “You ready to go?” I asked Jeremy.

  He nodded and stood from the bed. He strode to me, and looked at me seriously. “Please be careful. If you start to feel lightheaded or anything, pull over.”

  “I will, I promise.”

  We walked out of my temporary house, and got into our own cars.

  I arrived at Mace and Araylia’s house in the nick of time. I saw Mace had just shut the front door, and was walking to his truck when I pulled in beside his car. I turned the car off, and shut my door. Mace was casually leaning against the opened door of his vehicle, and staring at me somewhat questioningly.

  “What?” I asked, baffled at the expression he was sporting.

  He shook his head, and his eyes gained their focus. “Nothing.”

  He walked over to me and drew me into a big hug. I squeezed his waist, and tried to hold the tears at bay. I wanted so much to tell him, but I stood strong and keep my mouth closed.

  “I’m so glad to see you’re okay. I was worried about you,” he mumbled into the top of my head.

  “I’m fine. I was just dehydrated. Maybe I should have drunk more before leaving Ryan’s house this morning,” he told him, gazing up at him with a small smile.

  He smiled back.

  “Ray’s in the house, watching TV. She’s having this huge kick with Netflix since she hasn’t worked in the last month,” he told me, rolling his eyes. I knew he acted as if he was annoyed with her binge-watching Netflix, but I could also see the lingering adoration in his eyes. I was so happy that he had found someone else to make him happy. For a while, he was just going through the motions. Eventually he would have snapped, and I was worried about it. He didn’t know that though. He thought that when we ‘met’ it was for the first time, but it wasn’t.

  “What do I need to do if she happens to go into labor tonight?” I asked.

  “Call me, immediately. After that, drop Liam off at Ray’s nanny and then get to the hospital as fast as possible,” he said excitedly.

  “You sound so excited,” I told him, confused. I didn’t understand how he wasn’t scared to death.

  “I am, why wouldn’t I be?” He asked, a frown line forming between his eyebrows.

  “Just…uh, what happened before. Ryan told me about your late wife and daughter,” I mumbled ducking my head to my chest. I was worried that he was going to be mad at me for bringing it up. Although Ryan had told me what happened to his wife and daughter, it wasn’t the first time I had heard about it. I had wanted so badly to go to their funerals, but I couldn’t at the time.

  I felt Mace’s somewhat cold fingers fit under my chin, and tilt it up. My eyes met his, and I gasped at the pain held in them.

  “You don’t have to be scared to talk about them. Araylia has helped me with talking about them. She has helped bring them out more. Before, I was hiding all of their pictures and trinkets in a box in the attic. Ray has helped me. We now have pictures of them all throughout the house. I tell Liam about his older sister all the time, and he loves it. Anyway, to answer your question, yes I am scared shitless, but the excitement outweighs the ‘what ifs’. I can’t be scared for the rest of my life that something is going to happen to my children. If I did I wouldn’t be living. I would rather live a little bit of time with my kids and wife, than to be scared of what could happen. When you find someone you love, you look past the bad things that could happen. You look forward to a future. You look forward to what your life could be like in 20 years. If I let the hurt of my past hold me down, then I could never really have a future. And my future is pretty damn bright. I would much rather live a happy, carefree 10 years with Ray and the kids than to live 100 years with them and be scared.”

  Somewhere in his words his eyes went scary intense. He felt passionately about what he was saying, and what he did say took my breath away. His words made me love Araylia that much more. He had shown him that was what life had to offer.

  I lunged forward and hugged him around the waist again. The beauty in his words had caught me off guard. I couldn’t believe in the short year they had been together that she had taught him that. She was a wise woman.

  “I’ll call you if she goes into labor,” I mumbled, effectively changing the subject.

  “You do that,” he said.

  “Where are you going anyway?”

  “Oh, I just have to help Ryan with something.” It was his turn to mumble and avoid my pensive stare.

  “Oh, okay. Well, be careful and don’t get into too much trouble.” I grinned at him, and moved toward the house.

  Even though I had been invited here, I knocked on the door anyway. A few seconds later, Ray opened the door in her pajamas, with a frustrated look.

  “Girl, get in here! You made me stop my show, it was just getting interesting,” she yelled quietly so not to wake up Liam.

  I laughed out loud. Mace was right; Ray had been on a Netflix kick. She tugged my arm forcefully and dragged me into the living room. I could see she had been sitting here for a while. Her body pillow was on the couch, the coffee table was pulled closer to the couch, I assumed it was so she could prop her feet up. There was an empty bag of popcorn, and a few candy wrappers on the loveseat.

  “I can see you’ve been binge-watching for quite some time,” I said. I held my hand over my mouth to keep from outright laughing at her. I was terrified her hormones would be crazy and she would take it as an insult. And you did NOT want to upset a hormonal pregnant woman, especially if they are close to delivering. Their hormones were more out of whack, I had heard from Mace while at work one day.

  “Oh, my gosh, yes! I found a few shows that I love! Flashpoint, White Collar, The Vampire Diaries. Oh there are just too many to name right off the top of my head.” Ray clapped excitedly and jumped up and down a few times. After she jumped the last time, she groaned and mumbled something.

  “You okay?” I asked, walking to her side quickly.

  She waved me off, “Yeah, I’m fine. She didn’t like my jumping and squealing though.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. Her face was pinched in pain, but started to clear after she stood up more straight.

  “Are you sure?” I inquired. I was terrified she was going to go into labor with me here with her. I wouldn’t know what to do. I may be a badass, know how to kick ass, and shoot someone, but I had no clue how to handle a woman in labor. That was a whole new territory for me.

  “I’m fine, I said,” she snapped. I stepped back and held up my hands.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just worried that you’re going to go into labor while I’m here,” I told her calmly.

  She sighed, and rubbed her slightly sweaty forehead before plopping (it wasn’t really a plop considering she was nine months pregnant) down on the couch. She patted the spot next to her, gesturing for me to take a seat next to her. I gave her a bewildered look, and timidly walked to sit next to her. I was scared she was going to bite my head off after I sat.

  When I eased down onto the couch she began to speak. “I’m sorry for snapping, I really don’t intend on doing it. It kind of just comes out. These hormones are killing me, I’m pretty sure Mace was eager to leave the house tonight. I never went through all the mood swings with Liam, so all of this is new to me.” She leaned her head against my shoulder, and tugged one of my hands into her lap to hold onto.

  “It’s okay,” I squeezed her hand. “Mace has told us all about your mood swings at work. I understand, and you can snap at me anytime if it makes you feel better.”

  She sat back up and smiled at me, although there was a little pain behind it.

  “Are you sure you’re fine? I can see by the look on your face that you’re in pain.”

  “Yeah, I’m good. I think I’m having Braxton Hick’s contractions.”

  I was sure my face showed my confusion. I had no idea what in the hell Braxton Hick’s contractions were. Araylia giggled softly.

&nb
sp; “They are basically contractions that prep you for the real thing. I started having them pretty early on in the pregnancy, but my gynecologist said that it was fine.”

  I nodded, and acted as if I understood. “Why don’t we just watch one of your shows? It may take your mind off of them,” I said, scooting back and getting comfortable.

  About two hours later I could sense that Ray wasn’t getting any more comfortable. Every few minutes she would grimace in pain, and grab ahold of the arm of the couch until her knuckles turned white. I was really starting to get worried. I didn’t think she was just having Braxton Hick’s contractions, I thought she was really in labor.

  “Honey, I think we need to go to the hospital. You aren’t getting any better,” I said soothingly while rubbing her back.

  She nodded. “Okay. Let me go to the bathroom real quick. Do you mind getting Liam up and ready to go? He already has a bag packed.”

  “Sure.”

  I helped her stand and walked her down the hall and into her bedroom. When I heard her bathroom door shut, I went across the hall and into Liam’s room. He was sleeping peacefully, on his stomach. I walked further into the room, and crouched down beside Liam’s bed. I shook his shoulder softly and whispered, “Liam, you need to get up buddy.”

  He stirred and cracked one eye open. He shut it almost immediately as if he didn’t realize I was telling him to get up. I shook his shoulder again, and said a little louder, “Liam, baby, you need to get up, okay?”

  He opened both eyes, and looked at me in amazement.

  “Swoane?” He asked, not believing that I was here.

  “Yeah, it’s me buddy. We need to get you up though. Your mommy needs to go to the doctor.”

  He jumped out of bed, plowing me over in the process. He ran around the room in a flurry of activity. He found his shoes in his closet, and sat down to put them on. He then found his packed bag, and slung it over his shoulder.

  He gazed at me oddly. “Why are you still sitting? Mommy needs to go!” He yelled excitedly.

  I assumed that Ray and Mace had already prepped him for this, which I was grateful for. I chuckled at his enthusiasm, and stood up. We walked into the hallway hand in hand, and went into the living room. I noticed Araylia wasn’t in there, so I asked Liam to sit down and wait for me and his mommy.

  As I was walking back to Araylia and Mace’s bedroom, I heard a moan of pain. I rushed into the bedroom, and banged on the bathroom door. “Araylia, are you okay?” I yelled in panic.

  “Yes,” she groaned. “I just need you to help me, please.”

  I tried opening the door, but it was locked.

  “Ray, I need you to unlock the door.”

  “I can’t get off the floor.”

  I began to panic even more. Why was she on the floor? Had she fallen, and couldn’t get up? Oh god, what if she hit her stomach on the way down to the floor. Mace would never forgive me if something happened to her or the baby while under my watch.

  “I’m going to kick the door in. Are you far enough away that it won’t hit you?” I asked her in a rush.

  “Yes.” Her breathing was short.

  I walked away from the door a little and ran toward it, kicking my leg at it. The hinges cracked and groaned under the pressure of my foot, but thankfully opened. Ray was on the floor in front of the toilet, and a puddle of water was surrounding her.

  “My water broke, and I felt a rush of pain. I fell to my knees, and couldn’t get back up. It hurts so badly, Sloane. I really need you to get me to the hospital.” The last of her sentence came out in a whisper, as another contraction racked her body.

  I carefully maneuvered around the puddle in the floor, so I wouldn’t fall trying to help her up. I took one of her arms and slung it around my shoulder.

  “On the count of three I’m going to lift you, okay?” I asked, really not wanting to wait until the count of three. I wanted to lift her in my arms and run out to the car. Although, I was strong I didn’t believe that I could pick her up since she was pregnant. She nodded her head, still grimacing.

  “One…two…three.” I lifted her up, and she put her weight onto the counter.

  “Give me just a minute,” Ray whispered.

  “Honey, I don’t mean to sound impatient, but I don’t think we have a minute. We really need to go.”

  I slipped her arm back around my shoulders and grunted when she leaned most of her weight into me. We walked slowly out of the bathroom and out to the living room. Liam was still sitting where I had told him to. “Come on buddy.” He jumped to his mama’s side, and held her hand as we walked out to the garage. I sat Araylia in the front seat, and then buckled Liam into his car seat.

  “Where is everything that you need?” I rushed out to Araylia.

  “It’s already in the car. All you need to grab is my purse by the front door,” she gritted out.

  I ran back in the house and found her purse on the table by the door. I took out her keys and started the car. When we had gotten a few miles down the road I asked Ray for her phone so I could call Mace.

  “Hey Bright Eyes, what are you doing?” He answered with affection lacing his tone.

  “Mace, its Sloane. I’m on my way to Ray’s nanny’s house to drop Liam off. Ray is in labor. She’s been in pain since I got to the house; she just thought it was Braxton Hick’s contractions.” I told him, looking away from the road briefly to put the phone on speaker throughout the big SUV.

  “How far apart are her contractions?” He asked, sounding out of breath.

  I glanced at Ray, asking her to answer him because I wasn’t sure how far apart they were.

  “About seven minutes. My water broke about 15 minutes ago as well,” she grinds out, pinching her eyes shut.

  “It’s okay baby, I’ll meet you at the hospital.”

  “Okay,” she breathed.

  “I love you, Bright Eyes. I’ll see you real soon.”

  “I love you, honey.”

  We arrived at the hospital in record time, but not without me breaking a few speed limit laws. I hadn’t cared if I got pulled over, I was not stopping. Ray’s pain got increasingly worse, which made my panic rack up to new levels.

  Mace was at the hospital entrance with a wheelchair when we pulled up. He yanked the passenger door open and slid Araylia into his arms then into the wheelchair. When they were safely in the building I put the car in drive and went to find a parking spot.

  I made it in the hospital waiting room at the same time Ryan did, and glanced nervously at him. He looked at me, and had a weird glint in his eyes that I couldn’t put my finger on. I wasn’t going to worry about it though. It wasn’t the time or place.

  Kota was next to arrive at the hospital. She looked around the waiting room and released a visible relieved breath when she saw it was just Ryan and I. I was assuming that she didn’t want to see Cade.

  An hour later everyone else showed up. Mace came out and told us that it was almost time for Ray to push and that he would come back out when the baby was born. We all sat around jittery and nervous waiting for Baby Jones to make her or his grand entrance into the world.

  Two hours later Mace walked through the waiting room doors with the biggest smile on his face, and tears making his eyes glisten. It was such an emotional moment for him, and I was so happy to see that he was happy. He deserved it.

  “I’m only going to take the two of you who have been requested for right now, because Araylia is extremely exhausted.” He gave Kota and I a pointed look, indicating that we were the two requested. He nodded his head, gesturing for us to follow.

  We walked down a white, sterile hallway until we came to a stop at room number 521. Mace opened the door and turned back around to us with his index finger to his lips, telling us to be quiet. We both nodded our heads mutely, and followed Mace into the room.

  Straight ahead of us there was an incubator that the baby went in after being delivered. To the right there was a curtain pulled back, showing us the hos
pital bed that Ray and the baby were laying in. Ray had the top of her hospital gown pulled down, and was breastfeeding. It was a beautiful sight to see. Mace was staring at Araylia with more love than I had ever seen in his eyes. He walked around to the side of the bed, and kissed the top of Araylia’s head, then the baby’s.

  Araylia glanced up at his, then back down to the bundle of joy suckling on her. “Come meet our new baby girl.”

  I grinned. I couldn’t help it. She was right the entire pregnancy. She was carrying a baby girl, much to Mace’s disbelief.

  Kota walked around to the side of the bed where Mace was, and I took the opposite side. I gazed down at her, and started tearing up. She was such a gorgeous baby. She had light blonde hair like her mommy, her daddy’s nose, and her mommy’s lips. I couldn’t see her eyes considering she had them closed and wouldn’t wake up until she was ready to.

  “What’s her name?” I whispered staring at Mace.

  His face was a mix of pain, and love, causing me to frown in confusion.

  “Her name is Charlotte Lillian Jones.”

  I gasped and my hand flew to my mouth before I could tell myself not to react.

  She had my name. Mace gave his daughter my name in tribute to my memory.

  Charlotte Lillian Jones.

  It rang through my head a hundred times, before I realized that Mace was at my side, shaking my shoulder.

  “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, his gaze filled with so much concern.

  I nodded my head weakly, and didn’t look him in the eyes. I knew what he would see. The truth. He would know who I really was.

  His sister.

  Charlotte.

  The one who was supposedly killed 16 years ago.

  I wasn’t dead.

  But no one except the people I worked with knew that.