Walking out of the OB office, I see Killian walking my way and I quickly turn to walk back into the door before he sees me but it’s no use. He’s calling out my name before I even get my hand on the knob.
“Ava, what are you doing at the hospital? Is everything okay?” Sometimes I wish he didn’t worry about me so much.
“Yeah, just visiting a friend.” Killian has suspected my pregnancy and even going so far as to flat out ask at dinner the other night. He glances at the sign on the wall by the door that reads OBGYN. BUSTED.
He raises his eyebrow, looks down to my stomach before looking back up to me. “A friend?”
Putting my hand on my hip, I pop it out annoyed that he is even questioning me. Who the hell does think he is, my dad? “Yes, a friend. Now if you don’t mind, I have shit I have to get done today.” I step aside to go around him but he moves to the side, blocking me.
“Why are you lying to me? Why all the secrets? I thought we were friends. Friends talk to each other, not shut them out. I thought we agreed, no more secrets.” Boy, he is just not going to let this go. And secrets? He’s one to talk.
“Okay then, wanna talk about secrets and shutting people out? Who’s Aria?” Killian’s whole body tenses and he slips his hands into his pockets looking away.
“Well?” Tapping my foot I’m growing impatient.
“What? That has absolutely nothing to do with what we are talking about?”
“You’re joking, right? It has everything to do with this!” I push my finger into his chest. “You’re lecturing me on how I’m keeping secrets, yet every time I mention her name you tip-toe around the subject and have some lame ass excuse to leave. So why don’t you practice what you preach?” I huff out in frustration.
Pulling his hands out of his pockets, his hands fly up in the air. “Fine, you want to know who Aria is? I’ll tell you but after I tell you I want the goddamn truth from you, Ava. No more games, no more lying. Got it?!”
Thinking it over, I nod in agreement. I’ve been spending more time with Killian and I don’t know why, but there’s just something that makes me feel like I can trust him.
He grabs my arm. “Not here.” We start walking, leaving the hallway with people looking at the way he’s holding my arm. Leading me toward the cafeteria, I shake my arm free and cross them over my chest. He huffs but stops at the coffee maker.
“Coffee?” I shake my head. “Right, you can’t drink that shit when you’re pregnant.”
“I’m not pregnant!”
“Sure you aren’t. Just one more stop and then we’ll talk” He starts to walk out of the cafeteria and over to the flower shop. I follow in his footsteps as he picks up a bouquet of sunflowers, pays the cashier and heads off toward the elevator. We go up two floors up in complete silence, and after a walk down a long hallway, we are about to enter a room. Grabbing Killian’s arm, I stop him before he can walk in.
“Killian, what are we doing here? I thought we were going to talk? Whose room is this?”
Placing his hand over mine, he gives it a pat and smiles gravely at me. I’m so confused, lost as to why we’re here and it’s making me feel uneasy. Nevertheless, I follow Killian into the room. The room is silent except for the beeping coming from the machines. Killian walks over and grabs a vase filled with wilted flowers and throws them in the trash. As he fills up the vase with new water, I get closer to the bed and take in the frail woman no older than me lying in the bed. There is a tube coming out of her mouth that is attached to a ventilator. I listen as the sound of the machine pumping air into her lungs. I see Killian walking out of the corner of my eye and I watch him as he puts the flowers on the table to the side of the girl. Pulling up two chairs, he motions for me to sit. Walking over, he reaches over and places a kiss on the girl’s head before sitting. Oh God, please don’t tell me. Before I can finish my thought, Killian speaks.
“Ava, this is Aria. Aria, this is my good friend, Ava.” The smile that overcomes his face when speaking to Aria is heartbreaking. It’s not filled with sadness at all, in fact it’s a smile I had seen Dante give me time and time again. One filled with love. “Now I know what you’re thinking, Killian, you don’t have any close friends. But I do and you would love her. She reminds me a lot of you and I think you two would have been great friends if given the opportunity.” As I sit here and listen to Killian talk, I’m not really sure what to make of all this. I’m just left with a thousand questions that I just don’t feel comfortable asking. That’s honestly a first for me. Not really sure what else to do, I just go with it.
“It’s very nice to meet you, Aria, you must be an extra kind of special to deal with this pain in the ass.” Killian lets out a loud booming laugh at my words.
“See! Right up your alley babe.” I’m smiling but it quickly fades as my eyes land back on Aria.
“And guess what, babe, Ava is pregnant.”
My mouth falls open, “I am NOT pregnant.”
He leans in closer to Aria, “She’s denying it, but I know she is, but it isn’t mine sweetheart. It’s Dante’s baby. Remember me telling you about him?”
I sit in silence watching him talk to her, stroke the hair away from her face and just love on this lifeless woman. It’s silent for a little while before I can process what is happening in front of me.
“It was a car accident.” His voice is flat and his eyes drop to the ground.
“Killian…I’m sorry I shouldn’t have pushed you.” Leaning in, I place my hand on his knee. “You don’t have to tell me.”
He places his hand on top of mine. “No, it’s okay. I need to be able to talk about it with someone. I can’t open up to a shrink and there is no way I can’t talk to my family about it. I really have no one.” His admission guts me and I know exactly how he feels in this very moment. I can relate to not being able to talk to anyone about Dante. Maybe if I can be here and listen to him it might help me in a way. So I give it a shot and nod for him to continue.
“God, I don’t even know where to start.”
“How about at the beginning?”
“We may be here for a while if I start at the beginning.”
Looking at the non-existent watch on my wrist, I shrug. “I got time.” He smiles.
“I was adopted when I was a baby. I was only a couple weeks old when my biological mother decided she wasn’t cut out to be a mother. She walked into the hospital where she delivered me and handed me over to a nurse saying she couldn’t take care of this thing. That nurse happened to be the woman who adopted me. My adoptive father and mother couldn’t have children so in a way; my mother thought I was her miracle baby. They went through the adoption process and everything went through easily. It wasn’t until I started to get older and understand things that my mother and father started to fight more. They were very quiet when they argued but every now and then I would hear my name. I really thought they were going to get a divorce over me.”
“Did they?”
“They did, but it wasn’t over me. Turns out, my mother found out what my father and his brother actually did for a living, and let’s just say she didn’t agree with his lifestyle. She felt betrayed and lied to, she told him she never would have married him knowing the man he truly was and that it’s not the life her son should be brought up around. He basically told her that he wasn’t going to change and she better learn to deal with it.”
“I’m guessing she didn’t, since they got divorced?”
“Hell no. She left him and took me with her. I still didn’t know to the extent of what happened because I was too young. But when I was older, my father told me why they split and wanted to bring me into the ‘family business.’ How could I say no to him? I didn’t have a bad life growing up, and my dad was a great guy when it came to me. He never missed a ball game and always made family time. I couldn’t judge him for the double life he led when I knew nothing about it. I don’t have those memories. I only have good ones. Anyway, when he wanted to show me the ropes I agr
eed, even though my mom was less than pleased. It seemed like easy money and I got to be with family all day, and it was great. Until it wasn’t.”
“What do you mean?” Turning his head he looks away from me and his eyes land on Aria.
“I was visiting my mom during one of her shifts at the hospital when I bumped into Aria. She had a stack of charts in her hands that fell to the ground, with all the records spilling out of them. She cursed out under her breath and just hearing this cute little innocent looking, five-foot woman say ‘motherfucker’ made me laugh. Of course she didn’t think it was funny at all and gave me this glare, I know to anyone else it would look like the nastiest glare ever, but it just made her even more adorable in my eyes. I knew right then and there I had to know this person inside and out. I bent down and apologized for bumping into her and laughing at her adorable voice, I tried to help her pick up the mess I helped create. She looked at me and said, ‘don’t you dare fucking touch those papers! Haven’t you ever heard of HIPAA?’ She looked me up and down and then followed it up with ‘Of course you haven’t.’
“What was that supposed to mean?” I ask cracking up. I like the spunk Aria had.
“Right! That’s what I was thinking too! Little did she know, my mother is a nurse and I knew all about that shit,” He looks prideful remembering that moment. “She quirked a smile at me, stood up, and held her hand out introducing herself. After introducing myself she said it was nice to meet me and bent back down to finish cleaning up the papers. Obviously I wasn’t about to let her off the hook that easy.”
“Now why would you do that?” I’m smiling. I’ve known Killian for quite some time now and this is the happiest I’ve ever seen him.
“I just stood there as she picked up the papers and placed each one back in the right chart pretending that I wasn’t there. So whenever someone approached, I created a barrier around her and announced that this is a very important case and this zone is closed off to the public while this nurse learns how to sort papers.”
“You didn’t!” I can’t control my laughter as I picture Killian holding his arms out making everyone turn around and find another way to their destination.
“Oh I did. Aria was so embarrassed she begged me to stop. She was new and didn’t want to get in trouble. I told her I wouldn’t stop unless she agreed to have lunch with me. She kept saying no, so I kept blocking traffic. Her face just got redder and redder and it wasn’t until she saw her boss coming our way she agreed to lunch just to get rid of me. I told her she better hurry and give me her number because her boss was getting closer. She grabbed a pen out of her pocket wrote down her number on my hand and tried to shoo me off.”
“So you left, then what”
“Oh, I didn’t leave,” he laughs, “I stayed and waited for her boss to get there.”
“Oh my God. Poor Aria. Did you get her in trouble?”
“No. When her boss reached us, I said hello to my mother and gave her a big hug and kiss.” Now I’m laughing. Leave it to Killian.
“You’re so bad! That’s just wrong! You probably gave this poor girl a heart attack.” It suddenly dawns on me that I totally forgot we were sitting next to Aria’s lifeless body. “So how did you end up here?”
“Well, after a couple dates, I knew I really liked this girl. I would talk to my mom about it and she didn’t approve. Not because of Aria but because of what I did for a living. She said I was following in my father’s footsteps and not being honest with Aria about my life. That what I was doing to her was no better than what my father did to my mother, and that Aria deserved better than that. It hurt hearing those words come out of my mother’s mouth. It really got me thinking. Shortly after that, my father had a heart attack and died. It was so unexpected and hit the whole family hard. Aria was by my side through all the funeral planning and the service itself. After my dad was gone, I really felt that there was nothing keeping me from getting out and trying to live an honest life, make an honest living for once. Aria made me want to do that. My mother was right and even though it scared the shit out of me, I told Aria the truth about what it was I did for a living.”
“Wow, how did she take it?”
“Better than I expected. I told her I didn’t want that life anymore and I wanted a life with her with no secrets. One where I can make her proud of me, where she wasn’t ashamed of what I do and ultimately leave me in the end. I wasn’t about to make the same mistakes of my father. I told her it would take time to break completely free of it, but she was willing to wait.”
“That’s one hell of a woman right there.” I know for a fact I wouldn’t be able to turn a blind eye and pretend like I didn’t know what was going on. I would be more like Killian’s mother and leave his ass.
“She is…was.” He rests his elbows on his knees and rubs his hands over his face. After letting out a huge sigh he continues. “I told Sal how I felt after my father’s death. That I didn’t feel this was the right choice for me and I was here for my father and that wasn’t the right reasons. He seemed to understand, so I continued to tell him about Aria, how I didn’t want to make the same mistake my father did so I wanted out. He was so understanding and so supportive, it really gave me hope that I could do this. That there was hope of a life outside of the one I had been living. He wished me the best and told me to get with Angelo on what needs to be done to have my responsibilities taken over. I was shocked and relieved at how easy it was and did what he said. A month after I’ve been out, I proposed to Aria and not even a week later we found out she was expecting our first child. We were both so excited we told our families immediately. At first I was worried about that old superstition about spilling the news before a certain amount of weeks but Aria made fun of me and told me that was an old wives tale. Well, when I told Sal, he sounded excited and congratulated me and even joked about how he was never going to get me back into business with him now. I laughed it off, telling him damn straight I was never going back. After another round of congratulations and telling me to give Aria his best we hung up. A week later, I was at a job interview and Aria was running to the grocery store to pick up her latest craving. I told her I would pick it up on the way home but she didn’t want to wait and didn’t mind going. About halfway through my interview, my phone started buzzing non-stop in my pocket and I finally had to excuse myself from the interview to see what the hell was going on. When I looked at my phone I saw eleven missed calls from my mother before her twelfth call started buzzing through my phone again. I could have never imagined what I was about to hear when I answered her call.” His voice is breaking and shaky and tears are rolling down his eyes as he closes them. Wrapping Aria’s hand into his he quietly sobs and I give him a minute. He seems to forget I’m in the room and feeling that he needs some privacy, I stand.
“I’m sorry.” He manages to break out in between sobs.
I stand behind him and lean down wrapping my arms around him, hugging him. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. I can clearly see you love Aria a lot, and that is something you don’t apologize for.” My heart is aching for him. I know the pain he’s going through and it’s taking everything in me to not break down and cry with him. “I’m going to give you a minute. I’ll be right out in the hallway if you need me.” He nods and I leave the room, leaning against the wall right outside the door. I should just leave and go home but I don’t. I want to be here for Killian and I can’t even understand why. I’m supposed to be taking people like him down, not consoling him. Before I can give it any more thought, I hear a sniffle and Killian walks out, looking shocked.
“You’re still here?” The look of shock on his face doesn’t go unnoticed. “Of course I am. I told you I’d be right out here if you needed me.” He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into his body as he squeezes me tightly. Taking me by surprise I hug him back. “Killian, do you think you can ease up a bit? I can’t breathe.” Quickly opening his arms, he releases me from his hold apologizing.
“I’m so so
rry. Can you come back in? I’ll tell you the rest.”
“You don’t have to, Killian. Really, it’s okay.” I feel so guilty that I even pushed the subject.
He grimaces. “I know I don’t but I want to. I promise I won’t cry like a baby again.” His cheeks flush and I can tell he’s embarrassed from breaking down like that in front of me.
“Well, I can’t promise that I won’t start crying, so as long as you can deal with the possibility of me being a blubbering mess, let’s go back in.” His shoulders relax and we head back in the room back into the seats.
“I left the interview and didn’t even go back in to tell them what happened or that I was leaving. My mother was a mess and all I could make out was ‘Aria’, ‘car accident’ and ‘her hospital.’ I got in my car and floored it there. My mom was waiting for me when I got there. I was in such a hurry I didn’t even think to call her family. I had my mother do it after she told me Aria was in surgery and escorted me to the waiting room.
When the police came out to speak with me, they informed me that she was in a car accident. I asked what happened and they paused like they were unsure if they should tell me. I was scared and clueless as to what the fuck was going on and I yelled, demanding they tell me what the fuck happened to my fiancé and my baby. The cops looked shocked when I mentioned baby and that is when they told me that two cars without tags, crashed into her and ran her off the road. They thought it was a case a street racing gone wrong. Eventually the doctors came out and told me that we lost the baby and that she had a collapsed lung and was unable to breathe on her own. They wouldn’t know if there was any brain damage until after a scan was done but she did fall into a coma during surgery. They apologized and said they did all they could, that now it’s up to her whether or not she wakes up. I was with her every day and only went home to shower and change my clothes, leaving her with my mother. I didn’t know this, but she had changed her will and made me her patient advocate and I feel bad, but each and every day I hate her for that. How am I supposed to pull the plug on the person I promised to spend the rest of my life with?”
Ava's Revenge: (Salvation Series Book 2) Page 8
