Time Stands Still (Forever and Ever #51)

by E. L. Todd

  That was a very good point.

  “Yeah, but this is stupid fun,” Slade argued. “Boys will be boys, you know?”

  “I don’t know,” Trinity said honestly. “But if that’s what you guys want to do, go for it. Skye and I are going to order a pizza and talk about babies.”

  “Yeah…” Slade’s face fell with boredom. “We’re definitely going to Wal-Mart.”

  “Well, you too have fun.” She kissed his cheek before she walked away with Cedric. They moved into the kitchen and grabbed the pizza ad stuck to the refrigerator door. “Supreme?”

  “With extra olives,” Skye said.

  Slade turned back to me. “Alright. The wives have been taken care of.”

  “Should we go now?” I looked at my watch. “I’m not sure when they do restock but I think it’s sometime late in the evening.”

  “I think we should scope out the place and find out what we’re going to do. Maybe we’ll order a pizza and have them deliver it to us.”

  “Good idea.”

  “Great. Let’s do it.”

  “Should we invite the other guys?” Maybe Conrad and Roland would want to tag along.

  “Nah. Let’s just keep it between us—like old times.”

  “Alright.”

  “And thanks, by the way.” He clapped my shoulder. “I could use a night of stupidity.”

  “Yeah sure. It’s about time we did something with just the two of us.”

  “Should we bring anything?”

  “That’s against the rules, remember?” Whatever we wanted, we had to buy in the store.

  “Alright. I just charged my phone so I’ll get all of it on video. This is gonna be a hit on my blog.”

  “Your blog? Or your rock star blog?”

  “The rock star one,” he answered. “I get a lot more hits out of it.”

  “Maybe it’s best if we don’t post this video on that site. Might make you look bad.”

  “People can think what they want. I am who I am—and there’s no shame in that.” He walked to the girls at the kitchen counter. “Alright. We’re gonna head out. Need anything before we go?”

  “When will you be back?” Trinity asked.

  “In the morning. Probably a little after you wake up,” Slade answered. “Want me to call Abe?”

  Trinity considered it before she answered. “I think we’ll be okay. He deserves the night off.”

  I came to Skye’s side and wrapped my arm around her waist. “See you in the morning, alright?”

  “Okay.” She gave me a soft kiss on the lips, but her hesitance at pulling away told me she wanted more. “Love you.”

  “Love you too.” I kissed Cedric next. “Daddy will see you tomorrow. Look after your mother.”

  Skye smiled as she watched our interaction. “He always looks after me.”

  I kissed her forehead before I walked away. “Call us if you need anything.”

  “We’ll be fine,” Trinity said. “As long as we have a drawer full of take-out menus, we’ll be okay.”

  “You sound like me before we got married.” Slade kissed her then rubbed her belly. “See you in the morning. Love you, baby.”

  Trinity moved her mouth against his lips. “Love you too.”

  He gave her a playful slap on the ass before he walked away.

  Slade and I walked out together and left the apartment. We entered the elevator and rode it down to the bottom floor, both of us thinking about the wives we just left behind.

  “It’s weird to think we weren’t married at one point.” I stared at the monitor at the top of the elevator and watched the floors to change.

  “It is weird,” Slade said in agreement. “It used to just be us. And then they came along and ruined everything.”

  I chuckled because I knew he didn’t mean it. “We’ll always be best friends. But I guess we have other best friends now.”

  “True,” Slade said. “So, who’s driving?”

  ***

  “The paper towel aisle looks like a good place.” Slade eyed the aisle around him to make sure no one was coming. We saw an employee not too long ago. They were checking the tissue area.

  “It’s pretty full so it’s probably not going to be restocked.”

  Slade kneeled down and removed one of the bags of paper towels. “But it’s a crate at the bottom.”

  “So?”

  He patted his hand against it. “It’s hard on your ass. My butt is already pretty boney. We’ll have to get a rug or something.”

  “And lay it down inside?”

  “Yeah.” Slade pulled out his phone and started recording. He spoke in a whisper so no one would realize what we were up to. “So, we’re trying to figure out where we’re going to build our fort. We’re both digging this area.” He turned the camera on me. “That’s my best friend, Cayson.”

  I waved.

  Slade turned the phone back on himself. “This place looks pretty well stocked so it has potential. But we’re going to scout the rest of the store to see if there’s anything better. 10-4.” He saluted before he stopped recording. “Alright. Now I’ll upload it to my blog so people can see it live.”

  “We’ve never done this so publicly before.” We walked across the store until we found the dog food aisle. The bags were lined up on crates as well, but the stock was pretty scarce.

  Slade kept his eye glued to his phone. “That sucks. We get no service in here. I can’t upload anything.”

  “Maybe it’s just where we are in the store. We are in the back.”

  “Yeah. Maybe.” He put his phone in his pocket. “Oh no. This ain’t gonna work.”

  “We’ll have to wait until they restock it.”

  “If they’re going to restock this they’re probably going to restock a lot of things.”

  “Yeah…”

  “I say we stock up on junk food. By the time we’re done the areas will be restocked.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  ***

  After we had our bags of Skittles and our deck of cards we walked to the dog food aisle. The bags had been restocked, the older bags pushed to the front. Each row was stacked three feet high so there was plenty of cover.

  “What do you think?” Slade asked.

  “I don’t know…” The paper towel section looked more comfortable. “The paper towels had more room in the back.”

  “But it’ll be darker here. The dog food bags are thick and don’t let in much light. The bags of paper towels are made of see-through plastic. Plus, people are more likely to buy paper towels instead of dog food at this time of night. So this area is the better one of the two.”

  I couldn’t argue with that logic.

  We moved the bags of food around until we created crawl space in the area. We grabbed two rugs and placed them on the bottom so our butts would be comfortable. We both crammed inside then shut the door made of bags behind us.

  Slade was right. It was dark.

  “I can’t even see your face,” Slade whispered.

  “I can’t see yours either.” I hit the flashlight on my phone so the space would be illuminated. Slade’s face was contorted in the light. It hit the lines of his face in an awkward way.

  “You look scary.”

  “You do too.”

  “Maybe we should get some glow sticks.”

  Not after all the work it took to get in here in the first place. “I’m not leaving.”

  Slade’s stomach suddenly rumbled. “So…no pizza?”

  “If they deliver it directly here, then yeah.”

  “How sick would that be?” Slade asked. “What pizza place would do it? Probably not Round Table.”

  “I don’t even think there’s one close by.”

  “I’ll try Domino’s.” He pulled out his phone and made the call. He held it to his ear for a second before he mushed his eyebrows together. “Damn. No signal.”

  I checked my phone and realized I had the same problem.

  “Looks l
ike we have to go outside to order the pizza.”

  “What about the fort?”

  “Chill, dude,” Slade said. “It’ll be here when we get back.”

  “Let’s just hope they don’t move our things around.”

  We walked outside of the store then made the call. Since they said it would be fifteen minutes we went back inside and bought the Skittles and Twinkies we would eat later. We also got some paper plates and napkins. After we stashed that back in the fort, we went outside to retrieve our pizza. Then we returned to the fort in the midst of the dog food.

  “I can’t believe they delivered to Wal-Mart. That’s pretty cool.”

  I pulled a few slices out and leaned back against the Hello Kitty couch I found on the way. “Talk about great customer service.”

  “I should leave them a good review on Yelp.”

  “Or you might get the guy in trouble for coming to Wal-Mart.”

  “Yeah, true. Never mind.” Slade shoved nearly the entire slice inside his mouth before he took a bite. “Trinity is always eating healthy crap so this is a treat for me.”

  “Will that stop when the baby comes?”

  “Probably not,” Slade said with a sigh. “Then she’ll be concerned about her breast milk. It’s like, people have been eating donuts and milkshakes since the beginning of time and their babies were fine. Sometimes I think my wife needs to chill.”

  “Uh, Slade.”

  “Hmm?”

  I wasn’t sure if I should bother correcting him. Milkshakes didn’t emerge until the 1900’s. But I decided to let it go. “Never mind.”

  Slade checked his phone again. “Sucks we don’t get reception in here. Everyone is probably refreshing my page right now.”

  “They’ll still be interested in the morning.”

  “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He finished another slice before he tossed his plate aside. He released a loud belch before he rubbed his belly. “Damn, that was good.”

  I waved his breath away. “Yeah…”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Trinity

  “Watch this.” I balanced the plate with the slice of pizza on my stomach. It sat there, perfectly still. I grabbed the slice and took a bite before I dropped it back onto the plate. Like last time, the plate remained stationary. “Do I have talent or what?”

  “You should quit your job—tonight.”

  I chuckled then took another bite. “You’re right.”

  Skye wrapped Cedric in a blanket before she rested him against her chest. She looked like a woman in love with two different men—her husband and her son. “All joking aside, you should go on maternity leave anyway. You look like you’re about to pop.”

  “I’m leaving after I finish up a few things on Monday. I’m getting really uncomfortable and all I want to do is lay around and have sex with Slade all day.”

  Skye laughed. “Oh, I remember those hormones…”

  “They’re great, but you get sore after a while.”

  “Enjoy it while you can because after Olympia comes there won’t be much sex going on.”

  “Because Olympia will take all our attention?”

  “Yes. But also because it’ll be a nightmare down there. Your body will need at least six weeks to heal.”

  “Oh yeah. Slade isn’t excited about that.”

  “So enjoy it will you can.” Skye rocked Cedric back and forth until he fell asleep. Then she placed him inside the small crib she brought along. “Is Slade having a small panic attack right now?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “This whole Wal-Mart thing…talk about nostalgia.”

  I’d wondered how Slade would handle all of this as the birth came closer. He seemed excited about the baby, but he also planned for a completely different life before marriage and kids. Sometimes I worried he would wake up and realize he wasn’t ready for this. But then I remembered the man I married. “He might just need a night out to be a kid again. He might need a break. And if that’s what he needs that’s…” My stomach suddenly tightened and something distinctly moved. I suddenly felt the moisture flood between my legs. The pizza fell off my stomach and landed on the floor.

  Skye froze. “Trin…are you alright?”

  “Yeah I…” I felt my stomach, knowing something was off. “I think my water just broke.”

  “Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god.” Skye rose to her feet and snatched her phone off the table. “I’ve got to get you to the hospital. But I have Cedric. Oh shit…” She fumbled with her phone.

  “Conrad.” He was the first name that came to mind. “He’s probably home.”

  “Conrad!” She made the call and put the phone to her ear. “Conrad, it’s Skye.”

  “I know,” he said with annoyance. “Caller ID has been around a long time.”

  She ignored the insult. “Trinity’s water just broke and the guys are gone, and I don’t know what to do. I’ve got to get her to the hospital, but I have Cedric. Please tell me you’re home.”

  Conrad’s response was clipped. “I’ll be right there.” He hung up.

  Skye shoved her phone into her pocket. “Alright. He’s coming so let’s get you up.” She grabbed my hand and helped me to my fight. “Where’s your hospital bag?”

  “In the closet. Call Slade.”

  “I’ll call him on the way.”

  “I’m scared. I’m three weeks early.” I thought of the nightmare with Cedric and prayed I wouldn’t have to go through the same thing.

  “Trin, it’s fine. This is normal. There’s nothing wrong with Olympia.”

  “Are you just saying that to make me feel better?”

  “Of course not.”

  Conrad burst through the door later. “Alright, let’s get going. Come on. Skye, grab her bag and Cedric. I’ve got Trinity.” He came to my side then scooped me into his arms. It was the first time my brother had ever carried me. He didn’t complain about my wet pants or make a joke about how heavy I was. “Skye, you’ve got the bag?”

  “Yeah, I got it.” She pulled Cedric into her arms.

  “Alright. Let’s go.” Conrad carried me out of the apartment and down to the street below.

  I felt my stomach shift with pain. It throbbed deep down inside me, making me wince. “Something’s not right…”

  “They’re contractions, Trin,” Conrad said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “I’ll say that to you when you have contractions,” I snapped.

  Conrad waved down a cab and ignored my insult.

  “Did you call Slade?” I asked.

  “I will in the car,” Skye said. “I can’t carry Cedric and your bag and make a call at the same time.”

  Conrad got me into the seat near the window and buckled my safety belt. Then he took the seat in the center. “Memorial Hospital.”

  The cab moved.

  Conrad pulled out his phone. “I’ll call.” He held the phone to his ear and listened to it ring. “It went straight to voicemail.”

  “Try again,” I ordered.

  Conrad called Cayson instead. “Cayson’s phone did the same thing.”

  “What the hell?” I yelled.

  “Trin, calm down,” Skye said. “We’ll get a hold of them soon. Slade will be there.”

  “Call again anyway.”

  Conrad called again and this time left a voicemail. “You’re having a baby, asshole. We’re going to Memorial. Call us back ASAP.” He hung up and called Cayson again. He left him a similar message.

  Now I was hyperventilating. I couldn’t do this without Slade. He was my rock, my foundation. I needed him now more than ever. My water already broke and the contractions already began. What if he missed it?

  What if he missed the birth of our daughter?

  ***

  My parents were already there when I got checked into a room.

  “Honey, we’re so excited for you.” Mom pulled the hair out of my face and kissed me on the cheek. “Your little girl is about to be here.”
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  “We’re going to be grandparents.” Dad had affection in his eyes. It was the happiest I’ve been in a long time.

  If there was anyone who could help me, it was him. “Dad, I need your help.”

  “What, sweetheart?”

  “We’ve been trying to get a hold of Slade and Cayson but their phones aren’t going through. I need to find him and I need to find him now.”

  Dad immediately jumped into action. “Where did they go?”

  “Decided to build a fort inside Wal-Mart,” Skye explained.

  Dad had the blanket look I’d ever seen. “What?”

  Skye explained it better detail but that didn’t help anything.

  “That’s what they decided to do on a Friday night?” Dad asked incredulously.

  “There’s no time to explain their stupidity. Dad, I knew you to find Slade and get his ass back here because I’m not having his baby unless he’s here. Do you understand me?” I clenched my stomach when another contraction hit me.

  “You got it, sweetheart. I’ll find both of them in a heartbeat.”

  Janice and Ryan entered the hospital and walked up to us. Silke, Arsen, and Abby were right behind them. “We just heard the news from Scarlet and Sean. I can’t believe this is actually happening.” Ryan came to my side of the hospital bed. “It hurts way less than what people say.”

  Janice glared at him. “Because you shoved our two kids out of your vagina?”

  “Ryan, we’ve got a situation.” Mike grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to the side. “Apparently, Slade and Cayson are camped out in a Wal-Mart and their cell phones aren’t working.”

  Ryan didn’t seem surprised by their activity. He didn’t even blink an eye over it.

  “They must not get reception or something,” Dad continued. “I can tell Trinity is going to have this baby soon so we need to find them. I need you on this. You understand your son better than I do.”

  Ryan rolled his eyes. “Of all nights he had to do this now? Yeah, let’s go. Wait, what Wal-Mart did they go to?”

  “Uh…” Dad turned to me and hoped I had the answer.

  “I don’t have a clue…” I wiped the perspiration from my forehead and prepared for another contraction.

  “It’s probably the one in Connecticut,” Conrad said. “Near Cayson’s parents’ house. That’s the one they used to go to after school.”