Wrecking Us Saving You

by Leaona Luxx

  “Let’s see it,” Thayer says as her eyes glisten.

  Chord holds the card up for everyone to see. “It has Silas and me fishing on the front. Sarah’s inside with us at the house. It says, “You are the sun to my moon, I’m so happy it lead me home. Happy birthday. You’re the best dad. I love you, Silas.”

  Cue the boo hoos. My heart hammers against my chest. Chord takes my hand as Silas sits in his lap, and I have to take a deep breath. This man, this family, is mine. I struggle to breathe. How did I ever get so lucky?

  Silas falls asleep on the way home, Chord carries him to bed giving me a chance to put my plan into motion. I cut a piece of cake and take the stairs two at a time.

  I pop my head in Silas’ door. “Hey, can you bring that piece of cake up? It’s on the counter, but I need to pee.”

  “I sure will, baby. Do you need a drink?” he asks with the sweetest smile.

  “Water.” He nods, not even asking why I didn’t use the bathroom downstairs.

  I hit our bedroom, ripping my clothes off as I shut the door. I pull the chair out, placing it in the middle of the room. I fix the lights and set my phone up beside my entrance.

  Closing the bathroom door, I freshen myself up. The lady bits need spruced up. I can’t believe I haven’t shaved her in weeks, but there’s no way I’m wearing those panties with a fur coat.

  In the back of my bottom chest drawer, I find my outfit. He loved my butterfly outfit, so I saved it and a couple more when I gave the others away. I tug on a pair of purple holographic panties to go with the top.

  “Did you set the chair out for a reason?” Chord says when he walks in.

  I take one last look in the mirror, smirking. “Show time.”

  Swinging the door wide, I reach around, hitting play on my phone. JT sings Sexy Back as I step out, I turn my back to him, bending at the waist. Giving him a glory shot of my ass before I whip around, locking eyes with my man.

  His mouth hangs open.

  My hips sway as I stride to the door, locking it. I slam my back to the door, sliding down, spreading my legs again, the lower I get. Groping my breasts, I push from the door, standing, as I walk toward him.

  I take his hand, leading him to the chair. I roam his body, turning to rub my ass against him. I wiggle down and slide back up, bending over to lock my hands on my ankles. I flip around, working my hands up his body.

  Placing them on his shoulders, I slam him down in the seat. Straddling the chair, I ride him. His hands grab my hips, and he raises to meet my grind. I stand, walking to the bed, crawling onto it.

  Working my knees back and forth, I hump and grind, wiggling my ass. His eyes devour me as I turn, sitting on my knees. I rub my hands all over my body, letting them slide between my legs.

  He stands, desire rising at a frenzied rate, tearing a path through our bodies as he picks me up. I lock my legs around him as we fall to the bed. He hooks his thumbs on the side of my panties, shimmying them down my thighs.

  His hands slide around my back, removing my top. I lay beneath him, bare. He stands, dropping his clothes to the floor. Climbing back on the bed with me. He lays between my legs.

  “Happy birthday, Chord. I love you.”

  His mouth takes mine, making love to me, in his way and his pace, the way he wants to. I swear, I saw heaven at one point during the night. This man, loving me, like no other ever has or ever will.

  “Two weeks and you can take your driver’s test.” Sarah lays on the other end of the couch from me.

  “I suppose I need to learn to parallel park.” She rolls her eyes.

  I grab her foot, massaging it. “You’ve got this.”

  “Can you believe we’ve been here over a month already?” Her face lights up.

  My heart stutter steps. “It’s weird, like you never left but then it feels as though y’all just got here.”

  “Exactly.” She crosses her eyes.

  “How about we get cleaned up and go to the movies?”

  She lays her head back against the arm of the couch. “I don’t know, I’m kinda tired.”

  “Dude, The LEGO Ninjago movie is playing. How can you say no?”

  She throws her arm over her head. “Did he hear you?”

  Her question is answered as little feet slapping on wood echoes through the house. He lands at the bottom of the stairs, Thor hammer in hand and cape on. His eyes round as baseballs.

  “Did you say LEGOs?” He runs as fast as he can, diving on top of me. “Please oh please, Daddy, we have to go. Please.”

  I stare at Sarah, and she slowly covers her face with her pillow. I push on her ass with my foot, and she slaps it away. I do it again as our son climbs me like a tree. She peeks out from under the pillow.

  “Mom, it’s LEGOs for the love of all that’s holy.”

  Her eyes widen. “No! Not The LEGO movie?”

  Yeah, she’s sprung too. “Yes, Momma. Only the bestest, most amazing movie everw.”

  “Better than Thor?” She raises her head, quirking her brow.

  He chuckles. “You’rwe silly. No. But it’s still LEGOs!”

  “Yeah, Mom. LEGOs.”

  “As long as we go early, eat out, and come home so we can go straight to bed.” She narrows her eyes.

  “I prwomise.” He grabs my hand, holding it up with his. “Dad prwomises too.”

  “Fine, let’s get dressed. Buy the tickets, Dad.” She smiles, knowing the entire time she’d let us win.

  It’s raining now. I’m in line to pick up the tickets, so Sarah and Silas are waiting in the car. People are going in and out as the other movies end. Once I have ours, I wave to them.

  I stand to the side, waiting on my two to get over to me. When someone slides up next to me, putting their arms around my neck. No doubt, Sarah sees it all as she walks toward me.

  “Hey, there handsome. Where have you been?” Mandi whispers in my ear.

  I pry her off me, stepping away. “Mandi, how are you? Ladies.” I nod at her company as she tries to get close again. I look around her for Sarah.

  “I’m good, baby. When you gonna call me again?” Mandi pulls on my shirt.

  “Never.” Sarah places Silas in my arms. “Now, get your fuckin’ hands off him before I take it off for you.” I reach for Sarah’s arm, but she ain’t having it.

  “Who the hell are you?” Mandi curls her lip.

  Before Sarah can answer, I do. “Mandi, I’d like to introduce my fiancée and son. Sarah and I were lucky enough to find each other again after being separated for years. She’s the love of my life.”

  “Congratulations, I suppose,” Mandi sneers as she walks away.

  Sarah takes Silas by the hand, walking in without me. I follow, standing behind her. I reach her the tickets when we get closer, she snatches them from me.

  “I’m sorry,” I murmur, she glares at me over her shoulder.

  “Why? Hopefully, I can go to the ladies room and run into your other lover. Ya know, pour salt and all.” Shit, she’s mad.

  “I hate you have to run into any of them.” My stomach turns.

  “I hate it too. You have no idea how much I hate it.” She doesn’t say anything else.

  Silas sits between us during the movie, and Sarah doesn’t talk as we eat at the restaurant. She’s silent, and it scares me. Silas goes up for a bath when we get home, I tidy up downstairs as Sarah puts him in bed.

  By the time I head up, she’s in bed, her back to me. I climb in behind her, slipping my arm around her waist. I pull her to me, snuggling her close. Her body trembles, she’s crying. She lays her arms over mine, and I hold her until she falls asleep.

  I feel a tug on my arm, waking me. The bed shifts when I rouse, I find Silas lays against my side. Sarah’s on the other side with her arm around me. I close my eyes again, but something is nagging at me.

  A pang in the pit of my stomach hurts so much, I wake fully. Silas is hot. I raise up on my elbow, touching his head with the back of my hand. This can’t be goo
d, Silas is on fire.

  “Sarah, baby, wake up.” I rub her back.

  “Hmm, what is it?” She forces an eye open.

  “It’s Silas, he’s hot.”

  She sits straight up. “Where is he?”

  I point beside me. “I just found him.” She touches his head, then his body.

  “Let me get the thermometer.”

  She slips out of bed, hurrying into his bathroom. She leaves the light on as she sprints back. She places it on his head, he doesn’t even move. As soon as it beeps, I stare at her, waiting.

  “This can’t be right, can this be right?” She turns the screen to me.

  “102.5.” My eyes cut to hers. “Is that bad?”

  “They say if it’s 103, take them to the doctor. Let’s start him on ibuprofen. Can you wake him while I get it?” She takes off downstairs.

  “Hey, buddy. Si, wake up for daddy.” I place my hand on his stomach, rubbing it.

  “I don’t feel good,” he says, scooting closer to me.

  “I can tell. Come here, Mom’s bringing you some medicine.” Sarah comes through the door as I get him into my lap.

  “Here you go, baby. Open up.” Sarah dumps the liquid in. He swallows it and wallows into my chest. “I’ll get a cool cloth.”

  I lay back with Silas on my chest. “You’re cool, daddy.”

  “His temp may not go down if he’s staying warm by your body heat,” Sarah says as she climbs back into bed.

  I roll over, laying him between us. She touches the cloth to his head as he dozes back off. We lay there, watching him sleep. I reach over, taking her hand from her hip, holding it.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, just hard.” She laces our fingers.

  “You think he’s gonna be alright?”

  “It happens, it may be nothing. Rest while he does, it’s gonna be a long night.” She tightens her grip on my hand.

  We’re up and down for hours, even Sunday is spent monitoring Silas. We stay in bed with him all day, only leaving long enough to find him some soup that he doesn’t eat.

  Silas dozes between us, laying without anything but a t-shirt and underwear. Late that night, we lay watching television. I’m running my hand through his hair, when Sarah catches my eye.

  “What?”

  “I think we need to take him in, it’s been twenty-four hours and there’s no change.” A line appears between her eyes.

  “Emergency room or office?” My stomach feels like it has rocks in it, it’s so heavy.

  “I’m not sure, I’ve always taken him to a clinic. He’s never had a regular physician.” Her bottom lip trembles.

  “Should we wait, or call Lea or Thayer to see who they go to?” My words are low and quivering.

  “Let’s just go. Don’t you think?” Her eyes plead with me to decide, and the hair raises on my neck, giving me my answer.

  “I’ll get dressed, grab him some clothes and dress him, while you get ready.” We scramble from the bed.

  Sarah sits in the back with Silas on the way to the hospital. I trot my leg at every stoplight; it’s four in the morning, why are they even on? Sarah and I haven’t said another word to each other, she’s as worried as I am.

  We’re still at the emergency room at nine when I step out to call One. I rub the back of my neck, pacing like a caged animal.

  “Hey, brother. What’s up?” I swallow, hoping to not sound as worried as I feel.

  “Hey, we’re at the hospital. Silas is running a fever, we’ve fought it a couple of days. So we’re having him checked out.”

  “Do y’all need someone to come over?” His words waver.

  I roll my shoulders to relieve the tightness. “Naw, we’re good right now. I wanted to let you know, we’ll be in once we have him checked out.”

  “Keep us updated.”

  “Will do.” My voice cracks.

  I walk toward the room just in time for the doctor to walk in. I jog to get there, pushing the door open as he starts speaking.

  “We’ve ran a panel of tests, right now we’re not seeing much. His stomach is slightly distended and the fever returns when the ibuprofen wears off. I’m inclined to think it’s a virus,” Doctor Owens says.

  “A virus?” I question quietly.

  “Yes, some viruses can be just that and run their course with no more than a fever. Others can be bacterial and range from fever to vomiting and diarrhea, he has neither. Most can be detected and others not, leaving us with no way of knowing what kind it is,” he explains with a furrowed brow.

  “So what are you suggesting?” Sarah folds her arms.

  “Continue with ibuprofen and alternate with acetaminophen. If there’s no change in a couple days, bring him back and we’ll run some more tests.” He signs off on some papers. “The nurse will be back to discharge him.”

  We get our walking papers and head to the office. I leave Sarah with Silas, to go talk with One. He’s at his desk when I walk in.

  “Hey, there you are. Mom was just asking about y’all.” He inclines his head to the phone.

  “They said it’s a virus. Keep giving meds and bring him back if there’s no change in a few days.” I sigh as I sit down.

  “Kids get viruses all the time, a school is a petri dish for them,” Mom says.

  “That’s what they said. If you don’t mind, we’re gonna stay home today. We’ll be in tomorrow, he can stay in my office if he has to stay home again.”

  One nods, holding his hands up. “No worries. If any of you need anything, let us know.”

  “A pediatrician. We hadn’t thought about it until last night, and she only had clinics down there, no regular physician.”

  “I can ask Lea.” One shrugs.

  “That’s what I was thinking, so if he isn’t better tomorrow, let’s do that.”

  “I’ll let her know.” One hugs me. “Get some sleep when he sleeps.”

  “Chord, I’ll bring dinner over and order you all some lunch around one, so you can get a nap in,” Mom says.

  “Sounds good, Mom. Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome. Give my sweet boy a kiss from Grandmother, we love you all.” She blows a kiss.

  “Love y’all.”

  “Tomorrow, unless you need us before then, just call,” One says.

  “Thank you, brother.”

  I grab a few files and head back out. Once home, we return to our positions in bed with our baby. Napping on and off all day, we only move for the necessities. Mom has food delivered at exactly one, with a text about dinner.

  Tuesday morning brings nothing new, Silas is still not feeling well. Sarah’s helping me with a few things in my office while we wait on the others to get in.

  “Hey, y’all are early. How’s Silas?” One eases over to his sleeping nephew.

  “The same. I had a few things I need to follow up on for us, so we decided to bring him with us.”

  “I’m gonna text Lea and let her know.” One pulls his phone out.

  “Yeah, we’re thinking of checking out the pediatrician y’all use.”

  “She’s on the way over, she was out running errands this morning while Em stayed with the kids.” One rubs the back of his neck, making the hair on my arm stand up.

  Lea walks through the door within ten minutes, setting her purse down, and she’s by Silas’ side in no time.

  “How long has he ran the fever?” She turns to us.

  “Saturday night, he came to our bed late.” Sarah walks over to them.

  “The ER doctor said a virus, right?” Lea asks with a furrowed brow.

  “He did.” I nod.

  “It’s been four days, I’d take him in.” Lea stands, taking her phone out. “Do you want to go to our doctor?”

  “Yes, please.” Sarah’s brows knit.

  “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s fine, but a second opinion is always good.” Lea offers a smile, but her eyes say something different. Mine cut to One, he gives me a tight smile.

&nbs
p; “I’ll get his things together.” I grab his bag from the chair, putting his drinks in from the fridge. My chest feels heavy, I take a deep breath where no one can see me.

  “Do you have to fill a hundred of these out each time?” Chord’s forehead creases as he holds Silas in his lap, and I complete his registration.

  “No but for school, we’ll be getting more soon.”

  “We did those already.” His brow cocks.

  “There’ll be more, always are.” I return the clipboard, checking Silas’ forehead with a kiss before sitting back down.

  Chord’s hand finds mine as we wait. Silas is draped over him, and Chord hasn’t even so much as broke a sweat. Silas hasn’t either for that matter, but he’s still warm.

  “Hamilton,” the nurse calls from the door.

  Chord follows me, with Silas on his shoulder, as we’re directed to a room. Chord lays Silas on the bed, sitting beside him. I chew on my nail, waiting for the doctor. I hate going over this a million times, especially if it’s nothing but a virus.

  There’s a knock on the door and then it opens. “Mrs. Hamilton, I’m Doctor Perri.” She’s a petite woman, older with brown hair.

  “Hello, thank you for seeing us.” My eyes dart to Chord’s when he snickers.

  “No problem at all. So Lea tells me your six-year-old son has had a fever for about four days now, is that right?” She writes as she talks.

  “Yes, it started Saturday night. We took him to the emergency room early yesterday, and they told us it looks like a virus.”

  She stands, moving to Silas. Chord slides from the bed, staying by his side. She checks his eyes, his stomach, and his mouth. “What was the temperature?”

  “It’s the same when the medicine wears off, 102.5. There’s been no change,” Chord explains.

  “Has he eaten?” She turns, asking.

  “A little here and there.” I lick my lips.

  “Let’s do a full blood panel and some x-rays, just to rule anything else out.” She takes her seat, writing the orders up. “Until we get everything back, continue to treat the fever as you have been.”

  “How long does it take to get the results?” Chord shoves his hands in his pockets.