Modern Arrangements: Complete Trilogy (Modern Arrangements #1-3)

by Sadie Grubor

  "Oh God!" Elora’s knuckles were white as she gripped the bed rails.

  "Breath, focus…just like Emily…"

  "FUCK EMILY!" Elora shouted.

  I flinched away in surprise.

  "Emily isn’t the one in this bed! I am! And it’s worse than death!"

  "It’s okay baby." I caressed her head, trying to soothe her. Big mistake.

  "Don’t touch me!"

  She yanked her head away.

  "Oh God, you are getting a vasectomy before we leave this hospital!"

  My dick retreated inside my body at the mention of a vasectomy.

  "It will be okay, just breath Elora, breath." Grabbing her hand in mine, she squeezed. I never realized how strong Lor is. I swear she was going to break my fingers. "It’s almost over now. It’s coming down."

  She panted, starting to calm.

  "I want drugs James! Now."

  I ran into to the hall and bumped into a massive wall of human. "What the..?"

  "Hey there…slow down man."

  The voice was familiar.

  "Dixon? What the fu..?"

  "Hey, hey, there are kids on this floor." He laughed. "I’m filling in on this floor."

  He smiled wide.

  "Oh, Hell no!" I shook my head. "You are not our nurse…there is no way—"

  Elora screamed.

  "Hold that thought." Dixon pushed passed me and into Elora's room.

  "Oh Dixon…please, get me drugs. Please? I don’t want to feel a thing!" Elora pleaded.

  Expecting Dixon to make a joke, instead he grew very serious but kept a face that oozed compassion.

  "Take a deep breath Elora. We'll get the anesthesiologist down here soon, but you have another contraction coming."

  Elora whimpered.

  "Grab my hand and squeeze. Here we go."

  "Ow, oh shit, Ow, oh shit!" Elora chanted.

  "Breath in. Breath out." Elora listened to Dixon's instruction.

  "James get over here. I need to call for the anesthesiologist."

  Nodding, I quickly replaced Dixon.

  Dixon left, but returned quickly. He started going through drawers and grabbing different things out of cabinets, setting up on a table and a tray.

  The doctor came in and smiled warmly at Elora.

  "So, are we all ready?"

  "Oh God, yes!" Elora didn’t hesitate.

  The doctor chuckled.

  "Okay, let’s check your progress." He settled on a stool between her legs and pushed her knees back. There was little movement as he checked her over. "Well, it shouldn’t be much longer, but we still have some time and some ways to go. You’re only dilated to four centimeters."

  Elora groaned.

  "The anesthesiologist is on his way," the doctor patted her knee and Elora looked like she might just do a happy dance.

  "Here comes another one." Dixon announced and stood next to Elora on the other side of the bed.

  "Relax baby," I tried to sooth Elora again.

  "Relax?" She yelled and squeezed my hand. "Let me squeeze your balls relentlessly and see how you relax!" I shivered at the thought.

  Dixon chuckled and I glared at him.

  The anesthesiologist arrived and gave Elora the epidural. About two minutes later she was lying back like he'd exercised the demon from her body. With a sigh, I sat down in a chair next to her.

  Elora drifted into a restless slumber. I took the opportunity to lie back in the lounge chair that was on the side of the bed. It was Dixon’s voice that brought me out of my nap.

  "Alright, it’s time to check on you. Knees up."

  Elora complied.

  "Whoa, wait a minute!" I stood quickly. "There is no way you're going to…." I motioned to between her legs.

  "Man, this is my job!" Dixon argued.

  "You are not going between my wife’s legs, not now and not while she is giving birth!" I countered.

  "So help me God, Henry James Iverson, if you do not let him get this fucking baby out of me I will kill you in your sleep!" The demon returned.

  "Okay…proceed."

  Dixon's shoulders shook with silent laughter as he continued with the examination.

  "I think it’s time to call the doctor. You ready Lor?" Dixon gave her a big smile.

  "Oh hell yes!" She exclaimed.

  Dixon pushed the call button above the bed. Then he adjusted Elora’s bed so she was sitting up further and the bottom of the bed was pulled down and out.

  "James, you take that knee and push back when I tell you to, okay?"

  Nervousness having taken away my ability to speak, I nodded.

  "Elora, you grab the back of your thighs, just like in the Lamaze class, okay?"

  She nodded.

  "I heard someone is ready to make their arrival." The doctor entered with a large smile and a nurse following him. He sat down on the stool and pushed the sheet up over her knees.

  Perspiration began beading along my hairline. My palms grew damp.

  "Ready?" The doctor looked expectantly at Elora.

  Elora nodded.

  "Alright, when I say push, you push. When I say to hold it, I need you to try very hard to not push. We want to avoid tearing as much as possible."

  Tearing? What the hell was going to tear? The room started to shift and I waivered.

  "You okay James?" Dixon looked me over.

  I shook my head.

  "I don’t know if I can…I don’t think I can do this, watch this—"

  "Too late now." The doctor announced. "Push."

  Elora grunted and pulled at the back of her thighs. Dixon had her left knee. I held tight to her right.

  "Keep pushing," the doctor instructed. "Okay, now the next contraction will be coming quickly, take a deep breath and push hard into your bottom…..Now."

  "I can see the head." The doctor informed.

  I couldn’t take my eyes from Elora. Her forehead sweaty, cheeks red, and she still smiled.

  "James." Dixon drew my attention. "Look dude, there’s your baby."

  Taking a deep breath, I looked down.

  "Oh my God." I exclaimed.

  "You don’t have to look." Elora panted, clearly thinking I was disgusted.

  "You’re doing it, baby!" I shouted.

  Excitement replacing my nervousness, adrenalin coursed through my veins. I took a quick glance at Elora, catching a smile on her face before I turned back to the birth of my kid.

  "Push," the doctor instructed

  "You are doing great baby. It’s coming. I can see it!"

  "Aahhhrrrhhhggg." Elora released a guttural moan.

  A tiny head emerged. I sucked in a breath, holding it.

  "Hold it." The doctor stood quickly. "Don’t push Elora, hold on for me."

  The doctor worked quickly, and then he started to rotate the baby just like the video from Lamaze.

  "You're doing fantastic Elora." The doctor praised. "Give me one small push, just a small one." He continued the rotating movement. "Perfect! And……there we go!"

  He pulled the baby free and wrapped his hands around a gooey screeching child. Dixon moved fast, placing a large cotton blanket across Elora’s stomach. The doctor laid our baby on her.

  "You have a boy! Congratulations!"

  My son, I have a son. This little person was mine, ours.

  "We have a son." I said the words barely a whisper.

  Leaning down, I kissed Elora’s head.

  "Yes, we have a beautiful son." Elora choked out between tears of happiness.

  "Would you like to cut the cord?" The doctor held out a pair of scissors.

  "Um…I don’t know. Uh…" I looked to Elora for direct, but she was mesmerized by the tiny bundle in her arms. "Okay." I said firm enough to convince myself to do this.

  He held up the cord and I cut where he instructed.

  Warmth trickled down my cheek. I'd started crying with her.

  "You…you are amazing." I stared at my wife. She was so much stronger than me, it
was undeniable. I was so proud of her. She smiled and then turned back to our son.

  "I hate to do this, but give me fifteen minutes to check this little guy over." Dixon said, as he reached down and picked my son up into his huge arms. "I promise he'll be back soon."

  Dixon took him to a large table and began doing some tests on the tiny little DNA cocktail Lor and I created. Unable to look away from my son, my heart swelled.

  Elora had given me something I never realized would mean this much in just a matter of minutes. Leaning down again, I took her mouth – firmly.

  "I love you so much! Thank you!"

  "I love you too." She whispered, pressing her forehead to mine.

  The doctor interrupted with some directions for Elora on the final stages of the birth. Apparently, she has to deliver something else. Not wanting to know what else women have to deal with during childbirth, I went over to watch over my boy as he wiggled and screamed.

  Once Dixon finished, he picked up the boy, handing him to Elora.

  "You're a lucky man." Dixon stated, watching Elora with the baby.

  "I swear to god Dixon, if that’s a crack about you seeing Elora—"

  "Calm down James. I was referring to your family." He motioned to Elora and our son.

  Feeling brave, I spoke without thinking.

  "Besides, you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all, huh?" I chuckled, nudging his arm.

  "No way, Elora was especially—"

  "Shut up."

  Dixon turned to face me.

  "Don’t start shit about my job then dickhead." He smirked, and then winked, heading for the door. Before leaving the room, he turned. "Oh by the way, you have a waiting room full of family."

  Looking at the clock, I realized we'd only been here for about six hours. Wow, Elora’s labor was actually pretty short – intense, but short. After kissing Elora once more, and placing a soft kiss to my son's head, I went to inform the masses about their new family member.

  Her Side of the Story – A Mother's Sacrifice

  Loreley

  Since my first memory, it was me and my father. In fact, he is in just about every memory of my life. My mother died when I was very young, and my father never once hesitated to express his distaste for her weakness. I barely remember my mother and was never allowed to associate with her family, even when they had shown up to our home to see me.

  I knew I resembled her. This was just one more thing my father never let me forget. At an early age, I learned that to please my father was the only way to feel successful and loved. If he wasn’t pleased then he was cold and harsh.

  One of my biggest lessons was the day he took me to my first Iverson Charity Gala. Strictly instructed to get close to Aidan Iverson III, I was dressed in a sleek red gown, hoping it would catch young Iverson’s attention. Then came a limousine conversation, where my father distinctly instructed me to do whatever it took to get to Aidan; lie, cheat, and seduce.

  At the age of fourteen, I was slightly confused by seduction. I knew the meaning of the word. I was Gideon’s daughter after all and had seen seduction at its worst. However, I had never even kissed a boy. Bringing this fact to my father's attention, I quickly learned to do his bidding without question. He slapped my face.

  "That's all trivial Loreley! You will do what it takes. Kissing, touching, whatever it takes, do you understand me?"

  He held my face, his fingers digging into my cheeks.

  "Don’t cry it will ruin your make up." He released my face, settling back into the leather seat of the limo.

  Sucking my tears in, I held them and vowed to never cry in front of him again.

  That night, Aidan, barely noticed me. I was panicked at how my father would react. At one point, I grabbed Aidan’s arm and pulled him to the dance floor. He was a gentleman and danced, but he didn’t even look at me twice, all of my attempts failed.

  To say the limo drive home was bad is an understatement. My father slapped me around the back seat, shook me, all while screaming.

  "You can't possibly be my daughter. Your whore of a mother must've slept around with some lowlife!" He howled. "You're just like her. Except at least she knew how to bed men." He snorted.

  He knew what to say and just how to say it. I sobbed. He told me I was weak. I learned quickly, pleasing him was the only way to be loved.

  Thinking back now, as I'm locked away, a prisoner in his home. I realize just how foolish I've been. My father, whom I tried so hard to please, has used, abused, and locked me up. And I still didn't have any answers as to why I woke up naked, next to Aidan, and Lilli shouting.

  I really didn’t know what was going on. Once Aidan threatened me and rushed out of the room, I couldn't move. Sitting along in the middle of a strange bed, holding a pillow to cover my body, my head pounded.

  When the hotel room door burst open and Karl and Rashand rushed into the room, I gasped.

  "Wh-what’s going on?"

  Karl grabbed my arm, pulling me from the bed. Rashand appeared with the dress I'd been wearing three days ago. What happened to those three days? I wracked my brain for any glimmer of memory. Nothing.

  "Get dressed!" Rashand ordered. I slipped the dress on.

  Karl put a coat around my shoulders, a hat on my head, and sunglasses over my eyes. They ushered me down stairs instead of using the elevator. When I turned toward the lobby, Karl grabbed me and pulled me through another door and then another, until we reached the familiar limo parked at back of the hotel. Rashand opened the door. Karl shoved me in.

  "Loreley." The smirk my father wore immediately made me shiver.

  "Dad, what the hell is—?"

  "You are in no position to ask questions!" He snapped. "However…" He shrugged. "I needed a warm healthy body and you’re it."

  I grimaced as he referred to my body.

  "I don’t understand" It came out barely above a whisper.

  "You don’t need to." He spat.

  The limo jerked forward and soon we were surrounded by city traffic.

  The duration of the ride I felt sick and weighed down. There were so many questions, so many things he would not answer. I thought back to what Lilli had been yelling in the hotel room. I couldn’t help but sob. She would blame and hate me, assume I had purposely done this to her. Knowing my father had yet again stripped the only thing that really mattered from my life, made me sob harder.

  "Seriously, Loreley, what has happened to you? You are pathetic. Stop sniveling at once. It’s highly unattractive." My father scolded.

  When I couldn't hold in the sobs, he lifted his hand. I flinched back, but the hit never came. I peeked from beneath the hair that had fallen into my face to see why he had stopped. He never stopped before. All I saw was him breathing heavily and pinching the bridge of his nose.

  "Shut up before I'm forced to shut you up. I don’t want to Loreley!" Cold hard eyes of hatred focused in on me. "But I WILL DO IT if necessary!"

  I swallowed the threatening sob, and controlled myself for the remainder of the trip.

  Now locked away in my childhood bedroom at my father’s home, I was guarded at every door and window. I wasn’t allowed to leave the premises, must be escorted at all times. He had guards stationed and I could often see them wandering the yard under my window. The only access to the outside world I held prisoner from was the television.

  Soap operas were nothing compared to my current situation. As I watched some reruns of a ridiculous reality show, my door abruptly opened. It wasn’t time for dinner to arrive, so I quickly stood and prepared myself for the worst.

  "Here she is." My father entered wearing a smile.

  I wanted to slap the smile off of his face, but knew Karl or Rashand would stop me before I could get a few feet. All that would do is piss him off, which would result in some form of punishment.

  "Have you been keeping her rested and relaxed?" An unfamiliar older man asked.

  He wore a dark suit and clutched a small black leather bag in his hand.
And there was just something about him that gave me the creeps.

  "Of course, she's been in this room resting for almost five weeks now." My father smiled, proudly.

  Five weeks? But…how, I thought it had only been four.

  "What’s going on?" I took two steps back from them.

  "Loreley, this is your doctor. He needs to examine you."

  "For what? I'm not ill." Glaring at my father, I took another step back.

  "Not yet." My father smirked. "Now behave." He ordered. And his all too familiar cold dark eyes hardened.

  "I will do no such thing! He’s not touching me!"

  "Karl! Rashand!" My father yelled, not further order required.

  I tried to get to the bathroom and lock myself in, but Karl was too fast, too big, and too strong.

  "Let go!" I screamed.

  "Now, now dear. Don’t get upset, it’s not healthy for you or my grandchild."

  As Karl forced me to sit on the bed, my wide eyes focused on my father.

  "What grandchild?"

  Father simply smirked, the same dark cold look on his face that I'd seen growing up.

  "I didn’t sleep with Iverson! How could I..? What have you done to me?" Screaming, I lunged toward my father.

  Karl caught me, his arms like steel bands around my upper arms.

  "No you didn’t technically have sex with him. Unfortunately, your little rebellion a few months ago ruined all those plans, so other arrangements were made." He waved it off and turned to the doctor. "Will you be able to get the results to me today?"

  The doctor nodded as he laid out needles, small vials, a rubber strap, and other small medical items.

  "Other arrangements? What does that mean?" I growled out at him.

  He sighed and ignored me.

  "What did you put inside of me? How did you…? Oh god, you let someone…do this to me while I was knocked out?" I started sobbing and if it wasn’t for Karl holding me I was sure that I would be in a ball on the floor.

  "Stop your sniveling! It’s ridiculous." He spat. "Don’t worry Loreley, no one took advantage of you. It was a simple medical procedure."

  I looked up at him with swollen, cloudy eyes.

  "You got me pregnant while I was knocked out." I said, sickly. "And you think that isn’t taking advantage?"