This is all my fault, I should have been there like I promised. If I was there, maybe I could have prevented whatever happened to Brianne. We wouldn’t be in this situation if it wasn’t for me not keeping my promise about going to pick her up for our appointment. Why did I have to run late? Why did I let Franky, my colleague talked me into helping him with his work? If it wasn’t for that, I would have been on time. I would have been there!
“Goddammit, I should have been there!” I say as I collapse to my knees.
“Oh honey, don’t worry, Brianne is a strong woman, and she’ll fight for herself and those babies.” Mrs B tells me as she kneels beside me, taking both my hands in hers.
Bless her; she is trying so hard to stay strong for all us because we are all breaking right now. Once again, I wish my own mother was half the woman Brianne’s mom is.
Three hours later of sheer dread and panic, Dr Matthews walks into the waiting area wearing scrubs. We all jump to our feet and look at the tired looking doctor.
“Is my daughter okay?” Mr B asks the question I’m too scared to ask.
“What about the babies?” Both Carson and Olivia ask at the same time. But my tongue feels heavy in my mouth from fear, so I struggle to form words.
“Well, Brianne had a placental abruption, which resulted in her losing a lot of blood. She’s had major surgery and thankfully she was found in time. She’s going to need a lot of help recuperating and lots of rest. She’s been through a hell of a lot these past few hours.” He says, pulling down his face mask. I breathe a sigh of relief but fear the worst because he doesn’t mention my kids. Does this pla-what-you-call-it abruption mean bad news for my kids?
“What about my nephews?” This from Carson as he steps forward.
“We had to perform an emergency C-section because the babies were in distress, with Placental Abruption it can be fatal for the babies.”
“Oh, dear God,” Bri’s mom gasps as tears fill her eyes.
My heart sinks, and I feel tears stinging my own eyes. Did I just lose my kids? I never even got the chance to hold them.
Dr Matthews sighs before continuing. “But we managed to save them both. The babies still have to be kept in incubators because they have been born prematurely but none the less, they are alive. We have given them both betamethasone to promote fetal lung maturity. They are going to be monitored closely but so far they seem to be doing great.” Gasps and sighs of relief fill the room, but I can’t seem to remember how to breath.
My babies are born, they’re alive!
“Congratulations Jaxon, you have a healthy baby girl and boy.”
“They’re all okay!” Are the last words that come from my mouth before I feel gravity pulling at me and darkness consumes me.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Brianne
I awake to a fuzzy feeling. What the hell happened, I don’t feel right! I can’t move properly, I feel drowsy. Where is Jaxon? Panic starts to rise throughout my body as I look around the room I’m in. Why the hell am I in the hospital and why can’t I remember how I got here. I try to sit up, but I’m too weak to move. The machine I’m hooked up to starts beeping like crazy when I feel a sense of emptiness within, something feels like it’s missing from my body.
My hand flies to my stomach which looks and feels a bit smaller, and I can’t feel them anymore.
Oh my God my babies, where are my babies?!
“Hey, you’re awake! I’m Maura, are you in pain?” She has a smile on her face, and she instantly eases my panic, that genuine smile must mean that my babies are born and okay. I shake my head as a way of answering her question; I’m too scared to talk at this moment in time. “That’s good; I bet you’re wondering what happened huh?” This time I nod, and Maura takes a hold of my hand, “Well, Ms Bentley, you had a nasty fall, and you had something called Placental Abruption…”
That panic that had started to disappear resurfaces and I speak over the nurse, “Oh no, are my babies okay?” I don’t have the much medical knowledge, but I know this is way too early for them. They’re only 30 weeks; they’re not meant to be born for another seven or eight weeks.
“They’re small, being born that early has its risks but both of your babies are doing great, just like their momma.” Her smile brightens, and I feel safe with her, she really does comfort me and put me at ease.
“Can I see them? Please?” I plead with her because I can tell by her eyes that she’s going to say no. The light in her eyes dimmed when I asked. “Why?” I want to see with my own eyes that they are okay.
“Ms Bentley you’ve had major surgery. You need to rest so that when your babies are stronger, you’ll be stronger. We’ll revise your condition in a few hours and see if you’re up to a visit.” She’s so chirpy, and right now that’s what I need, she’s so happy, and it’s infectious. My babies are okay as am I, that’s all that matters.
“Ms Bentley…” Maura says, and I cut her off,
“Please call me Brianne.” I give her a soft smile, and she returns it, “Or Bri, whichever you prefer.”
“Brianne, your family, are waiting to see you, and I’ve told them that they can once you’re feeling up to it. That man of yours is very determined but I’m the boss and what I say goes. Now, you said you’ve no pain, how does this feel?” She touches above my stomach, and I wince. “Hmm, what about here?” She touches my ribs, and I let out a yelp. “They’re bruised, just be careful when you’re moving around.”
“Do you know what happened to me?” I know it’s somewhere in my brain, I just have to bring it to the forefront of my mind. Hopefully, someone knows something and can help jog my memory or something.
“Sorry Brianne, all I know is that you’re were brought in by ambulance as you were found at the bottom of your stairs.” Oh, my God, I remember! “Would you like to see your family now?” Maura asks looking concerned.
I plaster on a fake smile, “Yes please.” I was waiting on Jaxon and Sabrina was in my house. She pushed me! The door opens, and dad walks in just as I start crying, I can’t believe she did this.
“Princess, don’t cry!” Dad walks over to me looking slightly nervous. “What have I told you about crying hmm? If you continue, I’ll have to make Carson my favorite!”
“Finally!! Keep crying!” Carson shouts with a smug smile on his face. This is why I love my family so much, no matter what we go through the others are there to make you feel safe and normal; well as normal as you can be.
“Dude!” Jaxon says in a low tone; he’s telling Carson to shut the hell up without actually saying it. My geek is a badass geek! “You okay Bri?” Jaxon’s voice is laced with guilt.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Have you seen the babies?”
“He’s been with them since he woke up.” Livie tells me with a huge smile on her face, “You should have seen him Bri, as soon as he found out that Satan’s babies were okay the dude took a nosedive.” Both her and Carson start laughing; even dad has a smile on his face.
“You fainted, again?” I look at him, but his face tells me his answer, damn he fainted!
“Oh, he fainted! It was the same reaction he had to finding out about Satan’s babies being conceived as he did them being born!” Livie hollers and I watch as Jaxon gets embarrassed and looks to the floor.
“So, do you two have any names picked yet?” Mom asks, and I see worry and excitement in her eyes.
“No mom. We were going to talk about it after we found out what gender they are.” Emotions overcome me, and I start to cry, I feel as though I’ve been robbed of those precious memories. I feel someone take my hand and I look up and see Jaxon looking at me with worry, and I hate that he’s worried, he should be happy. He became a father today.
“We have a beautiful baby girl and handsome baby boy Bri, they make me so happy,” Jaxon tells me as he kisses the top of my head and tears spring yet again to my eyes at his sweet words.
“I have an idea for a name,�
�� Livie says trying to cheer me up, and as soon as she comes closer to the bed I see the devilish look in her eye, and I know that whatever’s going to come out of her mouth won’t be good. “For the boy, Richard and for the girl Fanny.”
“You can’t be serious Olivia!” My father demands - looking disgusted.
“What they’re both strong names. What’s wrong with them?” Livie is trying her hardest not to laugh as am I.
“My grandchildren will not be called Dick or Fanny!” My mom stomps her foot like a petulant child. “I won’t stand for it, Brianne you’re not calling them that are you?”
I can’t contain my laughter any longer, the tears I have streaming down my face are in laughter, not sadness, that is until a sharp pain in my stomach takes my breath away. I’m in agony, and I have no idea what is causing it. “Bri, you okay?” Livie asks, but I can’t answer, I can’t speak as I’m in so much pain. I block out the talking and try and concentrate on trying to breathe.
“Brianne, are you in a lot of pain? I can give you some painkillers.” Maura’s voice gets my attention, “It’s from the caesarean section you had. It’s going to hurt, and you’re going to be in pain just don’t try and be a hero if you need the pain meds take them okay.” Maura takes my hand, and I calm down and focus on breathing through the pain.
“Bri, take the pills.” Jaxon demands, and I glare at him, “Please, I don’t like seeing you in pain, and I need you better, the babies need you better!”
“I’ll take the painkillers, but I need to see my babies.” I tell him, and I look at Maura, “Please, I need to see for myself that they’re okay!”
“I’m going to give you the painkillers, and then I’m going to put you into a wheelchair, and we’re going to see the babies.” I smile at her as I do a happy dance in my head.
“We’re going to go home for a while. Get you some clothes and the necessities that you’ll need. We’ll come back in a few hours.” Mom kisses my cheek, and I’m grateful that they were here for Jaxon while I was in surgery, because knowing Jaxon, he was freaking the hell out. Everyone but Jaxon leaves, and the excitement kicks in; I’m finally going to see my babies!
Muara gives me the painkillers, and I eagerly take them, I sit and wait for her to bring the wheelchair. As soon as she’s back with it, I’m trying to get out of the bed by myself that is until Jaxon gives me a stern stare and I wait for Muara to help me. It hurts like a sonofabitch, but we make it to the wheelchair in one piece, and I’m dreading getting back into the bed. I’m wheeled to the NICU, and the butterflies in my stomach start up.
Jaxon walks in ahead of me and up to two little incubator things, and I stare in wonder as he puts his hand into it and the baby holds onto his finger. As I get closer I see just how tiny my little ones are, they have tiny diapers on, but the diapers are still too big for them, and they have some sort of masks on their faces. The masks are so big against their tiny little faces that I can’t see their features.
One of my babies has loads of black hair, and the other has hardly any hair, and it seems lighter. I want to touch them, but they are so tiny that I’m scared I might hurt them. I look at Jaxon who’s moved over to the baby with the light hair. “Bri, this is our daughter.”
“Is she okay? She’s so tiny.” I’m so scared that I could hurt her, but I really want to hold her.
“She was born at 3lb 2oz and her brother at 3lb 5oz, we’ve been worried about baby girl Bentley as she had to be intubated as you can see, but she’s doing okay, and they’re both getting stronger by the minute. Their lungs haven’t fully developed yet, so that’s why he needs to have the CPAP, but they were both given betamethasone to help their fetal lung maturity.” Maura tells me, and I completely forgot she was here.
“How long will she be intubated for and how long will he be on that C thingy?” Jaxon asks, and I wonder why he’s only asking now?
“That really depends on her lungs. I’ve seen some preemies only be intubated for a couple of hours and some for a lot longer than that. Only time will tell, but at the moment she’s doing really well.” Maura reassures us, and I touch my daughter's hand, the softness of her skin fills my heart with so much love. I inwardly make a vow to be the best mom in this world just as my mom is. “Time will tell if there were any developmental issues with your babies, this happens in preemie cases.”
I turn to my baby boy and let him hold my finger as he did his dad’s and God, this feeling is something I’ve never felt before. It’s so much love and worry mixed together. My babies are so precious, and I do something that I haven’t done in a while, and I say a silent prayer, I pray for my children’s health and that they are happy in life.
“I’m going to leave you two alone for a little bit. Bri, if you need me just hit that emergency button behind you.” I nod to her, and I know that if I do need help Jaxon’s here too.
“Thank you, Bri! Fuck, they’re amazing, they’re tiny little humans who have grabbed hold of my heart. They’re magnificent just like you. Thank you for giving me the best thing in my life.” Jaxon has tears in his eyes, and right now I’d love nothing more than to stand up and fall into his arms, but I can’t. “I can’t get over how small they are.”
“Me either, their tiny hands feel so soft and so delicate, I was so scared that I could hurt them by touching them. Do you have any ideas for a name?” I ask I have a few ideas rattling around in my brain, but I want Jaxon to have an input too.
“For a girl I like Phoebe.” He looks shy like I’m going to instantly rubbish his idea and he shouldn’t think that.
“I really love that! Phoebe Olivia Carter?” I say testing out the name I had picked from the age of fifteen for my daughter's middle name.
“Perfect, and she’s going to be one hell of a fighter just like her aunty!”
“I have an idea for a boy’s name if you don’t like it just say so okay?” I wait for his nod before I continue, “Phoenix Carter.”
“Hmmm, that is one hell of a name, but it suits the little guy, Phoenix Forrester Carter.” My tears fall fast, I can’t believe that he wants my dad’s name for Phoenix’s middle name. That means everything. “I take it those are happy tears?”
“So happy! Thank you.” I wipe my tears away as he walks toward me.
“Your dad he is someone I’d love our son to be like. He took me in when I had nowhere to go and treated me like I was part of the family. It’s the least I could do.” He kisses my lips and wipes the tears from my eyes. “What happened Bri, how did you fall?”
Anger surges through me when I think about what that bitch did to me, “Not here, I want positive vibes around Phoebe and Phoenix.” He looks at me questioningly but thankfully doesn’t push it. So, we spend the rest of our alone times getting to know our babies, I spend most of the time singing ‘Hush Little Baby’, it’s something mom used to sing to us when we were babies.
“So, are you going to tell me what happened before your family get back?” Jaxon demands as soon as the nurse leaves, Maura seems to have gone, and a new one is in her place. He waited until I was helped back into the bed and lying down.
“Jaxon, I didn’t fall! I was pushed!” I tell him, and of course, it’s just as my family walk into the room.
“Who pushed you?” Livie demands, and she’s ready to hunt whoever it was down.
“Bri, what happened?” Jaxon’s softness is so different to Livie’s harshness, and I know that they both want the same thing, me to be safe.
“After dad left, I left the door open. I was so stupid, but I knew we’d be leaving soon, so I went upstairs and had a quick shower. When I came out, I heard the front door opening, and I thought it was you.” The tears are back in full force, and I’m wondering if I’m going to be emotional all the time now.
“I’m so damn sorry I wasn’t there baby.” The guilt on his face makes it worse, it wasn’t his fault, and he wasn’t to know that this was going to happen. “What happened next?”
> “I remember my cell ringing and then before I got to the stairs it cutting off. I remember hearing a sound behind me and turning and seeing Sabrina standing there. There’s something wrong with her; she’s delusional! She said I’d ruined her family and I took you away from her!” Just remembering the evilness in her eyes makes me shiver.
“I’m going to kill her,” Livie says through gritted teeth, when she sees me looking at her she waves me on to continue.
“She saw the ring on my finger.” I swallow harshly as I look down at my finger and see the ring is gone! “Where is my ring?”
“I have it; they had to take it off you when you went in for surgery.” Jaxon pats his pocket, indicating where the ring is now.
“She got so mad when she saw the ring, she snapped, and she pushed me down the stairs. I knew there was something wrong because pain exploded through my abdomen. She ran past me, but I grabbed her foot, I begged her for help, but she slapped my hand away and ran out the door. I couldn’t do anything! I couldn’t help my babies!” The tears turn into sobs and pain erupts in my abdomen again, this time I know that it’s from the surgery along with the pain my ribs are giving me.
“I’m going to kill her; I swear I’ll do the fucking time for it too. Who the hell does she think she is? She almost killed my best friend and my niece and nephew! Nope, she’s not going to get away with it this time; she’s messed with Bri and Jaxon enough!” Livie storms out of the room with Carson hot on her heels just as the nurse comes into the room and gives me more painkillers, these ones make me feel drowsy.
I can’t wait to see my babies again and damn I hope Livie doesn’t actually kill Sabrina!
Chapter Twenty-Five
Jaxon
Goddamn that witch bitch Sabrina, she almost cost me the three most important people in my life, Brianne and my kids. It was all I could do to stay calm and collected in front of Brianne when she told us what happened. I seriously just wanted to get into my car, drive like a maniac towards the Ashwood’s and fuck everything and everyone in my line of vision in that godforsaken family.
One Night Page 17
