Southern Secrets

by Shelley Stringer

  “Dttt…dtt…dttt” Uncle Lon covered his hears with a pained look on his face, for I had obviously crossed the too much information line.

  I continued on anyway. “He always thinks of me first. And by the way, he asked me long before we were ever together if I was taking anything and I assured him I was. It seems I am in that little two percent the pill doesn’t fully protect. And furthermore, no one will be taking care of these babies but me when Banton’s not around, I assure you!” I shouted at him, I was so angry about his reaction and his blaming Banton.

  He turned and I immediately felt remorse for having raised my voice at him. His eyes were red-rimmed, filled with tears.

  “Babies?” Uncle Lon whispered as his eyes widened.

  I realized I’d let the other cat out of the bag. Constance pulled me into her side to hug me. Aunt Sue shook her head as if to clear it.

  “Yes Sir, by the way, I’m having twins,” I replied softly as I studied my hands in my lap.

  Constance interrupted the silence. “Daddy, of course they didn’t plan this. But I’ve never seen anyone more excited about being a dad than Banton. It’s not as if he can’t support her, and I’ve never seen two people more perfect to be parents. Chandler is one of the most responsible twenty-two year olds I know. She will handle this like a pro, just as she does everything else.” She smiled at me, and patted me on the leg.

  “When are you due?” Aunt Sue asked quietly.

  “In August.” I watched Uncle Lon’s face, the emotions crossing his brow as he mentally counted backwards…

  “Yes, Dad, Chandler was pregnant before they got married. Don’t strain your brain,” Constance remarked as Aunt Sue tried to silence her.

  Uncle Lon turned to Constance then. “Young Lady, I didn’t raise you to be so sassy with us. You might be twenty one, but we’re still your parents!”

  If I didn’t know better, I would have thought her next response was sarcastic. But there was no sarcasm in her voice when she answered her Dad.

  “Yes, Sir. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to push, it’s just if you could be around Chandler and Banton when they are together, you would see how wonderful this all is. That’s all I’m trying to get you to see. Can’t you see what your reaction is doing to her?” she asked softly.

  “Chandler, were you pregnant when that little incident happened before Christmas?” Aunt Sue asked slowly. “Was that why you were so slow to recuperate?’

  “Yes Ma’am.” I raised my eyes to look at her. “It almost caused me to miscarry. I knew I was pregnant, but I hadn’t told Banton. The doctor told him when they couldn’t give me any painkillers at the clinic.”

  “And she’s had some trouble since then, she’s been on bed rest until this week,” Constance finished. She stared her dad down.

  “Well, I guess you can kiss finishing college goodbye,” Uncle Lon sighed. He turned and shook his head, pouring himself a glass of brandy.

  “Um…why don’t you girls go on in and get the dessert out of the fridge and make some cappuccino. I want to visit with your father a bit,” Aunt Sue urged, with tears still threatening. Constance pulled me off the sofa, and I followed her to the door leading back to the great room. Aunt Sue reached out to take my hand as we passed her, drawing me into her arms.

  “Just give him a chance to calm down and process everything. It’s going to be fine,” she whispered in my ear, and then drew back to look at me through her tears.

  As Constance opened the door, Cade and Drew fell into the floor at our feet, obviously already filled in on our conversation. They both got up silently and retreated down the hallway; their friends obviously had taken their leave when the voices began to rise in the study.

  As Aunt Sue shut the door behind us, Constance pulled me down onto the sofa and held me as my shoulders shook with sobs. My uncle Lon had never looked at me as he’d just done and had never raised his voice to me. Not ever. It just broke my heart we’d had such cross words and he held such contempt for Banton. The tears flowed again as I thought of him, and I rose quickly to check my phone in the bedroom. She didn’t follow me.

  I lay across the foot of Constance’s bed for an hour or more. After I’d cried it out and checked my phone for the hundredth time for texts or calls, I finally drifted off to sleep.

  I sat on a sofa in a large, dimly lit room, cradling my baby in my arms. I placed a kiss on her soft forehead and she made a little baby gurgling sound as she sighed in her sleep. She smelled so sweet, like baby lotion and milk, and her tiny lips made sucking motions as she dreamed. As I wondered at her beautiful face, apprehension rose up, enveloping me in a sense of panic. My breathing quickened, I could sense the Tariq behind me in the room. In a flash, I placed the baby on the sofa and whirled to face him. He stood behind the sofa, his teeth gleaming in the firelight. He stared down at my tiny child hungrily, and a fury rose in my chest. I felt a protective feeling like I’d never felt before. I flew at him, knocking him backward as I fought to keep him away from her. I felt no fear for myself, only rage for this monster threatening my tiny baby. I pushed him away as he pulled me toward his fangs, set on sinking his teeth in where the scars marked the first bite. The muscles in my arms strained as I matched his strength and he seemed to delight in the fight I exhibited. I finally managed to push him off, and as the baby began to wail on the sofa, I turned to check her. The Tariq shot his hand out and grabbed my arm. One sharp twist and I heard a loud snap as pain shot through my arm and up my shoulder, bringing me to my knees. I screamed out as my arm hung limply at my side

  “Chandler, sweetheart, wake up. You’re having a bad dream,” Aunt Sue shook my shoulder to wake me. I winced in pain and drew my breath in sharply as I grabbed the arm she’d just touched.

  “Chandler, what’s wrong? Are you all right?” Aunt Sue asked. She sat down gently on the bed.

  Quickly becoming aware I had to cover my injury from the dream, I gave her a weak smile, answering, “I’m fine, my arm is just asleep, I was laying on it.”

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry Uncle Lon reacted the way he did. He still thinks of you and Constance as little girls, and he’s having a hard time processing…all of this.” She smiled at me as she stroked my cheek with her hand. “I’ll admit this is sudden. Give him some time, and he will be as happy about this as I am. We love you so much, Chandler, and he just wants life to be easy for you, that’s all,” she assured me as I struggled to keep conscious and keep my injury a secret. I was sure, with the horrible ache and sharp pains that were reaching the unbearable state, my arm was definitely broken.

  “Do you feel like coming in with us? Constance is on her second piece of cheesecake,” Aunt Sue urged.

  “Um, no, but could you ask her to come back here for a minute?” I asked her as she rose.

  “Sure. Go ahead and sleep, maybe Banton will call in the morning.” She glanced at the phone beside me on the bed and then turned to go back down the hallway. Moments later, I heard Constance open the door just as I fell back weakly on the bed, struggling not to faint.

  “Chandler, what’s wrong?” She flew to the bed as I tried to answer her without screaming.

  My voice shook with my response. “I had one of my dreams, and he broke my arm. I can’t move it. You have to…you have to take me to the hospital.”

  “Oh, my God! I’m so sorry, I should have watched you, I didn’t think about the dreams!” She grabbed my purse and phone from the bed and her purse from the floor, and then put her arm around my waist as I stood up beside the bed.

  “What will I tell mother and daddy?” she asked as I walked carefully beside her, holding my useless right arm in my left hand.

  “Call to them and tell them we’re going to get a movie. When we get to the hospital, call her and tell her I fell when we got out of the car.”

  “Man, you can sure make up a lie quick!”

  We rushed silently down the hallway and into the entry hall.

  “Mom, we’re going to the movie place. We’
ll be back in a few minutes…” Constance called, opening the front door.

  “All right, Darlin’. Be careful,” Aunt Sue called back as she shut the door behind us. She helped me out to her car parked down the driveway, and held the door open for me as she placed my purse in the floorboard. She was around the car in a split second, and then flew back out of the driveway and down the street.

  “All we have is a small hospital here, a sort of Band-Aid station,” she commented, wheeling around a corner.

  “That’ll do,” I whispered. Every little jarring motion sent new pains down my arm. I wanted to scream out, the pain was so bad. I began to sob out loud.

  “Oh, Andie, hold on. We’re almost there…” she assured me, squealing into the parking lot on two wheels. A nurse appeared at the door as she pulled right up under the emergency canopy at the side entrance.

  “What happened?” she asked. A male nurse appeared at her side to help. As I stood up, my knees buckled and I felt them catch me as I lost consciousness.

  * * *

  I opened my eyes slowly, and glanced at my surroundings. I lay on a hospital bed, and with the counters surrounding the room and the large silver lamp extended from the ceiling over me, I surmised I was definitely still in the ER. The door opened, and Constance came through.

  “Good, you’re awake,” she sighed in relief. “The doctor just gave you a local anesthesia to help with the pain in your arm, and he is about to set it and cast it for you,” she whispered as she sat down beside the bed. “I told them you fell beside the car at the movie store, and I brought you straight here. You have enough bruises on your arm and shoulder to make it believable,” she quipped, examining my arm.

  “Yeah, I do look as if I’ve been in a fight.”

  “Chandler, I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have left you alone so long. I knew you were sleeping, but I just wanted you to rest after the confrontation with daddy. I forgot about the threat in your dreams. I’m so sorry,” she said, her eyes watering.

  “You couldn’t have stopped it if you had been there. It’s as if I know I’m dreaming, but I have to defend my babies so I refuse to wake up. This time it cost me.”

  “Chandler, this is getting scary. If he can bruise you, and break your arm…He’s physically hurting you! We have to do something,” she declared as the door opened. She remained silent as the nurse came in with a syringe.

  “Did you tell them I’m pregnant? I can’t take anything,” I began.

  “Yes, we know. That’s why the doctor gave you a local. This will just help with the pain, it’s mild, and I’m afraid it’s all we can give you right now, sweetheart.” She patted my good arm and then asked, “Do you want to take this in your hip?”

  “Yes, please. I don’t need my other arm to be sore too.” I rolled over to accommodate her, and Constance helped me unbutton my jeans and then helped me pull them down a little.

  “Sweetie, you took quite a spill…you have bruises on your backside, too.” She exclaimed, pulling my shirt higher. It dawned on me, there were probably older bruises, from the dream I’d had several nights ago when Everett woke me.

  After she gave me the shot, she helped me pull the jeans back up, and then came around the bed to look at me. I sensed she doubted the story we’d given them about the fall, but she said nothing.

  After she left the room, Constance commented, “She probably thinks you have an abusive husband.” She chuckled. “That couldn’t be farther from the truth…Oh, Chandler, your back looks terrible. I had no idea…” her voice trailed off as I began to cry. I’d been holding it together pretty good, but to hear the horror in her voice as she studied my bruises made everything real, and brought the hopelessness of the situation to the surface. I was living a real-life nightmare, and there was no way to wake up.

  “Did you call your mother and daddy?” I asked shakily as the doctor walked in.

  “Yeah, they are on their way here,” she answered. The doctor began to feel my arm, working it back into place.

  “It was a clean break, and we can set it, no problem. I’m going to cast it in a short cast, at least you won’t have to have a full-arm cast,” he said as he worked. He was about half way through with the plaster job when my cell rang in my purse.

  “Constance, grab it! It might be Banton!” I called out excitedly, and the Doctor jumped. She fumbled in my purse and drew the phone out and flipped it open.

  “Hello? Hey…yes, she’s here, but she’s a little busy…can you hang on a minute?” She put her hand over the mouthpiece, and asked, “Are you going to tell him where you are?”

  “NO! He’ll get upset and start worrying about me, and I don’t want him distracted! Please, don’t say anything.” I looked up at the doctor pleadingly. “Can she hold the phone over here a second and let me talk to him? My husband’s a Navy SEAL, and he’s been deployed on a mission, I’ve got to talk to him.”

  “Sure. I just can’t wait too long; this plaster will set up quick.” He pushed the small stool back he was sitting on to let Constance near me. She held the phone to my ear.

  “Banton! Finally…I was getting worried; you haven’t called in so long.”

  “I’m sorry, Baby, I told you there might be times when I couldn’t call. I just have a few minutes, but I called to tell you I’ll have some time tomorrow night, so have your computer ready about eight o’clock! I can’t wait to see you. How are my babies?” he asked happily.

  “They’re fine.”

  “Why did Constance answer? What’s going on?” he asked, knowing something was up. I was a terrible liar when it came to him.

  “Um, we came up to Denham Springs for her birthday tomorrow. I was in the bathroom, that’s all.”

  “Oh, that’s good, Andie. Did you break our news to your family?” he asked. I heard Constance suck her breath in. I realized everyone in the room could hear his end of the conversation.

  “Um, yes, I think you could say that.” I gave her a warning glance to stay quiet as he continued.

  “Well, what did they say?”

  “I’ll tell you all about it tomorrow night. Are you all right? How’s Ty?” I asked, glancing at Constance.

  “We’re all good, we’re a little tired, but other than that, everyone is fine. I’ve got to go now, sweetheart, I’ll talk to you tomorrow night. I love you.”

  “I love you too. Be safe!” I shut the phone, just as a fresh flood of tears began. Constance took the phone back as Aunt Sue and Uncle Lon’s voice carried through the doorway.

  “Um, I think I’ll fill Lon and Sue in on everything,” Constance mumbled as she slipped out the door.

  “So, your husband’s a Navy SEAL. How long have you been married?” The doctor asked as he worked.

  “We got married right after Christmas. We didn’t even get to take a full honeymoon, he was called back early,” I took a deep breath, trying to stop my blubbering.

  “Well, he’s a lucky man. I’d be angry if my wife was hurt and she didn’t tell me,” he began.

  “He can’t afford to be worrying about anything here. He just needs to concentrate on this mission and then get home. I can handle this,” I said determinedly. “Besides, there is nothing he can do now. There isn’t a point to telling him till he gets back.”

  “I can tell you from my own experience, it’s better to tell him the truth. The next time he’s deployed, he’ll be more worried knowing you won’t tell him when anything is wrong.” The young doctor gave me his opinion and then patted my good shoulder.

  “We’re done here. I just have a couple of forms for you to sign, and then you need to follow up with your family doctor Monday morning. I’m sorry but the best pain medicine I can give you is Ibuprofen.”

  “I figured. That’s fine, I’ll manage.”

  The doctor left and held the door open for everyone gathered outside.

  “Chandler Ann, are you all right? I can’t believe you fell. It’s as if you have a big bull’s eye on your back. You’re not having any p
ains, or anything?” Aunt Sue asked as she hurried over to the bed and placed her hand on my abdomen.

  “No, I’m good. My arm just aches,” I answered. She helped me to stand up.

  “I’ve signed all the paperwork for you, sweetheart, are you ready? We’ll put you in the backseat of our car so you’ll have more room,” Uncle Lon called from the doorway. His eyes were softer now, and paired with the tortured look on his face, I felt sorry for him. Even the tone of his voice was much softer than earlier.

  “I’m ready,” I answered as Aunt Sue steadied me. Constance grabbed our purses and followed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  “Everett, I told you, I’m fine. Quit hovering over me,” I exclaimed for the hundredth time. Constance had insisted we leave the next morning, and took all her birthday gifts and put them in the trunk, assuring Aunt Sue and Uncle Lon she’d open them after she got me home and in bed. Everett was beside himself when he came home and found us unprotected. We’d forgotten to call him and have him meet us at the house.

  “I called Dr. Renault, and he’ll be over in the morning to check you over. We have to monitor every moment of your sleep – I could have stopped this before it got this far. Banton is just going to kill me!” he exclaimed, and I looked at him and rolled my eyes.

  “Okay, maybe that was a little melodramatic, he can’t actually kill me…Oh, you know what I meant!” He flipped his hand at me, hurrying around the end of the bed. I had to chuckle, he was so comical when he was flustered.

  “I’m glad I amuse you. This isn’t one bit funny,” he admonished me.

  “Oh, Ev, you just always have a way of making me laugh. I love that about you…I needed to laugh,” I told him lovingly.

  “Well, I’m glad to be of some use in this situation. And I can’t believe you didn’t tell Banton where you were last night,” he scolded me.