After The I Do

by Autumn Breeze

  Everett frees his fingers from mine. Wrapping his arms around his own waist, he leans into my side with a shuddering breath. Dropping my arm over his shoulder, I close my eyes and squeeze him tightly. I have not prayed since I was a boy but now, I whisper a silent plea for my little sister to recover.

  “Is she going to be okay?” Everett murmurs.

  I look at my father and his expression darkens. He doesn’t know.

  “Everyone is in a private waiting room this way. I should get back to Charlotte.” Father turns on his heels and we follow.

  The hallway is silent. Only a couple of people join us on the elevator and pass us on our walk to the waiting room. The whole time my heart beats against my ribcage as if it is trying to break free. Everett sniffs a few times and when I glance in his direction, his eyes are swollen with unshed tears.

  “Have you spoken with Duke?” I ask my father as he holds the door open. Mother rises to her feet, coming forward. Black mascara stains her cheeks. The evidence of other makeup is smeared across the bridge of her nose and tips of her fingers. The perfectly put together woman I’ve known my whole life is gone as tears openly stream from her eyes.

  “We thought it was best you called Duke considering . . . ” Mother trails off, her voice breaking as she lets out a shuddering breath.

  Reaching out, I draw her against my chest. Her arms slip around my waist and her chest begins to shake as she sobs hard. Rubbing her back, I attempt to soothe her but my efforts are useless. Father comes over after a couple of seconds and takes his upset wife from my arms. The pair move away as Father mutters things to her I do not care to hear.

  Reaching into my pocket, my fingers curl around my phone. Withdrawing it, I dial Duke’s number with a heavy heart. It is nearing eight but his shift with the police department won’t end until almost midnight.

  The phone connects and I hear the commotion of the precinct in the background before Duke’s teasing voice says, “You only call this late when you want to talk dirty.”

  “Duke,” my voice is grave.

  “What’s happened?” My best friend asks the same question I asked my mother forty-five minutes ago. He knows something is wrong, just as I knew, simply by the tone of my voice.

  “You need to come to Necropolis General Zone A Hospital. Lilith is in surgery.”

  “What waiting room?” Duke speaks, cutting across me.

  “Second floor, private ICU waiting room for twenty-one sixteen.” The line dies and I inhale slowly before exhaling.

  Looking around the room, Sophia is curled up in a double chair half asleep. Light brown hair falls around her shoulders as a raggedy white blanket rests across her body. Mason is sitting in front of the double chair, turned sideways so his head rests just near her stomach. His dark eyes are wild and sad as they land on me. I feel the same pain he must feel.

  The pair are holding hands, both silent and sorrowful. I glance to Everett and he is wiping at his eyes. The space behind my eyes burns but I blink hard and no tears fall.

  “Now what?” Everett whispers. I want to tell him now we find the people who hurt Lilith and kill them. Now we burn through Necropolis until the dark sky is alight with fire and the bodies of those who did this to our family are strung from one of the highest buildings.

  Right now, that is not what I need to do. Justice—revenge, is not a priority until I know for sure my sister will survive what has happened to her.

  “Now we wait,” I tell Everett, curling my fingers with his and leading him toward the chairs closest to my siblings.

  22

  Duke paces back and forth across the waiting room floor. Occasionally, he shoves his fingers into his dark hair and tugs. The turmoil on his face is as clear as the early morning sun peeking through the hospital blinds.

  My best friend is reaching the edge of his sanity. With every hour that passes with no news from a nurse or the surgeon’s assistant, he grows more agitated. I understand every emotion that flickers across his face.

  I love Lilith, too—just not in the same manner Duke Cooper does.

  “She’ll be okay,” Sophia whispers and I glance in her direction. Mason’s face is pressed into the cushion she lays on; his shoulders softly shake while she strokes his head. My heart painfully clenches at the muted sounds he makes.

  We all cried together a few hours after Duke arrived.

  Mother is the most grief stricken among us. Tears continue to flow down her face even after her eyes have swollen. Father tries to be strong for her but I can see in the dark circles around his eyes, he is starting to falter again. His daughter is hurt and he is powerless to help.

  “Why haven’t we heard anything yet?” Everett whispers, his fingers tightly clasping mine. I shake my head, unable to give him a proper answer because I don’t know.

  Maybe there is a complication; maybe the nurses are too busy trying to save my sister's life to update us. I’d rather them worry about her than us. Making sure she is okay is far more important than keeping us informed of any progress made.

  Silence lapses. My gaze travels back to the analog clock on the wall.

  The second hand seems to take hours just to tick. In reality it moves once every second. Those seconds form minutes that eventually form three hours with no new news still.

  My eyes are as heavy as my soul. Everett has already curled up against my side to sleep and despite the circumstances, I am not far behind him when the door is pushed open by a doctor in blue scrubs. His steps are heavy as he walks deeper into the room and takes in the sad sight my family presents.

  “Lilith Cooper’s family, I presume?” the older gentleman speaks, causing everyone but Duke to freeze. He shoots up from the chair he’d finally claimed, walking toward the doctor while brushing his palms off on his pants.

  “I’m her husband,” he says and it feels as if someone has knocked into me with a speeding car. My lips part in a silent keen of shock and my lungs seize as air is trapped in my throat.

  Mother chokes and Father seems to turn to stone.

  Sophia and Mason are the only two to move as if nothing is amiss.

  Did they not hear the doctor or Duke? Lilith’s last name is Cooper. Duke is her husband.

  Since when is he her husband?

  When the hell did they married?

  Why the fuck wasn’t I invited?

  “Mr. Cooper, I’m Jack Osborne, your wife’s surgeon. I apologize for not keeping you informed of her progress but she is stable.” Duke exhales, his shoulders sinking as the rest of us shake off our shock and come to stand at his side. There are more important things to worry about than Lilith’s new last name and Duke’s status as her husband.

  The doctor glances at all of us but carries on in a cold but proficient manner, “She suffered from thirteen stab wounds to the chest cavity and upper abdomen. There was a measurable amount of blood loss so a transfusion was necessary but we managed to stop the bleeding and repair most of the damage. We are going to keep her for a few days in order to monitor her vitals. One of my nurses will retrieve you and two others after she’s settled.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Duke speaks, offering the elf his hand. Dr. Osborne takes it. I exhale softly. Lilith is going to be okay. The waters are still rough but the hospital staff will look after her. It will take time, probably a good amount of therapy, but she will be okay.

  “I’ll be around to talk to Mrs. Cooper tomorrow. In the meantime, she doesn’t need to be over excited. I fear if she isn’t careful, she’ll miscarry.” I can’t identify the sound my mother makes but the look on her face is pure astonishment. “It’s impo—”

  “What?” Duke speaks, cutting the doctor off. “Miscarry?” Dr. Osborne frowns before clasping his hands together in front of himself. I open my mouth but nothing comes out.

  “I assumed you were aware of the fetus. Mrs. Cooper is roughly nine weeks pregnant.” Duke’s mouth opens and closes as his gaze jerks from my father’s face to my mother's, and to mine. Lilith is
married . . . and pregnant. Duke is her husband so it is safe to assume he is the father of her . . . their offspring.

  I don’t know because apparently, there is a whole hell of a lot I don’t know.

  “I didn’t . . . ” Duke trails off, giving his head a small shake before reaching up and pushing some of his dark hair back. His eyes dance around for a moment before meeting mine. There is so much I can say or do. He probably deserves a punch for marrying and knocking my sister up without telling any of us but that will only create more problems.

  What is done, is done.

  “Thank you again, Dr. Osborne; I really appreciate everything.” Dr. Osborne nods, clasps Duke on the shoulder and slips out of the room after being assured we don’t have any questions or concerns. Silence hangs heavy in the air like a hooker's cheap perfume after the door clicks behind the doctor’s departure.

  My father is the first to break the silence. “Care to explain yourself, Mr. Cooper?”

  Turning to face the firing squad, Duke rubs the back of his neck. He reminds me of myself as a teenager, just making my way back inside of Necropolis after being incredibly stupid. I suppose the only difference between Duke and I is my father can’t slap him in the back of the head and invent a few creative swear words because of his behavior.

  “Lilith was off her medication, having one of her breakdowns around . . . Christmas,” Duke starts to explain. My lips press together at the mention of Lilith being off her medication. I hadn’t known that. Near Christmas, I was preoccupied. We all were.

  “I didn’t know how to help when she called. You know how she gets. It’s impossible to talk her down. I tried but the more I tried, the more hysterical she became.” Duke eyes flicker to me. I tuck my hands into my pants pocket and lift an eyebrow.

  This is an explanation I require, too. How did Duke Cooper, Human Police Liaison for Necropolis City, end up married to my little sister? If she was off her medication and having a breakdown, it isn’t hard to imagine the circumstances under which such a thing happened but I want to hear the details since I didn’t get to witness the wedding.

  Plus, watching him squirm is rather hilarious, though none of us are laughing.

  “You have to understand, I didn’t think she’d actually do it. I figured once she calmed down, we’d laugh the whole thing off. But . . . she really wanted to and I wasn’t going to go back on my word. I told her I’d marry her—”

  “Why the hell would you do that?” Father snaps, crossing his arms over his chest. He swells to his full height as a world of outrage colors his cheeks and darkens his forest green eyes.

  Duke responds in kind. His back straightens and he looks upon my father, every ounce a fearless police detective. He might be just a human, just a guest in the city, but he isn’t going to let anyone talk down to him as if he is some simple-minded fool.

  “Besides the fact I care about her, you mean?” Father opens his mouth but Duke slashes his hand through the air, not finished with whatever it is he needs to say. “She needed someone and everyone—” Duke’s eyes move over all of us, “—was too damn busy planning a wedding to notice.” Mother’s face flushes with shame and my father awkwardly shifts on his feet. He isn’t wrong. None of us had been paying attention to the most vulnerable of our family unit.

  “When she called hysterical, I did what I had to do. Because she’s a lunatic when she’s off her medication—” she is bipolar; not a lunatic. Duke knows that. He also knows when she hits a low or a high, it is as close to insanity as anyone can get. “—I promised I’d marry her.”

  He did what he had to.

  “I promised she could use my last name if she told me where she was, what she was doing. I married her two weeks after I talked her off a building—” Mother inhales sharply, laying one of her hands across her stomach, “—and I’d do it again and again, and I’ll do whatever else is necessary because she’s my best friend’s sister, because she’s your daughter, but most importantly, because I love her.”

  Duke’s hands clench at his side. The door behind him swings open and we turn to look at the nurse peeking around the wood. She sways awkwardly in the doorway for a moment. “Mrs. Cooper is awake. I can take back groups of three.”

  “We’ll accompany you,” Duke speaks, gesturing to himself and my parents before anyone can make arrangements. I suppose it isn’t our place, not anymore, to make arrangements for her. Duke is her husband, after all. “I’m her husband and these are her parents.” The nurse nods.

  Duke gives everyone one last look before slipping out of the room behind the attendant. My parents quickly follow behind the pair. Mason, Sophia and I look at each other. Sophia breaks out into a smile then starts to giggle.

  I frown, watching as she sinks into a chair and slips into full blown laughter.

  “She got first,” Mason snickers, seeming to say what Sophia is thinking because she lets out a loud whooping laugh.

  “It doesn’t count because one, she didn’t tell anyone and two . . . shut up.” I shake my head and Sophia laughs a little louder, falling back against the chair and bouncing her legs up and down. It isn’t that funny. Or maybe it is. I don’t know. Lilith is married. My little sister is a wife.

  It takes a moment for my head to wrap around that knowledge but when it does, I inhale and exhale. She could be a dead wife. Duke could be a widower right now. Closing my eyes, I send a small thank you to whoever is listening that she is really going to be okay. Not just because of the doctors but because Duke is going to look after her.

  “She’s pregnant,” Everett speaks, his fingers tangling with mine. “You’re going to be an uncle.” A smile pulls up the corner of my lips. I am going to be an uncle.

  “You’re going to be an uncle, as well,” I say

  Everett swallows hard, his eyes dancing around the room, before he mutters, “Dear me."

  Sophia bounces on her toes as Mason starts to rub his hands together. I roll my eyes, not nearly as excited as them. A child is a huge responsibility and I am not entirely sure my little sister is prepared for the reality of one. No doubt, the next couple of months will be challenging for her. I’ll support her and Duke in whatever way I can.

  Right now, I am exhausted though.

  Pulling away from Everett, I kiss his temple and leave him with Mason and Sophia. Going to the ICU information desk, I request Lilith’s room number. She is only technically supposed to have three visitors but I slip down the hallway and into her room unnoticed by any of the nurses.

  My heart skips a beat upon seeing her.

  Laying back on a twin mattress, Lilith is tilted up at a thirty-degree angle and tucked in tightly. Duke stands at the foot of her bed, a picture of composure though I imagine inside he is a mess of conflicting emotions. My mother is clenching one of Lilith’s hands, sobbing softly and kissing her knuckles. Lilith’s eyes are closed and she doesn’t look lucid as Father pushes some of her blonde hair back behind one of her ears.

  Orange iodine colors the flesh peeking out from under the bandages around her chest. Dried blood mats the hair at her temples. She looks a mess and I know if she saw herself in a mirror, she’d have another kind of breakdown because she’s always taken care of her appearance. Even covered in blood and iodine, she is beautiful; she is perfect and I am damn glad she isn’t dead.

  “On what many would consider the worst day of their life, you still manage to look better than everyone in the room,” I speak softly to my sister. Opening her eyes, Lilith smiles slightly as I walk forward. “Of course, I’d much prefer if you outshine us when you are actually trying.” Laying my hand on her leg, I offer a smile. “How are you feeling?”

  She giggles but winces, laying her free hand over her stomach. The machine beside her starts to beep loudly and a nurse slips into the room. Lilith lays her arm flat again at the nurse’s urging. After pressing a button that is connected to the IV line, the woman slips out of the room without so much as a word to me as the extra occupant.

&n
bsp; “I have to keep my arm straight or the IV line gets bent,” Lilith explains, her voice dry and weak. “But I feel okay. Doctor Osborne has me on some pain medicine.”

  “Is it the good stuff?” Duke asks as he reaches out and curls his fingers around her exposed ankle. She shifts slightly and his fingers push higher on her leg.

  “I wouldn’t know. I’ve never had these kinds of drugs before.” Duke laughs softly, coming around the edge of the bed slowly. He approaches her the way you would a wild animal. Eventually, when he is standing beside my father, Duke takes Lilith’s hand. She curls her fingers around his palm, a small smile pulling at her lips. This is the first time I have ever seen her smile at any man with so much . . . contentment?

  “Do you see dancing unicorns and singing flowers?” he teases and she laughs but groans, pressing her head back into the pillow. Duke grimaces, his other hand curling over the back of the hand grasping his.

  “No,” Lilith mutters after a moment. “No unicorns or singing flowers. There might be a knight in tin foil, though.” Duke laughs softly this time and Lilith opens her eyes, a small smile playing on her lips. Her eyes droop just a couple of seconds later.

  “She needs to get some rest,” Duke tells us, “I’m going to make some calls, see if I can find the officers who called EMS. If I find anything out, I’ll let you guys know.” Father nods. Duke goes to release Lilith’s hand but pauses, looking back to her as her eyes open. Her gaze is cloudy as her eyes dance around the room, seeking something familiar or maybe Duke.

  “Stay with me, Duke. Please.” My gaze flickers between the pair. “Just tonight; like last time, I swear.” My best friend looks conflicted as my little sister implores him to stay.

  If she wasn’t high on her pain medication, she never would have made the request, never would have mentioned last time, I bet. She wouldn’t be holding his hand or forget they have an audience. She is high, though, and she has clearly forgotten about the rest of us.

  Duke isn’t stupid enough to pass on the opportunity to stay by her side.