“What’s wrong with her, tell me what’s wrong?”
“She has a concussion, she’s having a seizure, and her blood pressure has spiked. The baby’s in fetal distress, we need to stabilize her and perform an emergency C-section.”
“It’s too early, she’s not due yet!”
“The best thing you can do for her is let the doctors and the nurses take care of her and the baby by staying out of the way. We’re going to do everything we can for them.”
They wheel her out and I follow helplessly until she’s out of sight. I stumble back into the room, not seeing but looking at the empty spot where her bed was. I close my eyes and throw my head back, and pain radiates through my skull. It doesn’t compare to the pain I’m already in, taking over my entire body. “Where is she?” I say to her mother when she walks in the room.
“Nick, you don’t understand, it was a terrible accident.”
“Would it be a terrible accident if I wrapped my hand around her neck and squeezed the life out of her? How much of an accident would that be?”
“She wasn’t—”
“Excuse me.” We both turn to the nurse with papers in her hand. “I need the person responsible for Ms. Reed to fill these consent forms out along with her insurance and medical information.”
“That would be me, I’m her mother.”
She’s lost her goddamn mind if she thinks I’m going to let her put a dot of ink on one piece of paper concerning Cat. “I’ll take those.” I look at the nurse and wait for her to hand me the papers; she’s not sure who she should hand them to.
“I’m her mother and the grandmother of her child. I’ll fill them out.” She holds out her hands to the nurse.
Grandmother? A few weeks ago she wanted to kill my child and now she’s claiming grandmother? I can’t look at her for fear of what my anger might lead me to do. The nurse visibly cringes when she sees the look on my face and the sound in my voice that’s meant for the other woman facing her. “I’m the father of her child and I’m also her legal representative. She gave me full legal medical consent if anything should happen to her. After you suggested at five months to dispose of my child like it was nothing.”
I hold my hand out to the nurse looking nervously between us, not sure what to do, looking like she wants to be anywhere but here. “Like I said, I have full binding medical power of attorney, I’ll have the forms to handle all of her medical issues sent to you within the next thirty minutes. Any and all medical issues or papers concerning her health or otherwise are to come directly to me and absolutely, no one else,” I tell her with all the veracity and seriousness of a Supreme C.
“Yes, sir.” She hastily shoves the papers in my hand and leaves the room.
I turn to Mrs. Reed looking at me with revulsion, her eyes barely a slit. Back to being a hard ice-cold bitch of a mother.
“You did this, this is your fault. You turned my daughter against me and turned them away from each other.” She points at the open door to where I assume Kate is.
“One more time, I’m going to give you a potent dose of the truth.” I pull up close to her so she doesn’t miss a word between my clenched teeth. I look down at her with as much disgust as she has for me. “My family is dysfunctional, in fact my father and I can hardly agree on much. As messed up as we are, my family would never do to me what you did to Cat. You turned her out when she needed you. You wanted her to suffer. You’ve always been hidden behind the facade of a semi-decent woman. Your daughter out there, the one that tried to kill her, I don’t care what it was, accident or not. You’ve spoiled her and pampered her rotten to the core to make up for what you did. That—” I point to the door, “—is your creation. I’m going to deal with her appropriately the way she dealt with Cat, when I’m finished.”
I give her one last look and I see I’ve made my point. “Move!” If she knows what’s good she’ll move the fuck out of my way, I don’t care whose mother she is. With pure disdain for me dripping from every pore in her body, she spins around, leaving the room. I walk over to the wall, dropping down into a chair. Taking out my phone with shaky hands I call Gage and give him the short version of what happened, leaving out the part with her mother and sister.
“Go to my house and look in the top drawer in my office for a file with Cat’s name on it.
“I need you to fax everything in that file. I’ll text you the fax number for the hospital.”
“Man, is she going to be okay?”
“I hope so.” I hope they both are. It’s out of my control. “Call Ava for me, tell her what happened.”
Kate’s standing against the wall facing the room. Her eyes meet mine. She almost looks frightened, she should be, for what I have in store for her. Her eyes are wide open, tears coming down her face, nose running, a disgusting mess. To my eyes she’s the lowest form of life on this earth.
“You should have listened to your mother. Get out of my sight,” I tell her with deadly calm. “Before I do something I have no control of.”
She brushes the tears away from under her eyes with her entire body pressed against the wall. She shakes her head frantically like she’s gone mad, the tears coming on full force now.
“I didn’t mean it. I didn’t mean it, you have to believe me, it was a terrible accident. I let go then I tried to catch her. You have to understand, it was a horrible accident. If I could take it back I would!”
All I feel is sheer and utter contempt mixed with overwhelming anger for what she did to Cat and our baby. I put my hand in my pocket in an effort to control myself. Not blinking once I look her directly in her eyes raising my voice over her low sobs.
“There will be a restraining order issued against you and the rest of your sorry excuse for a family from putting one foot on this floor near Cat. If you do, you will be escorted out into the back of a police car. I’m waiting for you, if she doesn’t wake up, if my child is harmed in any way because of you, I’m going to spend the rest of my life down to the last penny in my pocket making sure you don’t see a single ray of light from the 6x9 caged reinforced cell I’m going to put you in like the rotting animal you are.
“Forget laws and rules, I’m my own law, if I don’t handle it someone else will. You’re a miserable excuse waste of a life I have ever had come across my path. What kind of low-life gutter filth are you to do that to her? You’re not worth the air you breathe, you, you selfish hateful conniving bitch. Get the hell out of my sight with your worthless words, they mean nothing to me. Like you, absolutely worthless.”
I watch as spasms rock her body as torrents of endless tears cascade down her face as she falls to the floor in uncontrollable sobs. She’s lucky compared to Cat. She doesn’t have the luxury of tears; she’s fighting for her life and our child’s.
I leave her where she belongs in a heap on the floor. I manage to find a nurse that can tell me what’s going on and give them the medical forms. A nurse tells me someone will be out to speak with me soon. On my way back to a private waiting area I see Ava, my mother, and Gage. Ava runs to me and wraps her arms around me sniffling. I wrap an arm around her.
“How is she?”
“I don’t know. It’s been a while since they rushed her in. They said someone will be out soon.”
My mother hugs me next. Worry written on her face, lines etched across her smooth forehead. “Honey, what happened?”
I take them to the room, sit down hunched over, my hands folded between my legs, I tell them what I know. Gage is more upset than I’ve seen him in a long time walking around the room quietly. Ava and my mother sit next to each other, my mother holding Ava’s hand while she tries not to cry.
I sit back staring blankly at the floor for hours on hours, anxious, nervous, scared beyond any other feeling I’ve experienced in my life waiting for news of any kind. I’m about to snap and go looking for answers when Chris walks through the door with his family.
I open my mouth and run my hand over my jaw. “If you want to stay you
can, the rest of them are not welcomed here.”
“Nick, be reasonable, we’re her family,” Chris says to me, sitting in the chair.
“Family did this to her. Her family put her in the hospital. Don’t tell me about family, as far as I’m concerned you’re the only real family she has.”
“Nick, I don’t know what happened but we’re all worried about her.”
“You can stay. If the rest of them don’t want to be thrown out of this hospital completely, banned from having contact with Cat and my child, they will leave and stay out of my sight. Don’t push me on this, Chris, or you’re going to be on the other side with them, against me.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” Jay says.
“More to her than you’ll ever be.” Last time he walked out of here, this time he won’t.
I stand up ready to show him who I am. Gage comes and stands behind me ready to follow my lead.
“That’s enough,” his father says. “We’re not going to do this again. Chris, you stay. This is going to get us nowhere, let us know what’s going on with your sister and the baby. We’ll be with your mother and sister. Let’s go, Jay!” He pulls on Jay forcing him to leave with him.
I run my hands through my hair, tugging on it hard not feeling it with the adrenaline and all the other things I have coursing through my body. I don’t know how long I’ve been here. It’s as if time is standing still.
“Mr. Alexander?”
“Yes!” The doctor comes over to me. I swallow the lump in my throat and get my courage together. “How is she, is she okay?”
He gives me a level look his hand in his pockets. “She’s out of surgery, but there were a few complications.”
“What kinds of complications?”
“She lost a lot of blood, we had to give her a blood transfusion. The baby’s heart rate dropped dangerously low during the delivery. We were able to get it back up after delivery.”
“All I need to know is are they alive and are they fine?”
“Yes. They’re both in stable condition.”
“Can I see them?”
“Yes, but she hasn’t woken up yet. She might not wake up for some time.”
“What do you mean?” Fear is clawing at my insides fearing what his next words will be. The air is sucked out of the room stifling me.
“She had some swelling on the brain from the fall. We had to put her in a medically induced coma.”
“When will she wake up?”
“When the swelling and her pain subsides hopefully within a few days. I can’t say exactly.”
My mother says for me, “Thank you.”
I walk out of the room leaving them behind. I hear Ava call my name and Chris tell her to let me go. I can’t see her yet. She’s going to be fine, she has to be. I need to go see someone else first—our creation. I promised her.
The nurse takes me in after I put on scrubs.
I look at the little body in the incubator. So small, I see a few wires sticking out connected to machines. I ask the nurse without taking my eyes off the incubator,
“Are you sure he’s okay or she. I don’t know, boy or girl?”
“Go ahead, take a look for yourself.”
I move over the incubator and look at the tiny little body sleeping soundly. A broad smile crosses my lips. I wipe a tear away from the corner of my eye. It’s a boy. “Hey, son.” I put my hand through the side of the incubator and touch his little fingers, watching his chest rapidly rise and fall. I have to ask again because he looks so fragile,
“Are you sure he’s okay?” She smiles when I look at her.
“He’s fine. Premature but healthy. He’s a fighter like his mother. They handled themselves well.”
“Yeah.”
“Would you like to hold him?”
I look at her skeptically. “Is that safe?”
“Yes. It’s good for him. Sit.”
I sit in a chair that looks like a rocker and she places my son in my hands. I have a son, we have a son. “Hey, little man, I’m your daddy. The guy who was always talking to you in Mommy’s stomach. I know you know my voice, you had front row seats to some loud discussions.” He does the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life. He smacks his lips together in a little sucking motion squirming in my arms, pushing out his little chin. I smile down at him with pride. This is my son. Wow.
“Do you know what you’re going to name him?”
I turn around and see Gage looking over my shoulder. The nurse is gone. I look back down at my son and smile wider. “What else? Jace H. Alexander.”
“I like it. What’s the H for?”
“Harrison. It was my first choice in boys’ names I wasn’t supposed to pick. Somehow I knew we were going to have a boy. I wasn’t crazy about Jace, but she was right—he’s a Jace.”
“Welcome to the world, Jace, I’m your Uncle Gage. I’m going to teach you to cop a feel in the sand box and juggle two sweethearts at once without getting slapped.”
“You better not let Cat catch you saying that, you’re going to be banned.”
“I’m kidding. She won’t ban me, she thinks I’m adorable.”
“Not when you’re turning her son into an infant gigolo.”
“She’s going to love him.”
“She already does.”
She looks like she’s sleeping when I go into her room. I brush the hair away from the bandage on her forehead. She doesn’t look like herself. More than anything in this world I wish she could open her eyes. I kiss her lips and hold her hand and talk to her hoping she can hear me. “He’s beautiful like you. I held our son, he’s healthy; small, but healthy.” I kiss the back of her hand, holding it to my lips. “I love you. I need you to wake up, Jace needs you to wake up. He needs his mother to take care of him and love him—this shouldn’t have happened to you. You didn’t deserve this.”
Two hours later when the nurse comes back again to check on her and replace her IV I go to the waiting room. I immediately see Chris with his arms around Ava’s shoulder, her head on his chest. Gage and my mother are talking, and the biggest shocker, my father is sitting next to them. My mother sees me first, and puts her hands on my chest when they stand.
“Nick, I saw him. My grandson, he’s beautiful. He looks just like you when you were a baby.”
I smile at her half-heartedly my mind still on Cat. Ava moves away from Chris, wiping her eyes, and putting a smile on her face.
“He really is a gorgeous baby. He’s so tiny and cute. There was no doubt he was going to be a good-looking baby with our genes.”
“Hey, he’s half Reed, half of those good-looking genes are from our side,” Chris says jokingly at Ava.
“You did real good, son.” My dad comes over clapping me on the back.”
“Thanks, Dad.”
“My first grandchild is going to be the third Alexander in Alexander Alexander and Alexander. I’ve given up hope on your brother here.”
Gage stands up next to me, ignoring my father’s remark. “Isn’t it a little soon to be planning his legal career, Dad?”
“Never too soon, I can tell that boy is going to be a lawyer, he’s strong.”
“I’m not going to argue with that, he is strong like his mother,” I agree.
“She’s going to wake up,” my father says.
I nod my head. “Thanks for being here. It’s late, you guys should go home and get some rest. It’s been a long day full of unexpected events. Thank you for being here for Cat, Jace, and me.”
“That’s what family is for. We come together in times like these.” Ava hugs me and I hug her back. “I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow—it’s already tomorrow, I mean in a few hours to see my godson and Cat.” She sniffs and steps back. “Who’s going to drive me home? I’m too much of a mess to drive.”
“I’ll give you a ride,” Chris offers.
“Thanks, but I don’t want to take you out of your way.”
“You’re not taking me o
ut of my way, come on. I need a distraction, I’ll be up for the rest of the night.”
Chris and I say our goodbyes and he walks out with Ava and the rest of my family.
One mother to another
Two mothers sitting together in a hospital waiting room. One scared for her child’s life. The other there to support her son in whichever way she can.
“Candice?”
“Yes.”
She jumps up from her seat, jittery, wiping away her tears. I hold out my hand and tell her to sit. “Are you all right?”
“No, I’m most certainly not.”
She sits up straight, brushing her hair back. Struggling to look like her usual put together self. I look around not seeing her sons or husband.
“Is there someone I can get for you, your husband or one of your sons? Chris was on his way down here?”
“My husband went outside to talk to Chris. Jay is taking Kate home with him so she’s not alone.”
I can see she’s hurt. I’m not one to kick a person when they’re down but…I would hate to think she had a part in what happened to Cat and my grandson.
“I couldn’t even tell them how many months she was. I didn’t know anything about my own daughter. I have a grandchild, my first grandson, whom I’m not allowed to see.”
She closes her eyes and puts her head down. Her voice breaking.
“He won’t let me see her. I’m her mother, I should be with her! She needs me.”
“I know how you feel.”
“What if she doesn’t wake up?”
She looks at me, eyes watering. I put my hand over hers and hold them still. I feel for her as a mother. “It’s a terrible thing to think you could lose your child no matter if they’re seven minutes or twenty-seven years old. They’re still your child; you will always see that picture of them in your head. I’m not saying my son is right for not allowing you to see Cat, he’s loved her for a long time. Since she was a little girl, before either of them knew what love truly was. He wants to protect her.”
Imperfections Come To Light (The Imperfection Series Book 2) Page 28
