Deception in the Truth

by A. B. Medley

  It must click with Jade, because she screams out. “You dumb bitch! You’re pregnant with Sterling’s baby, aren’t you? Again! You slut! I’ll kill this one too!”

  She points the gun and fires at me, and I try to roll but pain ricochets down my hip. She screams and charges me, grabbing my hair and slamming my head down on the floor. While I’m dazed, she throws a leg over me and sits on my stomach as she wraps her hands around my throat. I can’t do much to fight back, being handcuffed. I hear my dad screaming and trying to get free, Lucy too. Darkness starts to tug at my vision, the pain in my hip pulsing like a living thing and my lungs starting to burn. I think I hear Sterling’s voice, but it sounds so far away. Then there’s another gunshot.

  “Ivie, baby girl, can you hear me? Don’t do this. I need you to hang on, do you hear me? Don’t leave me.” I want to tell him I love him one more time, but no words come. I touch my hip with my hand shakily and feel something hot and sticky. Blood. So much blood. Then, everything fades to black.

  I ride in the ambulance with Ivie as they run code. She looks so weak and pale. She’s losing a lot of blood from her gunshot wound, and her neck is already bruising. I hold her hand as the EMTs tend to her, trying to stabilize her.

  I replay what just happened in my head. We had remained outside the door, listening to Jade. She confessed to everything. Then she started screaming about Ivie being pregnant again, with my baby. Everything in my being came to life when I heard that. We breached the room, and we all had our guns trained on Jade.

  When she heard me, she turned, and her eyes blazed fury. She picked up her pistol and aimed at me, but Briella got a round off before she could. Jade must be dead. I didn’t hang around long enough to find out, my sole focus being on getting to Ivie. Backup arrived right before I left the scene. If she is dead, I’ll have to help Briella work through taking a life, because even though it was to defend someone’s life, it’s a memory that will haunt you no matter what.

  She hung back to give her statement and help with the scene. After all, this is about to be her job, too. She’s just finishing her last classes, and Chief already has a position for her. She already knows the ropes and how to handle herself. She’ll be going to the academy in January to complete her training.

  Tate looked shocked at seeing Lucy. He rushed over to her while Briella helped Rhett get free, gently pulling the tape off Lucy’s mouth and cutting her ties down from the hook with his pocketknife. Before he could finish with her hands, she put them, still tied, around his neck and just held on. He held her as she sobbed, not caring he was getting blood all over him. He went with her to the other ambulance, but I don’t know if he stayed.

  Before I left with Ivie on the stretcher, I went over to Bree and asked was this what she knew and couldn’t tell me, about the baby. She didn’t speak but the haunted look on her face gave me the confirmation I needed. We are pregnant. Again.

  We pull up to the hospital, and I walk in with them, still holding her hand as they move the stretcher. Dr. Boyd meets us and instructs the team to get everything ready for surgery.

  “Please, take care of her. I can’t lose her again, doc. I think she’s pregnant. Please.” His eyebrows furrow, and he puts a strong hand on my shoulder.

  “I’ll do my best, Sterling.”

  With that, I’m left in the waiting room alone. I hear them saying the other ambulance is pulling in. I drop into a chair and silently pray that Ivie’s okay, and I pray we don’t lose another baby. I can’t handle the thought of losing another one almost in the same breath I find out about it. I’m still grieving over losing the first one. Hot tears sting my eyelids and I pray the prayers of a desperate man.

  I feel a hand squeeze my shoulder. It’s Tate. He has blood on his face and neck, some staining his white button up under his tuxedo jacket. I stand up and he hugs me. I hug him back fiercely, needing any extra strength I can get right now.

  “Man, she’s going to be all right. You can’t think any other way,” he says as he sits with me.

  “She’s pregnant. We can’t lose another baby.” I choke back a broken sob.

  His eyes widen but he just puts his hand on my shoulder and sits with me. I hadn’t told him about the other baby, so I know he’ll want an explanation, but for now he doesn’t ask.

  It isn’t long before Bree comes in with Rhett. He looks so broken. I notice he has blood on him, too. I don’t remember seeing any injuries on him. Then it hits me. Lucy, we learned tonight, is his daughter too. The blood is probably from her.

  They reach us, and Bree gives me a hug. Rhett stands in front of me. “Any word on her condition?”

  “No. They took her back to surgery about thirty minutes ago.”

  He seems to be coming to terms with something. “Listen, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Lucy. I’m not getting into all the details right now, but that’s the only secret I had. I swear I had no clue how deep Harlan’s hatred for me went, much less that he involved his daughter in it. Jade has been in our home countless times over the years. I need to make this right, with Ivie, Lucy, and Rayna.”

  I just nod, because I don’t know what to say. I can’t imagine. “Rayna on her way?”

  “Yes, she’s headed here as we speak.”

  “Good. I know Ivie will want her here.”

  The doors open down the hall, and I see Dean jogging toward us, worry evident on his face. He stops when he gets to me. “Hey, man, are you all right? How’s Ivie and Lucy?”

  “I think Lucy is still getting checked out, and Ivie’s in surgery.”

  “I was with Rayna and Mom when she got the call, so I came as quick as I could, but there were no details.” He looks at me carefully, then continues.

  “Listen, me and Ivie had a long talk the other day, and she told me everything. I told her that I’m bowing out gracefully. I know we may have our issues to hammer out, but I just wanted you to know I’m not going to stand in your way. I just want her to be happy, and you too.”

  He reaches to shake my hand, and I give him a back-slapping man hug instead.

  Moments later, Rayna files in, checking on everyone, saving me for last. She comes over to me and puts her hands on my face with tears in her eyes, then she hugs me. I do my best to hold it together.

  A little later a door opens, and we all stand, thinking it would be someone with an update. It turns out to be Lucy, in a wheelchair, coming to check on Ivie. Tate looks at her, unsure of his next move. Lucy’s pretty banged up. Her left eye is swollen shut and purple. She has about twenty stitches on her forehead, just below her hairline. There are livid bruises on her arms, which are bared in the hospital gown.

  She points the orderly to me. “Hey. Any word?”

  “No, not yet. It’s been an hour and a half since she went into surgery.”

  She takes my hand. “Thank you for saving us. Don’t worry, she’ll be fine, she has to be. If she really is pregnant, so will the baby.”

  I hug her gently. When I let her go, I still see Tate eyeing her. She flicks him a quick glance then her sights land on Rhett, her father.

  He comes up to her and I step back, not wanting to intrude. I can’t hear what is said, but I see a few more tears fall down her already puffy face. To my surprise, Rhett puts his arms around her and pulls her to his chest like any loving father would do, cradling the back of her head. I see her small frame shake with more quiet sobs. He just stands there, holding her and rubbing her back. Tate looks on, clearly at a loss for the appropriate response in a moment like this. Rayna is with them too, and it makes me wonder what she knows about Lucy being Rhett’s daughter.

  It turns out they are keeping Lucy overnight for observation, but she talked them into letting her wait with us until we have an update on Ivie.

  An hour or so later, Dr. Boyd comes out in his scrubs. His face is a mask I can’t read. We all stand, waiting and holding our breath.

  Rhett and Rayna stand beside me, anxious to get an update on their daughter. He shake
s my hand and Rhett’s, then places a hand on Rayna’s shoulder. “She is stable. She’s going to be out for a while, but she’s in recovery. She lost a lot of blood, so she had to have a transfusion. The bullet nicked some minor arteries and lodged in her left hip. It took a while, but we were able to retrieve it. As for the baby, I’m afraid it’s too early say for certain. Right now, things seem okay, but she’s suffered a major trauma in the region even though her hip caught most of the force. With the blood loss, it’s going to be a wait-and-see game for the next few days. Dr. Karen Ray is going to be her OB/GYN, at least while she’s here. She’ll be monitoring her very closely. Right now, I’d say we’re cautiously optimistic. When she wakes, she probably won’t be able to speak, at least not much for a few days. The bruising to her larynx and throat was extensive. It’s just going to take some time, and she’s going to be pretty sore.”

  “Thanks, Dr. Boyd, when can we see her?” I ask, shaking his hand again.

  “She’ll be in recovery for the next hour probably, but when she’s moved to a regular room, she can have visitors. Someone will let you know.” He nods and goes back through the double doors.

  I send up another silent prayer, this time a thank you. As soon as Ivie wakes up, I’ll tell her how much I love her and can’t wait to have this baby with her.

  I hear a steady beep and slowly open my eyes. I’m in the hospital, looks like maybe a recovery room. A nurse looks up from a chart at the desk and smiles at me. She comes over and starts checking my vitals.

  I start to move but I freeze at the pain in the back of my head and in my hip. “Slow down, Ivie. You’ve been through quite an ordeal the last several hours. Just take it easy.”

  I open my mouth to speak, and as soon as I get a word out, I regret it. My throat is so sore. Then it comes back to me: the feel of Jade’s hands wrapped around my throat choking the life out of me. Not to mention being intubated during the surgery I assume I just had since I’m waking up in recovery.

  All I was able to get out was where before I snapped my mouth shut again. The nurse smiles at me with sympathy. “I’m Rose. I’m going to be your nurse for the rest of the night. We’re in the recovery room at Greendale Med. Let me page Dr. Boyd, since you’re awake, and he can talk to you. We should be good to go to a regular room shortly,” she tells me as she finishes checking my vitals. She breezes to the nurse’s station again and picks up the phone.

  A few minutes later, Dr. Boyd is at my bedside. “I don’t like seeing you like this, Ivie.” His eyebrows draw together. I nod my head in agreement. “We’ll put you in a regular room now; you have a lot of people in that waiting room wanting to see you. The long and short of it, you have a bruise on the back of your head, but not a concussion. Your throat and neck will be quite sore for a few days from being choked, but it will heal. Do you remember getting shot?” he asks with concern.

  I nod. “Well, the bullet lodged in your hip bone, and I was able to remove it. It nicked some minor arteries, so you had to have a blood transfusion due to blood loss.” He lowers his voice and moves closer. “This time, the baby survived. I’m not promising anything, Ivie, but right now we’re optimistic the baby will be fine. Dr. Karen Ray is an excellent OB/GYN here at Greendale Med, and she’ll be monitoring you closely for a few days.” I feel a tear trickle down my cheek in relief.

  “I’ll send the order to get you moved, and then you can see your family and friends. I’ll be checking in on you, too. You’ll be here for a few days.” He pats my hand and turns to my nurse, and they start the process of getting me moved into my own room.

  Once I get settled, my nurse tells me she’s going to let everyone know they can come in a few at a time. My heart is ready to see Sterling. I’ve got to tell him about the baby now. I can’t go through this wait-and-see for the next few days alone. What will he say? Will he be happy? Will he be angry? Will he want nothing to do with me?

  My door opens, and I see my dad come in. Alone. Pain and remorse are all I see on his face. He picks up my hand without making eye contact.

  “Honey, I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you about Lucy. So much time passed, and you were best friends—I just didn’t know how. Your mom and I tried for a long time to get pregnant, but never could. We saw all kinds of doctors but got no answers and no solid help or encouragement. No hope. We had all but given up on ever having a baby. Our marriage was strained because your mother retreated into herself, and I didn’t know how to bring her out of it. I felt like I wasn’t who she needed.” He hangs his head.

  “She wanted a baby so badly. She felt like she had failed herself and me. I stayed one night at my office—I was a still lawyer then, and Phoebe was my secretary. I had opened a bottle of whiskey I kept stashed in my desk. She stayed late working too, because she and Steve were having some issues of their own. She came in to check on me before leaving, and I was drunk. We told each other about our problems, and we took comfort in each other’s arms. I’m sure I don’t have to spell out the rest.”

  He glances at me. I have tears running down my cheeks. “It was a one-time thing. We both regretted it. Guilt tore at me for days. I was going to confess to your mom and take whatever punishment she decided to give. But one night I walked in after work, and she was standing in the kitchen with the most beautiful smile on her face. She took my hand and led me to the bathroom, where she had taken about fifteen pregnancy tests, and they were all positive.” He runs his free hand over his face to swipe the tears that have started to fall.

  “I knew in that instant I couldn’t tell her what I’d done. Our dreams were coming true. We were having a baby, finally. Not to mention, I didn’t want to stress her out in any way and put her at risk of losing you. So, I kept quiet. Phoebe and I already had an unspoken pact that no one would know what we did. We never intended for it to happen. No romantic feelings ever existed between us. A month or so later, Phoebe came to me and told me she was pregnant too. I asked her if she was sure it was mine and not Steve’s, and she said yes. They had not been intimate in the time frame for her to be pregnant.” He closes his eyes before continuing.

  “She told me she would tell Steve that the baby was his, and she did. I did have a paternity test done after Lucy was born just to be sure, and she is my daughter.”

  I squeeze his hand. He looks at me. I whisper to him. “How could you watch her grow up and be my best friend and it not bother you?”

  “It did bother me, honey. I always loved when she would come over and stay the night with us, because I felt like I had my whole family together. I may not have outwardly claimed to be her father, but in my heart I have always been. I love her, Ivie, since the day I knew she was mine. But I couldn’t ruin my life with you and your mom, or Phoebe’s with Steve and Lucy. So, I watched from afar and had the only relationship with her I thought I could have, as my daughter’s best friend’s dad. Phoebe wanted it that way, too. She didn’t want to break up our home or hers.”

  I stare at the wall. This is a lot to take in.

  “Honey, I’m so sorry. I only did what I thought was best, and you still grew up with your sister, you just didn’t know who she really was. Subconsciously, I think you both knew, because you’ve always been more like sisters than friends anyway.” Tears continue to fall freely.

  “How long has Lucy known?”

  “I think she figured it out around your senior year in high school. Steve found out, and that’s why he left. And yes, I did give him a harsher sentence, because he was supposed to be a man. He raised Lucy and then he just walked out on her. I was angry. I didn’t want him to hurt Phoebe, either, because she loved him so much and she fought hard to keep her family together, but he just couldn’t get past it.”

  My eyes shoot open and I force the words out, painful to my throat and my heart. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  Dad rubs his thumb over my hand. “She was probably scared she would lose you, and probably didn’t want there to be drama, or hurt your mother.” I shake my head and close
my eyes.

  “I’m surprised Lucy never confronted me, but she didn’t. I wouldn’t have lied to her if she had.”

  I lay my head back on the pillows stacked behind me.

  “I’ll tell your mother, honey. I just had to talk to you first. I’ll tell her everything. I want to be a family with your mother and both of my daughters, if I can. I want this out. I was never ashamed of Lucy; I was just trying not to hurt anyone, but I want my family to be whole. Maybe now it will, if your mother can forgive me. Can you forgive me, pumpkin?”

  I smile weakly at Dad and reach up to hug him. As much as I want to be mad, I can’t. I’m disappointed he didn’t tell us, but I also understand his reasons. He leans down and hugs me, and I feel his body shaking before he lets out a quiet sob. He holds me that way for a few minutes.

  “I love you, Daddy. I forgive you.” There’s so much I need to say, but it’ll have to wait until I’m able to talk more, and above a whisper.

  “Thank you, pumpkin. I love you so much.” He presses a kiss to my forehead.

  He smiles at me. “It sounds like we’ll have an even bigger family soon, am I hearing that right?”

  My mouth drops open in surprise. “How do you know that?” I whisper again.

  “The doctor gave us an update,” he says slowly, clearly wondering if he’s saying something wrong.

  “Was Sterling—?” I manage to say around my shock and pain.

  “Yes, honey he was, he still is. Do you want me to send him in?”

  I nod, and he squeezes my hand before he walks out the door.

  A few minutes later, Sterling enters my room. He looks tired and worried. I can’t help it; when I look into his brown eyes, I tear up again.

  He rushes to my side and kisses my cheek. “Ivie, I’m so glad you’re okay.” His voice is deep and thick with emotion. He puts his hand on my face and rubs his thumb over my cheek.