Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 454(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
My wild eyes went to my father’s, the calmness in them somehow settled me, made my rational brain come back online momentarily, and I nodded.
“Okay.” I nodded, heading for the chair she’d indicated at the end of the hallway.
The nurse came back a few moments later, handing me a pair of scrub pants, a shirt, and some booties that were never going to fit over my massive boots, but I’d try.
The shirt was snug, and the pants were well over five inches too short, but I was wearing them.
When I exited the bathroom she’d pointed me to moments earlier, she was waiting there with an indulging smile on her face. “You ready?”
I nodded, not trusting myself to answer, and followed her cautiously into the room.
My wife was on a table with a sheet that cut the top quarter of her body off from the bottom three quarters.
Her arms were restrained straight out, and she had an oxygen mask over her face.
When I entered, she was staring at the door, as if she was counting down the seconds until I came inside, and I was glad that I kept pushing the nurse to let me come in, regardless of the fact that it was an emergency.
I didn’t move, stopping just inside the door as I waited for the nurse to instruct me on where to go.
“Just go sit to her side right there, where the little blue stool is. Please don’t move from that spot. No matter what.” She instructed.
Baylee’s eyes followed me as I maneuvered my big body around equipment, until I came to a stop at the side of her head.
Bending down, I kissed her wet cheek and let my hand fall to her head that was covered by a hair net.
“This look is sexy on you.” I teased, plucking the hair net with his fingers.
“They’re letting me keep it.” She rasped.
“Alright, starting time is 2203 hours. Scalpel.” The male standing over my wife’s body said.
His authoritative voice soothed something savage inside of me, and I calmed for the first time in twenty minutes, as I waited for my baby to be brought into the world.
I studied Baylee’s terrified face as her body moved and jostled with the work they were doing behind the suspended sheet.
At one point, a spray of...something, hit the screen and I cringed, hoping that it wasn’t blood that I’d heard, but knew in my heart that it was.
“Alright, careful now. I need suction. More. More suction. All right, baby’s out. I need more suction.” The doctor’s voice echoed.
I waited long moments for my child to cry, but the cries never came.
Then, as if in a dream, Baylee’s eyes started to flutter.
“Baylee?” I asked urgently.
“I’ll love you for the rest of my life.” She whispered weakly.
The operation room exploded in activity.
The nurse that’d directed me to sit came to my side and yanked me up, urging me frantically to move out of the way.
“Sir, I think it’s best if you leave. Can you please back away? They’ll need the room.” The nurse was repeating to me over and over again.
But rational me wasn’t there anymore. Only reacting me. Emotional me.
And I saw my wife dying on the table.
I’d made her a promise to stay, and if I had to fight to stay, I would.
Or I would have tried if the nurse hadn’t started shoving me out the door before I even realized that she’d done it.
When I tried the door, it was locked, and all I could do was sit there and stare through the glass as the team of nurses and doctors worked frantically at my wife and newborns side, trying to preserve their lives.
Blood was pooling at their feet, spreading quickly on the bright white floor.
My child, in the corner, had another team surrounding it, and I realized then that I never even heard whether it was a boy or a girl.
I hadn’t realized I’d been screaming until somebody’s arms wrapped around me from behind.
Those arms that used to mean the world to me twenty-five years ago meant nothing right now. The ache in my heart was multiplying, and I realized Baylee was going to leave me.
“You promised.” I whispered brokenly.
The last thought I’d had before my father dragged me away, in response to what she’d said right before I’d left the room.
I’ll love you for the rest of my life, she’d said.
No, Baylee, I thought. You may love me for the rest of your life, but I’ll love you for the rest of mine; you’re it for me. Don’t you leave me like this, you promised.
Epilogue
There is a fine line between wearing makeup and looking like Crayola gangbanged your face.
-Life Lesson
Baylee
I walked into the house cautiously.
Slowly, stepping over the pile of cars in the entryway of Johnny’s room, around the half-finished bottle of Blaise’s in the hall, and over a pile of clothes belonging to Sebastian.
Based on the white stain over the front of the shirt, I assumed Blaise had thrown up.
Again.
This is what happened when Sebastian watched the kids, however.
But fuck it, even if I had to clean up afterwards, it’s worth getting my nails done.
“She’s going to kill you when she finds out you did this without a shirt on.” Sterling said from the kitchen.
I froze and listened to what Sterling and my man were saying.
“Yeah, but I did it to show off the tattoo. It’ll totally be worth it. Especially when she finds out where all the proceeds are going.”
“Yeah, she’ll like that.” Sterling said dryly.
I rounded the corner, eager to find out what Sebastian would risk my wrath for, and came to a stop in my state of the art kitchen. Then, promptly, swallowed my tongue when I saw how much muscle Sterling had put on since I’d last seen him.
Sterling was a conundrum to me. He was a very sweet and docile person, and it took me around six months to figure out what the appeal of the MC life was to him.
Family.
He wanted a family.
And with us, he got that.