Total pages in book: 178
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 170884 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 854(@200wpm)___ 684(@250wpm)___ 570(@300wpm)
Two nurses rushed forward, and while the female pried open the little monster’s eyes, shining a light in them, the male asked, “What happened?”
What happened?
I had the insane urge to laugh out loud.
Jesus Christ. How much time did he have? Because, oh boy, did I have a story to tell.
Thankfully, Manda responded on my behalf. “He’s been given Phenergan and we don’t know how much.” She peered down at A.J. “Judging from his shallow breathing, I’m guessing a double dose at the very least.”
The female nurse put a stethoscope to my son’s chest and frowned before moving it around. When her frown deepened, the last few days of exhaustion caught up with me, and my arms began to shake as I struggled to hold my little boy in my arms.
My small stumble was noticed by all.
From my side, Manda uttered, “Let me take him, Lexi.”
But I took a step back.
No.
Nobody was taking him from me. I wouldn’t allow it.
When the male nurse held his arms out, my initial reaction was to open my mouth and spew out a long string of vicious obscenities. But my current state of exhaustion even made that too much. Instead, I simply shook my head as my eyes darted from nurse to nurse erratically.
The female nurse sighed loudly. “Listen.” Her tone told me she was done with my shit before it began. “I need to get that little boy onto a respirator. I also need to get an IV line into him, and I can’t do that with you pulling at him the way you are.”
I blinked down at my son, and for a solid moment, I was genuinely terrified of letting him go.
My shoulders shook as I lowered my face to A.J.’s cheek, pressing shaky kisses to it as I began to cry. Given the moment I had so desperately needed, I looked into her eyes and my breath hitched, as I croaked out, “Please don’t take him from me.”
Didn’t they understand?
I just got him back.
My biggest fear at the moment was A.J. waking up in an unfamiliar room, in an unfamiliar place without me.
He needed me.
No.
You need him.
At my candid fear, the woman’s face softened. “You came to us for help. Now let us help him, love.”
When gentle hands came down on my shoulders, my head snapped up, and his soft brown eyes held me in place. “Let go, baby.”
I shook my head as my lips trembled. “No.”
Twitch moved slowly, and then he was at my side. His eyes never leaving mine, and with firm but gentle hands, he went about prying my son out of my arms.
It took me a second to react. Affronted, my lip curled as I recognized what he was doing. I tried to step back, but his free arm held me around the waist. “Let go.”
Why didn’t he get it?
I couldn’t.
I just couldn’t.
We struggled as he attempted to take my son from me. “No.”
And when he said what he said, my entire body weakened. “You’ll get him back this time, angel. I promise. Just let go.”
My fear spoken out loud, my breath left me all at once. Grief struck me hard like a punch to the gut.
In my declining state, he managed to force our son from me, and as I lifted my head and cried openly, my knees wobbled, but he held me tight. I heard him say, “Take him,” and I watched as the nurses took my son.
They took him from me a second time in as many days.
And I did the only thing I could at that moment.
I cried.
I cried my heart out.
“Antonio Julius Falco.”
The moment his name was called, I shot out of Twitch’s lap and rushed over to the fairly young doctor. Where I found the energy was anyone’s guess. “Yes. That’s me.”
I turned back to Twitch and couldn’t help but notice the dark circles under his eyes. Momentarily, I felt awful. In my manic state, I had forgotten about how he must be feeling. He had done such a good job of looking after me that I neglected to remember that this was not about me. It was about us. And perhaps, my usually strong man needed solace in my arms as much as I needed comfort from his.
Taking a small step back, I slipped my cold hand into his, held his eyes, and amended my statement. “That’s us.” I turned back to the doctor. “We’re his parents.”
“I’m Doctor Prahesh.” The doctor watched us both closely a second. “Your son was given a fairly high dose of Phenergan. The amount he was given has led to an overdose. We’ve administered activated charcoal. We use this to treat poisoning. What this does is stop any further absorption in the gut and trap the toxins to be expelled otherwise.” He looked over at Twitch. “Antonio has been placed in ICU.” The conversation took a turn when the doctor’s lips thinned, and he admitted, “We were hoping to see some kind of result by now, but so far, there’s no change in his vitals.” My gut sank as he went on. “His breathing is what we’re most concerned about.”