by Sherell Lynn
“Honey, I’m home!” I never got tired hearing him say that line.
“Hi, baby.” I rushed to greet him at the door.
“Have I told you I love your lips?” he asked before kissing me right on my luscious lips. The kiss deepened to the point where I had to come up for air.
“Many times, my love, many times.” I loved his lips as well. They were soft and felt gentle up against mine. He took my hand and we walked into the kitchen.
“Is that Cacciatore I smell?” He lifted the lid off the pan exposing the lunch I had prepared for him.
“Yes, baby, I have to make sure you are well fed. You worked every day this week.” I tried to hide my disappointment in my voice, but he caught on.
He moved his hands to the hem of my dress and yanked it over my head. To his surprise, I was wearing nothing underneath. Adam picked me up and sat me on the island. He dropped his briefcase on the ground and got on his knees. He placed a kiss on my lower lips and I gasped in pleasure. His kisses turned into licks causing me to cum in his mouth.
“I love how you taste, Bella,” he said, swallowing my juices.
“Mmm,” I replied. His exploring continued until I reached another level of ecstasy that I didn’t know was possible. I shuddered and fell back on the kitchen counter. He lifted my sated body up and carried me into the bedroom. He quickly came out of his suit. The site of him naked had me reaching out for my own taste of everything he had to offer. I lowered myself to my knees and placed the head of his penis in my mouth. Adam hissed in satisfaction. I deepened the hold I had on him with my mouth, taking as much as I could to the back of my throat. I began to suck up and down on his shaft.
“Damn, baby.” Adam grabbed the back of my head, causing me to take in more of him. Soon his moans of affection turned into animalistic growls as I felt his seed gushing down the back of my throat.
He pulled me to a standing position. His blue eyes were like an x-ray machine seeing completely through me.
“Il mio amore,” he whispered.
I knew that he was calling me his love. That declaration was more than just some words being said. Every day I felt his love. He not only spoke it, he showed me. It was one of the many reasons why with everything in me I love this man. It used to fascinate me how he could cum, only to get a hard on seconds later. I truly feel like the luckiest woman in the world. He took a step closer lifting me up in his arms. He placed himself at the center of my heat and lunged inside of me in one fast and hard push. He brought tears to my eyes it felt so good. I cried out words and sounds, that not even I could understand. I found it incredibly sexy that my man was lifting me up in the air and filling me with so much of him that I could bust. Then I did and blackness soon followed.
I woke up alone and naked in bed. I grabbed my robe and went searching for the man who had given me ultimate pleasure, in and out of the bedroom. I found him in the living room getting his Clark Kenton while reading something on his laptop.
“Baby, you are always working,” I said trying to close his laptop.
He gently pushed my hand away. “How do you think I took my father’s company from the mom-and-pop, one-stop construction shop to a multimillion-dollar empire? I work, but for you I’m willing to compromise.”
“You better,” I said jokingly.
We stayed in each other’s arms for hours. We talked, made love and talked some more. That all came to an end that evening. I had made plans to go and join Ava for a late dinner. I knew she was feeling some type of way since I had gotten engaged. At first, I didn’t notice how she was kind of standoffish. Ava, always had a bitchy stuck up attitude. So, I didn’t figure out she was not taking my engagement very well. It wasn’t until I realized that she had stopped coming around us that I knew something was wrong. I’m sure she didn’t mean to come off that way. Underneath that persona was a really sweet person, if you took the time to get to know her. Being her friend, I tend to overlook her attitude, but not avoid the problem she was obviously having.
My friend needed to know she is just as important to me as Adam and this secret baby. Her jealousy needed to stop. It was not what she was doing that was bothering me. It was what she was saying. I could deal with her practically ignoring me at the office. She took it to another level with her comments on my relationship with Adam. The comment of how I came into town to live like a bum and now I was living like a princess. Yeah, that one hurt the most. No one here knew my full story, but they all knew enough to know I had lived in a nightmare for years. And I for one believed I deserved a happily ever after.
I arrived at the restaurant at fifteen till seven. I got us a table and waited for Ava’s arrival. Thirty minutes later, she arrived, late. In typical Ava fashion, she’s dressed to kill. She had on a tight mauve color jumpsuit with a pair of nude pumps. It showed off her fit physique. I stood up to give her a hug.
“It’s nice to see you, Ava. You look great.” She returned my hug and gave me a smile before taking her seat. Okay, I guess we’re off to a great start. We ordered our drinks and food, and then sat in silence.
“Ava, what’s going on? You have been giving me the silent treatment for weeks ever since I got engaged.”
She rolled her eyes and placed her hands on the table. “Do you really think everything is about you, Bella?”
Oh, she had some nerve. “No, Ava, I don’t think that. I want to know what’s going on with my friend. But if you are just going to sit here and be a bitch, I think I should leave. I am in a good place in my life and if you can’t be happy for me then it’s time for us to end our friendship and employee relationship.” I got up to leave. I hate that it had come to this, nor did I understand why.
“Bella, please sit back down,” Ava said with tears in her eyes.
I sat down quickly. Soon after, the waiter came and brought our drinks. She looked back and forth at us, then informed us that our orders would be out soon before walking away
“What is going on, Ava?” I felt like I had asked her that same question over a dozen times in the past few weeks.
She bit her lip as the tears started running down her face. She cleared her throat, “Bella, Luke broke up with me,” she sobbed.
Seeing her cry made me sob right along with her. I was so quick to cry now due to this pregnancy. “When?” Was all I could get out.
She took a minute, I assumed to gather her thoughts. “The night of your engagement.”
Taken aback, I sat there. It all made sense now. Here I was thinking my friend was jealous and it was the complete opposite. I was planning a future with Adam, meanwhile Luke was breaking her heart. Now, she was here balling her eyes out, probably feeling like I was throwing my engagement in her face.
“I’m so sorry, Ava. I really am.”
She sniffled. “It’s okay I wanted to tell you so bad, but you have been so happy. I didn’t want to ruin your happiness.” She took her napkin off the table and wiped the tears from her face. “Do you think you could get me some tissue from the bathroom?” she asked.
I gave her another hug, before I went off in search of some tissues, to help my friend take away all the tears Luke had caused her. I returned to our table a couple of minutes later, noticing the food had been brought out while I was away. From that point on, things were great. I could tell that a weight had been lifted off Ava’s shoulders. Now, we could play around and joke amongst ourselves. When I asked her why she and Luke broke up, she said he didn’t want the pressure of being tied down. She also said she deserved better and would not let anything stand in her way of getting it. I thought long and hard about what she said but could not figure out what she meant. Either way, I agreed she did deserve better. As our evening was coming to an end, I gave the waitress my card. When she returned, we stood to say goodbye.
I wobbled around for a minute feeling a bit dizzy. Ava gave me a concerned brow noticing it too. “Bella, are you okay?”
I felt like everything was closing in on me. I took a few breaths to try
to calm myself down. Perhaps my blood pressure was high or maybe I was just tired. My pregnancy was high-risk and I had been walking around without a care in the world. I needed to take Dr. Q’s advice and take it easy.
“I’m fine.” I needed to make it home to Adam. We walked out together and parted ways in the parking lot.
I started the car, giving thanks that I didn’t have to drive too far. As the seconds ticked by, I felt worse than ever. I turned right out the driveway and kept straight. I felt myself drift, but I quickly recovered. What the hell is going on? I checked my speedometer and I was going the speed limit. However, it didn’t feel like I was. Something felt wrong. Everything was coming and going to the point I felt motion sickness. A sharp pain and a bang were the last things I remembered before I sensed the end nearing. Then pitch black darkness followed.
33
Adam
“This is De Luca,” I said, answering the incoming call on my phone.
“Adam!” Ava screamed into the phone. I was immediately alarmed something was wrong. Ava started to cry into the phone.
“Ava, I need you to take a few breaths and tell me what is going on.” I could hear her breathing and whispering a ten count.
“Okay, Bella was in a car accident.”
My heart felt like it stopped the instant she said Bella and accident in the same sentence. As if reading my mind for the next question, she spoke into the phone, “Adam she is in critical condition, right now she is in a coma.”
I dropped the phone. I could hear Ava calling out to me, it didn’t matter what else she had to say. After a few minutes of utter despair, I forced myself to be the man Bella needed to see her through this situation. I called my brother on the way there and he agreed to meet me at the local hospital.
At the main entrance of Grace Memorial, the ladies in the front recognized me and told me what room Bella was in. On my way to the elevators, they let me know how sorry they were about what happened to my fiancée. It took everything in me to hold it together. What happened to her? She was just supposed to have dinner out with her friend. I didn’t get many details from Ava. I wanted to get there as fast as I could. The doors to the elevator opened. Ava saw me and jumped in my arms as soon as I stepped off the elevator.
“Thank God you are here Adam!” she cried out. Ava was holding me so tight I had to yank her off me.
“What happened?” I asked. Before she could answer, Mr. Garett and Ms. Brenda came running from around the corner.
“Maybe they can tell you what’s going on? They can’t and won’t tell us anything because we are not blood related,” Mr. Garett pointed to the nurse’s station.
Pain-stricken, Ms. Brenda shrieked, “Adam, please hurry. I can’t stand the wait.”
Fortunately, I had no problem getting information from the nurses. Once I conversed with them that I was Bella’s fiancé, the nurses quickly updated me in on Bella’s well-being.
“Sir, did you hear me?”
I was so caught up in grief that I didn’t realize the nurse was still talking to me. “I’m sorry what did you say?”
An understanding of sorrow rushed across her face. “Does your fiancée have a drug problem?”
Dumbstruck and without hesitation I responded harshly, “No.” How dare she even ask or insinuate it. I balled both of my hands in fists, trying to alleviate some of my frustration.
“Mr. De Luca, I understand this is a tough time for you, but we found a large dose of pharmaceutical drugs in her system and it takes no guessing to know that’s the reason why Ms. Chapman drove her car into a river bank.”
I slammed my hand on the desk. “There is no fucking way that is true!” I yelled out.
Frustrated, I put my hands over my head and looked up at the ceiling. Security along with Ava, Mr. Garett, and Ms. Brenda come to stand along the side of me.
“Sir, I am going to have to ask you to calm down or I will be forced to remove you,” one of the security guards stated.
The security guard placed one hand on his belt holster showing his weapon and the other on my shoulder. He was shorter than me, maybe 5’8, or 5’9” and slightly overweight. I could disarm him and take him down easily. If I did the consequences of my actions would hinder me from seeing Bella and finding out what was really going on. I decided it was in my best interest to walk away. I made it to the waiting area and took a seat. Everyone else did the same. Hours went by while I waited. I sent out emails and made a few phone calls. If I had to call in a specialist, matter of fact, not if, there was no question in my mind this was a must. Bella deserved better than some nurse throwing around accusations.
Mr. Garett’s voice broke my concentration. “Adam, can you tell us what’s going on? And what’s this about Bella being on drugs?”
I had yet to fill them in on what had happened to her. Bella was lucky to have all of them in her life. They were some of the most loving people. I took a deep breath and told them everything I knew. Bella had been driving home from the restaurant and got maybe ten miles out before she hit a traffic barrier and then landed in a riverbank. The car was totaled. Bella’s seatbelt and air bag saved her life or so, I hoped. We sat there for a few more hours waiting. Everyone was still in shock from finding out Bella had allegedly had drugs in her system. Dr. Q was one of the first doctors to arrive out of all the ones that I called. Dr. Jones came in shortly after. We convened in one of the hospitals conference rooms once both doctors went over Bella’s case. Dr. Q started in once we were all seated.
“This is a little unconventional for us doctors to divulge a patient’s information to non-relatives. Adam, I know you are Bella’s fiancé and Ms. Brenda you and Mr. Garett here are listed as emergency contacts. So, I feel confident in releasing information to you all. I don’t know you however, so I am going to ask you to step out,” she announced, gesturing towards Ava.
I spoke on her behalf. “Ava is Bella’s best friend, she is fine to sit and listen. She is the one who called me about the accident.”
She nodded. “That may be the case, but protocol calls for me to ask her to step out.”
Ava sobbed and prepared to stand.
“Ava, sit,” I demanded and she did. I focused on Dr. Q and Dr. Jones, “That is my fiancée laying in that hospital bed. The very hospital that my father helped build. This hospital has De Luca blood, sweat, and tears running all through these walls. As far as I am concerned, as one of the hospital founders my family’s weight in what goes on in this hospital is gold. Now, stop with this nonsense and tell me how my woman and baby are doing.” My voice choked in an antagonizing way even to my ears.
“Baby?!” Ava shouted, clearly hearing the news for the first time.
I had forgotten that Bella had not told her. Dr. Q glanced at Ava and continued speaking as if the outburst was nothing.
“Ms. Chapman has suffered a severe concussion. She also has some brain bleeding. This along with the drugs found in her system caused her to be in a comatose state.” We all gasped at the confirmation of drug use. Like a true professional Dr. Q powers through the information to give us the remaining facts. “Her right arm is broken in two places and she has some fractured ribs. Her blood pressure and heart rate are elevated, but considering the trauma her body has endured that is to be expected.”
“What about the baby?” I blurted out. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing my child, my future legacy.
Dr. Q and Dr. Jones traded a skeptical look. Dr. Jones begins talking, “Whereas Dr. Q is an excellent doctor and I have the utmost respect for her and what she does for domestic abuse victims, you called me in Mr. De Luca to do what I could to save both your future wife and child. I am confident Ms. Chapman will be okay. Now, it will be a long road ahead of her. As far as the baby, time will tell. Not only do we have the repercussions of the car accident, but we have the drug use as well. We did get her here in time to pump her stomach, but all of this increases the chance of a miscarriage or some form of abnormality with the child once h
e or she is born.”
All hell broke loose then. Everyone was in tears, including me. The doctors chose to leave the room. We were all in grave emotional pain and distress. Mr. Garett led us in prayer. For the next few hours, we sat, prayed, and paced. We did anything we could to keep from going insane with grief. Alex finally arrived tired from his emergency flight in. He had been onsite at one of our locations out of state. Mr. Garett finally convinced Ms. Brenda to go home. He was going to drive her home and do something he had never done, spend the night. On the couch, of course he said trying to bring a smile to everyone’s face. They left and it was just Ava, Alex and myself watching and waiting for any change.
“Adam, I actually need to be heading out myself. Do you mind walking me out?” Ava asked and I agreed. We took the elevator down in silence. “I can’t believe you two had a baby on the way. No one told me. And to think Bella is supposed to be my best friend.”
I quickly came to Bella’s defense. “She wanted to tell you, but we wanted to wait until she got further along. And don’t talk about the baby as if it was past tense. She is pregnant and will remain that way until the due date.” I had to speak it into existence. Ava opened her mouth then closed it. “What are you holding back?” I questioned.
I could see the wheels turning in her head by the facial expressions she was making. “The doctor says she was on drugs.”
I acknowledged her statement. “Yeah, I know. I don’t believe it. There must be another explanation, Bella wouldn’t take drugs. She certainly wouldn’t do it while pregnant. She would not do anything to jeopardize the health of our baby.”
She stayed quiet until we reach the door to the outside. “I-I don’t want to betray Bella’s trust in me, but I feel you have the right to know.”
She paused a minute too long in my opinion. “Spit it out Ava.” I was beyond pissed.