by Marie Skye
“Not now, just keep driving.” I checked my phone for an update from Chace. So far nothing.
Chapter Twenty-Two
I paced the waiting room, covered in blood. Her blood. I refused to leave even for a second. People were giving me horrified looks, while I gave zero fucks. The woman I loved was in there fighting for her life, and there wasn’t a thing I could do about it. I looked down at my hands; I was shaking so bad. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I flinched. Chace stood there looking at me with sorrow in his eyes. I didn’t need that shit right now. It’d been three hours. Three fucking hours.
The waiting room trickled out, and all who was left was everyone here for Emmalin. I looked around the small waiting room. She had no idea how truly loved she was. I sat with my head in my hands, praying for something. Suddenly a pair of white shoes walked in my view.
“Family of Emmalin Ross?” I felt a nudge, and I slowly looked up. I couldn’t speak. Chace squeezed my leg, and I cleared my throat. “She’s mine,” I spoke gruffly. The doctor walked closer, looking at me sympathetically.
“I’m Dr. Stiles. Ms. Ross had extreme amounts of blood loss before arrival…”
Her lips were moving, but it was like I couldn’t hear her.
“She went into cardiac arrest twice en-route to the hospital…”
Let her be okay, let her be okay.
“Her heart stopped during surgery…”
Please be okay; don’t leave me.
“Unfortunately, in cases like these, because…”
God, please no.
“To make her more comfortable…”
Fuck.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
My world faded.
Chapter Twenty-Three
I just stood there, trying to absorb everything she just said. I felt someone squeeze my shoulders, and I looked up into the eyes of Chace, who gave me a slight nod. Fuck. I rubbed my face; my throat felt raw. I wanted to claw my skin off. “Can I see her?”
“I’ll have a nurse bring you back in just a moment.” I nodded as the doctor walked away. I stared at the floor. I stared at the way the fluorescent lighting hit the tiles, which did nothing but bring out the stains in it. Someone cleared their throat, and I looked up.
“Whenever you’re ready.” A short petite nurse stood in my view, and I nodded. I looked back at Chace.
“I’m with you, brother,” he softly whispered as we began walking down the long corridor together. The nurse gave us a small smile before motioning toward the door. I shut my eyes and took a deep breath before walking in.
Tears immediately gathered in my eyes. She looked so small laying there. Eyes shut and pale. If I could trade places with her, I would in a heartbeat. She was my life.
Chace gripped my shoulder as he stood next to me, peering down at her. “She’s alive, Grayson, that’s all that matters.”
I nodded, unable to stop the tears that fell down. Yes, she was alive, but at what cost?
I sat by her bedside, listening to the beeping of the machine. As long as that machine beeped, then it was my favorite sound in the world, because I knew it meant she could pull through. She would pull through.
Dr. Stiles came in a short time later. “I wanted to go over her assessment with you. We’re watching her very closely. We placed her in a medically induced coma to give her body time to heal. The anesthesia also had a major effect on her blood sugars, so we’re hoping the coma will help her body stay calm long enough to prevent her from going into Diabetic Ketoacidosis. If that were to happen, her major organs would start shutting down. As you know, we retrieved all the bullet fragment from her chest. It narrowly missed her heart, but still grazed the right ventricle, and as you also know, there wasn’t an exit wound, which caused the multiple cardiac arrests.”
She cleared her throat, and I looked at her. “The blunt trauma to the abdomen is what we’re sure caused the miscarriage.”
“How far along was she?”
She looked down at her chart. “Our obstetrician confirmed about three months. Just past the first trimester.”
I stroked Emmalin’s hand. “She didn’t know. She didn’t even think she could have children,” I whispered. “Could you tell what it was?”
Dr. Stiles shook her head. “I’m sorry, no. Again, I’m sorry for your loss.” I nodded, kissing Emmalin’s hand.
“There’s one other thing, Mr. Mandrake, and I realize this is a sensitive subject, but upon her examination, it was discovered that Ms. Ross suffered severe sexual trauma assault. By the results of the examination, it looked to be before and during the duration of the miscarriage.”
I slowly stood up. My mouth had gone dry. “You’re saying she was raped?”
“Again, I realize this is a sensitive matter.”
I didn’t wait for her to finish. I stormed out the room, running full speed down the hallway, until I got to the stairwell. I flew down, heading toward the exit. And I ran. I ran until my lungs burned, because all I wanted to do was kill. So I ran until I couldn’t breathe anymore. I ran until I reached the edge of the city I called home. I ran until I couldn’t hear the screams and the sirens, anymore. Until finally I collapsed on my hands and knees, in the middle of I don’t know where, and I cried.
But I didn’t cry for me. I couldn’t cry for me. I cried for her. The person who’d gone through so much shit in life, who’d had stones thrown at her, and still stood up standing. I finally understood why she always fought me over everything. Over the stupidest shit ever, such as paying for a fucking hospital bill. She’d literally fought for everything in life and took nothing for granted. I slowly got up off the ground. My muscles burned, but I didn’t care. It was nowhere near the amount of pain she had suffered. I turned around and prepared myself to walk back to the hospital. I was shocked to see Chace standing there, leaning up against his car.
“What are you doing here?”
He looked me up and down as he stepped closer. “I figured you could use a ride. Fuck, you run fast, and I sure as hell wasn’t running after you, so I went back and got the car. You ran over 10 miles, man.”
He stepped closer and handed me a bottle of water. “You look like shit.”
“He raped her.”
Chace sighed, looking over my head, and clenched his jaw. We were both quiet. Finally, he spoke.
“Let’s get you a shower, and then back to the hospital.”
I nodded, draining the bottle of water.
Chapter Twenty-Four
It’d been two days since Emmalin was placed in her medical coma. The nurses had been coming in and out, checking her blood sugars on the hour, every hour. They were also checking for any signs of major organ failure, so between that and the constant checking and running of blood tests, I was a little glad she was out for it.
We finally got the good news we’d been hoping for when Dr. Stiles came walking in.
“We’re going to take her out of the coma.”
My face lit up for the first time in days. “How soon will she wake up?”
“It’s different for everyone. It could be anywhere from a few minutes, to a few days, and I almost have to warn you; in some cases, it could be never.”
My heart dropped, and I looked back at Emmalin. She had color back in her face, but the bruises from what that fucker did to her were still pretty evident. “So, there’s a chance she won’t wake up at all?”
“It’s a risk, Mr. Mandrake, in all cases. All we can do is hope.”
My shoulders slumped at the prospect of her not even coming out of the coma.
Please. Don’t. Leave. Me. I need you.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“I hate zombie movies, but if I had to pick one, it’s this one. It’s actually pretty funny.” I looked over at her. She seemed paler today. I sighed. “They said a few days, Emmalin. It’s been four. I know you like to rile me up, but this is the one time I need you to not do that. I need you to wake up. I need you here with me. So please, I’m
begging you. Wake. Up.” I stroked her cheek.
“No, you need to wake up. You don’t care about getting hurt. You always care for everyone else and never think twice about caring for yourself. I’m sitting here going out of my mind, willing you to wake up. I can’t sit here and live my life without you, so I need you to wake up. Do you hear me, Emmalin? You don’t get to lie there and give up. Wake up, dammit! I love you, don’t leave me.” I looked at her closed eyes, hoping for even a flutter.
Nothing.
“Grayson.” I turned around at the sound of my mom’s voice.
“Tell me what to do to fix her, Mom. Tell me what to do.” Tears welled in her eyes as she stood next to me.
“We pray, son. We pray, and we hope she comes back to you. To all of us. And when she does, you never let her go. No matter what.”
***
"Any change?"
I didn't even look at my father as he pulled up a chair next to me and handed me a coffee. "No. They said her blood sugars were more stable." I rubbed my face, feeling the three-day old facial stubble. "So far, no sign of organ failure, which is good."
“I had to lie to your mother, and I make it a point to never lie to your mother. You know how she is. I think it's time you told me the entire story, Ethan."
I cringed. My father only called me by my middle name when I was in trouble. I shut my eyes tightly. "You can't ask me."
"I'm not asking you. I'm telling you. I need to know what we're up against. You love her?"
My eyes went to his. Blue eyes to blue eyes. "Of course I do."
"You want to protect her?"
"With my life," I said through gritted teeth.
"Good. Because so do we. She's a part of our family now, and we protect our own. She may not have the Mandrake name, but she's a Mandrake, through and through."
I smiled. She'll be a Mandrake. I took a deep breath. Where to begin.
Two hours later and after some calls, my father, who can be even scarier than I am, especially when he's in lawyer mode, managed to have his contacts locate Ashley, and obtain a warrant for her arrest. He also had charges filed for not only attempted abduction regarding Abby and Emmalin, but involuntary manslaughter with intentions, for the death of Tyler.
"I won't tell your mom or Meredith and her husband about this. As far as they know, Emmalin was shot during a store robbery. But you will have to tell them eventually."
I took a deep breath, knowing one day that I would. I already betrayed Emmalin, having to tell my dad, even if I did leave out a lot of details.
He stood up, and walked closer to her, studying her. He lightly traced the side of her face and turned to me. "Jesus, you picked a strong one. Don't let her go." I nodded as he left the room. I didn't plan on it. I never planned on it.
I woke up to someone’s hand on my shoulder. I jumped, looking first at Emmalin, and then to the hand on my shoulder. Isabella smiled down at me.
“Grayson, how about you get out of here for a while. Get some fresh air.”
I shook my head. “I’m not leaving her.”
She nodded. “I figured that. That’s why I had Chace get you a change of clothes and some food.” She handed me a bag.
“You mean, you and Chace talked?”
She smirked. “Not so much talking. More like, me telling him to make himself useful and get you some clean clothes.” She jerked her chin toward the bathroom. “Take five minutes and shower. If she so much as flutters her eyes, I promise to come get you. Even if that risks me seeing your junk. Don’t worry. Emmalin raved about it, so I’m hoping she does move just so I can see it.” She winked at me, and I laughed. A real laugh, then I stopped and glanced at Emmalin. She needed to be here with us. I reluctantly got up.
“I won’t be more than five minutes.”
Isabella nodded.
Isabella
I sighed, and made sure the bathroom door was shut all the way before I turned to Emmalin. “You can stop faking now.” I brushed her hair from her face. I felt my eyes tearing up. “We need you, sweets. If I tell you a secret, will you wake up?” I continued stroking her hair. “You were right about Chace. But it’s complicated, and you’re the only one I want to talk to about it. That, and you know, we all love you. Especially that man of yours. You picked a good one, babe. A real good one. So promise me something. Promise you won’t leave us. We like having you around. Tyler is just going to have to wait sixty more years before he sees you again. Don’t leave us, okay?” I heard the shower go off, and I quickly wiped away my tears. A few minutes later, Grayson came out.
I shook my head. “Same.”
He resumed his place by her side, and I gently kissed her forehead. I turned to Grayson. “I have to go, but don’t forget to eat.” He nodded, not taking his eyes off of her. I walked out of the room and stopped. Chace was leaning against the wall. I cleared my throat. “How long have you been out here?”
He crossed his arms as he looked me over. “Long enough.” Shit. Did he overhear what little I said?
“Were you eavesdropping?”
“Yes.”
“Wow, you could at least pretend to sound guilty about it.”
He moved closer to me. “Why? Lying only wastes time, Isabella. I prefer getting straight to the point.” His eyes bore deep into mine as he stepped closer. The sound of a door closing made me come to my senses, and I stepped to the side.
“Make sure he eats.” I turned and left.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Grayson
"Magda has been cooking up a storm. It's ridiculous, you should see her. She's taken over our entire kitchen, making all of your favorite foods. I told her I didn't want to eat without you." I continued stroking her hand and lowered my head.
"You can't let those meatballs go to waste."
I jerked up. Emmalin was gazing at me.
"Holy shit." I lunged at her, hugging her tightly. Probably too tight. She winced, but I didn't loosen my grip. "God, baby, you scared me. You fucking scared me." I kissed her all over. She was here. She was back. My life was back. I reached over and hit the call button. A few seconds later, a nurse came in. She looked at Emmalin and smiled, immediately walking over to assess her.
"Welcome back, Ms. Ross. I'll page the doctor." Two minutes later, the doctor came in.
"Good morning, Emmalin. I'm Dr. Stiles. You gave us quite a scare." I watched as she shined a light in Emmalin's eyes and looked her over. "Emmalin, do you know where you are?"
Emmalin looked around the room. "Hospital?" Her voice was hoarse as she spoke.
"Can you tell us the last thing you remember?"
"Um. I remember yelling, and Carson and... Oh my God, Abigail?" She turned toward me.
I nodded. "She's fine. She's completely fine. I don't even think she knew what was going on."
Her eyes began to tear up. "I'm so sorry, Grayson."
"She's fine. I promise." I gently wiped her tears away.
"Ms. Ross, you were shot in the chest, which punctured your left lung. We call this a sucking chest wound, and unfortunately, there was no exit wound. Because your lung collapsed, this turned rather quickly into Pneumothorax. You coded several times, en route to the hospital, as well as during surgery. We were successful in removing the remaining debris. But, because of all the stress on your body, your blood sugars began to act erratically, so the safest possible decision was to put you into a medically-induced coma, to allow your body to heal."
Emmalin cleared her throat. "How long have I been out?"
"You were taken out of the coma five days ago. Today was the sixth day." The doctor paused, and I knew what was coming next.
"Ms. Ross, there's more. There was also extreme sexual trauma."
I gripped her hand tight. She took a deep breath. "I don't want to talk about that."
"There is a counselor I want you to speak with. We understand this is a sensitive nature."
Emmalin wiped away a tear.
"There was one other thing. During
blood work and surgery, we discovered that you were about three months pregnant."
Her eyes shot up and she looked at me. "I'm pregnant?" For the first time since awakening, there was a light in her eyes. Now I had to watch it be doused out.
I pulled her closer to me. "Were, baby."
She looked to the doctor. "Because of the gunshot wound, and you coding, as well as multiple kicks to your abdomen, we weren't able to save the baby."
I leaned into her. "We can always try again. You got pregnant, and your chances were slim. We can try again, baby," I whispered in her ear.
She shut her eyes. If Carson wasn't already dead, I would kill him all over again. That's two babies she lost because of that family.
"How soon can she go home?"
"We need to run some tests, of course. Make sure she has no problems breathing. You are going to be in pain for a bit, Ms. Ross, but that's to be expected. If all goes well, I would be comfortable with releasing her in two to three days."
I nodded. Emmalin had already stopped listening and retreated into herself. I stepped back as the doctor and nurse checked her over. Emmalin stayed quiet the entire time. Twenty minutes later, they were gone. I walked back to her side.
"I've texted everyone that you're awake, but told them not to come until tomorrow. I don't want to overwhelm you so soon. Not to mention, I kind of wanted to be selfish for a bit." I gave her a small smile and she turned her head. I decided to keep talking. "Everyone's excited to see you. Isabella. Chace. Noah and Abby made you a giant card."
"You should go," she whispered.