Empty Net

by Toni Aleo

  He had to help her. He couldn’t just sit there. Laying her down, he moved his hands to her chest, pressing hard as he administered CPR.

  “Oh my God, Tate.”

  Tate looked up to see Lucas looking down at him, his hands out in front of him and panic on his face as he crouched down beside them, “Fuck, is she breathing? Please say she’s breathing.” Tate shook his head quickly as the tears rushed across his face and down his arms as he continued CPR. Sobs ripped through him as he blew air into her mouth and went back to the compressions. “The ambulance is coming, hold on Audrey, hold on,” Lucas yelled but it was like Tate was in a bubble and everything around him was so far away. He felt like he was passing out, his chest was cramping and he felt like he couldn’t breathe as people moved around him.

  “Tate move,” he heard Lucas say, “the paramedics are here.” Tate finally looked up, seeing two paramedics standing behind Lucas. “Move, let them take over,” Lucas said slowly again, and Tate nodded, slowly moving away. The paramedics were on her within seconds as Lucas pulled Tate away, taking him in his arms. “Breathe, man, breathe.” Tate shook his head, moving out of Lucas’ arms and looking down at Audrey’s lifeless body as the paramedics worked on her.

  He hadn’t saved her, he hadn’t brought her back.

  He let her die, because he wasn’t here to protect her, just like he wasn’t there to save his parents and sister.

  She was gone.

  He moved his hands to his eyes, wiping away the tears as he moved out the door. He braced his hands against the pillar outside of their condos, and took in deep shuddering breaths. All of a sudden a wave of nausea hit him hard, and he found himself vomiting all over the side of his porch. Shaking, Tate expelled all of his stomach content before standing up and resting his arms above his head. She couldn’t be gone, she couldn’t. It wasn’t fair! What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he get a break? Was he going to lose everyone he loved?

  Glancing out at his yard, he saw cops, paramedics, and firefighters, filling the yard. Their neighbors stood in the doorways watching and talking to each other about what was going on. FBI Agents were surrounding someone and when one of the agents moved to his left to write down the information his partner had, Tate saw who it was.

  The man who took his sunshine away.

  Tate was across the yard within seconds, lounging for Levi, knocking him to the ground. Sitting up, Tate’s fist only connected twice with Levi’s face before he was being pulled off him by officers. His knuckles were on fire, his heart was breaking and he still couldn’t breathe but he didn’t care, he had to get to Levi. Pulling away from the cops, he got away and dropped down on Levi’s body, this time only getting one hit in before they pulled him off Levi. The officer flipped Tate over, his mouth filling with cold grass as the officer handcuffed his hands behind his back.

  “What the fuck are you doing! That fucker beat the shit out of his girlfriend; he is not in his right mind!” Tate heard Lucas yell as they picked up and took him to a cop car. Tate didn’t struggle. He didn’t resist. He just went. What else could he do?

  He just lost the one person he had left.

  ***

  Fallon couldn’t breathe.

  Running full speed through the hospital to the ER, she felt like her lungs were about to burst from her chest. Her nausea was in full force but she couldn’t deal with it right now. She couldn’t deal with anything, she could only run. She heard her mother and father behind her, running and trying to keep up, but she couldn’t wait.

  Audrey was hurt and she had to get to her. Now.

  She knew it! She knew as soon as Lucas called telling her about what Levi had done, the mother fucker was going to mess with her baby sister. She just didn’t know that he would hurt her like this. Didn’t know he would go to this extreme. How could he? Who could hurt someone so sweet and so beautiful? Tears burned Fallon’s eyes as she ran until finally she saw the sign for the ER. Pushing the door open, she ran to the front desk.

  “My sister was taken here. I have to see her or the doctor who is caring for her. Please. Her name is Audrey Jane Parker; I am her sister Fallon Brooks. Please.”

  The receptionist looked startled but she nodded and typed quickly on her keyboard. Then she looked up at Fallon, “She was brought in thirty-three minutes ago. There is no other information available. Let me call back and see if they can give me anything.”

  Fallon nodded, her head pounding on her chest as her parents came up behind her. “Do they know anything?” William asked, breathing heavily.

  “No, she is calling back now,” Fallon answered as she pulled out her phone. Hitting Lucas’ icon, it rang until he answered.

  “Baby, I can’t talk right now.”

  “Was she breathing?”

  “Yes, they resuscitated her, but she was still unconscious when they put her in the back of the ambulance. I am on my way to the police station to get Tate, have you seen or heard anything?”

  “No, I just got here, had to drop Aiden off at Susie’s and then meet my parents before coming up here.”

  “Okay, call me when you know something.”

  “Okay, love you.”

  “Love you, baby girl; everything is going to be fine.”

  “I hope you’re right,” Fallon said and then she hung up just as the receptionist hung up her phone.

  “She is under the care of Dr. Aquino. He is finishing up and then he will be out to speak with you.”

  “Is she okay?” William asked his hand clutching Fallon’s. She looked down to where he held her hand and then back up at him. He was beyond himself with worry. They all were.

  “I can’t give you that information, sir, but Dr. Aquino will be right out.”

  Fallon nodded, taking her parents over to a set of chairs. Without thinking, she jumped up and made them both coffees before she brought the cups back to them.

  “Fallon, baby, sit down,” Nora implored, reaching out for Fallon, but she resisted by moving away.

  “I need to use the bathroom.”

  Leaving her parents, she went into the bathroom and locked the door behind her. Once it was locked she let out the breath she was holding and crumbled to the floor. How did this happen? Why? Why Audrey? Sobbing, Fallon crawled across bathroom floor, ignoring the fact that she probably contracted something from the floor, and started puking in the toilet. She held her gut as she threw up her body mass, tears streaming down her face for her sister, and her heart heavy for Tate. He had already lost everything, and there was a chance that he could lose Audrey and their unborn baby.

  Oh shit.

  The baby, did they know about the baby?

  Fallon rushed up, washed her mouth out and ran out of the bathroom to her parents. A doctor stood before them, talking while moving his hands as Fallon rushed up.

  “I’m sorry, Dr. Aquino, please start over, my daughter was in the bathroom,” Nora asked gently, taking a hold of Fallon’s hands.

  “Yes, of course, like I said, Ms. Parker’s injuries are very severe. Her face is badly bruised and damaged. She has dental injuries, her two top front teeth were knocked out along with two from the bottom. Her nose is broken, her left eye socket is fractured and her left ankle is broken. But the injury that mostly concerns us is the swelling in her brain. We have started Mannitol to help with the swelling. She is still unconscious and there is a respirator breathing for her. We don’t want her waking and moving and causing further damage, so we are keeping her sedated. When you see her, there will be tubes and machines that are helping her and it can be scary, but she is in good hands. We are keeping a close eye on her and the pressure in her brain. We will know more about her prognosis as the night goes on.”

  “When can we see her?” William asked before Fallon could say anything.

  “Soon. She is being transferred to ICU. Once she’s there only two of you can go in at a time. If you want, you are more than welcome to go up there now.”

  “Thank you Doctor,” William s
aid. After shaking hands with him, William wrapped his arms around Nora, and started for the doors. “Fallon.”

  “Just a second,” she said and then turned to Dr. Aquino, “Is the baby okay?”

  “Baby? I didn’t know there is a baby,” Dr. Aquino said, opening Audrey’s file.

  “Yes, she is six weeks, she just found out today.”

  “Okay, I will find out more information on that for you.”

  “Thank you, so much,” Fallon gasped, feeling beaten. The doctor nodded and quickly walked away leaving Fallon by herself. She knew she should have run off to catch up with her parents, but she couldn’t move. Audrey was hurt, Tate was in jail and Fallon hadn’t even told Lucas she was pregnant yet.

  What else could go wrong?

  ***

  “Tate Odder?”

  Tate looked up from the corner of the bed where he sat. He was alone in the room, and he liked it that way. There was no one to look at him as he processed his whole afternoon. He still didn’t understand. Who does this? What did Audrey do to Levi for him to want to hurt her? He still didn’t even know if she was alive. She didn’t have a pulse when he left her. She was dying and with all that blood, she could have passed when he was trying to kill the man who had hurt her. Tate felt bruised, beaten and heartbroken. What was the point of moving or living when there was nothing to live for?

  “Yeah?” he asked.

  The cop moved from the doorway, “Your bail has been set.”

  Tate nodded and moved from the bed. As he was being escorted to the car, Lucas had yelled that he would be there to get him out. He just wished it didn’t take four hours. Walking behind the cop, Tate went like a zombie, going through the motions of life. When Lucas came into view, he looked just as beaten as Tate knew he did. Audrey’s blood was still under his nails and all over his clothes. But he didn’t care about the way he looked or what Lucas looked like for that matter, all he cared about was if Audrey was alive.

  “Is she alive?” he asked his heart stopping while he waited for an answer.

  Lucas nodded, “Yeah, we need to get to the hospital.”

  Tate felt his heart start again.

  She was alive.

  He started to shake, waiting for them to open the bars so he could get through. When they did, he didn’t wait. He rushed out, following Lucas to his truck.

  “She is in the intensive care unit,” Lucas said as he made quick time to the hospital, “She has swelling in her brain, and severe injuries everywhere else. Fallon was a mess when I talked to her, and her parents are freaking out because, well, they,--”

  “Lucas, what is wrong!”

  “She didn’t wake up yet, man.”

  “She is still unconscious, like in a coma?” Tate whispered as they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital. Without answering Tate, they both jumped out the truck, the two men made their way into the hospital and after being directed, ran up to the ICU. Fallon must have spotted them first because when they reached the waiting room, she was standing, her hand clutching her throat as tears rushed down her cheeks. Lucas wrapped her up in his arms, kissing her lips as Tate turned to William and Nora for answers. But Nora was crying, her head leaning on William’s shoulder as he looked up at Tate, “We haven’t heard anything else, but that the swelling hasn’t gone down any.”

  “Can I see her?”

  “Not yet,” William said, “they won’t let any of us back yet.”

  Feeling defeated, Tate crumbled into the nearest chair, bracing his head in his hands as the tears pooled into his eyes. He needed to see her; he needed to touch her for this to be real. For him to know she was alive and not dead. That her skin was warm and not ice cold like his family’s had been. That she was going to make it. He needed her to make it.

  “Tate.”

  Hearing his name, he looked up and saw Fallon standing, along with the rest of her family as a man in his early thirties entered the waiting room.

  “Hello, I’m Dr. Rivera, I am Ms. Parker’s doctor here in the ICU. As I told you before, her swelling has not gone down. We are waiting for that to happen before they can do the surgery to fix her ankle, and nose. I came out here to tell you all that her test came back, and it appears that she is still pregnant. The OB/GYN on call has not come yet to confirm that the baby-”

  “Whoa,” Lucas said interrupting him, “baby?”

  “What baby?” William asked before sending a look at Tate.

  “Audrey’s pregnant?” Tate gasped.

  “Yes, Ms. Parker is six weeks along from what her sister told the ER doctor.”

  Everyone looked over at Fallon, who had her eyes glued to the doctor. Tate glanced at Nora and saw nothing but pain and misery in her eyes. William was giving him the death eye as Lucas looked utterly confused. Just as Tate was.

  She is pregnant?

  I don’t want to talk about it over the phone. But I need you to come home as soon as possible, please.

  Tate fell back into his seat, his breathing again out of control as he braced his head on his hands. Was that what she needed to tell him? That they were having a baby? How though?

  “She can’t have kids,” Tate whispered, looking down at the floor through his tears. He felt someone sit down beside him on the couch, and when a pair of manicured hands appeared on his bicep, he knew it was Fallon.

  “She didn’t think she could. She went to two different doctors today; she even had an ultrasound done. There is a baby in her, your baby, Tate.”

  Tate crumbled against her. Fallon wrapped her arms around him, holding him tight as he cried through the pain that was ripping him apart. His beautiful, sweet, amazing Audrey was bruised and broken, in a coma, and there was nothing he could do to help. As if that wasn’t already troubling news, he finds out that she is pregnant with his baby. A baby he might never get to hold because he might lose the woman he loves more than anything in the world. The one who brought light to his darkness, the one who he knew he was going to marry and love for the rest of his life. They should be celebrating the miracle that was their child but instead, he was in an ICU waiting room, finding out that not only he was going to be a dad, but that the swelling in his love’s brain hadn’t changed.

  This was not supposed to be happening, he was supposed to come home, ravish the hell out of Audrey and then wake up and do it again.

  Why?

  What the hell had he done to God to make this happen? Why was he losing everyone he loved? Not only could he lose Audrey but he could lose their unborn child? How the hell was that fair!? Clutching to Fallon, his body shook as he cried. He hated crying in public. There was only one other time he had and that was the day he put his family in the ground back home, the same home he was supposed to visit with Audrey in a couple months.

  When he heard someone clear their throat, both he and Fallon looked up to the doctor. He was gripping Audrey’s file and looked nervous as he said, “I understand that this has come as a shock to some of you, but as soon as the OB/GYN comes and I know more, I’ll make sure to relay the message to you. I also wanted to let you know that you all can see her now. Only two at a time and only for a few minutes since visiting hours are coming to a close. One person can stay overnight in the room with her, while everyone else is welcome to stay out here. So whoever is first, please follow me.”

  William and Nora popped up without question and followed the doctor to the back. Fallon ran her hand down Tate’s back and when he looked over at her, he saw the tears rolling down her face.

  “She was so excited to tell you, Tate. She went grocery shopping to make special cupcakes for you. She couldn’t believe it and she wasn’t even scared. She just wanted her Happily Ever After, with you.”

  Tate had a hard time listening to her over the loud roar of his beating heart in his ears. He felt like killing Levi Moss all over again, but he knew he would never get his hands on that man. He was already in custody and wasn’t coming out unless someone posted the seven million dollar bond. Tate wanted
to post it just so he could beat the shit out of him but what good would that do? It wouldn’t make Audrey better; it wouldn’t keep his child and her alive.

  When Nora and William came back, Fallon kissed Tate’s cheek before she and Lucas went into the room. Nora came over, holding Tate in her arms as she cried against his shoulder.

  “Everything is going to be okay, Tate. I just know it, she’s going to pull through, she was always the strongest of us women,” Nora whispered.

  Tate swallowed loudly as he watched his tears fall onto the ugly green carpet of the waiting room. His palms were sweaty and itchy, and he felt as if his throat was closing shut. He was beyond worried, scared, or nervous. He was broken, and until Audrey looked into his eyes and told him she was okay, he wouldn’t be able to think straight. He knew that it was wrong of him to always think of the bad, but that was all he knew. He had lost his family, his whole family, and now he finds this amazing person who he wants to spend the rest of his life with, start a family of his own with, and it all could be taken away, before it even started? What would he do if she didn’t recover and died, taking their child with her?

  Would he be able to cope?

  The only reason he felt he finally coped with his family’s loss was because of Audrey. There was no other Audrey out there, so what the hell was he to do?

  “Tate.” He looked up to see Fallon looking down at him. Her face was blood red, and she was hiccupping as she said, “You can go in.” Tate looked over at Lucas, and for the first time, he saw tears rushing down his friends face.

  Oh, this was going to be bad, he thought as he stood slowly, moving out of Nora’s arms and past Lucas and Fallon. Audrey’s room was the first room to the left of the waiting room, and when he reached it, he stood there, frozen as he looked in at the woman he loved.

  Audrey’s face was unrecognizable. With the blood cleaned off her face, he could see her two swollen shut, black eyes; her crooked bruised nose and her lips split in half being held together by a dark black thread was visible under the ventilator tube. Her hands were at her sides and were covered in dark black and purple bruises. Tears gushed down Tate’s face as a sob tore through him. He had to brace himself against the door to keep from crumbling to the ground and dying.