"Yeah, and because Charlie's not underage, there isn't anything we can do about it."
Sam's mind reeled as he tried to process everything. Who the hell would have anything to gain from following all of them? Then, he came back to the same conclusion he had in the very beginning.
"I'm telling you, I think her grandparents are behind this. I think this guy is just the middle man."
A darkness he'd never quite seen in Joe's eye, stared back at him.
"They know where we live," he explained while taking a sip of his beer. "The sale of the house was public record. Besides, they've made their feelings completely clear on how they feel about Charlie and me."
He knew he needed to tread lightly with what he was about to say next, but there was something there they were missing. "That crazy old bitch, yeah, she definitely made her feelings known, but I'm not so sure about him."
"Someone needs to give that bitch a hug…around the neck…with a rope." Jules held his beer out to Joe for a toast.
They chuckled for a moment but it got quiet quickly. Joe turned to Sam with concern in his eyes. "You were there, I wasn't. So, what do you mean you're not sure about him?"
"Well first of all, he's the one that set up the trust for her I assume, right? There's no way I see that evil twat giving Charlie anything."
Joe nodded but didn't say a word so Sam continued. "I don't know how deep the bad blood runs, so don't let my ignorance offend you in anyway with my train of thought."
"No, go ahead. I want to hear what you have to say."
Sam swallowed hard and wiped his now sweaty palms on his jeans. "Well, from what Charlie told me when she first got there, he looked surprised but happy to see her when he answered the door. He even gave her a picture of her mom."
"Yeah, but the prick stood by and did nothing while that old twat waffle went off on her for no reason. He didn't even try to defend Charlie from what I understand."
They had it wrong. He wasn't trying to defend the old guy's actions; he was just trying to make sense of the sudden chaos they found themselves in.
"Let him finish, Jules," Joe interjected. "I don't think he's trying to defend him."
He held his hands up in defense. "Well, excuse me for having an opinion."
"Oh, calm down. He's just working through shit in his head out loud."
Sam watched the two of them stare each other down. Things had obviously gotten pretty tense while he was gone, but he was glad Charlie didn't know about it. Yet.
"Finish your theory," Joe commanded.
"I was just going to say, when I went back and told Gloria off, he just stood back with a smug smile, like it was about time someone gave it back to her. I don't think the guy has a fucking spine and she's probably walked all over him most of his life. Even so, I just feel it in my gut that sending this P.I is his way to learn more about Charlie. It's the only thing that makes sense."
Jules tipped his beer towards Sam. "What if it has to do with you being her teacher last year?"
He'd thought about that too. "Yeah, but why now? She's not my student anymore and she was nineteen at the time. Besides, I'm sitting here with the only people that would have an interest in pressing charges."
Then all the color drained from his face. He looked at Joe wide eyed. "What if it is her and she's looking for a way to get back at us? Could she press charges against me as a grandparent or file a complaint with the school?"
Joe's bouncing foot stilled and he stopped mid drink.
"I don't know, but we need to get to the bottom of this before it spirals out of control. Charlie had enough to worry about."
Fuck.
His biggest fear about pursuing Charlie had quite possibly just become his biggest nightmare.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A week passed before she heard the words that were going to change everything.
"I'm sorry, kid, but we're at the point that I think you need to be on bed rest."
Charlie groaned. "It's not like I'm outside training for a fucking marathon. I sit on my ass all day as it is. What about swimming? It's low impact."
Doctor Brown shook his head vehemently. "No swimming. You need to keep your legs elevated as much as possible and bed rest is the best way to do that."
"This is bullshit." She knew it was only a matter of time but it didn't make it any easier.
"So, she's not allowed to have any kind of physical activity?" Sam asked genuinely concerned. She wanted to snicker at the innuendo but figured they'd both yell at her.
Doctor Brown shook his head like he knew exactly what was going through her mind. "Bed rest means, in a bed. Feet up. It does not mean, in a pool doing laps or any what would Julian call it? Sexscapades?"
They laughed. Even though he always gave Jules a hard time, it was obvious the good Doc liked him.
Getting back to the important matters at hand, Charlie held up her finger at him. "What about if I float?"
"Really? You're that desperate to get in the water?" he asked with disbelief.
Sam scoffed. "You have no idea, doc."
"Fine. You can get in the pool once a week, on a raft, with your feet elevated."
"Three times a week and what the hell's the point of being in the pool if I'm on a raft anyway?"
He gave her a knowing look. "That's kind of my point. You can take all the baths you want, just don't get your body temperature too hot because I don't want you passing out."
Charlie groaned and looked to Sam for support but he just squeezed her hand.
"Now, I've talked to Dr. Cage about the delivery plan, have you guys discussed it at all?"
This is the part she couldn't ignore. Charlie rubbed her belly, feeling the baby kick as her heart rate accelerated. That poor kid probably thought she lived inside a drummer with all of her rapid and erratic heart beats.
"Yeah. Kind of." She tried to remember what Doctor Cage had said, but her mind went blank. Looking over at Sam for help she shrugged and hoped he remembered.
Mother of the year award right here.
"All we know is they want to induce her and she won't go to term."
Well, at least one of us knows what the hell is going on. You may live after all, kid.
"When do you go back to see her?" Doctor Brown clicked around on the computer, looking for something.
Charlie couldn't remember that either. She threw her hands up and shook her head. She was completely annoyed with her brain not functioning. "I don't know. A week, I think?"
Sam chimed in, "No, I think it's in two weeks."
Was it? She knew the schedule was every couple of weeks and then soon she'd be going once a week, but she wasn't sure when it was going to change.
"Well, I'd like to go over some things with you while I've got you here."
They exchanged glances and nodded in succession. "Okay."
"I agree with Doctor Cage in that we need to induce. The best way for us to control your heart is to control the birth as much as possible. We've also agreed that you won't be pushing."
Charlie's brows pulled together and she looked at him like he was a moron that didn't understand female anatomy. "Well, if you can't cut her out and I can't push, what are you going to do? Just wait for her to fall out? My vagina isn't that big."
Sam coughed beside her like he'd choked on his gum. "Charlie!"
"What?" He really needed to get used to the shit that came out of her mouth because it wasn't going to change.
Doctor Brown shook his head. "If you'll let me finish, smart-ass, I'll tell you."
She gestured to the floor in front of her with her brow arched high. "Go on."
"I don't want you to push because it's going to put too much pressure on your heart. To be frank, it just can't handle it. I asked her what our options were and she said since she's worried about you being on the blood thinners until the last possible second, a c-section isn't a good option. There are too many variables and I don't want you going through a major surgery right now that c
ould result in a large amount of blood loss."
Letting it sink in for a moment, she started to wonder what her chances really were to survive the birth. "So, what's behind door number three? A heart attack and a swift death?"
Sam shot her a glare. "Not even funny."
Dr. Brown chimed in before an argument could ensue between the two of them over her morbid sarcasm. "It's not, but I need you both to understand there is a very real possibility you can have a massive heart attack. This isn't a normal delivery by any means and that's why we're going to control everything that we're able to."
"So how do they get her out, then?" Charlie’s hands started to shake. She swallowed hard to try and keep her emotions in check.
He stopped clicking around on the computer and looked up at them. "She said they'd use forceps to get her out. We're going to have you pretty heavily drugged so you feel no pain at all. Pain for you is a trigger for your heart and again, it's another risk we don't want to take if we don't have to."
"So, it's more than an epidural?" Sam asked before she could.
"From the way she talked, yes. I'm sure she'll go over everything with you in detail when you see her next. I just wanted you to know what the plan is from our end."
Charlie sat back and thought about it all. She needed to know all the details and the last time she tried to get information on her own, it blew up in her face. "Okay, what's the contingency plan if I have a heart attack during delivery?"
"They would go ahead with an emergency c-section to deliver and we would immediately go to work on you. You're going to be in a special delivery room set up with heart monitors and things most delivery rooms aren't made for. So, if something were to go wrong, we'll be prepared with enough doctors and nurses to take care of you both."
It immediately hit her that no one had checked the baby's heart yet. "What about her? Are they going to do tests on her to check her heart? Mine was congenital and so was my mom's. What's the percentage that I passed her my terrible genes?"
She hadn't realized how tense her shoulders had gotten until Sam started to massage them. "Calm down, baby, and take a breath. I don't think just because you have it means she will." He kissed the side of her forehead and leaned his cheek against her hair.
"I don't know what the odds are at this point, but we've already got a plan in place for that too. She said I believe you're going to get a fetal echocardiogram of her heart at twenty-eight weeks. We'll know what we're looking at then and go from there."
That made her feel a little bit better. Once they did the test, maybe she could relax. Maybe.
"Okay. Anything else I need to worry about?"
He scratched the back of his head and made it clear that there was more. "Well, I really don't like how swollen your legs are. The bed rest should help, but if it gets worse or if you get to the point where you're having trouble breathing, you need to just go to the E.R and have them call me. I'll admit you on the spot."
Charlie groaned. "Seriously?"
"Look, I know you and how stubborn you are but this is no longer a game you can afford to play. Keep the stress to a minimum if at all possible and if it gets any worse, you need to go in. It could be the difference between the two of you living or dying. I don't know how else to say it, Charlie."
Shit.
He'd always been blunt, but that blow was delivered right to the gut and it had her attention. Life or Death. No more fucking around.
Got it.
✦✧✦✧✦✧
Bed rest sucked. The thought of getting to roll around in bed all day and read sounded awesome in theory...it was anything but. The thing she didn't account for was how uncomfortable she'd be at all times. Between the baby being on the move constantly, trying to stuff pillows around her like a fucking fortress and keeping her legs propped up, she was miserable.
Jules strolled in her room holding her favorite drink from the cafe.
"Oh God. Please tell me that's for me?"
"It is for you, my Queen," he said with a bow.
She laughed and propped herself up, all the while shoving more pillows under herself and patted the bed next to her. "Come to Mama." She took a big gulp and sighed.
"Do you realize how pitiful you look right now?"
"I don't care. I'm bored out of my fucking mind."
He took her frappuccino out of her hands, sipped it, and handed it back.
"Oh, no you didn't," she said daring him with her eyes to try it again.
"I thought you loaded your Kindle full of books to keep you busy?"
"I did, but it dies fast and it's too hard to concentrate on reading when my body feels like it's being torn apart from the inside."
Reaching over, he rubbed her belly. "She still going bananas in there?"
"The kid never fucking lays still or I swear she waits until I finally get into that one comfortable position and then she's all, hi-ya elbow drop to my bladder and a drop kick to the rib cage."
Jules pursed his lips. "She sounds violent like her mother."
She hauled off and backhanded him in the bicep. "Ow, bitch. Case in point."
"You better not be calling my baby mama a bitch, Jules," Sam said as he carried a box in the room and set it in the closet.
"What's in the box? You really moving in?"
Sam grabbed something out of the box and handed it to Charlie. At first she wasn't sure what the hell it was until she flipped it over and realized it was a small book of paint swatches. "What's this for?" They hadn't talked about repainting anything but she would change anything he didn't like.
He shrugged. "The nursery. I thought if you wanted to pick out the color paint you wanted, I could get it done this weekend."
Tears welled in her eyes. She was getting tired of crying over everything, but he never ceased to amaze her.
"I'd love that. I was actually looking at baby furniture online and thought maybe we could do some shopping later tonight?" Charlie chewed on her bottom lip and hoped he'd realize this was her way of extending an olive branch.
He took it.
"Of course, baby." He leaned down to kiss her and then kissed her belly.
"Hey none of that crap," Jules lashed out with a frown.
Charlie started to tell him off when they heard the doorbell ring. "Please tell me you ordered pizza?"
"No but I can—“
Sam was cut off by yelling downstairs. Joe's voice carried when he was heated. The guys were to their feet in an instant.
"Stay here," Sam commanded as they ran out of her room.
"Like hell," she said trying to untangle herself from the bed.
By the time she got halfway down the stairs she froze in fear. Sam was holding her dad back with a hand to his chest as Jules stood between him and whoever was at the door.
"You've got a lot of fucking nerve showing your face here after everything you've done, you son-of-a-bitch." Joe yelled.
"I know. I just want a chance to see her."
She wished she could see who the hell was talking. If only he'd step closer to the door and Jules would move out of the way.
"Like hell you will. You're not getting anywhere near her or my baby." Sam’s tone was menacing.
"Please. I went about this in the wrong way and I'm sorry. Can we sit down like men and discuss this?"
Joe lunged forward again. "That would require you to be a man, Javier. The last time I checked, no man would stand by and let anyone treat their child or their grandchild the way your wife did."
"I know, Joe. You're right. I just want a chance to apologize to her."
"For what? Having her followed, or getting caught?"
Followed?
Charlie's knees nearly gave out watching the scene in front of her unfold. Her breath was ragged as she grabbed onto the stair railing to catch herself and sat down on a step.
"You gave up that fucking right when your wife called the cops on her and you did nothing," Jules chimed in. "You need to get the fuck out before we let Jo
e go."
He must have handed something to Jules by the way he yanked his hand back and slammed the door. She couldn't really tell by the angle she was at and she didn't want them to know she was there.
Joe smacked Sam's hand off his chest and pulled his shirt down by the hem in a huff. "That fucking prick is lucky I didn't lay him out when I opened the door."
"At least we know it was him and not anyone else behind it. Is that guy going to press charges against you for punching out his window?"
What the fuck?
She'd heard enough. To hell with bed rest; she was going to get some answers and she wasn't waiting another second. Pulling herself up right, her movement must have caught their attention.
"Charlie!" Jules cried out.
"How long have you been standing there?" Joe demanded.
"Babe, you shouldn't be out of bed." Sam rushed up the stairs to her side.
Charlie held her ground. "I'm not going anywhere until you assholes start talking. What in the hell was that? Who was being followed and why the fuck for? You better not lie to me trying not to stress me out because guess what? I'm already pissed off!" The baby flipped and flopped at the sound of her voice. She wished she could help calm her down but the only thing she was able to do was rub her stomach as she sat on the living room couch waiting for them to come clean.
Once they told her everything, fuming didn't even begin to describe how she felt.
"Oh, so you all go ape-shit on me when I keep something from you, but you don't think it's pertinent that I know I was fucking being followed?"
"You were never anywhere alone." Jules spoke as if it was about her safety.
"Yes, because my complete lack of privacy has eluded me. Thanks, Julian."
Joe sat on the arm of the chair next to her. "All we had were theories and they were half baked at best. We weren't sure if they were behind it yet but once we had concrete facts I had every intention of telling you."
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