by J A Fielding
He looked at Trina when he zipped up her bag.
“It’s time,” he said as he looked at her. She bit her lower lip and nodded.
“Okay.”
He walked up to where she was and helped her up before they walked out of the room. And as they did, a lot of thoughts were running through his mind and though he was trying his best to process everything, he just couldn’t make up his mind as far as what news to tell her and how she was supposed to even tell her. He’d been talking to Victoria just to find out who would have done something as ridiculous as this to Trina and he already knew who had done it and why. But he was not so sure if it was a good idea to tell his wife. At least not yet.
He had also done everything he could to clean out the house. The nursery was the hardest for him. Just getting one of the cribs out had been harder than he expected. The best he could do was just taking the crib down and pack it back into the IKEA box. But that was it. That was all that he could do. Rosa had come and helped him with the matching boy girl onesies and the stroller but he had not thrown everything out. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He wanted to wait until Trina got home so they would do it together so that they could get closure. But every single time he walked past the nursery, he could not help but get in and look around. And just like that, the pain would come flooding back.
It had been an exciting couple of months and saying that he had allowed himself to get deep into the whole idea of being a father was an understatement at best. This was the one thing he had been looking forward to in the last few days. Coming home to touch Trina’s belly. Talking to the kids as if they could understand. It might have seemed silly, but according to all the baby books and websites, babies have the ability to recognize voices by the beginning of the second trimester. There was actually no proof but it helped knowing that for the time being, he could talk to his children that way. And maybe that was what drew him in more than he ever thought possible.
“Careful,” he said as he helped her into the car. “Careful.”
He closed the door and walked around to the driver’s side of the car.
“Rosa said she can’t wait to have you back home,” he said as he started the car.
“I’ve missed her too.”
“You know she came to see you a couple of times, right?” he asked and she shrugged.
“I thought I was seeing things…I mean, I thought I heard someone singing that song she likes to sing…”
He looked at her and smiled.
“It was her all right.”
“I hope she didn’t think I was being rude or anything.”
Axel shook his head.
“No. Your sleep patterns have been a little off lately, but Dr. Hahn said it is okay for you to rest up. But she has been counting the minutes till you get home.”
“It would be more awesome if she made those spicy chicken quesadillas,” Trina said in a soft voice and Axel laughed.
“She kind of knew that you would ask for them so she already got started on that.”
“How weird is it that a few days ago I couldn’t even hold down a glass of milk, but suddenly I have all these spicy food cravings and flavored milk.”
“Flavored milk?” Axel asked looking at her briefly.
She nodded.
“Yes, flavored milk is the best thing since ice cream.”
He shook his head.
“You don’t even like regular milk.”
“Like I said, best thing since ice cream.”
Axel smiled and then his smile grew into a wide grin.
“Didn’t you ever wonder why we suddenly had bubblegum milk in the fridge?” Trina asked.
“I thought it was something Rosa liked…I mean, I only started seeing the milk after she came.”
She smiled at him.
“It’s a thing…I can’t explain it, it’s just something that happens. And I don’t know if I will still have the cravings after the babies come…I mean, the baby,” she said in a soft voice.
Axel reached for her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze.
Chapter 10
Over the next few days, Axel was a little more wary than usual when it came to the security of his home. And it was justified too. He found himself spending more days at Trina’s bedside than anywhere else. He had tried to work but his mind was blank. He had handed over all his responsibilities at work so that he could take care of things at the home front. But everything he did was barely enough. He had tightened the security around the house and he spared nothing in securing the house. There were armed guards always on standby at the house and every window and door had been secured. It was not enough to make him feel protected but it was all he could do in that moment. And that had to be enough.
It had been two weeks since the incident and Axel was still on edge. It was on a Thursday afternoon when Rosa came up to the bedroom. She opened the door and poked her head inside. Axel was quick to press his index finger to his lips. Trina was resting her head on his chest fast asleep and it had been hard enough getting her to sleep. He gently slid off from under her before he tucked her in and walked to the door.
“Hey, Rosa,” he said as he walked out and gently closed the door behind him. “What’s up?”
“Victoria is here to see you and she brought someone with her. A man.”
Axel shook his head.
“A man?” he asked and she nodded. “Ever seen this man before? Does he look familiar to you in any way?”
She shrugged.
“No, not really. But Victoria said she is someone she and Trina have worked with.”
He nodded.
“Okay. Thanks.”
“Should I take the laundry now or later?” she asked as Axel down the hall.
“Sure, but be very quiet. She just went down.”
Rosa nodded and Axel combed his fingers through his hair as he made his way down to the living room.
“Axel, hi,” Victoria said, smiling.
Axel forced a smile as he walked up to where she was and gave her a quick hug.
“Hey, Vickie. What’s going on?”
“This is Lucas Keen. We were working on his case when…you know…everything happened.”
Axel looked at Lucas for a long minute.
“You’re my wife’s ex, aren’t you?” he asked and Lucas nodded.
“This just got weird.”
“I’m sorry, I think the lack of sleep is getting to my ability to have adequate filters in conversation,” Axel said as he stretched his hand to shake Lucas’. “It’s nice to meet you…I’m sorry I am such a mess and everything.”
“Nice to meet you too,” Lucas said, forcing a smile.
Axel led them to the living room where, as they sat down, it suddenly hit him. Just what was Trina’s ex doing there in the first place? As far as he knew, his case was long done.
“Can I get you guys anything? Coffee, juice, water?” he asked before he sat down.
“No, thanks. I’m good,” Lucas said.
“I’m good too. But maybe you should get yourself a shot of tequila or something,” Victoria started making Axel frown.
“Why?” he asked. “What happened?”
He could feel his heart racing as he noticed the look Victoria and Lucas were exchanging. He knew that this was no social visit even though he’d felt that way when he saw Lucas there. He looked at Lucas for a long minute before he looked at Victoria.
“What is going on, Vickie?” he asked again.
Victoria and Lucas exchanged a look again before she took a long deep breath.
“First off, I am sorry I didn’t come to you with this sooner, but I had to make sure you had nothing on your mind except being there for Trina,” she started and her choice of words did nothing except for pique his interest. “We got the parking lot security footage from the day of Trina’s attack.”
Axel nodded as he felt his heart beat a little faster.
“And?” he pressed.
“The per
son who attacked Trina was the woman who was suing me.” This was Lucas’ turn to explain. “I am sorry…I feel responsible…”
Axel shook his head.
“What has your case got to do with Trina?” he asked.
Victoria and Lucas exchanged a look again.
“No, don’t look at her. Look at me. What the hell is that all about?” Axel asked as he pulled himself close to sit on the edge of his seat. “What happened?”
“The security footage shows that Sonya Misalucha is the one who pushed Trina…problem is that we don’t know her real name. Sonya Misalucha is just one of her many aliases,” Victoria explained.
“Please tell me that you at least talked to the cops before you came to talk to me,” Axel said in a soft voice.
“We did. The day after the attack. And don’t worry, there is a countrywide manhunt active right now…I just wish I could have done more,” Lucas said and Axel nodded.
He took a series of long deep breaths before he rubbed his temple.
“What was this case about anyway?” he asked. “Why would a woman suing you attack a visibly pregnant woman?”
“I was having an affair with Sonya…she was an intern at my company and she started blackmailing me…Trina was handling my case…” Lucas’ voice trailed off and this time, he couldn’t find it again. He looked at Axel and shook his head. “Look, I am a father and I know how it is to have children. The thought of what happened is just…terrible.”
“You could not have foreseen this, Lucas. It’s fine,” Axel said forcing a smile.
“I still feel responsible. I mean, Victoria told me that you were expecting twins?”
Axel nodded.
“It’s a miracle one baby survived that whole thing.”
“And she is healthy too,” Victoria pointed out.
“Thank God for that,” Lucas said and Axel nodded.
“Anyway, I have a friend in the police department and I explained to him how important this is to both Trina and I, so I had asked him to keep me posted and he did,” Victoria started and Axel looked up. “I just heard from my friend that Sonya was spotted in Miami. They are working on bringing her in.”
Axel took a long deep breath and got up.
“She cannot get away with this,” he said as he paced up and down. “She has to pay.”
“Don’t worry. It is no longer just an assault. This is murder,” Lucas pointed out and Victoria frowned.
“Well,” she started making Axel turn his attention to her.
“What?” he asked. “What’s that tone in your voice?”
“She is wanted for fraud in so many states…and this is second degree murder,” Victoria started.
“So?” Axel asked shaking his head. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Fraud is a federal crime. So, the FBI will handle it and in case she works as part of a larger team, they might cut a deal to bring in the big fish,” Victoria explained and Axel buried his face in his hands.
“Are you telling me that she might walk after what she did to my wife? After killing our son?” he asked. His voice was a little shaky and without even realizing it, a tear was rolling down his cheek.
“Don’t worry about that, Axel,” Victoria said, standing up. She walked up to where he was and took his hand. “I am already working a contact at the district attorney’s office. We are going to pull out all the stops and make sure Sonya…or whatever her real name is, goes to jail.”
There was a long silence before Lucas spoke again.
“I’m really sorry about this…I can’t help but feel responsible.”
Axel shook his head.
“I don’t know how I am going to tell Trina,” he said in a soft voice. “I mean, this whole thing has been hard enough without having to give her any more bad news.”
“Axel, I told you, I’ve got this. Trust me.”
“But…” Axel pulled away from Victoria and once again began pacing up and down. “Why would she even go after Trina? I mean, yeah, she lost the case but…it can’t be the first time she lost a case or even if it…what the fuck?”
“I think this is the first time she lost a case because someone uncovered who she really is,” Victoria pointed out.
Axel sat down again and for the millionth time in the last five minutes, rubbed his temple again. He was not so sure whether to be happy about everything or to just blow up. He would have liked some piece of good news that morning. Maybe something along the lines of the attacker being in custody without a chance of ever getting out.
He was still buried in thoughts when Victoria walked up to where Lucas was.
“We just wanted to loop you in. just to let you know how everything is going on so far,” she said.
“We’re sorry we didn’t have better news,” Lucas said and Axel nodded.
“Thank you anyway. It means a lot just hearing that you are as hell bent on catching this woman as I am.”
Victoria took a long deep breath as she began walking to the door.
“We’ll leave now,” she said in a soft voice. “Say hi to Trina for me, will you?”
Axel nodded.
“Sure.”
“We’ll see ourselves out,” Lucas said as Axel sat down.
“Thank you for telling me.”
He was completely lost in his thoughts as he sat in the living room in complete silence trying to figure out how he should break the news to Trina. He had tried controlling the amount of information she got but it seemed like the more he tried, the more he knew that she knew. He did not want to seem like the kind of husband who kept anything from his wife. As a matter of fact, their marriage had always been based on honesty. So, it was only normal for him to feel guilty of not disclosing everything to Trina even though it was for the best.
He was still lost in thought when Rosa walked into the living room.
“Axel,” she said in a soft voice but he did not hear her. “Mr. Anderson?” she said again as she walked closer to him.
He turned around and forced a smile.
“Rosa, hi,” he said as he exhaled loudly. “Did you need something?”
She shook her head.
“No, I was just about to take this tea to Mrs. Anderson, but I think you better do it.”
He looked at her for a long minute and then looked at the steaming cup in her hand.
“What is it?” he asked.
“Raspberry leaf.”
He frowned.
“Is all this tea safe?” he asked. “I mean, she has been taking what? Three cups a day?”
Rosa smiled.
“It is all safe and comes highly recommended. Ginger root and peppermint help with nausea, rooibos is a great booster…kind of like a nice strong cup of coffee but without the caffeine and this, this is the mother of all teas during pregnancy,” she explained and he shook his head.
“Why?” he asked.
“It helps prepare the uterus for labor and prevents hemorrhage after delivery.”
Axel stood up and walked up to where she was.
“And does it work?” he asked.
She smiled and nodded.
“Doctors recommend it and I know it works because I almost died when I had my first daughter due to post-partum hemorrhage. So, when I was expecting my second daughter, I took a cup a day and it helped. A lot.”
He shrugged.
“Well, far be it from me to doubt a mother of three.”
He took the cup from her and forced a smile again.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Any time. And I thought I should tell you that I was thinking of making a casserole for dinner. Spanish rice turkey.”
Axel smiled.
“That sounds delightful. Thank you.”
“Now, go on. Trina’s awake and she needs to take that before it gets cold.”
“Of course.”
Axel turned to walk out and Rosa held his arm.
“Tell her,” she said
. “Victoria being here…I know it had something to do with Trina’s attack. So, tell her.”
He shook his head.
“Are you sure? I don’t want to do anything that might cause too much excitement…and…” His voice trailed off when he noticed the look in her eyes. He took a long, deep breath and nodded. “You heard us, didn’t you?” he asked and she nodded.
“I did.”
“Rosa, my wife has already been through so much…and I don’t want to put her through any more pain…I mean, I have to ask her to get rid of everything that reminded her of Ethan for God’s sake. Do you have any idea how hard that is going to be?” he asked and she nodded.
“Yes, I do. More than you know.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I would have had four children rather than three. I lost one too and it was the hardest thing I had ever had to go through…but my other children needed me. I had to be strong for them and I am not going to tell you that it is going to be easy because it is not. But the truth is you will have to go through the pain, for you to give Ellie and Trina all you’ve got. And you will have to help her through it too because the pain for her is both physical and emotional and believe me, that emotional scar is bigger than any physical pain will ever be.”
“Does it ever get better?” he asked and she gave him a reassuring squeeze.
“Of course, it does. And once you see that beautiful girl, every tear you have shed will be all forgotten and I am not implying that you are going to forget your son, no. But you are going to be happy. I promise you.”
Axel clenched his fist and nodded.
“Thanks.”
“Go on. I’ll get started on dinner.”
Axel took another long deep breath and walked out of the living room. His heart was racing as he made his way upstairs to the bedroom. When he got to the bedroom door, he took a long minute as he stood outside there blinking back the tear that was threatening to roll down his cheek. He took a series of long deep breaths before he finally walked into the room and looked at Trina who was struggling to get up.