My Love Forever (The Night Movers Vampire Series Book 1) (2 page)

We married as soon as we finished Uni and after our honeymoon we went to work for his father’s transport company just outside Birmingham.

Our life together seemed perfect for many years. We built up the business, holidayed all over the world and had a great home and social life.

We started to try for a baby six years ago. For the first year we didn’t worry too much when I didn’t become pregnant as I was coming off the pill and understood it can take a while for the effects to come out of your system. When it didn’t happen after two years we began to worry. Our doctor referred us for investigations in our third year of being unsuccessful. Both of us were healthy and after numerous tests they could find no reason that either of us could not be parents so their advice to us was keep taking the pre natal vitamins, keep fit and healthy and try not to get stressed......hello??? The whole ‘not getting pregnant’ was the only thing stressing me out.

By this time most of our circle of friends had children and Gavin and I found it hard to remain positive. We began to argue more and more, both of us finding faults with each other that were seemingly never there before. Then sixteen months ago when it seemed like I was never going to conceive I became pregnant.

We were both thrilled and both mum, dad and Gavin’s parents were ecstatic. To be honest the pregnancy helped repair the almost cavernous cracks that had begun to appear in our marriage from both sides, and Gavin once again became the attentive loving husband he was before.

It was during our final shopping trip two weeks before my due date that my life was ripped apart and my heart was shattered.

A young man not two days out of prison had stolen a car and was being chased by police when he lost control of the vehicle and drove into the front passenger side door of our car, straight in to me.

Gavin and I were spun off the road and ended up down an embankment.

We both lost consciousness immediately after the impact but according to the police officers who were following the car, we were both only out for about five minutes. The driver of the stolen car wasn’t wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car and died instantly.

Gavin came too first and to this day I will never forget the screaming panic and utter devastation in his voice as I regained consciousness.

At first I didn’t think of the baby because of the agonising pain I felt in my hip. I knew it was broken as was my arm but then Gavin was touching my very pregnant tummy asking if we were both ok and I knew then that my darling baby would never get to sleep in the new crib we had just bought.

They were able to get a fire crew on the scene within 5 minutes but it took them over an hour to free us both. My labour pains started when I was being placed on the stretcher. The air ambulance was used to get me to hospital, so it didn’t take us long at all to get there. They quickly scanned my tummy in the ER but as I already knew instinctively, there was no heartbeat to detect.

Due to all my other injuries despite my strong contractions they had to deliver the baby by C Section. My beautiful daughter came into the world but never took a breath. My hip had to have extensive surgery and my arm was set into a cast. Due to the amount of blood I had lost during all the surgeries I didn’t wake up until the early hours of the morning.  My parents were there and quickly explained that Gavin was ok but because of his broken ribs and concussion he was asleep on another ward.  Also in the room was Alex Staithes my dad’s boss although I didn’t question his presence at the time.

Apart from being a bit groggy and having a slight metallic taste in my mouth physically I didn’t feel as bad as I thought I would. The pain my hip should be giving me seemed to lessen gradually over the next ten seconds and I marvelled at the effectiveness of the pain medication they must be giving me.

When I found my voice the first thing I asked for was to see my baby. This set my mum off crying and my dad said he didn’t think it was a good idea.

Mum said that Gavin had held her after she was delivered but that was over eight hours ago and I knew what she was saying in so many words was that my baby was cold, dead and it too long passed to give me any peace.

It was then that I felt a rage come over me like no other I have ever experienced before. I wanted to leap out of bed and throw people out of my way so I could get to her. I knew then this was the maternal instinct to gather and protect Kicking in, and although I would never get to take care of my child through her life, I was in fact her mother and I needed to feel the bond with her if only for a short while. Screams tore from my throat and tears came seconds later. I remember Alex standing up and telling the nursing staff forcefully that my daughter needed to be brought to me. Not thirty minutes later she was given to me too hold.

It was a little hard to do at first due to the cast on one arm and IV on the other one but I was so relieved to finally have her in my arms I was determined to hold her to me. Gavin had left it to me to name her so I called her Megan after my late grandmother. She had passed away two years ago and it comforted me to think that she would be waiting in heaven to take care of my daughter until I could get there which I prayed wouldn’t be too long from now.

I started to sob uncontrollably into the dark hair peeking out from the pink hat she wore and the nurse moved to take her away from me. I tried to turn away and stop her, that’s when Alex stood and came over to me and Megan.

I thought he too was going to try to take her away from me so I tried to turn from him but I couldn’t.

I remember him lifting my chin and moving my hair out of my eyes, then he seemed to look into my soul with his beautiful grey eyes and started to talk to me about how Megan was such a pretty baby and that she had my hair colour which  I noticed was true.

He told me how smooth and pink her skin was and how she still felt warm to the touch which seemed strange as didn’t think this earlier, but I could see now that I was wrong and that she just looked like a normal sleeping baby.

He kept on speaking, telling me that although she wouldn’t be here with me physically I would always feel her presence.

He went on saying that she knew I loved her and she loved me too more than words could ever say. He said that she wanted me to live a long and happy life and to remember always that I am her mummy.

I looked down at my baby and began to tell her all about the things we had planned for her, about all her family who loved her so much and told her that she would stay in my heart forever.

About an hour after I first held her baby Megan was taken away, and at Alex’s suggestion I fell into a sound sleep.

Gavin came to see me the next morning and we cried in each other’s arms for the child that would never be part of our future. Gavin had been cleared to go home but he had broken two of his ribs and his neck was hurting quite bad so even sitting still in a chair at my bedside was awkward for him, and after a while I sent him home to rest.

Over the next four days with the help of both our parents we arranged Megan’s funeral.

Six weeks later I was still undergoing physiotherapy for my hip and also to my neck and shoulders as the jolts of the impact caused me to have severe whiplash. This didn’t become apparent until three days after the accident.

I didn’t seem to be improving as quickly as they would like but they thought my emotional and mental state was also a factor in this.

Also Gavin and I didn’t seem to be able to be in the same room without bickering so I went to stay with my parents as they had a bungalow which was a big help with getting around for a while with my sore leg.

Whilst I was there feeling sorry for myself one evening Alex came by. It was the first time I remember seeing him since the accident and I was speechless at first when I saw him. Mum was out and my first thought was of my dad but Alex must have sensed this, or noted the panic in my face and he quickly reassured me that my dad was fine and that he had actually stopped by to see me.

I offered him tea or coffee which he declined for water. He waited for me to take seat on the sofa before he came to sit beside me. Now Alex is an extremely handsome man with dark blonde hair, stunning grey eyes that seem to hold your own and I found it hard to look away from him. He also never seems to age like most men which is totally unfair to us women. I remember many years ago dancing with him at a Christmas party and totally crushing on him, but obviously he wasn’t interested in me because he left the party probably to meet up with some gorgeous sophisticated woman unlike the nervous eighteen year old I had been.

I left my thoughts of the past and began to thank him for coming to see me at the hospital, and apologised to him for all the upset he found himself experiencing. But I told him that I don’t think I could have managed without all the support he had given me in getting Megan that night, and his words to us both during that time.

I couldn’t really understand why he had been there at the hospital in Birmingham but said I was really glad he was.

Alex explained that he had been in a meeting in the area and met my dad at the hospital to offer his support to our family at that stressful time. He said he considered my father to be a good friend which meant he saw all the family that way too.

I remember thinking, (and not for the first time), how great this man was. He was running a multimillion pound business, but was a kind man who was really great with all his employees. He was nearly too good to be true.

We talked about his business and my slow recovery and also the problems I was having with my marriage. To be honest it was a relief to talk about this with someone as most of my friends were also Gavin’s friends, and I didn’t feel could open up to them.

Alex agreed that time apart would probably do Gavin and I some good and he offered to be there if I ever needed to talk. I remember thinking how refreshing it was for a man to actually listen for a change and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to be in a relationship with this sweet guy.

It was while thinking about how nice it would be to have his arms around me that I seemed, to my absolute horror to have fallen to sleep.

For the first time in months I didn’t have a nightmare. Instead I dreamed that I was dancing once again with Alex, not as an eighteen year old but as the woman I am now.

It wasn’t until I stepped into the shower over the bath the next morning that I realised I no longer felt any pain from my hip and neck but also my very pronounced limp had completely disappeared. Even the scar had healed to a faint silvery line. I didn’t question the reason why, I was just happy to move without physical pain any more. I started to feel like it was going be ok to be alive today.

Despite how much better I felt I decided to stay on at my parents for another week. Alex came to see me again a number of times before I left for home and his presence by my side felt right. Like we could be more than just friends, although I wouldn’t ever presume he would want to be anything other than friends with me, I mean let’s face it, my own husband didn’t even want to be in the same room as me.

When I eventually went home I found the situation with Gavin was the same as before and around five months after our daughter died we decided to separate. Gavin and I are still friends but our divorce is in process.

Although we have let our lawyers handle the specifics of the settlement my father in law decided to buy my share of the house Gavin and I bought.

He gave me a really good bonus on that price too, as a thank you for putting so much time and effort into the Layton family business that I helped grow into the successful company it now was.

It will seem strange not to be as close to Gavin’s family, and as I am now back living with my parents again I am no longer near the friends Gavin and I shared.

So here I am back at home after fifteen years trying to start my life all over again. And this is the reason why this evening I find myself waiting, all smartened up in a skirt suit and blouse to Interview for a job with Night Movers International.

Alex

I could tell from the moment that Maggie brought her into the room that Julia was nervous but Maggie being the woman that she was immediately tried to get her to feel at ease by asking about a trip that Julia’s mum was organising to some shopping centre in Manchester.

Quite why women would want to go to Manchester when we have a huge shopping centre in Sheffield is beyond me, but it seemed to get Julia chatting and she relaxed a little as she spoke.

I waited for the short conversation to finish before I said, “So Julia you know that this interview is for Maggie’s full time position to cover day to day or rather night to night running of the business, as our main business office times generally run from 5pm until 5am. We do have two daytime staff in the office that mainly takes local transportation requests which generally cover up to a two hundred mile radius but these are mostly from retailers. We also have two warehouses which store goods for a set length of time before they move on to their end journey. The goods in and out aspect is handled mostly at source but we need to collate all the files and records to enable us to keep a track on storage space. Again some of these items will be shipped abroad so we need to keep a track on the customs and excise aspect also.”

Julia looked directly at me as she spoke. “At Layton’s Transport we mostly covered UK retail runs along with a small number of pickups in France so I am familiar with what’s required to a certain extent, but as you also tend to go further into Europe and beyond I know that will take further skills to set up and organise, but I am looking forward to learning the how’s & why’s of this role.”