Never say forever (Never series Book 1) (29 page)

She checks me out internally. They draw blood and try to get me as comfortable as I can. They take their sweet time coming back. I watch the clock, waiting for Aiden. It’s been two hours and he hasn’t showed up yet. He knows I’m in the hospital and he was coming from Ben’s house which was only a twenty minute drive. Where could he be? Maybe he got stuck in traffic? Maybe there’s construction? My mind is reeling with all the possibilities that I can’t fully think through because the doctor walks in.

“
I’ve checked you out and everything is okay.”

“
What about the stomach tightening and the pain?” I don’t see how everything can be alright. I have never experienced this.

“
What you had was what we call Braxton Hicks contractions. In other words, its false labor. It’s your body’s way of preparing for labor. They are contractions, but you’re not in labor. We see a lot of cases of the Braxton Hicks contractions and since you are a new mother, I wasn’t expecting you to know what it is. The baby is fine; we got a good heart rate on the baby. I will go get your discharge papers and you can be on your way.”

The doctor turns and walks out of the room.
Well that’s a relief.
My baby is not hurt so I can breathe easier. I’m sitting in bed waiting for the doctor to come back in the room when I see doctors rushing someone on a stretcher.

“
Young male….car accident….sustained head wound…possible broken ribs…lacerations on the face.”

I hear bits and pieces and I feel sorry for his family. I don’t like being in hospitals. I don’t like to see other people suffering or their families. The doctor walks back in with the papers and she is going over instructions and telling me what to be aware of and what’s normal but I completely zone her out when I hear words that sliced right through my heart.

“
ID in the wallet says Aiden Clark.”

I don’t even listen anymore. I am out of the bed as fast I can. I run over but they won’t let me in the room. Ironically he’s in the room adjacent to mine. Aiden… in a car accident? The tears start streaming down my face as I pray that he is not dead.

Please God, don’t take him from me. We have a baby coming. He wants this baby. I can’t live without him.

The doctor walks up to me. “You can’t be in here, Miss. I have your discharge papers.”

“
My boyfriend is in there! What is wrong with him?” my voice is breaking as I speak.

The sobs won’t stop. I feel like I’m hyperventilating.

“
I’m sorry but I can’t disburse that information due to confidentiality. We can only talk to his parents.”

I don’t even respond to her. I walk right out into the parking lot and call his Dad. That was not a phone call that I wanted to make. He said he would be here right away. Aiden’s dad pulls right up and gives me a hug first. He knows what I’m going through right now. He’s been here and he knows how much I love him. For both of our sakes, I hope he is okay. I don’t think his dad would do too well with losing another loved one. I can see the emotion on his face and I can see the tears already formed in his eyes. This is all déjà vu to him. The same thing happened to his wife. We walk back into the hospital and his dad requests a status update. The doctor comes out and shakes his hand.

“
Are you Aiden’s father?”

“
Yes. Can you tell me about anything that happened? I need to know. Is he okay?” he asked the doctor.

“
I’m sorry but is there somewhere we can go and talk privately. I can only tell immediate family.”

Immediate family? What the fuck am I? I am carrying his child!

I am so beyond emotionally stressed I want to strangle the damn answers out of him. I don’t get my
chance to speak because his dad does for me.

“
She is immediate family. She is his fiancé and she is carrying his child. Anything you can say to me, can be said in front of her.”

The doctor stands there for a minute thinking and then nods his head.

“
Very well then. Aiden was brought in here. He was involved in an accident. Upon arrival, we noticed a few fractures and he has experienced head trauma. Unfortunately he has some swelling in the brain. Our next plan of action is to put him in a medically induced coma so we can reduce the swelling enough to operate.”

I almost vomit hearing those words. He’s going to be in a coma and he has to have surgery? I can’t stop the tears that come out.

“
Is he going to be okay?” he asked next.

“
We can’t tell right now. We’re not sure ourselves but we are very optimistic and will do everything in our power to make sure he is okay. The surgeon that will be working on him is a top-rated surgeon, so he will be in good hands.”

I have to sit because my legs are starting to wobble. My whole world is hanging on a strand. He could die tomorrow and I can’t help him. This is
all
my fault. I freaked out and it turned out to be nothing. If I hadn’t told him, he wouldn’t have been rushing to get to me. I caused this and if he dies I will never forgive myself. I silently scold myself as the tears stream down my face. I feel a hand on my shoulder and I look up and Aiden’s dad has the same look I must be portraying. He hugs me and holds on to me.

“
He’s going to be okay. We just have to think positive and stay strong.”

“
I just want to see him. I want to be in the same room. I need to feel the connection we have. I need to know he’s going to make it.”

He walks away without a word. I text Abby and Larissa and let them know what’s going on.

Aiden’s dad walks back in.

“
I asked if we can go in and see him and they said that they have to clean him up and give him the medicine for the coma first,” he said with a frown.

We sit here for another hour, not saying a word, both in our own misery. We both are hurting. Abby and Ben show up and Abby grabs a hold of me and I can see her tear streaked face.

“
Oh honey, I am so sorry. I hope everything is okay.”

I try to reply but words don’t come easy. Just tears. I finally gather the courage to speak.

“
This is all my fault. He called me to tell me he found out what happened at that party and I told him I think something may be wrong with the baby. He told me to call 911 and he would meet me here. He rushed here because of me and now he’s in this mess.”

“
Don’t
even
blame yourself. You had every right to be worried. You’re a new mom. Something didn’t feel right and you acted on it. You did the right thing. Did he tell you about what Ben found out?”

“
No we didn’t get that far. He was more worried about my wellbeing and the baby. I never found out.”

“
Jackie was just a pawn. His ex-girlfriend was jealous that he was having a baby with you. She’s some crazy girl that tried to get pregnant so she can tie Aiden to her forever. She was trying to ruin you guys so he would come crawling back to her. Ben found out from one of his friend’s sister’s gossip.”

I feel terrible now. I have been distant and I shouldn’t have been. I should have trusted him like I have our whole relationship. The last few months I have been distant and now he’s lying in a hospital bed. I want so much to be close but yet I’m so far away right now. I thought I was done crying for the day. I thought there were no more tears left in this body but I was wrong. I start crying again.

The doctor walks in and says one person can go back. I don’t even volunteer because I know his dad should come first.

I let his dad go in first as I sit down against the wall. I raise my hands to my eyes and cry my eyes out again. I can’t seem to stop the pain and heartache. I can’t stop the tears. I feel terrible for the way I’ve acted and now I may never see him again. Just thinking about it causes the sobs to burst even more. I can’t handle this.

Abby comes over to me and sits next to me. She grabs hold of my hand.

“
He’s going to be fine, he’s strong. We have to be strong for him too. We have to think positive. I know it’s hard because he’s in a hospital but we have to stay positive for him. I’m here with you the whole time. I’ll never leave until I know he’s okay.”

I look up and she pulls me into a hug. It helps. I still feel nothing but sorrow but it helps to know that I have a friend who is here for me
and who is comforting me in my worst of times. I watch the clock, waiting for my turn to see him. Finally after about twenty minutes, I see his father walking down the hallway. I can see his face is puffy and his eyes are bloodshot. I know that visit wasn’t easy on him.

“
Go ahead. They’re going to be doing surgery soon so you have about a half hour.”

He walks past me and sits in the chair and has a breakdown. I walk quickly to the room and enter. I see him lying in bed, motionless. It kills me to see him like this. His eyes are closed. I sit on the chair next to his bed and I reach for his hand. My vision is blurry. I can’t stop the tears from forming. I hold his limp hand and just watch the rise and fall of his chest. He’s alive but he’s not here. I talk to him in a quiet voice.

“
Aiden, please be okay. Please get through this. I need you baby. We still have our wedding to plan. Our little princess will be here next month. We have so much to look forward to. You can’t leave me. Not now, not ever. I still have to learn to cook so I don’t burn our food. We can go to cooking classes together. We can then use that to teach our daughter to cook. It sounds like a fantastic plan. We need to spend the night in our backyard by the waterfalls you built. We still have so much to do. You can’t leave me. What am I going to do if you’re gone? My life won’t be the same without you in it. You’re my hero and I know you’re strong, I know you can fight this.”

I ramble on like this for what seems like hours when I hear a sniffle. I’m a little disturbed because I should be alone, in private and now someone has just heard my innermost thoughts. I look up and am shocked. There standing in the doorway is Cadence.

Chapter 19

I feel as if I am seeing a ghost. Maybe I am. Maybe this really isn’t happening. I don’t know if I can handle this right now. My heart feels like it’s on the floor and being trampled on. I don’t know if I can take much more heartache. I don’t know why she’s here after all this time but I’m not sure that I want to know.

My hostility shows as I turn my face and put my attention back to Aiden. I caress his hand with my thumb as my hand holds his. I drop my eyes as the silent tears begin. I can’t see behind me so I don’t know what expression is on her face and I don’t know if she turned and walked away. This is all too much for me to handle right now.

“
Rena, please! I know I deserve to be ignored but I really need to talk to you.”

Well, she didn’t leave.

I respond without even turning, “Now is not a good time to talk. The love of my life is lying here in a coma and I am not leaving his side.”

“
I understand and I am terribly sorry. I’ll be in the waiting room when you’re ready. I’ll give you any answers you need. I’m here for you and I’m here to tell you everything. I missed you. Come out when you’re ready.”

I hear her walk out of the room.

What the hell was that?
How did she even know that I’m here? No one has heard from her in almost three years. Why does she show up now? I have so many unanswered questions and she can give me the answers. I’m afraid to leave Aiden’s side in case anything happens.

“
Please stay strong….please come back to me…I need you…I’m sorry I’ve been distant…if you come back from this I will do anything. I need you in my life. You are my hero, my best friend, my other half.”

I plead and cry for quite some time until the doctors come in. They tell me that they are ready to operate because the swelling has gone down. My body shivers just thinking about it. I lean over and kiss his forehead as I close my eyes to diminish this reality.