“She was,” Mark told me as he moved closer. The man could only be described as haggard. His eyes held dark circles, his hair was a mess of silver and brown sprigs that stood on end everywhere, and his mouth was pulled tight. It looked as though he had slept in the rumpled suit he wore.
“Was? What happened? Is the baby okay? Is Violet?”
Mark snapped back in shock. “How do you know about the baby?”
“My parents mentioned that there was a baby that was doing okay. They wouldn’t tell me anything more, just that I needed to get on a plane and get here as fast as humanly possible. Has the baby been born? Was it a girl or a boy? Can I see the baby? Where is Violet and why can’t she consent to seeing me?”
Mark held his hands out to get me to stop and then grabbed hold of my elbow and guided me toward the elevator. “I don’t want to leave,” I informed him.
“We’re heading up one floor to Drake’s room until there’s more news.”
“More news?”
“Violet had a bit of a setback this morning. She had a moderate concussion from the accident along with a broken arm. Something happened and she developed a bleed in her head. I’m not sure what exactly happened, but I do know they rushed her to surgery just a bit ago. We’re waiting to hear, but the doctors know to find us in Drake’s room for updates.”
“Jesus fucking Christ.” My legs almost gave out from underneath me. I would never forgive myself if the last conversation I had with my wife was the one I couldn’t remember seven months ago. What had I been thinking? It had been too long. She needed time to come to terms with what happened and heal, but it had been too much. All of it wasted. And because I was too fucking stubborn to even check in, I missed her entire pregnancy with our first child. “The baby?” I finally asked.
“Not born yet. At least, not that I know of.”
“Girl or boy?”
“Don’t know.”
“Violet never found out or she didn’t want to tell anyone?”
“She never found out. Stubborn woman told us that her only concern was that the baby was healthy, whether it was a boy or girl made no difference because they were a blessing made from love.” Mark swiped at a tear that fell from his eye. “Sorry, it has been a difficult couple days. We were worried more about Drake in the beginning, but now…” Mark choked back what sounded an awful lot like a sob. “What the hell am I supposed to do if I lose my daughter or grand baby?”
“We’re not losing them,” I said.
“We don’t get to make that decision,” Mark reminded me. I couldn’t form a response because he wasn’t wrong. It was out of our hands completely. “Come on. You’re here, might as well say hello to my son. Fair warning, you aren’t his favorite person anymore.”
“I understand.”
“I don’t think you do. If my son managed to get a weapon, I don’t think you’d come out of this room alive.”
“Why are you speaking to me then?”
“I know life is complicated and there’s more to the story than all the speculation that’s been thrown out there.” Mark glanced from the door to me and back again. “Why don’t you go on in and I’ll try to keep Wendy out here for a bit while you have a conversation with Drake. She should be back up here soon.”
I gave him an appreciative nod and then entered the hospital room belonging to my wife’s little brother - the same kid who once hero-worshiped me and now, according to his father - would just as soon shank me as speak to me.
“What are you doing here?” Drake’s question was immediate and hostile.
“I came to see your sister, but she’s in surgery.”
“No thanks to you,” he spat at me.
“You’re right. I should have had Fiona locked up from the start.”
“Why didn’t you?” Drake looked younger than I’d seen him in years. Maybe it was how vulnerable the hospital gown made him look or all the bruising, but it pained me to see him this way especially when all he could do was spit venom at me.
“Two reasons. I thought the publicity would embarrass your sister more than she had already been and…” I huffed out a frustrated breath as I carefully took the seat beside Drake’s bed. “Fuck,” I growled. “I was embarrassed and ashamed. What she did…” I had to take a minute to work through the bullshit clogging my throat. “She fucking took from me. Not just my choice, either. She took the fact that my wife was the last woman I was ever with. She took my marriage. She took so much more, even though I didn’t know it then.”
“Then why would you hug her and take that bitch to Australia with you? Why did you divorce my sister?”
“I divorced your sister because she asked me to, and I was told it was for the best for the short term. As for Fiona, she came to the airport that day because she was somehow still able to see my calendar. She told me she was pregnant and that the baby was mine.”
Drake nodded. “I guess that makes sense.”
