Page 94 of Broken Souls

“I can't focus until I know what that word means,” Axe mumbles, making me laugh so hard I can feel it in my stomach.

Chapter Sixty-One

Iwake up because I hear shuffling around the room. I open my eyes in the still dark room, only seeing a sliver of light shining through at the edge of the curtains. Axe is moving around the room.

“Hey,” I murmur.

“Hey, I'm just packing our stuff. We've got a long drive,” he tells me.

We hear a loud scream making me jump up and grab my chest in fright, while Axe hauls open the door once he realises it was Carson screaming. I move quickly and follow him out of the room. Timothy is holding a hunched over Carson standing in the kitchen.

“The baby is coming,” Timothy tells us, his eyes wide with angst.

“Shit, let's get her to the infirmary.”

Axe goes to her other side and wraps her arm over his shoulder to hold her up. They escort her outside and into the car. I drive while they both try to comfort her in the backseat. We get to the infirmary in under two minutes.

Seven hours of wailing later, the doctor says it's finally time to deliver. Axe and I have waited in the waiting room for most of it since Timothy wanted this memory to be just him and Carson. Timothy's family visited but they left and are coming back later to see the baby. Soon we hear a baby crying and Axe's eyes light up. We don't go in until Timothy comes out to get us. Carson is sitting in bed, red faced but with a bright smile, holding a wrapped-up bundle in her arms. I move closer and she rearranges the blanket a bit so I can see the baby's face.

“He's adorable,” I whisper, not wanting to disrupt the silent serenity of this moment.

“Uncle Axel, do you want to hold him?” Carson smiles.

“No, thank you. I've never held a baby before. I want the first one to be my baby,” Axe says, staring at my stomach, which makes me smile.

“What's his name?” I ask and Timothy sighs.

“We can't decide.” Carson chuckles, which makes Timothy smile at her.

We stay and take a few photos but then Timothy's family comes in so we give them some time together. Even though we agreed we'd leave today, we didn't expect her to have the baby, so we stay for another night.

The birth went smoothly, so Carson is discharged from the infirmary late that night. Axe and I stay till late afternoon the next day. We leave just as the baby erupts into hysterics, which makes Axe pull me to the car quicker, much to my amusement. After some hugs, we leave, knowing Carson is too tired to host us any longer.

“You do realise you're going to have to get used to a baby crying, yet you hauled us out of there as quick as you could,” I claim once we get on the road.

“Eight months, honey. Eight months of silence till we have to deal with it,” Axe says seriously.

He pulls my hand up to his lips and presses a kiss on it. I roll my eyes in delight and let myself drift off against the window since I didn't get much sleep.

***

I feel myself being carried but I keep my eyes closed, knowing Axe would just be carrying me inside. When he lays me on the bed, I snuggle into the pillows. Axe presses his lips against my head then I hear him leave the room. I try to doze back off but I'm awake now. I stay in bed up until the point my stomach grumbles, which makes me groan and head to the kitchen. I have some junk food before I go to the living room and stare at the boring tv. There is never anything good to watch but I'm too lazy to go upstairs to get my laptop. There's a knock at the door.

“Come in,” I shout.

After the door opens, Jayceon walks into the room.

“Where's Axe?” he asks.

“I don't know,” I answer.

Jayceon sighs and sits down next to me. He looks stressed.

“What's wrong?” I ask.

“The prisoners are pissing me off. I need to talk to Axe about harsher punishments.” Jayceon frowns.

“What are they doing and what punishments do you want to give them?” I frown.