Page 25 of Twisted Fate

It was late before he got home that night, and she was asleep. He ate the dinner left in the fridge for him and went to bed, too tired to do anything more than check on Keily. She was asleep, peaceful from the looks of it, so he slipped into his inviting bed and fell asleep.

The dream came in the darkest hours of the night, the flicker of flames at the edges of his vision a trigger for his heart to start pounding. No, not again, he thought vaguely, but the nightmare carried on, always the same, until he screamed himself awake. Only, he wasn’t alone when he woke up.

“Keily?” He asked, despite his pounding heart and rapid breathing.

She’d wrapped her arms around his head, and he was cradled as well as he could be against her body. His head was still spinning from the dream, still a whirl of emotions and fear, but he clung to her, unwilling to let go of the anchor she’d become the instant he woke up.

“It’s okay, Logan. It was just a bad dream.” She whispered to him, her right hand stroking his head gently as she kissed him right by his left ear. “It’s okay, go back to sleep.”

Logan stared at her as the fear passed, as the sweat on his body cooled and dried up, seeing only her outline in the darkness. She felt like home, like his woman, like the comfort he’d needed all this time. He should have recognized that before, back before he’d fucked their lives up and walked out on her. But he was too tired to cling to the moment, to his thoughts, and it felt too good, being in her arms.

Logan turned his head to kiss her jaw, wrapped an arm around her nightgown-clad body, a white thing that she loved but wasn’t meant for seduction. If he hadn’t been so exhausted, he’d have told her it might not be meant for seduction, but it was seductive because she had it on, but he was tired, needed sleep.

With their bodies almost entwined Logan fell asleep and found peaceful rest at last. He dreamed about babies, about taking Keily to heaven and real places on Earth, he dreamed of being happy, and slept without fear for the rest of the night. He’d had the nightmare beside her in bed before, but when he woke up the next morning, he knew that the memory that haunted his dreams would haunt him no more. Keily had conquered it with the love she was afraid to give. He had to find a way to show her now that she could count on him, that she’d have just as much love and happiness in return, if she’d only give him a chance. Maybe after the babies came, she’d find her way back to him. Or maybe he’d find the words, at last, to show her that was all he ever wanted or needed.

12

Keily

Keily felt a cramp deep in her abdomen, something that twisted and pulled at her insides with brutal carelessness. The doctor warned her about Braxton Hicks contractions and how she might feel the false labor pains, especially now that she was in the eighth month of her pregnancy.

She’d already sent a message to the doctor’s office, and she knew she’d get a call soon, if she didn’t send another message. Logan was at work, but she was about to call him when the contraction started, long, powerful, painful enough to make her groan loudly. Thankfully, Judith heard her in the living room and came rushing in.

“It’s not Braxton Hicks, is it, Keily?” Judith asked, the housekeeper now on familiar terms with the woman that had moved in with her boss.

“I don’t think so, Judith. Can you call an ambulance for me? I think it would be best to have them take me to the hospital. And text Logan, please.” Keily whooshed the words out between the panting breaths she took, trying to ride out the never-ending wave of pain. “Fuccccck.”

It was a growl of pain, a plea for the pain to end, but it didn’t. It carried on until she thought she’d pass out. By the time the pain did stop, Keily was out of breath, wondering why she was wet.

“Your water’s broken, Keily. The ambulance is on the way. What can I get you?”

Keily looked around to see her left hand clasped in the housekeeper’s, who was kneeling in front of her. “You’re so sweet, Judith. For now, I guess nothing. Except a dry dress, but they’ll soon take that off me when I get to the hospital.”

“They will, but I’ll fetch you one if you want a dry one, Keily.” Judith let go of her hand and raced up the stairs before Keily could protest.

By the time the ambulance arrived, Keily was screaming, in a dry gown, but screaming. Judith was in tears, not from Keily crushing her hand, but from watching the young woman go through so much pain. Keily knew this was going to be painful, she’d heard her whole life that birth was a pain unlike any other, but she’d had no clue just how soul-consuming that pain was. It took every thought in her head away, centered her in a dark place where all she could do was cling to breaths and hope the pain would pass before it consumed her.

Another flash happened, a blink of her eyes and she saw Logan pull up with Rosa in his car, just as the paramedics loaded Keily into the ambulance and she reached for him. He flew out of the car, asked which hospital she was going to, and pulled out so the ambulance could back up and get on the road.

Everything became a blur after one of the paramedics put an IV in her arm. She heard words as she was unloaded from the ambulance, tried to follow instructions as Logan took her hand, his eyes huge and full of fear. He was the anchor she needed in this rushing storm of pain and confusion, and he was there, despite the red fear that flushed his cheeks, despite the tears that streamed down his face as they wheeled her into a bright white room full of sounds that only confused her more.

“I’m here, Keily. I’m here, baby. It’s okay.” He kept repeating for what felt like hours. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.”

The pain faded, the world faded, as somebody placed a mask over her face. Keily heard words that sounded like emergency C-section, but she wasn’t sure. Everything had fallen to pieces the moment she woke up in pain that morning. Her birth plan, the calls she’d planned to make to her sister and Rosa, had all gone out the window, but she’d known to expect that. This was her first pregnancy, and it was multiples, she knew better than to plan anyway.

Darkness held her in its grip, a darkness she couldn’t escape from. Her sister’s voice intruded into that darkness, pulled her back to the world, but the darkness rushed up to grab her back. Logan’s voice this time, and Rosa’s, all of them begging her to come back, to wake up, but the darkness would not let her go.

It was terrifying, how much she just wanted to give up and let that darkness take her. Even when she heard a baby’s cry, when she knew that voice was her child’s, she couldn’t break the hold that darkness had on her. Until she heard Logan’s voice, one last time.

“You can’t leave me, Keily. You just can’t.” There were tears in his voice, and she didn’t know if it was real, or another trick of the darkness, but she felt her soul move towards his voice anyway, trusting that it was him, that he was calling her back to the world. “I love you, Keily, please, come back to me.”

Her eyes popped open so suddenly it left her surprised. She was in a dark room now, Logan’s hand still in hers, his head beside her on the bed. The noise was gone and everything was…too quiet. Her blurry eyes connected with the clock on the wall and she saw it was sometime after 12. Midnight? It must be, since it was dark outside the window of her room. “Logan?”

Her voice was a soft croak that did nothing to make him move. Even the fragile touch of her hand against his hair didn’t make him move. She looked around and saw Rosa and her sister were asleep on a couch at the other end of the private room Logan had paid for before she’d even arrived at the hospital. For a moment, she felt that her body wasn’t her own, she didn’t recognize the sensations her nerves messaged to her brain, but then it dawned on her. It was the drugs. She was in the hospital.

Her hand went to her stomach. It wasn’t flat, not yet, but she didn’t feel her babies in her. “Logan?”

His name came out stronger, with more force and this time his head lifted from where he’d fallen asleep. “Keily?”