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The next time I emerged from what felt like the deepest sleep I’d ever had, my leg still ached but not as intense as before. Fingers tightened on mine; my name was whispered. I tried to talk and had to clear my throat twice.
This time I was able to open my eyes slowly. The light was harsh, forcing me to squint but in doing so, I saw one of the men I loved looking at me with tears in his eyes.
“Hey,” I said with a voice that sounded like I’d chain-smoked for years. “Why are you crying?”
Xaiden leaned forward to press his face to my neck. I brought my hand up, feeling a tug, only to realize I was attached to an IV.
“What’s going on?” Why couldn’t I remember anything? I was obviously in the hospital. My leg hurt so I must have injured it. Was I in an accident on the way to work? I tried to search my memory to call up what I went through and nothing was there.
My other hand was squeezed. I turned to find Val sitting on the other side. “Hey, Doc,” he said with a watery smile.
“What happened?”
“They said you might not remember right away. You had to have surgery. You were… you were shot.”
“Shot?” I looked down at my leg, a blanket covering it.
“You’re in the ICU. You lost a lot of blood. They had to do a transfusion. You needed surgery to remove the bullet. Luckily, it didn’t hit your bone or a major artery, but it tore through other things they had to repair. I can’t remember it all now, but you’re going to be okay. They got to you right away and were able to take you to the OR.”
Xaiden softly cried against me as I rubbed his back the best I could. I dropped my head on the pillow and closed my eyes, trying again to remember what happened. I went to the last thing I could recall, which was having lunch with Val and Corbin. Bit by bit I worked through the events. Cody was there, we went to the waiting room so I could return to work while they talked. Then it was like the floodgates opened and everything came rushing back.
“Cody,” I gasped as my eyes flew open. “Olivia. Where are they? Are they okay?” My heart rate spiked as panic flooded my system, the beeping getting more frantic next to my bed.
A doctor I knew came into the room with a nurse behind him. “Corbin, I see you’re awake.”
“Austin, are they okay?”
“I’m assuming you mean the children. Yes, they’re fine. How’s your pain?”
I gulped down a breath in relief. Xaiden had moved from my neck but was still clutching my hand in his as he stayed by my side. Val stood to let Austin get closer. He was a vascular surgeon and a damn good one at that. If he operated on me, I knew I’d be fine.
“Manageable,” I finally responded.
He stayed in the room a while longer, talking to me, going over what happened, the precision surgery he performed. I got lucky. Very lucky. Granted, I lost enough blood to warrant a transfusion and had I not been where I was when I was shot, it might have turned out differently, but I was okay. There would be post-op swelling that would most likely be worse tomorrow, but the hope was I could go home within seventy-two hours.
I’d need to meet with a physical therapist. I’d probably have to use a cane until my muscles healed. But it beat the alternative. I was alive. Val and Xaiden were unharmed, at least physically. Cody and Olivia weren’t shot. Only me. I could live with that.
After he left, I asked Val and Xaiden, “How are they?”
“Cody has a fracture in his arm and was put in a splint, but he doesn’t need surgery,” Val said. “Olivia has a concussion. They had to move her to West Dremest Hospital’s pediatrics department. They’re keeping her for observation for twenty-four hours.” Val went on to deliver the news that Pia was arrested. There was something else he wasn’t telling me. It wasn’t that he looked away, it was in his eyes.
“What?” I asked.
Xaiden clung to me, his lips trembling. The painful memories this must have brought back for him. My voice was still rough. There were questions I wanted to ask. I wanted to make sure he was okay, but he didn’t seem able to talk so I turned to Val again, who held my hand just as tightly.
“Cody wants to see you, but before we get to that, we need to talk about Olivia. She no longer has a guardian. She can’t stay with Cody since he can’t care for himself right now. We had to make some decisions while you were in surgery.” Val looked to Xaiden, waiting for him to pick up where he left off, which Xaiden eventually did.
“She was so scared,” he whispered. “She had nowhere to go. I knew I could help. I… I’m a certified foster parent. I started the process a couple years ago in the hopes that one day I’d be ready to welcome a child or children into my home. I didn’t think I’d find someone else, someone to love like you and Val, but I could build a family a different way. At least, when I was ready.”
“Xaiden offered to foster Olivia,” Val said. “There was paperwork he had to fill out. We argued that she’s already been through so much, and it would be better for her to be in a home rather than a facility. So, while she’s staying at the hospital overnight, they’re working on getting Xaiden emergency clearance to bring her home with us.”
“Xaiden,” I whispered. It was my turn to squeeze his hand. “You want this?”
He nodded. “I want a family. You two are everything to me but I couldn’t let them put her somewhere else, not after today. Cody can live with us too. Val said it was more than okay with him, but if you’d rather they didn’t—”
“I want them there,” I said quickly. “Thank you.”
