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Chapter 27
Eight months later
Remy
“Push, Remy. You got this!” her mother said as Remy bore down with every bit of remaining strength she had left. Sweat trickled from her forehead, and she ground her molars as the force of another contraction rolled through her.
Emma wiped a cool cloth over her skin as she offered encouraging words. “You got this. You’re a badass.”
“I can’t.” Remy cried from exhaustion. The one person she needed wasn’t here with her. “I can’t do this on my own.”
Tilda firmly took her face, forcing Remy to meet her mother’s eyes. “You are doing this. There’s no turning back now. You’re not alone. You have me, you have your family, and you have your friends. Remy, you come from a long line of strong women, and their blood runs through your veins. You. Can. Do. This. Now, take a deep breath, and help me meet my grandchild.”
Remy gulped in air as the strength of another contraction increased. Tears still escaped the corners of her eyes. Determination filled her. She would do this for the sweet little girl who had captured her heart before she’d even drawn breath.
Remy pushed with everything in her, until the slippery burning release of her child entering the world erupted between her bloody thighs.
Sweet little cries filled the room.
“Oh my god!” Emma gasped.
“You did it, baby,” her mother said.
Remy reached out, instinctively taking the slimy newborn from her mother’s hands as the midwife checked her baby girl without being too intrusive.
Tears burned her eyes as she clutched her newborn to her bare breast. The infant rooted, finding what she was searching for and suckling. I did it. She was a mother now. This tiny girl was the most beautiful person she’d ever seen. Her heart nearly burst with the mixture of awe and love, and fear for the unknown.
A while later, Emma had gone home and her mother lay sleeping next to her on the pullout chair in her room at the birthing center.
Remy kissed her daughter’s sleeping nose and whispered, “Baby girl, I promise I’ll never let anything happen to you. I’ll keep you safe. I’ll be strong for you. You’ll always come first. Someday, you’ll meet your daddy.” Remy choked back the tears as she continued, “But, until then, I’ll love you enough for the both of us, Lyra. More than all the stars in the sky.”
* * *
Mikel
Mikel woke with a pounding head and a mouth as dry as the desert. Squinting at the light coming from the dirty motel room curtains, he groaned in pain. Everything hurt.
Memories from the previous night came in flashes. The blonde he’d followed home, hoping to finally rid himself of Remy’s memories. He’d just wanted to forget for a little while. Punish himself.
He hadn’t gotten far. The sight of those blue eyes looking up at him as she’d unbuttoned his pants had only made him more disgusted with himself. He’d stopped her and stormed out without an explanation. The next thing he remembered was the entire bottle of the pills he’d bought from the dealer he’d run into on the corner. Why was he still alive? How was it possible? He’d taken more than enough to get the job done. Mixing it with whiskey should have been a sure thing.
He was alive—the ache throbbing through his entire body was a painful reminder. Apparently, he was such a failure, he couldn’t even kill himself properly.
Maybe you’re still alive for a reason.
The voice came from somewhere in the distance of his mind. He needed to get out of here, do something different.
* * *
Mikel found himself at the airport two hours later. He was tempted to call back home, see how his brother and sister were doing—how Remy was. If he did, he’d probably go back, and there was nothing they needed less than his burden.
Hehad to get far away. Living like this wasn’t working anymore, but rehab had never helped his mother, or his father. He was doomed to deal with his addiction for the rest of his life. The least he could do was keep his loved ones out of it.
“Can I help you, sir?” the woman at the ticket counter asked.
“I need a ticket on the next international flight out of here,” he said, setting his worn duffle bag on the counter. He’d sold his truck and he had nothing left to lose.
The woman eyed him curiously as she typed the keys on the keyboard. “The next flight is heading to Africa with a connecting flight in Heathrow.”
“I’ll take it.”
The farther away from Remy he was, the safer she would be.
