Ain't No Sunshine (20 page)
“I promise. I would never let anything bad happen to you.” Eden cried harder. She cried herself into exhaustion and fell asleep in my arms.
***
“I brought you some coffee,”
Maddie
whispered as she entered the room. I hadn’t even noticed she left.
“You don’t have to whisper. She’s sound asleep. Eden could sleep through a tornado.” I slid out of the hospital bed then took the cup of coffee she held out to me.
“Is she okay?”
I nodded as I took a sip. It tasted wretched. I put the lid back on and placed it on the table.
Maddie
hugged herself and stared down at my little sister. She was worried about her. Over the past few months, she’d grown quite attached to Eden. I stepped behind her, put my hands on her shoulders and kissed the top of her platinum blonde head.
“You called me your boyfriend. You’ve never called me your boyfriend before.”
Maddie
turned around and stared up at me with her blue-lake eyes. Eyes so wide and blue and soft I wanted to drown in them. She stood up straight and wrapped her arms around my neck. She almost couldn’t reach even on her tiptoes. At sixteen years old,
Maddie
was two inches shorter than my twelve-year-old sister. But then again Eden was taller than most twelve-year-olds, a great asset in her modeling career.
Maddie
ran her fingers through my long black hair and as tears welled in her eyes she said, “I love you, Garrett.”
“I love you, too,” I said before pressing my lips to hers. It should have
the happiest moment in my life. Madison
McPhee
loved me. But I couldn’t fully enjoy it knowing my sister was suffering just feet away.
“What about your father? What about the election?” I asked after kissing her breathless.
“I don’t care what he says. I need you, I want you, and I can’t exist without you.” We both smiled as she repeated the exact same words I’d told her just two weeks ago.
“Now you’re just picking on me,” I said.
“Well, you have to admit, it’s a pretty corny line.”
“It wasn’t a line. It’s the truth.” I kissed her again. Our kiss deepened as I pulled her closer to me. I don’t know what would have happened if we weren’t interrupted by a soft tapping on the door.
“May we speak to you in the hall?” the doctor asked me after poking his head in. “I’m sorry I didn’t introduce myself
properly,” he
said once we left the room. “I’m Dr. Shepherd and this is Rowena Smith from Child Services.”
I shook both their hands and said, “I don’t understand why Child Services is here?” while eyeing them suspiciously. I’d seen enough of Child Services for five lifetimes.
“We spoke to your mother,” Dr. Shepherd said ignoring my question. “She faxed over a letter giving you power of attorney over Eden. She trusts you to make all the decisions concerning her welfare.” That letter was worthless in my book. I’d already been doing that for the past twelve years.
“Will you tell me what’s wrong with my sister, please?” Dr. Shepherd and Rowena Smith exchanged a look, a look of foreboding that instantly made my heart race.
“You might want to sit down, son,” the overweight black lady said as she put her hand on my shoulder.”
“I don’t want to sit down. I want to know what’s wrong with her.”
Dr. Shepherd sighed and said, “Your sister had a miscarriage.” I stared at him blankly as the
words swirled around my mind. Everything logical in me told me it was impossible.
“I’m sorry. You must be looking at the wrong chart. My sister is only twelve.”
“It’s not a mistake, Garrett. We’ve already performed the D&C.
The fetus was about 6 weeks old.” My knees gave out. I collapsed in a
chair. My heart tightened in my chest. My stomach revolted. I thought I might vomit. The doctor kept talking, but I really couldn’t hear anything else.
“Who did this? Who could do that to a child?” I asked, interrupting the doctor’s details.
“We need your help to figure that out,” Rowena said. “Does she have a boyfriend? Is there any chance this was consensual?”
I glared at her. How could she even suggest something like that?
“A detective is on the way,” she said once she noticed my fierce expression. “Do you know anything that may help with the investigation?”
I shook my head. I knew nothing. What kind of brother was I to let something like this happen? I should have been paying more attention to her. This was my fault and I was going to fix it.
***
Eden began to stir around five o’clock in the morning. I asked
Maddie
to leave the room for a few minutes. Eden cried for me and I took her hand.
“Eden, I know something bad happened to you,” I said as I tucked her hair behind her ear. “I know I let you down.”
“Gary, don’t cry. It’s not your fault.” She reached up and wiped a tear from my face.
“Tell me what happened. Tell me who hurt you.”
***
“Give me your keys,” I said to
Maddie
twenty minutes later.
“Why? Where are you going?” I didn’t respond. “Garrett, what’s wrong? Is it about Eden?” Her eyes were
filled with fear as I
towered over her.
Maddie
handed me her keys and I left the hospital without saying another word.
***
I remember picking up the gun and loading it. I even remember pointing it at his head. I remember thinking that I was ruining my life and probably
Maddie’s
as well. I remember the overwhelming need to rid Eden of this evil in her life. What I don’t remember is pulling the trigger and pulling it six times.
Purchase
Guardian of Eden
Leslie
DuBois
lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her husband and two children. She currently attends the Medical University where she’s earning her PhD in Biostatistics. Leslie enjoys writing stories and novels that integrate races.
DuBois
No Sunshine
La
Cienega
Just Smiled coming Nov 2011.
Visit her
website
to learn more.
