Irreversible Damage (Irreparable) (11 page)

“Is Tug all right?” Liv asks, her hands visibly trembling. 

I pull Liv close and wrap her in a hug. “Yeah, he said he was fine. He put a hurt on Davey.”

“Jesus, Brady.”

I kiss her on top of the head and release her. “If he wasn’t in jail, I’d find him, Liv. I’d fucking kill him.”

She gasps, reaching for my hand. I let her take it. “Don’t say that, Brady.”

 “I should have seen this coming. Damn it!”

She lets go of my hand, her expression falling. “What do you mean?”

“Mr. Hunter?”

I spin to see a male doctor in front of me with his hand out. “I’m Dr. Aceves.” His facial expression gives away nothing. That scares me. I shake his hand, looking into his eyes for a hint of what I should expect. He motions to the row of chairs for Liv and me to sit down.

“I don’t want to sit.” I bite my tongue before I take my anger out on him. With my voice calmer, I finish, “I want to know how my wife and baby are.”

He nods, but remains expressionless. I’m finding it harder to remain calm. “Why don’t we go into a conference room, Mr. Hunter?”

“Just fucking tell me, Doc!” My control has just flown out of the building.

“Brady, I think the doctor’s right.” Liv grabs my arm. “We should talk in private.”

I look around and notice we’ve drawn a crowd. People are staring. Then I see him. I recognize the stance, the notepad, the camera. Motherfucker! I charge toward him, ready to unleash fury, but Harrison is walking toward me. He takes in the scene and stops me with a hand on my chest. “I got this, Brady. Go talk with the doctor. Tori needs you.”

Just hearing her name reins in my anger. I nod at Harrison as Liv loops her arm through mine, following Dr. Aceves.

I hear the weasel ask Harrison if he’d like to give a statement and if Aidan Hunter was involved in the incident at the house. His behavior is deplorable. Fucking snake!

“The only statement I have for you is that the family would like you to get the hell out of this hospital.” 

I grin at Harrison’s reply. We may have started out despising each other, but he’s become the rock in our family.

When we enter a small room, Dr. Aceves and Liv have a seat at a small table. I’m too worked up to sit. Instead, I stand with my back against the wall and my arms folded over my chest. As I glance at Dr. Aceves, I now see the concern on his face.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Hunter, but your wife lost the baby.”

His words hit me like a two-by-four, knocking the air clean from my lungs. My nerves are shot. My knees buckle, and I fall onto them. This is going to destroy Tori.

Tori!

“And my wife?” I can’t look at him, afraid I’ve lost her, too.

“She should recover. When she came in, she was unconscious. Her heartbeat was gravely low, and she had lost a significant amount of blood. Her placenta tore in the fall, and that is when she lost the baby. She has a pretty severe hemorrhage.”

“Is she awake? Can I see her?”

“She is awake, but we’ve had to sedate her to keep her calm. Due to the hemorrhage, we need to operate to stem the bleeding and remove the baby and placenta before it gets worse. We need your consent.”

The request sends my brain into a spin. “What are the risks?”

“You’re wife’s injuries are severe. She may require a hysterectomy, but we won’t know for certain until we operate. And I’ll be honest with you, the surgery could be fatal, but if we don’t operate, she’ll bleed to death.” His expression is grave. Without my consent, my wife dies. With it, she might die anyway.

How can this be happening? Six hours ago we were hanging pictures in the nursery and talking about who Mona would look more like.

“Do whatever it takes to save my wife,” I say, thrusting my face into my palms.

“Of course, Mr. Hunter. Wait here, and a nurse will be in shortly with the forms. When they wheel her out, you can escort her up to the OR. When we’re finished, I’ll come out and let you know how it went.”

“Thanks,” Liv tells him before coming over to me. Her hand rubs circles over my back. It does nothing to dull the ache in my heart. If I lose her, I’ll never recover.

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” Dr. Aceves offers before leaving us alone.

Tori

Something is wrong. Seriously wrong. The lights above my head flash by in a continual stream as the gurney races down the hall. My eyelids are weighted. I reach up to feel what is causing the pain in my head. My hand rubs against rough fabric…bandages?  Brady’s at my side, jogging next to the gurney. “Brady…Brady…what’s happening?” His face twists in pain as he looks at me. Red, swollen eyes look down upon me, and I know in this instant that my baby is in danger. “What? Brady, please tell me what’s going on.”

 “You’re going to be okay.” He sucks back a sob.  “The doctors will save you.”

“What about the baby?”

His eyes shift to the floor, and the sob he’d been holding back tears from his chest and rips through mine. “You’re going to be okay.”

The gurney pushes through double doors. I’m lifted onto a hard table. People in scrubs fly by around me. A nurse tugs on my IV and tells me to breathe. What the fuck does that mean? Brady is at my side, his hand in mine. “Brady, I’m scared. Please talk to me.” He looks away again. I suddenly realize why he can’t look at me. “Brady, don’t let our baby die.”

His eyes meet mine, swollen and puddled with unshed tears. He brushes hair away from my face, his palm resting on my head. He leans in and kisses my cheek. “You’re going to be okay,” he whispers in my ear.

“Stop saying that! What about the baby, Brady? What about Mona?”

His head falls onto my neck as he shakes uncontrollably. “I can’t lose you.”

“Don’t let our baby die.” I reach around and grab his face in my hands.  “Do you hear me? You save our baby. Please.”

“You’re going to be okay.”

 “Save my baby, please!” I scream over and over, hoping that someone will hear me, because I know Brady doesn’t. He lost his mother during childbirth. He’s lived with the guilt and the trauma of that his entire life. He’ll never lose me, too. I want my baby to have a life with her father, even if that means I can’t be a part of it. I keep screaming, begging someone to listen. Brady pulls away from me when the nurse tells him he has to leave. I latch onto his arm until it slides away, my hand moving down his forearm, his hand, the tips of his fingers. This could be the last time we’ll touch.  Someone squeezes a syringe into the IV tube, telling me it will help me calm down. I don’t want to calm down! I want them to save my baby!  I’m forced to my back and feel a needle pinch as it enters my spine. My eyes stay fixed on Brady’s as he backs away, his hands fisted in his hair. I mouth
save our baby
one last time before my eyelids grow heavy, weighted by the medication they gave me. My fight falls away just as Brady slips through the door.

Chapter 14

Brady

I couldn’t tell her that our baby is already gone. That our little girl died on the way to the hospital and there was nothing I could do to stop it. This is my fault. I let Davey back into my life knowing he was unstable.

Even if she survives, Tori will never forgive me for betraying her. I should have told her about Davey. I should have known better than to leave her at the house. I knew Davey was unstable, but I never thought he disliked Tori enough to hurt her. I sit in the waiting room alone with my guilt, trying to piece it all together. Liv and Harrison went for coffee. I’m sure they knew I wanted to be alone.

“How is she?”

I look up at Tug’s concerned face. He has a small cut above his eye. My gaze finds his knuckles, torn and bloody.

“She lost the baby.” I can hardly say the words.

“Liv told me. I’m sorry. Did they say how long the surgery would take?”

“A couple of hours.” I shrug, looking past him and staring at the wall. “Where is he?”

He sits next to me with his elbows resting on his knees. “He’s in police custody. That’s all I know.”

“I never thought he was capable of this.”

He sits back against the chair, stretching his legs. “I know.”

I snap my eyes back to him. “God, if you weren’t there…”

He slaps my shoulder. “But I was!”

“Fuck! If she doesn’t make it, Tug…”

“She will. She’s strong.”

His words make me think. She may survive the surgery, but is she strong enough to survive losing Mona? “I hope so.” I frown before slinking back in the chair.

“I’m heading to the cafeteria for coffee.” He stands. “You want one?”

I shake my head. Tug clamps down on my shoulder again, offering a reassuring smile before walking away. I don’t feel any better, but I appreciate the gesture. 

I stand and resume pacing. How long has it been? My eyes find the receptionist again. She shakes her head. I’m sure she thinks I’m a lunatic. I feel like one.

Tori

I open my eyes, glancing lazily around the room, first to the monitor that hisses and beeps next to me, then to a vase of flowers before landing on Brady. He’s sitting in a chair with his face buried in his hands. He doesn’t see me.

Unexpected anger simmers low and deep as memories come flooding back to me. Tears well up, clouding my eyes before spilling over. When I suck in a breath, I wince, instantly feeling a stabbing pain in my womb.
Mona
? My hands fly to my belly. I’m not pregnant.

Oh, God. Where is she?

Brady’s arms are suddenly around my waist, his head buried against my side. I watch his back heaving as he cries. His behavior is confirmation. I know without a doubt that my baby girl is dead. My heart shatters into a million pieces, an ache so deep I can’t even bring myself to cry. I can only retch with violent sobs. Brady’s head lifts, and his red swollen eyes meet mine. When I look at him, my grief is instantly replaced by anger. He knew what kind of person Davey is, and he hid it from me.

I turn my head, looking toward the window.

I can’t look at him.

I can’t forgive him.

“I’m so sorry,” he cries.

I snap my head back toward him, glaring angrily. “You lied to me!”

He doesn’t offer a reply. The guilt is all over his face.

“Why, Brady?”

“He was my friend.” He sounds regretful. “I wanted to believe he had changed.”

“You killed our baby!”

“No! No!”

I don’t want to hear him deny it. “Get out!”

Brady looks completely defeated, his mouth agape.

“Right now! Get the fuck out!’’

He bows his head, opens the door, and leaves.

“How could you?” I shout, so loudly that pain stabs my womb again. I wince, folding my arms over my stomach protectively. It’s then I realize that I’ve had a cesarean. Not only have I lost my baby, but I have to live with the scar as a reminder of what I’ve lost for the rest of my life. Tears shoot from my eyes, fast and furious. I don’t bother to stop them.

Why was protecting his friend more important than protecting me and our baby?

I’ve been asleep for an hour when the doctor wakes me. Through the haze in my brain, I listen to him tell me how fortunate I am that I didn’t need a hysterectomy. Like it even matters; I’ll never put myself through another pregnancy. The one and only baby I was meant to have is gone. I roll away from him as he talks, and before long he leaves the room.

A nurse comes through the door a few minutes later. I roll on my back. She smiles kindly. “I’m Aracely. I’ll be your nurse today.” She sets ice chips and apple juice on the tray next to my bed and rolls it over me. “This is all I can give you for now. If this goes down okay, I can bring you Jell-O or broth later.”

I offer her a weak smile. “Thanks.”

She goes about taking my vitals and logging them in her chart. “How’s the pain? Can I bring you anything?”

“No. It’s okay.”

She nods and picks up the bed remote. “I’ll be back to check on you soon. In the meantime, if you need me, just push this button.” She moves a thumb over a red button before setting it back on the bed next to me. “Do you want me to send your husband back in?”

“No!” I shout.

She flinches and smiles awkwardly. “Very well.”

The second she slips out the door, grief consumes me and I burst into tears. There is a soft knock at the door. “Go away, Brady.”

The door opens, and Tug stands in the doorway, wearing an anxious half smile. Tug. He was there. “Hey.” His voice is timid.

He closes the door behind him, pushes a chair up next to the bed, and sits down. His hand wipes away a few tears from my face as his worried eyes scour over me. “I’m sorry, sweet girl.”

“Did you know, too?”

He nods. “Brady wanted to tell you.”

“But he wanted to protect his friend more!” I spit angrily.

“You don’t know the whole story.” His insistence is infuriating.

I can’t hear it right now. “I don’t care!”

“Brady was there the night Davey was arrested.”

“For manslaughter!” I remind him angrily of what a vile person Davey is.

“Yes, but there was no way for Brady to know that Davey would attack you.”

I huff, wincing in pain when I do. “He’s obviously violent. I had a right to know. I wouldn’t have opened the door.”

“I agree, Brady should have told you.” He grabs my hand and holds it. “The two of them were at a bar with Davey’s girlfriend.”

 I clench my jaw, glaring at Tug. “I don’t want to hear this.” I’m fed up with everyone defending Davey.

“Just hear me out.”

“Fine!” I look out the window.

I hear him inhale and exhale long and deep before he begins. “Davey’s girlfriend went out to the car to get something. When he and Brady realized she had been gone for a while, they went looking for her. They found her. She was being raped. They dragged the guy off her. Brady beat the guy pretty severely, but Davey went into a blind rage and finished him off. Brady was leaving the following week for USC. Davey told Brady to leave so he wouldn’t lose his scholarship. He took the rap for all of it.”

I whip my head around in shock. “Oh, my God, Tug!”

“It gets worse.” He pats my hand. “His girlfriend was nearly four months pregnant. She hadn’t told him.”