Music of the Soul (13 page)

When he pressed on Abby’s stomach, she shrieked and tried to turn away. “Stop it! You’re hurting

her,” I cried, trying to push him away.

“Sir, I have to check your wife’s injuries. If you don’t stop, we’ll have to restrain you, so you

don’t prevent us from doing our job.”

With a defeated wail, I buried my face in my hands. If I could have, I would have plugged my

fingers in my ears just like a child, so I didn’t have to hear Abby’s cries. When I glanced up again,

she had quieted, and I saw the paramedic tossing a hypodermic into the medical waste bin. “Just

something to help ease her pain.”

“Thank you.” I once again took Abby’s hand in mine. I brought it to my lips and kissed it gently.

The rest of the way to the hospital, I spoke softly to her in between fielding a barrage of questions

from one of the paramedics. With the drugs in her system, she rested easily on the stretcher.

I didn’t know where we were, least of all which hospital they were taking her to. I found out

soon enough it was St. Augustine Memorial. When the ambulance doors flung open, a doctor and a

nurse were already there, waiting on us. I don’t know if it was standard protocol or if it was because

Abby was famous.

After they took Abby from the ambulance, I trailed along beside her into the emergency room.

When I started into her room, a tall nurse with auburn hair stopped me. “Sir, I’m going to have to ask

you go out to the waiting room, so we can ascertain your wife’s condition. We’ll come and get you

when we know more.”

I shuddered as I felt a horrible sense of Déjà vu coming over me from the last time I’d been in

this position. I remembered that horrible night when Bree, an ex-groupie of mine, in a jealous rage

had almost killed Abby. She had been beaten so severely it had taken weeks for her to recover.

Now we were back almost in the same situation—a strange hospital, Abby being worked on by

doctors and nurses, and me alone in the waiting room, wondering if the woman I loved more than

anyone else on the earth was going to be taken from me.

AJ and Mia suddenly appeared, followed by Brayden and Rhys. AJ sat on one side of me while

Mia sat on the other. I don’t know how much time went by as I sat there staring into space, tuning out

all the conversation around me. It seemed like an eternity before a middle-aged, male doctor in a

white lab coat appeared.

“Are you Jake Slater?”

“Yes, I am.”

“I’m Dr. Miller. I’m the physician assigned to your wife’s case.”

I swallowed hard. “How is Abby?”

“She’s being prepped for emergency surgery.”

“W-What?” I demanded, my heart shuddering to a stop before restarting.

“After an ultrasound and CT-scan, we discovered that Mrs. Slater had a large ovarian cyst

rupture. This caused the hemorrhaging that she experienced.”

“So you’re going to operate on her to stop the bleeding?”

“Yes, but we will also need to remove her ovary and fallopian tube.”

“Oh…fuck. But why?”

“It seems that during the growth of the cyst, it caused torsion or twisting with the ovary. That,

along with the rupture, caused too much damage to the ovary and fallopian tube. We will also remove

her appendix while we’re in there as it has also suffered damage.”

In the past, I had kept my knowledge of the female reproductive system to an as needs to know

basis. That was one of the reasons I wasn’t entirely clear what the doctor was trying to tell me. I did

know that whatever they were taking out was part of what made babies. That thought alone caused a

deep ache to burn through my chest.

“After this surgery, can Abby…can she still have a baby?” I croaked.

“Yes, the left ovary and left fallopian tube are not damaged. Usually, the remaining ovary will

compensate for the lost one. It will depend on if there is any further damage from the hemorrhaging.

Although she is young and healthy and could conceive on her own, I wouldn’t rule out the use of IUI

or IVF in the future to help matters along.”

“I see,” I murmured. Oh, fucking hell. My poor Angel…if only I had gotten to her quicker, maybe

there would have been less damage.

“You and your family will want to go on up to the surgical floor waiting room. As soon as she is

in recovery, a doctor will come out and tell you how the surgery went.”

Once Dr. Miller left, the adrenaline in me depleted. My muscles felt rubbery, and they wouldn’t

support my weight. I collapsed back into my seat and buried my head in my hands. I shuddered at the

smell of blood of my hands. Abby’s blood.

Oh God, Abby was going into emergency surgery…she might not be able to have children like

we planned. It was all too much, and I moaned in agony.

At the feel of Mia’s hand on my back, I tensed. I didn’t want her words of sympathy, nor did I

want her comfort. I just wanted to be alone, so that I could somehow muster the strength to enable me

to put on a brave face for Abby.

Mia soft voice came close to my ear. “Jake, I’m so, so sorry.”

Twisting my shoulders, I slung her hand off me. “Just leave me alone.”

“Hey man, I know you’re hurting, but the last thing you need to do is to shut down. It isn’t good

for you and it isn’t good for Abby,” AJ said.

I jerked my head up to glare him. “Don’t you dare try to tell me what’s good for Abby. I’m her

husband. I know better than anyone what she needs. As hard as it’s going to be, I know I have to be

strong for her right now because I know the minute she comes out of surgery and hears this news,

she’s going to fall apart. She’s wanted a baby with me practically since the moment we met. And now

I have to go in there and try to pretend that everything is all right when she may never get what she

wanted.”

Mia reached over and took my hand in hers. “I know the prognosis isn’t the best in the world, but

the doctor didn’t say Abby couldn’t have children.”

“What do you two know about anything? You weren’t even trying and bam, you got pregnant.

Hell, neither of you even wanted kids. There’s nothing Abby wants more than to have a baby, and

now that’s going to be a fucking struggle for her.”

AJ narrowed his eyes at me. “Fuck you, man. Just because Bella wasn’t planned, it doesn’t mean

we love her any less or that we didn’t want her. Last time I checked, there isn’t some pissing contest

about who deserves what.”

I snorted contemptuously. “Obviously because Abby sure as hell deserves a baby more than

some whore who got knocked up!”

The moment the words left my lips I instantly regretted them and wished I could take them back.

I grimaced when Mia gasped in horror while wounded tears welled in her dark eyes. Before I could

say I was sorry, AJ’s fist cracked into my jaw, sending me spiraling backwards. It had been a long

time since I’d felt the power of AJ’s right hook, but damn if he still didn’t have it.

But he didn’t stop with just a punch. He popped me in the abdomen, too. Stars flashed before my

eyes as Brayden and Rhys scrambled to pull AJ away from me.

“AJ, stop!” Brayden cried.

As I rubbed my aching jaw and clutched my stomach, AJ shoved Brayden off him. His face was

blood-red, and his eyes were wild with fury. “He called my wife a whore! He’s lucky I don’t break

his fucking neck!”

“Leave him alone, Bray,” I muttered as I pulled myself to my feet. I staggered away from the

group, making my way to the elevators. I wasn’t sure where in the hell I was going. I just knew I

couldn’t stay here anymore. Even I if I said I was sorry, it was going to take some time to get AJ to

cool off. But, I sure as hell felt bad for what I had said to Mia.

I stumbled onto the elevator going down, which I felt made a hell of a lot of sense considering

my mood. Digging in my pocket, I pulled out my phone and proceeded to make the call I was

dreading. I didn’t know if in their shock, Gabe and Eli had managed to call their parents. Laura,

Abby’s mother, answered on the first ring. “Jake, is something wrong? We have some missed calls

from Eli.” I tried as best I could to explain what was going on.

As she burst into tears, I cringed. “We’ll be on the next plane out. If we don’t make it before she

comes out of surgery, please tell her how much we love her, and we’re trying to get there to be with

her.”

“I will.”

After I hung up, I wandered around the lobby. At the sight of the chapel, I dipped inside. St.

Augustine’s wasn’t big on religious diversity or having an interfaith chapel. Instead, votive candles

flickered on a table underneath a lit cross.

I eased down on one of the back benches. I didn’t know exactly what I was doing here. I hadn’t

come here for soul searching or to unburden myself. I just wanted to escape. Heaving a frustrated

sigh, I turned and then lay down. I stared up at the ceiling, trying to sort through the emotional shit-

storm that raged within me. I don’t know how long I lay there, ignoring the beeps and pings of my

phone. Minutes. Hours. An eternity seemed to go by.

My ears perked up at the sound of someone coming in the door. As they hurried past me to the

altar, I craned my head back to look at them. It was Mia. When her back was to me, I rose up on the

bench, eying her movements. She knelt before the altar and made the sign of the cross. Taking a

candle, she bowed her head. “Heavenly Father and Holy Mother, please watch over Abby. Protect

her through the surgery and carry her through the recovery. Most of all, bless her and her womb.” A

flicker a light came from the wick as the candle burning for Abby caught light. I expected her to turn

around then, but instead, she took another candle. “And please comfort and protect Jake.”

Her words had the same effect as AJ punching me, except this time I felt it in my chest, rather

than my chin. “I don’t deserve that,” I croaked.

At the sound of my voice, Mia jumped and whirled around. Her face flushed. “I-I didn’t know

you were here.”

“Yeah, I thought it was better if I laid low until after the surgery was over.”

Mia chewed her bottom lip before coming over to sit down beside me. An uncomfortable silence

hung around us for a few seconds. Finally, she broke it. “I’m sorry AJ hit you.”

I shook my head. “Don’t be. I’m sure as hell not. I deserved it. I said some really horrible shit to

you two.” I gazed into her widened, dark eyes. “I’m really, really sorry, Mia. That was a horrible

thing to say to you. You know I don’t, and have never thought of you as a whore. I have no idea why I

said that. More than anything, you’re an amazing wife and mother.” I brushed my hand over my face.

“God, I don’t know what came over me.”

Mia exhaled the breath I suppose she had been holding. “You were in pain. And like a wounded

animal, you struck out at those who were just trying to help you.”

Tears stung my eyes. “Abby would be fucking floored at what I said. All I do is disappoint her.”

I furiously shook my head. “I’m no good for her.”

Reaching over, Mia took my hand in hers and squeezed. “That’s not true, Jake. Abby loves you

with all her heart and soul.”

“Sometimes I think I’m a curse for her.”

“What?”

“She was almost beaten to death because of me and now fucking this happens.”

“Oh Jake, you’re not a curse. You love Abby and would never do anything to hurt her. She

knows that too.” When I opened my mouth to protest, Mia brought her hands to my lips to silence me.

“The last thing Abby would ever want is for you to be thinking like you are. Bad things happen to

good people every single day. What happened with the cyst happens to thousands and thousands of

women. You had absolutely nothing to do with it. Abby told me she’d had cysts before. She could

have had it checked out when she first started having pains, but she didn’t. Even so, she’s not to

blame either. Shit just happens.”

With a defeated sigh, I let my head fall back. Once again, I found myself staring up at the ceiling.

“You’re right.”

“Of course I am.”

When I jerked my head to gaze at her, Mia smiled. I laughed and shook my head. “You really are

the perfect match for AJ.”

At my words, her smile grew even wider. “Thank you. I love him with all my heart.”

“I can tell. I’m glad he found you.”

“See, there’s the sweet Jake I’m used to.”

My brows shot up. “You really think I’m sweet?”

“Most of the time, yes. You can also be an arrogant, self-absorbed dick sometimes, but for the

most part, you’re pretty sweet.”

I laughed at her honesty. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“Most of all, you’re a caring and devoted husband. Anyone can see that. And one day, you’ll be

a wonderful father.”

All the fears about becoming a father, letting my future children down, and cheating on Abby

raged in my chest, and I drew a ragged breath. “I hope so.”

Mia’s phone dinged in her pocket. “Sorry, I need to check this. I left Bella with Frank.”

I chuckled. “She’ll be fine. He’ll spoil her rotten by giving her too much sugar and not putting