T. Leigh - Gorgeous Chaos

“Can I see her? Please?”

The doctor smiled. “Of course. Follow me.”

Alexander turned to Mo, hoping he would understand if he wanted to go by himself.

“I’ll let you have a moment alone with her,” Mo said.

“Thanks.” Alexander followed Dr. Hatheway down several hallways, finally stopping outside of the ICU.

She turned to face him. “Before you go in there, there’s something else I need to tell you. Apparently, Mrs. Burnham had been kicked in the stomach multiple times. She suffered from several cracked ribs. I’m sorry, but she lost the baby.”

Alexander stared wide-eyed at Dr. Hatheway. “Sh…she was pregnant?”

“Oh. You didn’t know? She was about six weeks along. She hasn’t miscarried yet and there’s no telling when she will. There was nothing we could do to save the baby. The miscarriage may not have been a result of what happened to her. It may have occurred naturally, but I just wanted to let you know.”

Alexander did the math. Of course. After seeing Kiera in the hospital when they first got back together. “Damn it…” he breathed, shaking his head. “Is she going to be okay to eventually…?”

“If she pulls through, she will be able to have lots and lots of babies. There's been no permanent damage. Don’t worry.” Dr. Hatheway winked as she opened the door to Olivia’s recovery room. “I’ll give you some privacy.”

Alexander thanked her and she closed the door, leaving him alone with Olivia, the rising sun brightening the room. He walked over to where her lifeless body lay. He listened to the gentle beeping of the heart monitor and watched her chest rise and fall. Her left foot was in a cast, and her right shoulder was in a sling. He didn’t want to see her other wounds, not knowing whether he could stomach seeing anything else.

He sat down in the chair next to her bed and grabbed her hand in his. “Olivia, love,” he whispered through the lump in his throat. “I am so sorry. I just… I never thought in a million years that your father…”

He leaned over and brushed his lips against Olivia’s cold cheek, still clutching her hand. “I should have figured it out earlier. I’m so sorry. All the clues were there. I still can’t believe all those documents were sewed tight inside Mr. Bear all these years. Your mama…” He squeezed Olivia’s hand as a tear fell down his cheek.

“Your mama would be so proud of what you did. I’m so proud of you…” He looked at her hand, toying with the ring on her finger.

“I told you not to leave the house!” he cried out, knowing that she had no control over it. “You never did like following instructions, did you?” he said, a hint of amusement in his voice. “God, even when we were kids, you never listened to me. You always played by your own rules, and I always let you get away with it because it made you happy. And when you were happy, it made me happy. I’ve always loved you, Olivia…”

Alexander looked around the room, a painting of a snowy scene catching his eye. He smiled at his memories of them together as children. “You HATED the snow. God, I never heard the end of it. You were such a whiny kid whenever it snowed. Then, one day, I finally dragged you out to play with me and, with your mama’s help, we built our very first snowman. Every day that week, you would come out and play in the snow with me. I even let you talk me into having a tea party with that snowman. I was the only seven-year-old boy in Mystic who was whipped enough to agree to have a tea party with a girl in his own front yard!” He smiled at the memory.

“When I had to start school, you were beside yourself. You screamed and cried. You were so worried that I would go off to school and make all new friends and forget all about you.” His eyes became sincere and he lowered his voice. “But I could never forget about you. That first day of grade school, all I could think about was you.

“I remember your first day, too. I held your hand as we walked to school. You didn’t understand why you couldn’t just skip ahead to third grade to be with me. That day, during recess, I saw two boys teasing you, pulling your cute little braids. I was so mad. Nobody messed with you after that day. You had a third-grader on your side.” His eyes glistened with unshed tears at the memory. “My friends always teased me about you, but I didn’t care. You were worth it. You were always worth it.” He stared down affectionately, his chin quivering.

“The day of the accident was the day after Tyler was born. At first, I was so mad at my mom for even thinking of having a baby during the summer, taking me away from you and the beach. For the longest time, I even blamed Tyler for your death. I ignored him. I couldn’t even look at him. That’s when my parents put me in therapy, and I eventually got over it. But I never got over your death. When I found you last year, Olivia… I was so torn. I was thrilled you were still alive, but then I knew there must have been a reason for it all. I was scared for you. And for me because I really didn’t think I could survive if I lost you all over again… I barely made it out the first time. Please, love…don’t leave me here without you…”

He looked down at her stomach, gently lying his hand over it. “You’ll be an amazing mama someday. I’m so sorry, Olivia. I had no idea…” Alexander sobbed for his battered and beaten love and for the child that no longer continued to grow inside of her.

“You’ll be a great dad someday, too.”

Alexander swung his head around.

“Oh, Ma!” He buried his head in his hands, not wanting his mother to see him at his breaking point.

“Hey, hey…” Colleen said, walking toward her son, comforting him with her arms. “I came as soon as Carol called. Now stop with those tears. Olivia’s going to survive. She’s one tough cookie.”

Alexander shook his head. “She was pregnant, Ma. I had no idea…” He raised his head to look his mother in the eyes.

“Was?”

Alexander nodded his head slowly, looking down at Olivia’s body, placing his hand back over hers. “The doctor said she was only about six weeks along…”

Colleen stood next to Alexander, gently placing her hand on Olivia’s stomach. “You better get healthy, Libby. I want some grandchildren before I’m dead.”

Alexander smiled a bit. “Finally given up on Carol, then?”

“That ship sailed a long time ago, I’m afraid.”

Alexander turned around and saw Carol and Tyler standing in the doorway with Mo and Bridget slightly behind them.

“Hey, guys,” Alexander said, standing up to greet everyone, wiping his eyes.

“How’s she doing?” Tyler asked, his face full of concern.

“She’s stable, for now, but they’re going to keep an eye on her.” Alexander looked away, not wanting anyone to see the tears reforming in his eyes.

“Can I?” Mo asked, gesturing toward one of the chairs surrounding Olivia’s bed.

Alexander nodded. “Of course.”

Mo approached her, unsure of whether he would be prepared to see Olivia in the same place Kiera was just a few weeks earlier. “Oh, god…” he said quietly, a tear falling from his face as he looked over her frail body. “What happened to her?” It was so much worse than Kiera.

Alexander’s eyes met Mo’s, both men at their breaking point. “More than any one person should ever have to endure in their lifetime. The same fucker that did most of this to Olivia is the same person who attacked Kiera. I shot the bastard.”

Mo let out a sigh of relief. “Thank god. I left Kiera with her parents, worried that this guy would still be after her.”

“There’s a lot more to the story, but I don’t even want to think about any of that right now,” he said, returning his gaze to his Olivia. “I just want to focus on doing everything I can to make sure she gets better.”