Lexi, Baby (14 page)

“Yes.”

“Well, hurry it up Jase. That fine ass man’s
about to be arrested if we don’t bring her down soon.”

“It’s okay, I’ll walk. I don’t need to be
put on a gurney.” I tried to sit up again, but dizziness hit. I
would have fallen back if Jason hadn’t caught me.

“No! Don’t try that again. We’ll take you
now,” Jason barked at me.

As soon as the gurney wheel’s hit the
pavement I was ambushed. “Lexi!” Landyn shouted frantically. His
hand lifted like he was about to touch my face, but he didn’t; his
hand fell away and grabbed my hand and squeezed. His eyes were
bloodshot.

“Mama! Let me go Aunt T! I wanna see Mama!”
I heard Layla cry. I felt the tears brim over my lashes.

“Lan, I don’t want her seeing me like this,
but I need to see her,” I whispered, my voice still raspy. His hand
on mine tightened and his eyes watered. He leaned down to give me
an extremely soft kiss on the lips.

“We’ll meet you at the hospital baby. I’ll
bring her in to see you as soon as they get you situated.” I sighed
and nodded. “Tell her I love her more than the whole wide world.
She needs you right now Lan, please stay with her.”

“I won’t let her out of my sight. I love
you, Lexi.”

“I love you too.”

“I love you too, honey,” Tameka said slowly
and dreamily. I glanced her way and she was staring at Lan with
hearts in her eyes.

“Tameka!” Jason shouted like he couldn’t
believe his ears.

“What Jasey? Don’t get jealous, I’m just
lookin’. No need to throw a hissy!” she said.

Freaking hilarious
!

I woke in my hospital room to sunlight
streaming through the windows. It took a few minutes to get my
bearings as I glanced around the room. Landyn was sitting in the
recliner with a sleeping Layla sprawled out on top of him. Lan was
watching at me.

“Hey,” I said quietly, not wanting to wake
Layla. “What time is it?” I glanced around the room again looking
for a clock and saw that it was eleven o’clock.

I only slept four hours. After a CT scan,
ice packs and a heavy dose of pain meds, I knocked out around seven
a.m. I looked back to Lan. He lifted out of the chair and laid
Layla across the width of it. He came to my side.

His hand softly brushed the hair off my
forehead and he kissed me there. When he lifted I watched as a tear
slide down his cheek. “I just got you back and I almost lost you
again,” he said in a strangled voice.

“I’m sorry for everything that happened
yesterday. I shouldn’t have expected you to just let go of the the
pain I caused you so easily. I don’t know how I’d react if it was
the other way around. This is entirely my fault. I should have been
with you. This never should have happened,” he was now caressing my
throat.

“Lan, this is
not
your fault, it’s
mine. I’ve forgiven you for the past I’ve just been too scared to
admit it to myself; especially you,” I whispered, my throat still
hurt. “I love you.”

“Then marry me baby,” he said.

I gazed into the eyes of the love of my
life. “I’ll marry you,” I whispered and smiled, but smiling hurt so
I grimaced and I placed a hand against my cheek.

Landyn’s eyes narrowed. “He’s so fucking
lucky the cops got there before I did,” he said furiously.

“How did you even know something happened?”
I asked.

“Layla called me. She said she heard you
scream. When I realized it was three in morning, I told her to get
in the closet. I felt bad, but I hung up on her and called the
police. By the time I got there the place was swarming with
cops.”

I closed my eyes. “And Ryan? Have you heard
any news?” I asked softly.

He had an odd look on his face before he
answered. “Detective Bryant called me about an hour ago. The
Detective that was here earlier. Ryan’s still in jail, but they
expect him to make bail by the end of the day; tomorrow at the
latest.”

I nodded. “That’s the same Detective that
came to take my statement as soon as I got here. Bryant... yeah,
that was his name.”

Lan looked pissed now. “That asshole
wouldn’t let me out of the waiting room to come see you. I should
have been in here with you while you were being questioned,” he
said fiercely. I gave him a small smile and shrugged my
shoulders.

“He was really nice and said he only needed
to get a quick statement before the pain medicine kicked in.”

I neglected to mention the fact that just
seeing the detective’s face had made me feel better at the time. He
was a major hottie! I smiled to myself. I’ll save that little
tidbit of information for Trish.

I looked up at Lan who was now frowning at
me. My eyebrows pinched together. “What?” I asked.

“Did you like the nice
detective
that
came to take your statement?” he asked suspiciously.

“Ummmmm... No?” I answered with a question.
I did like the cop, but somehow I didn’t think Landyn’s meaning and
mine were the same thing.

“No?” he asked again and his eyebrows rose
in doubt.

“I feel like this is a trick question so I’m
not sure how to answer you,” I said defiantly.

He quickly bent over me and put his face
right up against mine. “I’ve been out of my mind worried sick about
you Lexi, please don’t piss me off right now,” he said.

“How am I pissing you off and why in the
world are you so mad?” He lifted a hand and I flinched away from
him.

His eyes squeezed shut; tight. “I’d never
hurt you, baby. I’m sorry.” The lifted hand moved to softly trace
the bruise on my face. His eyes moved to it as well.

“I know the innocent thoughts running
through your head Lexi.
And they better be innocent
thoughts.
But I’m warning you now, stay away from him. If he
tries anything with you baby, I’ll hurt him. Understand?”

His eyes locked on mine.

It was at that precise moment I decided that
all the men in my life were
insane
!

“You’re overreacting,” I told him gently. It
was irritating when he got in this mood.

“I love you Lexi. If you thought I was
overly protective about you in the past, believe me... that was
nothing compared to how it’ll be after this.” He lowered his mouth
to mine. I didn’t want to kiss him back because I was mad, but his
lips were nothing like his hard demeanor. They were soft against
mine; like feathers. Then he teased my lips with his tongue. It was
innocent and hot at the same time.

He pulled back slightly. “What else did
Detective Bryant
say?” he hissed his name like it gave him a
foul taste in his mouth.

I ignored him and blinked trying to remember
everything we talked about.

“He said Ryan wouldn’t say one word to them
when they caught him. He refused to talk. He also said that Ryan
didn’t have a record but a complaint was filed against him
previously by another woman that was dismissed. He didn’t give me
details, but he was looking into it and going to talk to his
friends and family.”

Landyn’s hand rubbed the back of his
neck.

“How has Layla been? What does she know?” I
dreaded hearing the answer. Landyn sighed.

“Not much. She didn’t see what happened.
When I hung up with the police I called Layla back to keep her on
the phone because I was out of my mind. I could hear Trish shouting
in the background.” I closed my eyes not liking the mental picture
of my poor baby girl being so scared.

“In the waiting room this morning, Trish
told me Layla thinks someone tried to break in.” A tear leaked out.
I hate Ryan! “I don’t want to go back there. I don’t want Layla to
see that apartment again. I want her to forget,” I whispered.

“I’ve already hired movers and Trish is at
the apartment right now giving orders.”

“What?”

He smiled. “Even if you said no to marrying
me, I was still moving you into my house after this. Trish is
taking the garage apartment. Your lease was breakable considering
the circumstances, but even if it wasn’t, I would have paid to
break it.”

I glared at him.

“I love you. I love our daughter. You both
belong to me and I belong to both of you,” he stated.

I knew that by him adding that little “I
belong to both of you” bit was his way of trying to smooth over his
highhandedness. It was a good play.

There was no winning with him. “I love you
too,” I said softly.

“Daddy?” I heard Layla’s soft voice call out
cautiously. Landyn quickly turned around to pick her up. He sat her
down on the bed next to me. When she saw my face, huge tear drops
spilled over her lashes. She threw her arms around my neck and
cried. “Shhh... baby. Mama’s okay. Don’t cry baby.” I rubbed her
back soothingly.

“I was so scared,” she sniffled. “I heard
you scream. Your face is purple.” She said the words into my
neck.

“I know, but there’s nothing to worry about
now.”

“What if that man comes back?” she asked
still sobbing.

“We’re never going back there again. We’re
moving in with Daddy as soon as we leave here. He’ll protect us.” I
looked to Lan for help.

“Layla, I will do everything in my power to
keep you and your mom safe. Don’t be scared.” Lan had also started
rubbing Layla’s back.

“You pwomise?” she asked unsteadily.

“I promise precious girl. I love you both.”
Landyn bent down to kiss the top of her head.

We stayed holding eachother for a while.

When the doctor made his rounds, he asked
Lan and Layla to leave the room so he could check me over. Landyn
protested, but he also knew Layla couldn’t be in the room.

“Ms. Martine, do you know you’re pregnant?”
the doctor asked as he looked down at his chart.

I stared at him blindly.

“I’m assuming by the look on your face, that
you didn’t know.”

I shook my head. “It’s impossible,” I said
firmly.

“Why is that?” he asked.

“Because I have an IUD. I’ve had it just
going on three years and it’s supposed to last five,” I said
starting to panic. “See, I can’t be pregnant. My gynecologist said
FIVE YEARS
!” I screeched.

“Well urinalysis came back and you’re most
definitely pregnant, Ms. Martine. When I performed the rape kit, I
would have noted feeling strings. There is a less than one percent
chance of losing an IUD without having any symptoms, but as the
saying goes ‘stranger things have happened.’ ”

Holy shit!

“What?” I squeaked.

“I’ll send you up to have an ultrasound
done. We’ll see if we can find the IUD, hopefully it’s not lodged
in your cervix which would be a very bad thing and very dangerous
for you and the baby. We’ll also find out how far along you
are.”

The baby... How far along? How far along?
How far along?
No, no, no, no, no! I was thinking fast;
counting. The last time I had sex with Ryan had to be at least a
month before sleeping with Landyn in his office. I had been too
busy finalizing my term papers for graduation to spend much time
with him.

Ryan also spent two weeks at a conference
during that time and didn’t come back until a couple days before
Landyn showed up at my doorstep. I didn’t even have sex with Ryan
then.

I couldn’t be pregnant by Ryan. Please don’t
let me be pregnant by Ryan.

“Can I go now? Please. Can I have the
ultrasound done now?” I begged. I was hyperventilating. He must
have taken pity on me because he got on his small computer and
started typing away.

He looked up. “The nurse will be in with
your discharge paperwork. Once you’re finished, she’ll escort you
to Obstetrics & Gynecology for the ultrasound.”

“Thank you.” I said softly.

“You’re welcome. Remember to keep ice on the
bruises and don’t make any sudden movements. You don’t have a
concussion, but your head will still hurt. I’m really sorry for
what happened to you Ms. Martine, but I must say I’m glad it wasn’t
worse. Bruises on the outside heal much easier than ones on the
inside.” He gave me a small smile.

That was sweet. I smiled back. “Thank you
very much.”

The nurse walked in just as the doctor
walked out.
Thank God
!

I signed all the paperwork without reading a
single word, and then the nurse helped me into a wheelchair that I
really didn’t need to sit in. “Okay. Here’s the deal,” I started to
tell the nurse before we left the room. “I don’t want my boyfriend
to know I’m pregnant yet, so when I tell him you’re taking me for
another CT scan and not an ultrasound, don’t give me away, okay?
Please?” I pleaded.

“Don’t worry hon, I won’t say a word,” she
replied.

I saw Landyn and Layla waiting outside the
door. Lan jumped up from his chair and came toward me. “Where are
they taking you?” he asked, concerned.

“It’s okay. I’ve been discharged, but the
doctor wanted me to have one more CT scan just to be on the safe
side.” I was such a liar. “Why don’t you go pull the truck around?
I’m sure the nurse will take me up front to meet you when she’s
finished.”

“I don’t want to leave you alone. We’ll go
with you and wait,” he said roughly.

“Lan, I don’t want Layla waiting around
anymore. I’ll only be about fifteen minutes.”
I hoped
. I
glanced to the nurse who nodded at me.

“It won’t take long. I already have the
equipment ready and waiting for her,” the best nurse in the world
confirmed for Landyn.

I could tell he still didn’t like it.
“Layla, come give Mama some sugar.” She came up to me and I wrapped
my arms around her and gave her my famous smack on the lips. We
both smacked “mwah” at the same time. I ran my hand through her
hair. “I’ll be right back Princess.” “Okay Mama,” she replied in a
small voice.