“It’s going to be okay,” he promises.
Hayden steps into the room, sending me a sheepish smile. “Hey, is it okay for me to come in?”
My gaze locks on the phone in her hand. “Did you get through to him?”
She grimaces, shaking her head. “Paisley is on the line. She’s with her mum and brothers. They’re trying to get a hold of one of them. Charlotte and the others are calling around to see if anyone knows anything.”
She isn’t telling me something. “Please, tell me whatever it is you’re hiding.” Her gaze goes briefly to Mum, a silent question going between them. “Don’t do that. Please, Hayden, tell me.”
She lets out a sigh. “The dispatch talking to Drew has confirmed there has been an accident. There’s, um, there are a few casualties with minor injuries.”
“That’s good, that means Jaxon is okay,” I cheer, a relieved smile tugging at my lips. “He’s okay, Mum. He’s okay. Just a little hurt.”
Her fingers tighten around mine. “I don’t think that’s all Hayden has to say,” Mum mutters.
I turn back to Hayden, seeing Mum is right. Her expression drops and she can barely look at me. “What?” I whisper brokenly.
“Babe, she said there’s, um, there’s one deceased at the scene, but they don’t have anything more than that.”
No.
No. It can’t be.
Reid said… Hayden said… But I didn’t want to believe.
I struggle as I get up off the sofa, ignoring Mum. “No,” I gasp.
“Lily,” Hayden calls, her voice broken.
“No!” I scream. “No!”
I push through my uncles and Maddox, heading for the front door.
“Lily, where are you going?” Dad calls.
I ignore him too, pulling open the front door. He slides in front of me, blocking my path. “Move, Dad.”
“No, princess.”
I clutch my stomach, as I cry out. “Dad, move out of my way. I need to find him. He has to be okay.”
I let them talk me into thinking Jaxon was okay.
They gave me hope.
“Honey, you are in labour. You need to lie down,” Dad warns.
“No, I need to go to my husband. I need you…I need you to…” A scream tears from my throat as I drop forward. Dad catches me and I squeeze his biceps with the sudden urge to bear down.
No.
Jaxon, come back to me.
“Lily, what’s going on?” Mum panics, pressing her hand on my lower back.
“I—oh God, I think I need to push.”
There’s a thud behind me and I quickly glance back to find Max on the floor, unconscious. Hayden glances down at him, rolling her eyes. “Weak,” she mutters.
“Okay, we need to get you into the living room. The ambulance should be here soon, and you don’t need to be going up and down those stairs in your condition,” Mum orders. “Myles, go get the spare blanket out of the boiler room. And a few towels.”
“Mum,” I cry out, my knees buckling, but she’s there, helping me, Dad on the other side. “I need to get to Jaxon.”
Mum wipes under her eyes, sniffling. “One thing at a time, princess. First, let’s get you settled.”
“I can’t do this without him,” I cry out as I begin to shiver from the cold. “Please, let me find him.”
She soothes my hair back and lifts my chin with her other hand. “Baby, I know you are upset, I know you want to get to him, and if I was in your position, I’d do anything to get to your father. But right now, we need to deliver this baby. He or she isn’t waiting for anyone.”
“Listen to your mum,” Dad warns as he turns me, guiding me back into the living room. “When Jaxon gets here, you want him to hear about all the good parts he missed, not all of this.”
“You heard Hayden,” I point out.
“I did. I heard her loud and clear, and not once did she mention Jaxon. It could be anyone. We won’t know until we get through to the others. Reid is okay. You spoke to him, so you know he’s okay. It’s only a matter of time before he calls his family and we’ll know what’s going on. Stay positive, princess, and let’s get you laid down.”
Hope blossoms in my chest. “It’s Christmas. It’s when the magic happens.”
Max groans. “Nothing magical about birth. It’s all fucking lies.”
“Max,” Mum hisses.
“It’s fucking true, which is why I’ll stay over here and not get in the way.”
Myles drops the blanket on the floor, then drops pillows on one end of the room so I’m facing the fireplace. “Privacy,” he informs me as Mum helps me out of my coat before lowering me to the floor.
“If he’s okay, he’s going to miss it all. He kept worrying that he was going to miss it,” I tell Mum, as my back arches off the floor, my entire body tightening with a contraction.
“Get me a cold flannel,” Mum orders to someone behind us, and I lie back, panting heavily. “Lily, we need to take off your tights. Are you okay with that?”
I whimper. “Not until Jaxon is here. He can’t miss it.”
“Honey, I don’t want to scare you, but Jaxon might not make it in time, or at all,” she explains, squeezing my hand.
I shake my head from side to side, the pain in my heart unbearable. “I-I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can,” Dad orders. “And you can because you’re a Carter.”
“She’s legally a Hayes,” Hayden pipes in.
“Not helping,” Max snaps.
“Like you are a ton of help.”
“Please, princess, let your mum help,” Dad softly demands.
“I’m scared. I’m so scared and it hurts so much,” I choke out.
Suddenly, Faith is kneeling down beside me, clutching my hand. “You’ve got this, Lily. You are going to let Mum help. I’ll be here. I’m not leaving you. None of us are leaving you.”
“B-but, but Jaxon.”
She drops her head to mine, closing her eyes, but I see the flash of pain. “He’ll be here. He will. And when he is, he’s going to want to know what he missed. And you will tell him.”
“She’s right. We’ve all got our birthing stories. Some were scary, some were downright beautiful, but we’ve all got them. We all share them,” Dad soothes.
“He’s right,” Malik calls out. “I mean, you should hear about Trent’s birth. It went from bad to worse, and all because of Max, but then it got better. So much better. So, it might seem bad now, but it will get better.”
“What happened?” I breathe out.
“Well…”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
MALIK
Fucking Max.
All I wanted to do was go and get Harlow some more Creme Eggs from the supermarket. That’s it. One simple task.
It didn’t take finesse, rocket science or even skill.
Until fucking Max.
Harlow has been craving Creme Eggs throughout the entire pregnancy. However, only certain shops sell them now and they are getting harder and harder to find. So, when Max ate the last two in her stash, she went ape shit.