Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 369(@200wpm)___ 295(@250wpm)___ 246(@300wpm)
There’s something else you need to know. I’m pregnant. I don’t know how far along I am, but there’s a chance it’s Glen’s. He caught me taking a test and told me he’s going to take the baby away from me. I can’t let him do that, Gage. I’d rather die than let him take anything else away from me. I don’t expect you to understand, but please know that I’m sorry and I love you. You’re the best person I know, and you deserve to be happy, to have the family you never had, and I’m so sorry I couldn’t be the one to give it to you.
Be amazing.
Xo Tori
I shake myself from the past, refusing to let it take me under, and continue to soothe my daughter the best I can.
When the paramedics arrive, they take Rory from me, needing to assess her.
“Dada!” she yells, trying to reach for me. “Dada!” As her tear-filled eyes beg me to fix this, I pull out my phone, dialing the only person in the world who will make this better. The person I need by my side.
Sadie… I need Sadie.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
SADIE
I’m lost in the words of a cozy murder mystery when my phone rings, Gage’s name coming up on the screen.
“Hey, you. How—”
“Sadie, I need you.” The way he says my name, the pleading in his tone causes my body to go cold. Something’s wrong. Very wrong. “It’s Rory,” he adds, and it’s then I hear my baby girl screaming in the background. My heart clenches in my chest, feeling as though a barbed wire is wrapping around it, causing the organ to bleed out. “We’re on the way to the hospital.”
The hospital. They’re on their way to the hospital. The recollection of Janice telling me that my husband and son were brought to the hospital but didn’t make it flashed before my eyes. Collin’s lifeless body, surrounded by his favorite toys he’d never play with again, being lowered into the ground.
“Gage,” I gasp, the rest of my words getting caught in my throat.
“I’m so sorry, Sadie,” he says, his words laced with raw emotion. “I need you to come to the hospital, please.”
“Tell me she’s going to be okay,” I beg, sliding on my flip-flops and running out the door.
“She’s hurt, but she’s okay,” he says. “I’m so sorry. I fucked up.”
“Which hospital?”
He asks someone and then says, “New York Medical.” My stomach drops. That’s the same hospital Collin and Vincent were taken to. Surely, God wouldn’t do this to me twice, right?
“I’m on my way.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m running through the front doors of the hospital and straight to the desk. “I’m the mother of Aurora Sharp. She’s been brought in by ambulance.”
The nurse clicks away on the computer. “She’s in the pediatric unit, room 157. Follow the animal prints on the floor, and it will take you straight there.”
I do as she says, and a few minutes later, I barge into the room, where I find Gage holding a sobbing Rory.
Her eyes meet mine, and she cries harder. “Mama, ow, ow.”
“Oh, thank God,” I breathe, seeing that she’s alive. “I’m here, sweet girl,” I tell her, cutting across the room, over to her and Gage.
“I’m so sorry,” Gage whispers, carefully handing me my baby. “Try not to move her arm. They think it’s broken.” His glassy eyes meet mine, and tears slide down his face. “I’m so damn sorry. I should’ve been there. I should’ve caught her.” He shakes his head, his words making no sense.
“What happened?” I ask, cradling Rory in my arms and checking her out. Her left arm is swollen and in a tiny sling.
“She was going down the slide. Every time, I would wait until she sat down, and then I’d go to the bottom to catch her. She must’ve stood back up and gone to the edge. I was at the bottom when I heard her scream.” Gage flinches, and fresh tears spill down his cheeks. “She fell off the side.” He hangs his head, shaking it back and forth. “They think her arm is broken. They gave her medicine for pain, said it should be enough so she’s not hurting, and they’re preparing to have an X-ray done.”
“Gage, it’s okay,” I tell him, reaching out and squeezing his forearm. “These things happen.”
“She could’ve hit her head,” he rasps. “Could’ve broken her neck. You trusted me to take care of her, and I failed you. I failed her.” He steps away from us, giving us his back. “I failed my mom and Tori and our baby… And now this. Rory could’ve fucking died.” He turns around, his features etched in pain, and my heart aches for him.
“What do you mean, Tori and your baby?” I ask. I know about Tori and his mom, but he’s never mentioned a baby.