Page 101 of Fighting Fate

“We’re all idiots at one point or another, and we all do shitty things, but he tried to hurt you and the little one. The guy is a piece of shit, and he’s lucky Rory didn’t finish him off. Any man that hurts a woman or a child…” Jake grits his teeth, swallowing down the rest of his sentence as he holds the glass of water for me with one hand, offering me the small paper cup with the light sedatives the obstetrician gave me earlier in the other. “It won’t harm the baby, but it will help you relax and get some rest.”

It’s not just the worry that the pills might affect the baby; it’s the thought of closing my eyes and being in the dark again…alone…

I’m terrified.

“There’s security outside that door, and until Dorian comes back, I’m not leaving.”

“Daniel?”

“He’s staying with Nanny Gwen.” A small chuckle tugs at his lips. “She’s trying to get him into the Scouts.”

“Like Pip,” I whisper before dragging in a short breath.

“Dor said his dad hated it too.” Pulling one of his silly we’ll see faces he, he guides the straw to my lips.

It seems like the most cliché need, but as I look around the room, I wish Mum was here. Even if she was berating me over my life choices, she would know what to do. She always knows what to do. And I really fucking wish I was more like her because I just need to fix this. I want Rory to be okay…I need him to be okay. I can’t be the one to ruin his life. Everything he’s worked for…

The vice around my chest tightens, making my lungs ache with every breath. This agony of not knowing anything and not being able to do anything…it’s killing me.

“I meant what I said,” Jake smiles, drying my face with one hand while juggling my drink and pills in the other. “I’m not leaving. I told Rory I wouldn’t, and I promised your sister…”

There’s a knock at the door as he shakes the pills in front of me. Abby pops her head in before coming inside, with Taylor following.

“No visitors…we know…” Abby gives him a pleading look. “Rory asked us to make sure you and the little one are okay. He’s worried out of his mind.”

“Five minutes,” Jake tells her before looking back at me with his brown eyes narrowed on mine. “But only if you take these now.”

Her trembling hand hovers over mine before cradling it. Guilt twists my insides as she inspects me closely while Jake feeds me the two small pills and then gives me more water.

“They take roughly ten to twenty minutes to take effect. You’ll probably feel a bit spacey after that.”

I nod as Taylor asks, “Can we stay until Willow falls asleep?”

“Sure,” he tells him before he heads towards the door.

Panic unravels inside me. He said he was going to stay with me… “Jake?”

“I’m going to sit right there.” He points at the bucket seat by the window. “Dorian’s wrath isn’t worth a cup of coffee.”

Once I watch him settle, I focus back on Abby. “Rory?”

“His lawyer is with him now.”

“Dorian?”

“She left him about an hour ago when the lawyer got there.” Abby sits in the chair beside the bed, still holding my hand. “She said there was someone she needed to talk to.”

“Everything is fine. That’s all you need to know, and it’s what Rory wanted us to tell you.” Taylor sits on the stool Jake vacated. “Marcus and Jan are handling the press and working on getting the security footage from the club.”

“No…” I’m shaking my head at them, trying to get them to understand that it’s a bad idea. “It’ll make it worse.”

“It would only get worse if it was bad to begin with. Rory is going to be fine.”

“Taylor’s right. It’s not Rory we’re worried about. It’s you and our baby boy.”

“Good or bad, we’re handling it…you gotta trust us. We know what we’re doing, all right?”

“I need to do something,” I tell him while I try to squeeze Abby’s hand. But even that’s an impossible task. “I can’t just stay here…do nothing.”

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