Page 12 of Under My Skin

I nodded again, but I didn’t say anything.

“Now, I have something difficult I need to ask you about. I’d like to ask your permission for the hospital to perform an autopsy on Amara to determine the cause of death.”

“Yes,” I said quickly. “She was okay just a few hours ago. I don’t…I don’t understand.”

“Right now, neither do I. But I promise we’re going to get you some answers, okay?”

A fresh sob tore out of my throat and more tears fell, but I managed to nod.

“I’m going to have one of the NICU nurses come and take Isaac over there, but you can go with him,” he explained. “Is there anyone we can call for you?”

I shook my head. “I can call my friend Morgan. I have my phone.”

“I’m so sorry again, Dani,” he murmured as he stood up and walked out of the room.

I went to pick Isaac up again, not wanting to be separated from him, but before I could lift him, a young woman wearing scrubs and a face mask came into the room.

“Hi. I’m Lucy from the NICU,” she told me. “This must be Isaac?”

I nodded.

“You’re his…aunt, right?” she asked.

“Yeah,” I sniffled. “I’m Dani.”

“I’m so sorry about your sister,” she said softly. “This adorable little nugget is headed to the NICU so we can get him started on some antibiotics, but you can come and stay with him.”

I stood up and grabbed my purse and Amara’s duffel bag. There was no way in hell that I was leaving my nephew alone right now. And then I turned back to the bed and went to kiss my sister’s forehead, carefully reaching behind her neck and unfastening the gold butterfly necklace our Grandpa Isaac – our mom’s dad – had given her when she’d graduated from college last semester. As I clasped it onto my neck, I made a silent vow never to take it off.

“Te quiero mucho, Mar,” I sniffed. “Cuidaré de él. Lo prometo.”I love you so much, Mar. I’ll take care of him. I promise.

CHAPTER FIVE

DANIELA

FOUR DAYS LATER

“Where doyou want all this stuff, Dani?” my best friend, Morgan, asked me as she unlocked my apartment door and walked in with her boyfriend, Malachi, right behind her.

“Just throw it on the couch for now,” I sighed, following them inside with the baby carrier. “I’ll deal with it in a little while.”

“Mal, why don’t you go grab the bassinet out of Mar’s room and move it to Dani’s room for her?” Morgan suggested.

“You’ve got it,” he said.

A lump rose in my throat as I saw all the reminders of my sister surrounding me. She’d been alive and well just five days ago. Now she was gone, and I was left here to take care of her son, all alone and with no one to help me. Except Morgan and Malachi.

I still didn’t understand how no one had figured out that Amara had lupus with all of the tests they’d done during her pregnancy. But, then again, I supposed they hadn’t been looking for it either. And because the lupus had gone undiagnosed and untreated, it had left her more susceptible to all kinds ofinfections, so when a little bit of the placenta had stayed inside her uterus after the delivery, it had given her an infection and she’d gone septic and ended up dying within a matter of hours. The doctor actually suspected that there was already an infection present before she even went into labor.

I supposed the only thing I could take comfort in was knowing that she’d gone peacefully in her sleep. But I didn’t know what I was supposed to do without her and how I was supposed to care for her son the way he deserved. I was going to have to drop out of college and get a job to support myself and Isaac. I didn’t see any other way.

I sank down onto the couch, lifting a sleeping Isaac out of his carrier, and Morgan sat down beside me, hugging my shoulders and looking down at him.

“He’s seriously too cute for words,” she said quietly.

“He is,” I agreed. “I wish I saw more of Mar in him. But all the important parts of her are there, right?”

“Of course they are.” She rubbed my arm. “I know this is scary, but you’re going to be an amazing mom to him. I know that without a doubt.”

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