Page 130 of Begin Again, Part 2

"I'm not sure in which world puking your guts out daily is considered okay."

"It's a tummy bug," she insisted. "I don't need a hospital. I'll be okay." "What are you afraid of?" Liam asked as he leapt out of bed, strolled to the walk-in closet, and threw on his gym clothes and running shoes.

"Why are you so scared of hospitals?" he asked when he stepped back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I almost died the last time I was there," Eden whispered, stunning him into silence.

"What are you talking about? We were at the hospital yesterday," he reminded her after some time.

"The last time I saw a doctor was when I had my implant. Before that, it was—it was—" her voice trailed off, and she began to scratch herself. The rash on her neck and hands, back and uglier than ever, and Liam finally understood the cause of her random itching. Every time she felt anxious or panicky, Eden broke out in hives, and wanted to scratch herself until she bled.

"Come here," he pulled her close and kissed her hands.

"Grammy went to the hospital for a routine check-up and never came back. A heart attack took her out after the doctor gave her a clean bill of health. How's any of that fair?" She wailed on his chest, her voice muffled. "Two years ago, when I went in, I thought I'd never make it out of there alive. I thought Aiden would never make it out of there. My experience with hospitals has been shitty, to say the least, so forgive me if I don't want to go."

"What do you do when you're sick?" Liam asked, perplexed by the notion Eden hadn't seen a doctor in two years. That was a long time to be self-medicating.

"I wait it out," she admitted.

"What about Aiden? What happens when he's sick, or his allergy acts up?"

"I take him to a GP, and before yesterday, he's only had one other allergic reaction," she said as she fluffed up the pillows behind her and sat up.

"Eden," Liam said firmly. "You're sick. I can't sit back and watch you waste away."

"I told you, I'll be okay," she mumbled in her hands, her breathing quick and shallow.

"Tell me about that day." Liam changed the subject when it became clear he wouldn't win this round.

"What day?"

"The day Aiden was born. What happened that day?" He propped himself on his elbow and brushed her cheek.

"I'm tired," Eden said as she pulled away from him and rolled onto her side, turning her back to him.

"I need to know what you went through, Princess. Since I found out Aiden's mine, your words in Linda's office have haunted me. For my peace of mind, please tell me what happened?" Liam pleaded, blowing out his frustration as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

Eden also sat up, brought her knees up, and pulled the covers to her chin.

"I had a relatively easy pregnancy," she said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Well, until that day, I guess, when out of the blue, I thought my water broke. But it turned out I was haemorrhaging badly, so Grammy rushed me to the hospital. The doctors said it was a placental abruption, and they had to do an emergency C-section. But Aiden wasn't breathing—"

From her emotionless voice, almost as if she had mentally removed herself from the situation, Liam knew it wasn't as clinical as she made it sound. Whatever she went through was so profoundly terrifying even her carefully chosen words couldn't mask the horror of that day from her eyes.

"It took a few tries to bring him back," she continued when she could speak again. "The doctors said he'll be okay. But sometimes, I can't help but wonder if his slow progress has anything to do with that day and whether I could have done things differently. He's the sweetest, most caring boy, but he should be doing far more, and it's my fault. They say mothers feel these things, but I felt nothing, and I didn't know my body was killing him. I should have known something was wrong—"

She broke into loud sobs, and all Liam could do was hold her through her flood of tears, wishing he hadn't pushed her to talk about that day. It was clear she never fully recovered, and bringing up the incident had done nothing but open old wounds.

"Aiden is perfect." He kissed her temple and held her closer, blinking away his tears. "And you did nothing wrong. You couldn't have known something was wrong with him."

"But—"

Liam shook his head. "Aiden's just a late bloomer like me. I didn't start talking till I was three, so you have nothing to worry about."

"And now I can't shut you up." Eden laughed at his announcement, but the tears in her eyes didn't go away.

"You don't want to shut me up." He smiled cheekily and kissed her slowly. "I'm heading to the gym, and I'll be back in two hours. Ask Clara to find a gap in my day, and we'll pop into the Medi Clinic."

She tried to argue, but he wasn't having any of it. He wasn't a fan of hospitals himself. He'd spent too many hours there when his father was sick, and for the longest time, he thought the smell of disinfectant in his nostrils would never go away. But sitting by and watching Eden waste away was out of the question.

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