Wistful

Chapter 38 - Hi, Ace...

(Nixon's POV)

"You are so beautiful." I beamed at Kadynce, tucking her hair behind her ear.

She didn't speak, she just blushed, looking away from me. After knowing her for several years, it excites me that I can still get these types of reactions out of her, it drives her crazy.

Rolling her eyes, she turned away as she tried hiding her smile. "Nixon, stop." She moaned, rubbing her belly.

"Why?" I chuckled, placing my hand over hers on her belly. "I love seeing you blush."

It was late at night, the kids are asleep, and we have been dying for alone time. No sex; we decided to cuddle, eat junk, and tune into a Harry Potter Marathon. By this time, we were already three movies deep and hyped up on too much sugar to sleep.

I love being alone with her, it's therapy for both of us. I mean, it's great with the kids around too but I love this time to just connect with her and only her.

After a moment she turned back to me, her eyes meeting mine as she beamed. "I love you."

"I love you." As soon as I said those words, our white bedroom walls began to fade to black, and Kadynce with it. Getting up from the bed as it began to disintegrate, I looked around, but everything was dark and nonexistent. "Ace?" I called her but my voice just echoed in the dark, empty space.

Suddenly, I heard several gunshots, screams, and shattering glass. I fell into the darkness as I closed my eyes and covered my ears in fear. Tires from a car screeched out into the distance.

Full of fear, my body began to shake and convulse in horror.

"Daddy?" I heard a small, angelic voice. She sounded scared and distraught, I wanted nothing more than to go to her and reassure her.

Nikki?

My daughter...

"Nikkol?!" Sitting up slowly, I looked around, but I couldn't see anything. "Nikki?!"

Then I saw her, but she was looking down at her bloody hands. The blood on her hands matched the blood on her clothes, but it didn't look as it was hers. She looked up, in an instant, her eyes widened. "Daddy, are you okay?"

I nodded because I felt that I was.

However, she didn't look as if she believed me, instead, she pointed to me in fright.

"Huh?"

Confused, I looked down at my chest in panic, and to my surprise, I had three gunshot wounds through my torso; they were leaking large amounts of blood, staining my shirt. Grabbing at my chest, I now felt the actual pain, pain that I wasn't feeling before; and once it started it didn't stop, and before I knew it, I couldn't breathe as I started choking on my blood.

Just as I neared my last shallow breath, everything went black once again...

My eyes flew open in fright, I was stunned into terrified silence and stillness. Afraid to move, look around, or even breathe as I didn't know exactly where I was.

The first person I saw was a woman, she was standing over me adjusting a skinny, clear, silicone tube. Her back was turned for the most part, so she probably didn't know that I was awake. She wore blue scrubs, a mask, and latex gloves.

Stretching my fingers on my left hand, I attempted to lift my arm, but it was heavy, like I had a 50-lb weight tied to my wrist. It took quite a bit of effort and a few tries to reach my face. My right arm was completely out of commission seeing as it was in an arm sling, stiff and sore.