Long chapter!
I lean against the wall with my hands in my hair. Is this a curse or a miracle? It depends on how Michael will react at the news. I'm pregnant of his baby because I forgot to take my pill. Will he be mad at me? We never talked about children before, so I don't even know if he even wants children. Maybe he wants me all to himself, especially now we're just back together.
Stop analyzing everything, my inner voice says to calm my nerves. I'm overreacting when I still don't even know the outcome. Michael doesn't know, and I'm already thinking the worst kind of scenario in my mind. Breaking away from my slumbering negative thoughts, I convince myself to shower before tossing away the evidence. A hot shower will calm my nerves.
When I finished the hot shower, I decided. I'm going to tell him I'm pregnant first thing I see him. Wriggling myself in my comfy track suit, I felt better after that nice shower. My mind is cleared and I'm just going to go downstairs with a clear, positive mind. If he isn't happy, so be it. We will deal with it later.
Suddenly, I hear footsteps closing in. Michael yanks the bathroom door open without knocking, his face serious. "Sofia, are you ready?" He asks. I open my mouth to answer, but he cuts me off. "There is something wrong with Felicity. A nurse from the institution called. She's sick and the doctors don't know what's wrong with her." He exclaims in a rush.
"Michael, I'm sorry to hear that. What can I do?" I ask him. "I need to leave Tuscany right away. It's best for you to join me, so I can keep an eye on you too." He says before leaving me in the bathroom. I frown and rush behind him. "Of course, I'm coming with you." I say before opening my luggage and tossing everything I carried with me inside of it.
"Thanks, Sofia. I'm sorry. My life is a mess, and I just put you through all that shit too." Michael sighs while working on his clothes in his expensive luggage. I stop organizing my clothing and walk towards him. "Michael, I've chosen to live my life with you, so it's only normal to carry your burden as well. Isn't that what couples do?" I ask softly, brushing my thumb over his chest in a soothing way.
"Probably, but it's been such a rollercoaster for you these past few weeks. When I stepped into your life, I've made everything more complicated for you." He says with hurt visible in his eyes. "Michael, look at me." I snap at him, so he would retrieve his attention back to my face. "I'm dead serious, Michael. I'm happy to walk the same path as you. My life before you wasn't perfect at all. I cannot compare the love you give me to the life I had. I wouldn't change a thing about you or your life, except for your freedom and happiness. And you'll win a lot at the end, I promise." I say sweetly, referring to the little intruder that hopefully will give us joy and happiness.
But this isn't the right moment to tell him. His sister is more important now. Michael nods and gives me a gentle kiss on the lips. "You are incredible." Michael smiles at me before turning his attention back to the closet. In silence I load in my luggage, in the back of my mind praying his sister will get better. If something happens to her, I don't think Michael will survive.
With a jet, we flew back to Oregon where his sister was laying. They have transported her to the same hospital as where my mother works as a nurse. Arriving at the hospital, Michael jogged inside and snapped at the woman behind the desk who couldn't give him more information. He's scared and I can't blame him. When my mom was sick, the fear of losing her was so big I couldn't live normally. She was always in the back of my mind.
"She's in the ICU momentarily, but they are running some tests," Mom says behind me, and I turn on my heel to come face to face with my mother. "Mom!" I exclaim loudly, embracing her. "Dear, I recognized Michael's voice. Is she a friend of you, Michael?" She asks him. Mom already changed in her regular clothes. She must have worked her shift and was just planning to leave.
"Actually, she's my sister." He replied softly. "Oh," My mother responds in surprise. "Follow me, but I can't guarantee you can see her right away. She came here very ill." Mom says in a calm tone, her eyes saying to me more than I want. She's in terrible shape. Michael nods and we follow her on foot to the third floor.
We rush to the room where she is staying when a doctor just leaves the room. "Doctor, I'm Michael Davis, Felicity is my sister. How is she doing?" Michael asks straight away. "We are waiting for the last blood results, but what we discovered is your sister has blood clots on her lungs. She came in with a terrible cough. We thought she had lung inflammation because of the blood thinners she gets already gets. So normally it prevents it to form these clots, but with your sister, it didn't work or someone forgot to give her the pills." The doctor says calmly.
"What? But she gets blood thinners for years now. She has never made these blood clots before." Michael says and me and mom stand there in shock. How is that even possible with the medication she gets? "That's what I thought too. Something went wrong with her medication. I think you need to speak with the head of the institution because this is a terrible mistake. Luckily, we were just in time to help her." The man says.
Michael looks dazed for a moment. "Thanks, doctor. Can I see her?" Michael asks the doctor silently. "Yes, only for fifteen minutes. She needs rest because of all the tests and the injection." The doctor says and I nod a quick thank you.
"I'll go in there," Michael says before he leaves me in the hallway with my mom. "Mom, how can they stop those clots to break?" I ask her quickly, knowing blood clots can be dangerous in the human body. "With the help of a special catheter, someone will inject directly into the clot a drug that dissolves the blood clot. Depending on the size of the lump, it can take from half an hour to two days to disappear again." Mom informs me.
"Geez," I sigh and lower myself on the chair behind me. "She got lucky, Sofia," Mom says, seating herself beside me, her hand placed on mine. "I didn't even know Michael had a sister?" She asks in surprise. "I know. It's pretty recent information for me as well. But they are very close. I hope she will heal quickly." I sigh.
"If she has the same DNA as your boyfriend, I'm certain she'll be alright." Mom smiles warmly. I nod and look at the white wall across from me. "How are you, dear?" Mom asks with concern. "You look tired." She adds.
"We didn't sleep in the plain. Besides, I couldn't sleep with everything that has happened now." I tell her with honesty. "She will be fine, Sofia. In a few days, she can go back to the institution." She convinces me to calm down. At the look on her face, I can see she has suspicions. "It's not my concern, but why aren't his parents here?" Mom asks, and I knew she would ask that.
Mom is such a different mother than Michael is, and I know she won't understand the terrible decisions his parents have made during his life. "Mom, I can't tell you much about it, but the only thing I know of is they did not want her because of her disability," I explain to her softly.
Mom gulps and her eyes grow big in anger. Her face tense with each word I was saying. "That's horrible. The last respect I had for them is gone now." She whisper-yells in annoyance. I nod knowingly. And she doesn't even know everything. All the schemes and betrayal, not to forget they tried to drug their son, let me get raped or that stupid contract that bounds their lives for wealth and fame.
"Luckily, she has Michael," Mom says. "Yes," I say shortly, not in the mood for long talks today. Michael opens the door and closes it behind him. I jump on my feet and he looks at me, his face showing off his emotions. "She's still asleep," Michael says softly. I nod and hug him tightly. "She's going to be okay, Michael." I encourage his positive side.
"I know because she's my sister." He responds and I can't hide my smile. If he cares equally for our child, I know it will all work out for the best. He will love this child and cherish the baby like I know he will. "I'm going to drive to the institution to have a chat about what went wrong or I'll make sure they close their doors for good." He retorts.
"Do I need to come with you?" I ask him. "No, you need to rest, Sofia. You haven't slept all night." Michael says, brushing his hand over my cheeks in such a sweet manner. "She can come with me. My shift is over and you can sleep in your room." Mom says quickly.
"Michael, promise me you won't do something you'll regret," I whisper in his ear. Michael grins at me. "I wouldn't dare." He responds softly. I roll with my eyes and sigh. Knowing Michael, he can do anything. He has money and power. He can arrange everything he wants.
"Come on, dear. Dad and Cody will be thrilled to see you again." Mom says, looping her arm in mine. "I'll see you in a few hours, baby. Rest a little, okay?" Michael asks in concern. "Yeah, I will." I sigh and Michael plants a quick kiss on my lips. "Thank you, Ginny." He says. "No problem, Michael. If I can help you with anything, let me know." She responds with a sweet smile.
The happiness radiates from her face. She's so thrilled to see us kissing. At the parking lot, we separate from each other. Michael drives in the institution's direction, and mom and I drove home. "I hope he does nothing foolish," I say. "He knows what he's doing, dear. It's a horrible mistake they have made. I would be angry too when it ever happened with my family. It could have killed her, Sofia." Mom says, and I gulp. What if Felicity died because of a mistake?
"Mom, is it possible someone just forgot the give those pills?" I ask her. "I don't know Sofia. It's really strange. Normally every patient has their own medical records. If she has had the rest of the pills except for the blood thinners, I don't think they just forgot." She explains to me.
My mind stops for a second, and it just hits me. "They didn't forget, they literally stopped giving them. Someone wanted to hurt her." I rambled. "Michael knows that," I add softly.
"Who wants to hurt his sister? She's a harmless young lady." Mother stated. "Mom, I can't tell you everything, but his family is dangerous," I say softly and shut my mouth. I can't give her more information. "But do you think they did this on purpose with their own child?" She asks in shock.
I turn my face to the window, feeling so exhausted suddenly. "I don't know," I say softly, knowing his parents don't have a heart. I think they are capable of so much more than I want to believe. If you always see the good in people, it's hard to know your truth of people can be an illusion. The tears prick in my eyes. Michael was right. This is all so emotional. It feels like I'm going to lose my mind. And I kept such important information hidden from him, from everyone.
My body screams to pick up my phone and dial him to let him know, but my mind screams to have patience. I can tell him in a few days. "Sofia?" Mom asks after my silence and I turn to look at her. "Sofia, what's wrong. This isn't about Felicity only. You are upset. What's bothering you so much?" She asks while parking the car in front of the house. I swallow and wipe away a few tears from my cheeks.
The rock on my chest gets heavier the longer I wait. I have to tell her the truth. "Mom, I'm pregnant." I blurted and burst into tears. I always imagined this would be such a lovely moment between mother and daughter, telling your mother she becomes a grandmother, but the reality was different.