Three Years Later
The room was dark, the only light coming from the lightning shining in through the window in the corner. I stood in the doorway, gazing at the small figures curled up on the bed beneath the window. A small smile spread across my face as I walked towards the bed, making sure I stayed quiet so I didn’t wake the boys. My smile grew as I looked down at my sons, seeing them curled around each other.
It had been three years since I left home and it had been the hardest three years of my life. I knew that having a baby and raising it alone would be difficult and I was prepared for that. What I wasn’t prepared for was having twins. Instead of having one baby like I thought, I ended up giving birth to twin boys, which came as a surprise to everyone, including me. Throughout my entire pregnancy, all the doctor’s appointments and ultrasounds, the doctors hadn’t picked up the small fact that there were two babies growing inside me. During the delivery, the doctor said that it was a rare case and the babies’ heartbeats would beat in synchronism and one would hide behind the other, causing the doctors not to detect the second heartbeat.
The week before I gave birth to my sons, Tegan came to visit along with my siblings and parents. They all wanted to be there when the boys were born. During the delivery, Tegan, my mom, and my sister were the only other ones in the room with me. I had considered letting everyone be in the room and then I realized how awkward and crowded that would be, so I made the guys wait in the hall. As soon as I gave birth and the babies were cleaned up and lying on my chest, I had my mom go get my dad and brothers. Everyone had tears in their eyes as they stared at my sons.
“Can I hold him?” Daddy asked, reaching for the baby closest to him.
Nodding, I shifted my arm to hand my baby over.
“They’re beautiful, baby,” Mom said, looking down at the baby in Daddy’s arms.
I smiled in acknowledgement, silently agreeing with her.
“What are you going to name them?” Talon asked, running his hand over the baby’s head that I still had.
“This one is Cain Alexander Fox. The one in Daddy’s arms is Asher Cohen Fox,” I answered almost immediately.
When Cayden and I were together, we would come up with names for our future children when we would get bored. We would spend hours coming up with names and then decide on the ones we liked best. We decided that when we had a boy, his name would be Asher Cain since I loved the name Cain and he loved Asher. When I had my sons, it seemed only right to name one Asher and the other Cain. Even though Cayden and I weren’t on good terms and he didn’t know about the boys, it seemed right to give them his middle names. After all, he’s still their dad.
Mom and Tegan stayed for a month after my sons were born while Rox, my brothers, and my dad had to go back home after a week. I felt bad for Tegan when she stayed since she got in a bit of trouble for it. Her mom is really cool and knows what’s going on with me so Tegan had permission from her parents to be gone so long. She got in a bit of trouble with Liam since he had no idea. She had told him that she was visiting her grandma for a month, but I think he knew she was coming to see me. It killed me not talking to Liam as he had always been one of my best friends, but I didn’t want to risk Cayden finding out. I knew Liam wouldn’t purposely tell him but he still might have let it slip and I couldn’t have that. I would just have to apologize when the time came.
Pulling myself back to the present, I tucked the blanket tighter around my sons, making sure they wouldn’t get cold. The storm was attacking full force outside and I was surprised the twins were able to sleep. Storms terrify me and I’ve never been able to sleep through them. The boys obviously didn’t get it from me. I kissed each baby on the forehead before making my way back to my room. I pulled my laptop off my desk and sat on my bed with it in my lap. Opening Skype, I saw that Easton was on so I clicked on his name, requesting a chat.
“Kenzi! Hi little one!” Easton exclaimed, his face lighting up as he saw me.
“Hi East. How are you?” I asked, suddenly overcome with a big wave of homesickness.
“I’m doing great Kenz. What about you? How are the boys?” he asked, settling down in front of the computer.
“They’re great. They’re sleeping right now. I put them to bed early so they’ll sleep through the storm,” I answered.
“There’s a storm? Is Chloe home?” Easton asked, immediately concerned.
“No, it’s just me and the boys. I’m fine East. Really,” I assured.
“Okay. If you’re sure,” Easton said, still a little wary.
“Relax big brother. I’m fi-AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” I screamed as my bedroom door suddenly flew open, a figure standing in my doorway.
“What? What’s wrong?” Easton asked, full on panicked now.
I ignored my brother, immediately springing into action. Grabbing the butter knife off my plate from earlier, I jumped up and ran towards the guy. I pulled my arm back to stab him with the knife, when he wrapped his arms around my torso, trapping my arms to my side. I twisted and turned, attempting to get out of his hold, to no avail.
“Makenzi! Calm down, it’s just me!” The guy said desperately, trying to get the knife from me.
I stopped struggling and turned to face the guy, recognizing my friend, James. His eyes were wide as he tried to convince me of who he was. I relaxed slightly in his grip and he loosened his arms around me, giving me the opportunity to punch him.
“What was that for?” James cried, gripping his shoulder.
“You scared the crap out of me! I thought you were some murderer here to murder me and my kids!” I explained, still trying to calm my breathing.
“Makenzi Elizabeth! If you don’t answer me in five seconds, I’m calling the police!” Easton’s voice yelled from the computer.
Glaring slightly at James, I went back to my computer, dropping the knife back on the plate.
“I’m fine East. It was just James. Police are not necessary,” I explained hurriedly, trying to calm my brother.
“James! What the hell do you think you’re doing? I thought my sister was getting hurt!” Easton yelled, turning his attention to James, who was now sitting beside me.
“Sorry man. I didn’t mean to scare her. I was coming to check on her. I know how she is with storms,” James answered, a sheepish smile on his face.
“Well I’d still punch you if I was there, but I’m glad Kenzi has people looking after her,” Easton answered.
“I am sitting right here, you know, and stop talking about me like I’m a child,” I grumbled, crossing my arms.
“Sorry Kenz. We worry about you is all,” James answered.
Easton was about to say something, but his phone rang. Holding up his finger in the “one minute” position, he picked up his phone, sliding his finger across the screen to answer it. The smile he had on his face instantly vanished when the person on the other end started talking. His face became pale and worried, making me worried as well. I gripped James’ hand, digging my nails into his palm but he didn’t seem to care. He was staring at Easton as well, waiting to find out what was going on.
“No, don’t bother calling her. I’m Skyping her right now, I’ll tell her. I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Love you Rox,” Easton said before hanging up the phone and looking at me.
“What’s wrong Easton? What happened?” I asked, knowing whatever it was, was really bad.
“There was an accident. Dad’s in the hospital. They don’t know if he’ll make it,” Easton explained, looking like a scared little boy.
Tears immediately started gathering in my eyes and I clutched at James even more. There was so many things going through my head, but it was like the connection between my brain and my mouth wasn’t working. All I could do was cry.
“I need to go Kenzi. I have to get to the hospital. Keep your phone on, I’ll keep you updated,” Easton said, hurriedly shoving his phone in his pocket and reaching behind him for his keys.
I nodded, not knowing what else to say.
“I love you baby sister. I’ll call you later,” Easton said before disconnecting the call.
“Shhh, Makenzi everything will be okay. Your dad is a strong guy. He’ll pull through,” James assured, wrapping his arms around me.
I still couldn’t say anything, but my thought process was still working. All I could picture was Daddy laying a bed, covered in blood. Easton said the doctors didn’t know if he’d make it and I couldn’t handle that if it happened. I was a Daddy’s girl and I had been one my entire life. I had to see him. I had to.
“I have to go,” I choked out, my voice finally coming back to me.
“What?” James asked, leaning back slightly to hear me better.
“I have to go home. I have to see Daddy,” I explained, getting up and starting to throw my stuff into a suitcase.
“Whoa whoa whoa. Calm down Makenzi. You have to think about this. I understand you want to see your dad, but what about the boys? Are you going to cart them back there and risk running into Cayden and having him see them?” James tried to reason, standing up and grabbing my shoulders.
I thought for a minute. James was right. I couldn’t take my sons back home and I couldn’t ask Chloe to watch them. She had too much work. What else could I do with them?
“Will you watch them? It shouldn’t be for that long. I just need to know that my dad’s okay,” I asked, looking up at James.
James looked at me for minute, contemplating my request. I could see his internal battle, but I could also see that he was relenting and seeing my point.
“Okay. I’ll watch them. I’m sure Parker and Jen will help me,” he said referring to two of our friends.
“Thank you! Thank you so much James!” I yelled, turning back to finish packing.
Thirty minutes later, I was done packing. The reality of the situation was starting to sink in and I was panicking even more. My dad was in the hospital, possibly dying, and I was about to leave my babies with my friends to go to the other side of the country. I had never left my babies for more than a couple hours and I wasn’t happy with having to do it now, but I couldn’t take the chance of Cayden seeing them and it causing more drama. I needed to concentrate on Daddy right now.
“Come on. Let’s put the boys in their car seats. The storm’s let up so you shouldn’t have a problem with the plane,” James said, grabbing my suitcase and following me into the boys’ room.
I pulled the blanket off of them and picked up Asher as James picked up Cain. Their car seats were in my truck so we decided to take that. The boys fussed about being woken up but fell back asleep once we put them in their car seats. I settled into the passenger seat, too distraught to drive, as James slipped behind the wheel.
“Should you call your brothers? Tell them that you’re coming?” James asked, reversing out of the driveway.
I nodded, pulling out my phone and finding Talon’s number.
“We don’t know anything yet Kenz. Sorry baby sister,” he said, answering the phone.
“That’s not why I’m calling Tal. I’m calling to tell you I’m coming home. I can’t stay here while Daddy’s in the hospital in the other side of the country,” I explained.
“You’re doing what? Makenzi are you sure? What about the twins?” Talon asked, concerned.
“James is watching them. I have to go home Tal. I have to.”
“Okay. Well, I’ll make sure someone is at the airport to meet you. I have to go though. I love you.”
“Love you too Tal. See you soon.”
The airport was surprisingly busy, and I had to wait in the long line. Finally, after twenty minutes, I was able to buy my ticket. With my ticket in hand, I walked over to James who was sitting in one of the chairs with Cain and Asher next to him. Despite the circumstances, I smiled at my babies and picked Cain up. I hugged him to me and placed a kiss on his forehead before setting him back down and doing the same with Asher.
“Mommy loves you babies. I’ll be home as soon as I can,” I whispered to them before turning to James.
“Thank you so much, James. You have no idea how much this means to me,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.
“You’re welcome Kenzi. We have Skype on our phones. I’ll be sure to call you every day so you can still see the boys,” he said, placing a kiss on the top of my head.
I pulled back, kissed his cheek, grabbed my suitcase, and boarded the plane.
This was it. After three years, I was going home. I knew I would have to face Cayden. There was no way to avoid it, the town was too small. I took a deep breath and decided to sleep, knowing I wouldn’t be getting any sleep once I got home.
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Here's chapter 2. Hope you enjoyed. Votes and comments would be greatly appreciated! Thanks for reading!
I want to add that this chapter is dedicated to Gold_Dreamer for the amazing cover. Thank you so much!