"Huh, what?" She bolted straight up in bed, nearly smacking her head on the overhead lamp. The phone rang again, startling her. "Get a grip, Laryssa. You brought the phone in last night." She reached out and grabbed the phone off the night stand.
"Hello?"
"Laryssa, where are you?" a voice shrilled in her ear.
"What? Oh, Melissa?" She shook her head to clear away the cobwebs, as she let her legs dangle over the side of the bed.
"Of course it's me. Have you looked at the time?" Melissa's voice lowered to a whisper, "The meeting is in 40 minutes."
"You've got to be kidding me." She turned the clock on the nightstand; it read 9:30 am. "Peachy. I'll be right there."
Placing the phone on the bed, she stood up quickly and experienced a sudden bout of nausea, which had her rushing to the bathroom. Not again, would this never end? Every morning she found herself with her head in the toilet. The only bad thing, this time, was she couldn't jump in the shower to refresh herself. Slowly standing back up, she went to the sink and splashed cold water on her face. Exhaustion evident by the dark bags under her eyes; which was, she guessed, how she ended up sleeping through the alarm.
Laryssa rushed through her bathroom routine, and then hurried back into the bedroom. She grabbed the red three-piece suit which hung in her closet and stared at it before putting it on. This was the first maternity suit she'd treated herself to. She'd bought it the day the doctor told her she was going to have twins. The revelation of that was still enough to dazzle her senses. She had finally accepted she would be a single working mother with one baby. The thought of having two frightened her. How would she cope when she could barely afford to feed herself? Even though weeks have passed since the doctor gave her the news, she still felt overwhelmed at times.
Quickly grabbing a bagel, Laryssa rushed out the door; it wasn't the most nutritious of meals, but she couldn't afford to be late and lose her job. She had to work full-time just to make ends meet. The days following Aidan's death had been agonizing. The lawyers informed her that she'd been left with nothing. He never had a cent to his name. Since the death had been his fault the insurance company didn't have to pay her anything either. All his debt and bills had fallen squarely on her shoulders. She could barely pay the mortgage, as it was, with her semi-decent administrative assistant wages, let alone all the other bills that plagued her.
She'd thought about selling the house, but with being pregnant and working full-time, who had the time to get it ready? As it was, the doctors told her she needed to rest as much as possible. If she could afford it, she'd pay someone to help her, but whatever money she received disappeared as quickly as it arrived. It was times like this she longed for her parents. Unshed tears burned in her eyes. Get over it, Laryssa.
She slid into the driver's seat, started the car, and executed a perfect u-turn to get going in the right direction. She was glad she took the advice of her friend, Melissa, and applied for a job a month ago. The job helped her re-gain, not only her independence, but her life as well; a life that didn't include him. Well, almost. His face still haunted her, not only in her dreams, but during her waking moments as well.
With only five minutes to spare, she pulled into the parking lot of Richards Enterprises. Wasting no time, she hurried inside and skidded to a halt. It couldn't be possible, could it? A man, who looked frighteningly familiar, stood in the elevator across the lobby. She rushed to the elevator before the doors closed and squeezed inside, keeping her eyes trained on the floor. Her heart pounding like a runaway freight train. Willing herself, she looked up at the man who stood beside her. Her stomach twisted and cramped as though someone punched her. The ground opened up and she lost her balance, bumping into him. She reached for the hand rest on the side of the elevator as it ascended.
"If you're afraid of elevators, you should take the stairs," the man said with a low voice. "Not everyone appreciates being bumped into, even if it is by a pretty lady."
The voice, oh god, even the voice was the same. The elevator came to a halt and when the doors opened, she stumbled into the room. The man strolled past her and started to walk down the narrow corridor, created by two long rows of green partitioned cubicles.
Okay, she was going insane. First, she saw him at a club that she and Melissa had gone to a week earlier and now here. How could she be imagining Aidan everywhere? She wasn't that crazy.
Doctors had told her that occasionally people suffer hallucinations after losing a loved one because they are in denial. She'd seen him in the coffin, being lowered into the ground. Damn it, she was at his funeral. Who knew better than her that the father of her babies was dead? She had asked the doctors why it was happening now, and not back then. They kept saying everyone was different, or that there was a part of her that needed closure.
Surely, it wasn't just her mind playing tricks on her? He neared the end of the corridor and stopped to speak with one of her colleagues. How can you bump into a hallucination? She needed another look and started down the corridor after him, only to be stopped by her Supervisor, Dan.
"You're late," he said coolly, tapping on his watch.
"I'm so sorry. I went to bed early, but was so tired I slept through my alarm." Tears sprung up in her eyes. Darn hormones, she thought to herself.
He looked down at her belly and understanding dawned in his eyes. "Do you need more time off? If we're working you too hard, I can always get someone to fill in an extra day or two a week."
"I'm fine, really. Maybe I'm not getting enough iron or something. Did you find the papers I left on your desk last night?" She attempted to change the subject.
"Yes, thank you. I do need you to find the company's complete personnel file though. Mr. Richards' grandson has taken over for him and decided to work out of this office for now. He wants to make a few personnel rotations. He's brought in some of his own people."
She looked around. The place didn't really look like it needed changing, but then she hadn't been back for overly long. "He doesn't plan to fire anyone, does he?" she asked, biting on her bottom lip.
Dan chuckled. "Don't worry. I wouldn't let anything happen to my favorite assistant."
"I really am grateful for my old job back, especially after all these years." She rested her hand on his forearm.
"Don't mention it." Dan glanced down at his watch. "But better hurry up with those files though. The meeting is about to start."
Laryssa approached the filing cabinets that lined the wall, south of the elevator. Melissa must have heard her approach and looked up from her desk, eyeing her intently.
"Everything okay, you look pale?" her friend asked.
Trust Melissa to notice. She had too good of an eye sometimes. "I'll tell you about it later. If I don't find the personnel file, in like one second, Dan will have my hide." Laryssa pulled open the drawer marked with a P and raced through the files. "Ahaa, here it is. Catch you later."
With unsteady feet and a heart that wouldn't slow down, she made her way to the conference room. She stood at the door, her hand resting on the doorknob, when she heard his voice again. The familiar sound sent a snake-like shiver down her spine.
Gathering her courage, she opened the door. Her mind was not prepared for what she saw in front of her. There, at the head of the table, stood her worst nightmare. Her newly found freedom ceased to exist at that moment.
"Don't just stand there gawking at me, take a seat," he ordered. His cool voice cut through her like a newly sharpened sword.
The file fell from her hand and her feet involuntarily moved towards him. Dan was on his feet in a split second and by her side. "Laryssa?" He touched her shoulder gently.
Silence spread throughout the room. The only sound was her labored breathing, which verged on hyperventilation.
"Miss, take a seat please," the man said again.
She shook her head as she approached him. This wasn't possible. How could he be standing here? The doctors couldn't be right. She couldn't possibly be hallucinating again.
Confusion and frustration clouded his face. "Miss, is there a problem?"
Laryssa stopped an arm length away from him and reached up with a shaky hand to touch his face. "Aidan." She jerked back and bumped into the chair behind her. Distress overwhelmed her entire being.
"No," she gasped. "This isn't possible." She stumbled backwards away from him. "Go away, you're not real." The walls of the room closed in around her as she struggled to breathe. Her vision blurred and everything faded. The last thing she saw was his ghost rushing forward.
Alex sensed what was about to happen and caught her, lowering her to the ground. "What on earth is she doing working in her condition?" he barked.
"Her condition is called pregnancy, something perfectly normal." He looked up and saw the young woman he had seen her with earlier rush into the room. She must have heard the commotion from down the hall. She dropped to her knees next to her friend.
"Laryssa, sweetie, talk to me. It's Melissa." She tapped her friend on the cheek. The only response was a groan. "Gosh, is everyone an idiot today? Call an ambulance."
He quirked up an eyebrow at her and she quirked her eyebrow back. He would have grinned if he didn't have an unconscious woman in his arms. Obviously Melissa wasn't afraid to voice her opinion. "Forget the ambulance. I'll take her," he said.
Melissa's eyes widened as she stared at him. He couldn't say why he blurted that out. After all, he appeared to be the one causing her distress. It would stand to reason someone else should take her, but she intrigued him. What caused her to panic when she saw him? This was not quite the way he planned to spend his first day at the company. Although, it was definitely more interesting than anything else he had planned.
Dan picked up Laryssa and walked towards the door. Alex left the meeting in the capable hands of his second in command and led Dan to his car. He rushed through the city streets. The reality of what he was about to do hit him hard. He'd actually agreed to walk into a hospital, without thinking twice, except for now. The one place he always sought to avoid. She moaned and moved slightly on the seat beside him, but didn't open her eyes.
Alex pulled up to the front of the Hospital's emergency doors. He hurried around to the other side of the car and lifted her into his arms. Shocked, he looked down at her. He hadn't expected such a feather weight, not with her rounded belly. While he studied her, a weird emotion ran through him that he was unable identify. She snuggled closer to him and sighed softly. The sound wrapped itself around his heart. He couldn't help but feel oddly connected to her and the need to protect her washed over him. Why? He didn't know.
Alex rushed into the emergency room. The nurse at the admission desk looked up from the patient she was currently dealing with and signaled another nurse who rushed out front with a gurney. He gently laid her down.
"What seems to be the problem?" the nurse asked.
"She's pregnant. She fainted." Alex's eyes darted around the room, discomfort settled deep inside him. If it wasn't for his interest in the lady's reaction to him, he'd leave and never come back. He was usually known for being able to keep calm in high stress situations, but that ability high-tailed it out the door when it came to stepping foot inside a hospital.
"Are you her husband?" the nurse asked him.
It was a truly reasonable question, but it still rebounded in his head as he looked down at the woman on the bed. Panic rumbled through him as events from his past threatened to overcome him.
"What's her name?" the nurse spoke again.
"Laryssa."
He looked around the waiting room, thankful that it was relatively empty. Within ten minutes, the nurse whisked them into the back. She wheeled Laryssa into an empty room.
Not long later, a doctor walked into the room. "What happened?"
"I'm not sure, we were in a meeting at work and then she started hyperventilating. Next thing I knew, she fainted."
"Why don't you go have a seat while I examine her? There is a chair just outside." The doctor gestured towards the door with his head. Alex studied Laryssa for a moment, hesitant to leave her.
"Don't worry. I'll take good care of her." The doctor put the stethoscope in his ears and turned towards the woman on the table.
He reluctantly walked out of the private room and plunked himself in the chair next to the door.
"Laryssa, can you hear me?"
In a small corner of her mind, she could hear the voice. She struggled to open her eyes.