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Chapter 18
Delia had been questioned and probed until the feds finally gave up. There was nothing else that she knew in regards to her husband, Lawrence Bromwell, and she was of no use to them. With the homes, their joint accounts, an offshore account that she knew nothing about, and their expensive furnishings and artwork, the federal government collected their bill and was out of their lives. She was left with nothing but a few simple pieces of jewelry, her clothes and the money that she had in her emergency account. That’s when she decided to do the unthinkable…she was that desperate. Delia decided to visit the one family member that she had left and prayed that she would show mercy, and take pity on her predicament, and help her. That one person was her sister, Paulina Andrews-Miller.
Delia finally tracked her sister down and found that she was living in southern Texas. Paulina and Delia always had a love/hate relationship. Delia was the baby sister by three years and was spoiled rotten. Paulina was the one who always had to pick up the pieces after Delia’s many catastrophes and was always saving her from one fight or another. Delia could admit that she had done many things to keep all the attention on her because she was jealous of her pretty, older sister. Paulina was darker than Delia, but she was pretty, smart, and sweet. Delia, on the other hand, was never a straight A student like Paulina or a goody-two shoes, but she was the beauty of the Andrews family and she believed firmly in her title and did whatever she could to keep it…even if it meant hurting her sister who only wanted to love her.
Delia stood outside the modest, 2 story, red brick colonial lined with magnolia and oak trees and rang the doorbell. In her mind, Delia compared her mini mansion to the modest home that she saw, then tossed the thought out of her mind. That was not her home anymore and the sooner she get used to that, the better.
A few minutes later, the door opened and a dark brown skinned, pony tail wearing, pretty woman was standing on the other side of the doorway, a huge smile adorning her face.
“Hello. May I help you?” the soft-spoken voice asked.
“Hey, Paulie,” Delia replied as she slowly took off her Chanel sunglasses and placed them in her purse. Paulina Andrews-Miller’s smile slowly went into a frown as she stared into the tear stained, beautiful face of her younger sister, Delia Andrews Bromwell. She hadn’t heard or seen her sister in 30 years or more. After Vargas’ death, Delia refused to tell her where they moved and didn’t allow her to see her nieces. Paulina regretted letting Delia cut her out of her nieces lives, but there was nothing she could do. She knew the only reason her little sister was here now was because she needed help and besides, they were the only family in the states, besides their older brother, retired Marine Damon Andrews who lived in Japan with his family.
Paulina slowly took in her sister’s appearance. She was still as beautiful as ever, time had been very good to her. Looks were very deceiving, especially where her sister was concerned. Although the outside was beautiful, the inside held such ugliness. Paulina took in a deep breath, and said, “Hello Dilly. Why are you here?”
“I need to speak with you…please. It’s urgent,” Delia pleaded, even though she hated to. She never begged anyone and her begging her pious, self-righteous sister was more than she could bear. But, she had no choice. She needed help and Paulina would probably do what she could to help her. She was hoping that the gullibility that she always made fun of where Paulina was concerned would help her cause.
Paulina sighed once more, and stepped to the side. She would see how this little song and dance was about. She had to admit, she was curious to see if Delia's theatrics had improved.
“Come in,” Paulina replied as she watched Delia walk through the doorway, and into the foyer of her home. Delia looked around and felt the homey, tastefully decorated environment of her sister’s home. She followed a silent Paulina into the living room and saw the pictures of what she assumed were her nieces and nephews. Delia walked over to the mantle as her eyes settled on two boys and a girl, all very attractive.
“Are these your kids?” Delia asked.
“Yes. Joshua is the oldest in the middle, Simeon is the middle child on the right and Farrah is my baby on the left,” Paulina replied as she sat down, waiting for her sister to finish her perusal of her home.
Delia’s eyes fell on a tall, good-looking, light caramel colored man with light brown eyes holding Paulina tightly on their wedding day and at a recent party.
“The boys are so handsome and Farrah looks like….,” Delia began, thinking of how much Farrah and Tavin favored her mother, from the eyes to the skin color.
“Mama,” Paulina replied.
”Yes. She’s a beautiful girl,” Delia replied. It was so awkward talking to her sister. It had always been awkward talking to her sister, so things hadn’t changed much.
“Is this your husband?” Delia asked.
Paulina smiled once more and said, “Yes, that’s Patrick. He’s at the hospital right now.”
Paulina wanted to say that Delia definitely wouldn’t be meeting him, but she just kept that to herself.
Delia smiled at her sister. “He’s a doctor?”
“Chief of staff at Mary Mercy General. Simeon is actually interning their now. Farrah is in design school in London and Joshua is an architect in Houston,” Paulina replied.
“Wow…that’s wonderful, Paulie. What do you do?” Delia asked feeling rather ashamed that she didn’t know any of this information about her sister.
“I’m a retired elementary school principal. Well, Delia, you look well,” Paulina replied, wanting her sister to get to the reason for her visit and to stop this fake, getting to know you routine.
“Thank you. So do you,” Delia replied as her eyes fell on several pictures of Tavin and Janae from recent years…maybe 10 to 12 years ago. Then she spotted pictures of Kendall and Ashton, her grandchildren who were so beautiful that her heart swelled. How in the hell did she get those?
Paulina saw her eyes drift to the pictures of her nieces Tavin and Janae and watched her expression. She knew the whole, ugly, sordid story thanks to her nieces and she was sad to say that Delia’s actions in regards to the entire situation did not surprise her. She had always been a selfish, spoiled bitch her whole life. Things definitely hadn’t changed.
Delia sat across from her sister on a cream colored loveseat. They stared at each other for a minute, then Paulina spoke.
“Okay, Dilly…what do you want?” Paulina asked.
“Always direct, aren’t you Paulie?” Delia asked.
“With you? I have to be. I’m one of the few people that really know you Dilly, so out with it. I haven’t seen you since you banned me from seeing Tavin after Vargas died, so what do you want because I know you’re not here after 30 years because you missed me. So what is it?” Paulina asked as she watched Delia play with the thin, gold chain that lay on her neck. She still did that, Paulina thought to herself as she watched her younger sister clear her throat.
“Lawrence Bromwell, my husband, was found dead in Lake Ponchartrain last week,” Delia began as she watched Paulina’s reaction. Paulina sat with a stoic expression spread across her features, not caring. Delia really didn’t give a damn about Lawrence either and cremated him quickly, not giving him any kind of memorial service or anything. For what he did to her, he didn’t deserve it.
“Well, he got what he deserved,” Paulina replied.
Delia knew it was about to go down now. The pleasantries were about to come to an end.
“What do you mean by that? You didn’t know my husband,” Delia replied going into breathless theatrics. Paulina just began to laugh.
“Delia, would you please stop acting? Who in the hell are you trying to fool here? I know more than you think I do. You know what, let’s get everything out in the open. It was on the news, Delia…about Lawrence and the federal government seizing everything. You’re penniless and you want me to help you, is that it? I know that’s what it is, so let’s cut the shit and get down with the nitty gritty. You’ve been a dirty, little spoiled bitch your entire life…,” Paulina began, but Delia sat up and interrupted her.
“Excuse me?” Delia asked.
“You heard me. Did I stutter?” Paulina asked.
Delia narrowed her eyes and stated, “Look, Paulina I didn’t come here for you to give me any shit. I’ve been getting enough shit from this mess with Lawrence, so don’t come at me like that! “
Paulina raised up a little and leaned forward to look into Delia’s eyes. “Don’t you raise your voice in MY HOUSE, Delia! You come here after all this time and expect me to fall for the same shit from you? Forget it! Let’s just cut the bullshit and air out a few truths here.”
“Oh, the truth the way you see it, right?!” Delia exclaimed.
“No the truth…a word that you don’t associate with too much. Let’s go back, way back. Mama never wanted anyone to chastise you or discipline you. You were her baby…Delia’s so beautiful, don’t hit Delia, help Delia, do this for Delia, do that! You were never held responsible for anything that you did, never held accountable. The way you manipulated situations so that you could have your way. Everytime I looked around I was helping you get out of getting beat up or something…you were always doing something,” Paulina replied.
“Oh, yeah! Try living up to perfect Paulina! Paulie is so smart and sweet…she’s so good. Why don’t you try to be more like your sister Paulina and this and that…I was so sick of hearing that shit!” Delia exclaimed.
“Yeah…and you hated me so much that you stole Vargas from me,” Paulina replied as Delia became quiet.
“I didn’t steal Vargas from you…you were never home and I was. We fell in love and…,” Delia began.
“Stop lying! I was away at LSU, trying to better myself. I couldn’t come home as much as I wanted to because I had two jobs during the summer and full time classes in the semester and I was working full time. You knew Vargas and I were dating,” Paulina replied as Delia laughed.
“How were you dating? Through the phone? You were never there! I was…he fell in love with me, Paulie. When are you going to get over that?” Delia asked.
Paulina narrowed her eyes at Delia. “You knew that he cared about me and I cared about him. You waited for the perfect time and you ran your little game on him, got pregnant on purpose and trapped him. He fell for you too, telling me it wasn’t me, it was him and he couldn’t handle the long distance thing anymore and that he was sorry but his heart led you to him or some bullshit.”
“It did. Vargas loved me, not you. I got him, and you’ve hated me ever since,” Delia said.
“Why you conniving, little snake?! Let me let you in on some things. Vargas was going to leave you, honey. See, even though we weren’t together, we were still friends. You wouldn’t let me get to know my niece, so he made that possible. Oh, don’t worry. We didn’t do anything. By that time, he realized what a mistake he made by marrying a money grubbing, selfish bitch and I was head over heels in love with Patrick. He would bring Tavin with him sometimes when he met me just to talk. She was such a sweet, pretty little girl. That chocolate skin and those eyes…sweet and so smart. He was going to divorce you, give you the house, take an on-land supervisory position in Texas and take Tavin with him. He was afraid for her…it’s sad but even before everything happened he knew you wouldn’t do right. Then, he died, you made sure that I couldn’t see Tavin and you married that pervert Lawrence Bromwell, and moved away. Do you know how I got those pictures of Tavin and Janae, who I had no idea about, by the way? I tracked Tavin down when she was about 24 and we began to talk. She told me what you did to her with Lawrence Bromwell and it was sad to say, but I knew she wasn’t lying. I would have taken Tavin if you wouldn’t have been such a bitch and lied to her, telling her she had no other place to go. We kept in touch and when Janae came to live with her…oh, I’m sorry when you dropped Janae on her doorstep, the next day Tavin called me crying and asking me to pray with her. We must have been on that phone for hours. I wanted to take Janae, but Tavin wouldn’t hear of it. She wanted her sister with her and although she knew it would be hard, she wanted her! I couldn’t believe that you chose that man over your own flesh and blood! But you did. Tavin and her sweet, gorgeous fiancée Cameron flew down with Janae and we all met one another, for the very first time. We swore that we would keep in touch and we have. They’ve come to visit me twice a year since then, bringing the babies with them. I know you don’t know about any of this because that girl won’t let you near those children and I don’t blame her. Everything that is happening to you right now is well deserved and I say bravo! I’m not going to do a damn thing for you, Delia. You’ve never had to stand on your own two feet and do anything for yourself. Someone was always helping you, taking care of you, doing it for you. This time, little sister, you’re on your own and I’m not in the least bit sorry about that,” Paulina said as Delia narrowed her eyes at her. Delia stood up, pulled her sunglasses out of her purse and walked to the door.
“Well, this was a mistake and a waste of my muthafuckin’ time. I wish I never had to lay eyes on your perfect ass,” Delia said in a venomous tone of voice.
Paulina walked ahead of her and opened the door. “Don’t let it hit you where the good lord split you, Delia. It’s been real. Oh, and one more thing.” The next thing Delia knew, Paulina punched her in the left jaw.
“You bitch!” Delia screamed as she stood outside the door. Paulina grabbed Delia by her white silk blouse and pulled her close.
“You deserve more than that after you let that known pedophile molest your children. You’re a dirty bitch and I’m telling you right now, stay the hell away from my nieces,” Paulina replied.
“They’re my children! I’m their mother! You can’t tell me what to do!” Delia replied.
“No, because you don’t listen anyway. You have the nerve to call yourself that! A mother. That’s a funny one if I ever heard. No, I can’t tell you what to do, but I can do this,” Paulina hauled off again and punched her once more as Delia fell to the sidewalk in front of Paulina’s door holding her now swollen and bruised face.
“If I find out that you went anywhere near those babies, I’m going to hunt you down and finish the job”, then Paulina began to laugh.
“What’s so funny?” Delia asked.
“You are! You low down, pathetic, piece of a woman! You’re on your back, once again! Your favorite position. I see some things never change,” Paulina replied.
“You know what, fuck you Paulie…Fuck you,” Delia screamed as she tried to stand, holding her sore face.
“You’ve already done that, so no thanks. Delia, I don’t ever want to see or hear from you again and you’d better heed my warning, Dilly…I mean it. Stay the hell away from those girls or so help me, you’ll live to regret it!” and Paulina slammed the door in Delia’s face, then she sighed, as tears dripped from her eyes. Delia still hadn't changed, after all this time and that was so sad. When Paulina finished crying, she called Tavin.
“Hey, Tee Paulie,” Tavin said with a smile on her face as she looked at a few financial reports.
“Hey sweetheart. How are those babies doing?” Paulina asked Tavin.
“Fine…they’re getting so big, Teedy. How are you and Uncle Pat and my cousins doing?” Tavin asked.
“They’re all fine, baby…me, well, I’m not so good right now,” Paulina replied as she sank back on the couch.
“Why? What’s going on, teedy?” Tavin asked.
“Baby, you will never guess who came to see me,” Paulina replied as Tavin dropped her reports and listened to what her aunt had to say.
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Taylor had been in the office since 6 am, trying to get some of his leftover work from the day before done. Taylor was busy reading a report on his desk when he received a frantic call from Janae. His secretary buzzed him and he spoke into the phone.
“Hey, babygirl! I can’t talk too long. I have a meeting in twenty minutes…,” he stopped when he heard her crying.
Instantly, he knew this wasn’t about the wedding or the properties that she had been viewing to purchase her dance studio. He knew something was wrong.
“Babygirl…what’s wrong?” Taylor asked, becoming more worried as the crying, which
was breaking his heart continued.
“It’s Danielle,” Janae began as she cried.
“What about Danielle, sweetheart? What’s going on?” Taylor asked.
“Where’s Brandon? I’ve been trying to reach him on his cell, but it keeps going to voicemail” Janae said in a shaky tone of voice.
“He’s in a meeting…a pretty important one, and he probably has his phone off. Why? Baby, what happened?” Taylor asked.
“You know I was meeting Danielle at our spot this morning?” she asked sniffling.
“The little drugstore where you guys stock up on your daily snacks?” Taylor asked as the hairs on the back of his neck began to rise.
“Yes, well, I just spoke to her…I was ten minutes away, and when I got there, there were police and an ambulance outside. Apparently, a guy was robbing the store and panicked, shot the man behind the counter and shot two customers…Danielle was one of them. Danielle got shot, Taylor,” Janae replied as she just began to cry uncontrollably.
“Baby, hang up and call me on my cell okay?” he asked.
“Okay,” she whispered. Taylor sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Poor Danielle. Brandon…shit, how was Brandon going to take this…he was head over heels for the girl. Damn, he had to get to Brandon he thought as he heard his phone ring. He immediately picked up and said, “Janae, where are you now?” he asked as he picked up his jacket, his coat and his keys. He walked with great speed out of his office, told his secretary he had an emergency, to cancel his meetings for the day and walked to the elevator.
“I’m at City Hospital in the emergency room. Ashley and Tavin are on their way. Felicia is sitting with me now. She was on duty this morning. Taylor, please get Brandon here. Please hurry. I don’t know what’s going on and Felicia’s trying to find out as much as she can. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what I would do if I lost Danielle, Taylor,” she replied between the tears.
Taylor got off on the fifth floor and walked to the conference room in which Brandon was holding his meeting. Luckily, his team leader was knowledgeable enough to take over because Brandon was not going to be coming back anytime soon.
“Okay, baby, stay there and we’ll be there as soon as we can. Just pray, Janae. She’s going to be alright. I’m on my way. I love you, baby,” Taylor whispered as he stood outside the door before going in.
“I love you, too, and that’s all I’ve been doing is praying. Get here quickly, please?” Janae pleaded as she hung up her cell phone. Taylor stood outside the door and pressed speed dial to call Tanner.
“Tanner, hey it’s Taylor. I need you to meet me at City Hospital. Danielle’s been shot, Tan. He doesn’t know yet. I’m going get him now to tell him. Just meet us there, alright. Later,” Taylor said as he hung up the phone and took a deep breath. Taylor walked over to Brandon who was standing and pointing at figures and graphs in front of the room.
“Taylor, we’re just starting…,” Brandon began, but Taylor put his hand on his arm.
“It’s Danielle, Brandon. There’s been an accident,” Taylor said.
Brandon’s face became taught and drawn as he asked, “What?”
“It’s bad, Brandon…she’s at City Hospital. Janae just called me,” Taylor replied as he watched Brandon drop what he was doing, look at his team leader and ask him to take over. Brandon didn’t feel the need to fill him in, but he just followed Taylor quickly out of the conference room, his mind only on getting to wherever his girl was.
Brandon followed Taylor to the elevator and as it approached and opened, they saw that they were the only ones on the elevator. “What kind of accident, Taylor? Did she hurt herself at rehearsal? What’s going on?” Brandon asked these questions of his friend in a nervous, confused tone of voice.
Taylor sighed then looked at his best friend. He didn’t want to be the one to tell him this, but he knew he had to. “Danielle was shot inside of a store by some guy robbing the joint. I don’t know where she was shot and I don’t have any information about her condition, but she’s at City Hospital, in the emergency room. That’s all I know.”
Brandon felt as if the oxygen had been taken from his lungs. He felt like someone dropped an anvil on his chest. He fell back, losing his footing as he leaned against the elevator. Brandon felt as if his heart was on fire. “I just dropped her off…she’s been going to that store for years…this can’t be…my Danielle?” His voice cracked due to the emotions that were going through him and sounded so light that he didn’t sound like himself.
Taylor grabbed his friend by the shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “B, Danielle’s tough. She’s going to be okay. Be strong, okay…be strong for yourself and for her. She needs you, Bran. Come on, I’ll drive,” Taylor replied as the elevator fell to garage floor 1, the executives floor. Taylor walked with a dazed Brandon who was trying to hold it together to his car and drove as quickly as he could to the hospital.
Taylor looked over and saw Brandon holding it together, but barely. His friend’s light brown eyes were shining with unshed tears. There was silence as Taylor drove through the mid-morning traffic. “Can’t you drive faster, T?” Brandon asked anxiously.
“I’m going as fast as I can, B,” Taylor said.
“Well, damn it, go faster! I have to get to her!” Brandon exclaimed.
“I’m going to get us there, Brandon…don’t worry,” Taylor replied.
Brandon then saw the light turn green and the car in front of them wouldn’t go. He leaned his head out of the car and yelled, “Hey, man…go…what the fuck!!!” When he leaned his head back in the car, he was cursing and gave the man the finger.
“Don’t worry, he says. You just tell me that my girl has been shot and you have no clue about her condition and you say not to worry?! Fuck you, Taylor! You’d be barely holding it together if you were in my shoes right now!” Brandon said, his voice getting loud.
Brandon was absolutely correct. Taylor wouldn’t be able to see straight if he was in his position right now. Thank God Janae made it to that store after everything happened. Taylor couldn’t imagine the amount of pain that his friend was in, but he would let him take whatever he wanted out on him. He knew Brandon did it because he was worried, as well he should be.
“You’re right, but what you need to do is hold it down for Dani. I can’t imagine what you’re going through, but I do know it has to be hard on you. Look, we’re five minutes away, man. We’re almost there,” Taylor said as Brandon’s head fell back against the leather headrest and his mind wandered. Danielle couldn’t die. He loved her. She had to be okay. He couldn’t lose her. He just found her. It was an hour and a half ago that he kissed her, spoke with her, told her he loved her. Did he tell her he loved her?
As these thoughts circled through Brandon’s head, Taylor drove and got them to the hospital. When Taylor told Brandon they were there, Brandon jumped out, not giving Taylor time to stop the car. Taylor drove to the parking garage to find a place to park as Brandon ran into the hospital through the automatic, emergency room doors.
Brandon walked quickly into the hospital and immediately saw Janae, who walked up to him and hugged him.
“Janae, where is she? What’s going on with my baby? Have you seen her?” he asked as their embrace broke.
“No, I haven’t seen her, and Felicia told me that she was losing blood, so they’re trying to stop the bleeding. That’s all I know,” Janae said as she bit down on her bottom lip and held Brandon’s hand. Brandon sighed and walked over to an empty chair. Soon Taylor was walking throught the doors and as soon as Janae saw him, she ran to him.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Janae whispered as they embraced tightly. Taylor hadn’t realized how close he was holding Janae. He didn’t want to let her go and he was so glad that she was alright.
“Where else would I be, babygirl? What’s the word? Do they know anything else?” Taylor asked as he watched his friend texting someone on his cell phone.
“No, we’re just waiting right now,” Janae replied as the tears fell freely from her eyes.
“Shh, baby, she’s going to be okay,” Taylor said as he stroked her hair and kissed her temple. Janae hugged him tightly until she heard, “Janae!” It was Ashley. Ashley walked up to her with a tear stained face and hugged Janae hard, breaking her embrace with Taylor. Then Ashley hugged Brandon for a few minutes. Then, Tavin, Liza, Nyla, Nichelle, and Josslyn walked in, all talking to Taylor, Ashley, Brandon and Janae. Tavin was comforting Janae and Nichelle was holding Brandon’s hand. Tanner and Cameron showed up shortly after. Tanner grabbed Brandon and hugged him, whispering to him that everything was going to be alright.
They all waited for twenty minutes then watched as Felicia and a doctor walked up. Brandon immediately popped up and walked to the doctor.
“I’m Dr. Fieldberg,” the older man stated to the large group as Brandon stood in front of him, right along with Ashley and Janae.
“How’s my girl doing? Is she alright? Can I see her?” Brandon asked.
“And you are?” Dr. Fieldberg asked.
“Her fiancée,” Brandon replied as Janae looked at him and wiped the tears from her face.
“And we’re her sisters,” Ashley said as she pointed to Janae. Tavin in turn pointed to Liza, Nyla, Nichelle and Josslyn.
“And we’re her brothers,” Tanner replied. The doctor looked around and then back to Felicia.
“She has a lot of family,” Felicia said as the doctor sighed.
“What’s going on, Dr.? How is she?” Brandon asked.
“Ms. Parks was shot in her lower left shoulder. A few more inches to the right and she wouldn’t be here right now. She was bleeding heavily, but we stopped it. She unconscious and also has a small bump to the back of her head which was due to the shooting and her falling back. Right now, we need to prep her for surgery,” Dr. Fieldberg replied.
“Surgery? Why?” Brandon asked.
“We need to get that bullet out of her immediately. It may move because of the tissue that it’s presently lodged in and that’s something we don’t want. We’re afraid that it may cause an infection or try to travel and we don’t want that to happen. From where it looks to be positioned, we can get to it without any trouble, but we need to do it now. We need consent in order to proceed,” Dr. Fieldberg replied.
“If it’s going to help her…where do I sign?” Brandon asked as Felicia ushered him to the paperwork. After the paperwork was signed, Brandon asked, “Can I see her?”
“We’re going to be wheeling her into surgery, but if she recovers, we’ll see what we can do. Also, the fetus is healthy and strong,” Dr. Fieldberg said as Brandon’s eyes widened. Everyone stared at the doctor in shock.
“Fetus?” Brandon asked as he turned to look at Janae. Janae shrugged, not knowing about this little development either.
“Yes, she’s about eleven weeks along. You have a strong baby, Mr…,” Dr. Fieldberg began.
“Lanero…Brandon Lanero,” Brandon said in a daze as he tried to process the information that he was given.
“Well, I have to get prepped for surgery. We’ll keep you posted,” Dr. Fieldberg replied as he nodded a kind smile and hurriedly walked away. They all said thank you as Felicia approached Brandon and Janae.
“I won’t be the surgical RN working in there, but my friend April is the best. Dr. Fieldberg is one of the best thoracic surgeons in the country. She’s in good hands. I’ll be there and keep you posted,” Felicia said to Brandon and Janae.
“Felicia…is this surgery going to do something to the baby?” Brandon asked, still in a daze.
“We’re going to be monitoring the baby closely, but right now, we don’t know sweetie. But the baby is fighting, Brandon. Just pray that they both make it. I’ve got to go. Be strong, okay?” Felicia replied as Brandon thanked her as his mind raced. Danielle’s pregnant with his baby? How long did she know? Was she going to tell him? Why didn’t she tell him? Danielle wouldn’t keep something like this from him, so she must not have known. She couldn’t have. As these thoughts ran through his mind, Danielle was wheeled out of the emergency room to a corridor that held the operating rooms. She had tubes and machines sticking to her and she didn’t look like his vivacious Danielle. Brandon walked quickly to the side of her as they slowed down and grabbed her hand.
“Hey beautiful, I’m here. Danielle, I’m right here. Janae and Ashley…everyone is here, so be strong sweetheart and get through this. We need you…I need you, Danielle. I’m not going anywhere, baby. I’m not leaving you, so don’t you leave me. I love you so much. I love you so much, baby. Please, stay with me,” Brandon whispered as they made him move out the way and he stepped back, placing his hands through his hair and watching as they wheeled her away. He never felt so helpless in his life.
Liza walked up to Janae and Ashley and threw her arms around the crying girls. “Hey, why don’t you two come with me to the chapel. It’s going to be awhile before we know anything, so let’s go pray. Danielle is going to need a whole lot of prayer to get her through this. Come on.”
“Wait, I need to call Ms. Theresa,” Janae said referring to Danielle’s mother.
“I’ll call her, Doodles. Okay?” Tavin replied as she stroked her little sisters hair. Janae nodded to her and began to walk with Liza holding her and Ashley. Tavin kissed her husband on the cheek and told him he was going with Liza, Ashley and Janae. He nodded and watched as the women left.
Tanner, Cameron and Taylor watched as Brandon stood against the wall with his head held back, trying to keep it together. Cameron tapped his younger brother on the shoulder.
“Hey, I’m going to get some coffee. You guys want something?” Cameron asked. Tanner said yes, and Taylor said no. Brandon wasn’t even listening to them. His thoughts were on Danielle and the baby. They had to be okay.
Cameron walked away and Tanner and Taylor looked at one another. They didn’t know what to say, so they just sat and watched Brandon pace and grit his teeth.
Then, Brandon said, “I shouldn’t have let her go in there.”
“B, you didn’t know anything was going to happen,” Tanner replied.
“I know, but if I would have kept her in the car with me for a little while longer, this wouldn’t have happened and she wouldn’t be going through this. Shit,” Brandon replied, then he sat in one of the seats on the other side of the room. His long legs stretched out in front of him and his hand ran through his hair.
“You can’t blame yourself, Bran,” Taylor said.
“T, I just dropped her off. She was smiling and being a smart ass and kissing me and telling me that she loved me. We were going to play hookie and just hang out today and some muthafucka does this! Why her? I mean, I know plenty of people who this should happen to and it doesn’t. Why my baby? Huh? Can you answer that?” Brandon asked.
Tanner said, “No man, I can’t. But you can’t do this, dude.” Taylor looked at his friends and watched Brandon look at Tanner.
“I can’t do what? Lose it? Fuck you, Tan! They don’t know if she’s gonna live or die, man! I just found out that she’s pregnant! She’s pregnant, man! I didn’t know, Tanner! I didn’t know. Hell, I don’t think she knew! So, if something goes wrong in that operating room, not only am I gonna lose my girl, but I’m gonna lose my baby, too. So fuck you if I’m not the cool, calm, collected Brandon that I usually am. You try dealing with this shit,” Brandon exclaimed. Taylor walked over to him and put his hand on his shoulder. Brandon was the one who never lost his cool, so this was really difficult to watch.
“Bran, why don’t you come with me? Let’s take a walk,” Taylor replied.
Brandon stubbornly shook his head from side to side. “Nope. I ain’t goin’ nowhere until I find out that she’s okay…that they’re okay.”
Taylor patted him on the back and watched Brandon blink back a few tears. Tanner looked at him and they both just listened as Brandon spoke, his face vacant.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. I was supposed to go to work, nail that presentation and spend the rest of the day with Dani. This wasn’t supposed to go down. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her, T. It took so much work to get her to be with me, to show her that I love her. I just want her to come out of there happy and healthy and smiling and I want to hear her say something quirky and dirty, like she always does. I just want her to be okay, man. I just want her and the baby to be fine. Why didn’t she tell me? Why?” Brandon whispered as he continued to stare into space.
“I love her so much. I never thought that I would fall in love with her, but I did and now I may lose her. My heart feels like someone has it in their hands and is wringing it like a towel. I wasn’t there to protect her man. I told her that I wouldn’t let anyone hurt her and look at what happens. And there’s nothing I can do about it…not a damn thing. I can’t help her,” Brandon said, feeling useless.
“Please God, you have to let her get through this. Let her be okay…let the baby be okay, please? Danielle, baby, you’ve got to be okay…you just have to. Please, let her be okay…please,” Brandon pleaded out loud as he jumped up and began to walk back and forth. Taylor looked over at Tanner once more and wished that they could do more for their friend, but they knew that the only thing they could do now is wait…and pray.