Soulmates

Chapter sixteen

I was talking with Kelly's parents at the reception dinner when I noticed Kelly was fast asleep on a lounge chair with Grace. I remove my suit jacket as I walk over to them and cover them with it. Kelly lets out a content sigh from the warmth of my jacket and pulls it closer around her and Grace. 

Kennedy was sitting nearby having trouble putting Jamie to sleep. I walk over and offer to help put her to sleep. She gives me relieved eyes and lets me take her screaming daughter. I lay her head on my chest and start swaying gently as she grasped at my vest.

Moments later her screaming calmed to grunts as she fell asleep. Everyone that was close to Kennedy's table was amazed at how quickly I was able to get her daughter to sleep. I go to lay her in the carseat and she gripped tight at my vest. I carefully undo the buttons and slip out of it without waking her. I carefully clip her in with my vest covering her like a blanket and she grunts a content sigh. 

I notice that Kennedy looked exhausted and say quietly, "Take a nap, if I can't wake you when the reception is over, I'll talk to Kelly about you and Jamie staying the night with us."

"Thank you," she chokes in a tired whisper. 

I nod lightly and she stretches out in the lounge chair next to Kelly and Grace. My mother sits with Jamie and Kennedy thanks her before falling asleep. I make my rounds and her mother's parents walk up to me. Valerie warned me she and Victor told their families about my condition and that her parents might try to haze me like Angela. 

"So you're the father of my granddaughter's twins," Kelly's grandmother asks dryly, looking me over.

"Yes ma'am, you can say that," I say softly and extend my hand. "It's nice to meet you."

She looks at my hand as if it were dirty and tears fill my eyes. "I'm not sure how much more of your family's hazing I can take. I have bad anxiety under stress and I don't have what I need to get it under control," I choke quietly and felt as my heart started to race.

I loosen my tie and walk away from them. I make my way for the door and everyone looked at me wondering what was wrong. The chilled night air was refreshing and I took several deep breaths until I felt my heart slow down. 

I grab hold of the railing as tears roll down my cheeks. I know I wanted to come out with my true identity, but I didn't expect to go through this from my wife's family. I think I could handle it from strangers, but this is my wedding night and my wife's family can't give a break with the hazing. 

Minutes pass before Kelly joins me, turning my head to face her and looks at me with sympathy when she sees my tears. She places her hand on my pounding chest and her eyes look at me with concern. She didn't have to ask, she knew what would send me into an attack.
 
I go in her arms and hide my face in her shoulder. She rubs my back in comfort and the twins gently kick at my waist. I shutter a calming breath and grow tense under someone else's hand on my shoulder. "What happened," Caroline asks with concern, taking her hand off me.

"My family haze every new person I get involved with. I was engaged to Jessica while Jennifer was on tour in Iraq and the woman I was with before Jennifer was abusive," Kelly chokes quietly and breaks into uncontrolled sobs. 

I lift my face from her shoulder and take her in a comforting embrace. "She's dead now Kelly, she's not able to hurt you anymore, " I say in a protective whisper. 

"You almost died too Jennifer," she chokes in broken sobs, meeting my eyes. She shakes her head and chokes, "I can't get the image of you laying on the operating table out of my head. Every time a patient flatlined, I have to walk away because I think of how it was all I heard when I first entered the operating room."