A Ruin Of Roses (Used to be: My Mysterious Husband)

THIRTY-FOUR

𝙻𝚘𝚜 𝙰𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕𝚎𝚜, 𝙲𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚘𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚊, 𝟷𝟷:𝟹𝟾 𝙿.𝙼 𝙰𝚄𝙶 17𝚝𝚑 𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟾
[𝙿.𝙾.𝚅 𝚁𝙾𝚂𝙴]

Jill's soft and sweet tone contrasts with the crowded room and the presence of unfamiliar faces. I'm grateful for their help, but a part of me feels overwhelmed. Jaxon is behind an old bedsheet, being tended to by the unfamiliar but friendly group of people whose names I don't know. They're taking care of Jayden's transplant and stitching up his head.

Jill hands me a warm, wet washcloth to clean my knuckles and sighs with gratitude, "Thank you for being so kind to my brother."

"He's your brother?" I inquire, surprised by this revelation.

"Yeah, I ran away from home after my dad kicked him out, and we've been together ever since," Jill explains, as if Jaxon being hurt is a normal occurrence. "Trust me when I say this is very rare for Jaxon. He's a lot safer. You guys made him restless and reckless," she adds with a soft smile.

She changes the subject, asking about my pregnancy. "How far along are you?"

"About twenty weeks," I reply, "I'm due in January."

Jill smiles and nods, her eyes filled with curiosity. "Is it a boy or girl, do you know?"

"I feel like it's a boy. It's like being pregnant with Jayden all over again, just that I'm older," I respond calmly. Jill moves closer, a needle in her hand, and begins stitching up my head wounds. I wince slightly, and she apologizes, her hands moving with utmost precision.

"I will say Jaxon was very different when you were gone. He wasn't himself," Jill shares.

I can't help but express my guilt. "I feel awful."

"It's okay," she reassures me.

"I can't leave him again," I admit.

Jill offers a solution, "You can always hang out with me and the other moms. It's only fair we let our husbands do what they must."

"I honestly don't know how to react to him being in a mafia," I confess.

She giggles and says, "Like that 'Jungle Book' saying, you can take the man out of the mafia, but you can't take the mafia out of the man." She pauses and picks at my head wound, making me wince slightly. "Sorry," she says with a smile. "What I was saying is if you want to stay with Jaxon, you need to let him stay himself. I'd give anything to get Jayce out of this life, but it's where we belong."

"You've got a point," I sigh.

Jill continues, "And trust and believe, when little Jayden grows up, he will have it in his blood, no matter if you leave or stay."

"I really hope not," I whisper.

"Sorry, honey, we've seen it. Jaxon is an example of it right off the bat," Jill says. "Our father is a mafia man himself."

"So you're saying I should stay?" I ask.

Jill smiles and offers words of wisdom, "That's up to you, sweetie. If you love him enough to worry about him before he comes home each day and love him enough to deal with the dangers it will bring to your life, that's real love."

I consider her words carefully and ask, "How long have you been with Jayce?"

"Since I was sixteen," Jill reveals. "I had our first daughter when I was seventeen and had our sixth kid  on June twenty-sixth," she adds with a sense of pride.

I share a personal memory, "I remember that day. That was when I told Jaxon I was pregnant."

Jill's eyes widen with surprise. "Really? He never said you were there," she remarks, and I shrug.

"Maybe once you guys figure everything out, we can get to know each other properly," Jill suggests with a laugh. I nod in agreement, appreciating her support and the possibility of building a connection with the family that Jaxon has found himself entwined with. Jill finishes up the stitches, and I'm left with a sense of hope, unity, and understanding that we're all in this together.