Indestructible: Reinforced

Chapter 32

Chapter Thirty-Two

     September 2012

     Present Day

     I couldn’t move. I felt like every inch of strength had been drained out of my body and I was left powerless and helpless. The machine monitoring my heartbeat showed that it was normal, which was a good thing. But since I was the one who was having contraptions every few minutes and felt like I was going to die any second now, I wasn’t quite ecstatic about the fact that my heartbeat was regular.

     Mom dabbed at my sweaty forehead and cheeks with a tissue and leaned back in her seat. I dreaded to think of how I looked right now, I probably wasn’t looking too pretty.

     “Hang in there, Aves.” Dad said as he paced around the room. He was getting restless now, he was worried about me but was trying to hide it. My ability to see through people’s bullshit attempts when dealing with me was uncanny.

     “Hanging on, Dad.” I coughed. “See? I’m all good.”

     Mom sighed and brushed her fingers against my forearm soothingly. “It’s going to be alright. I know it’s difficult now, but in a couple of hours this will all be over.”

     “You’re just making it worse.” I sighed. “Whenever you mention that I still got a couple of hours ahead of me it just depresses more.”

     “Do you want me to get you Drake, darling?”

     “No.” Dad answered instead of me. Mom and I looked at him, he was angry. Really angry. “That son of a bitch isn’t coming anywhere near my daughter, or her kid!”

     “That son of a bitch is the father of my child.” I tried to sound stern but I was too tired and too weak. “Don’t fight with him, Dad, please. You don’t get it.”

     “He’s out there somewhere, and he’s not in here with you, supporting you through this.” Dad snapped. “If he’s not there for you now, then when will he be? Once you’re better we’ll call our lawyers and fight for custody.”

     “No.” I shook my head and my chest started hurting. “I’m not going to do this. Dad, just let it be, it’s my kid.”

     “Avy-“

     “You don’t understand!” I managed to yell that out. But then I felt like I couldn’t even talk, and that made me cry. I hated how I was crying all the time, maybe it was the hormones, but it made me feel like a sissy. “Just let it go, Dad, please.” I coughed again. “Don’t yell at him or make him feel bad. It’s hard for him as it is.”

     “Zack.” Mom warned and Dad sighed in defeat.

     “Thank you.” I muttered.

     “No problem.” She smiled at me warmly and dabbed at my forehead again. “Stop crying, Avy, please.” She dabbed at the tears with the tissue then threw it away because it was too damp.

     “I can’t control it.” I squirmed because my chest ached and it made me uncomfortable. “And my chest hurts.”

     “Because you’re stressed and there’s something bothering you.” Mom nodded knowingly. “Just try to relax.”

     “Relax?” I laughed humorlessly even though I was still crying. “How can I relax? It feels like I’m dying.”

     Dad stalked to the door, opened it, stepped outside, then slammed it behind him. Mom sighed and shook her head. “He can’t lose his temper now.”