Indestructible: Reinforced

Chapter 40

Chapter Forty

     September 2012

     Present Day

     “Avy, I have to tell you something.”

     Gaby pulled me out of my reverie and I turned my head and looked at her through half-closed eyes. “What?”

     She ran her fingers through her hair nervously and kept wringing her hands together. She was a bit pale, and her lips were slightly parted as she tried to breathe through them. What the hell was wrong with her?

     “There’s someone here.” She paused. “I don’t know how you’re going to react to this exactly. But I’ve seen Drake’s reaction, it’s not good.”

     “Is she back?” I asked as my pulse jumped. “Amelie. Is she back?”

     “No.” Gaby shook her head. “It’s not that.”

     “Then who is it?”

     “Jake’s here.” Gaby said after a pause. I felt my heartbeat come to a halt. “He flew in so he could talk to you and Drake about something. Says he wants to make things right.”

     A lot of emotions flitted through me as Gaby spoke. First, I felt confused, why was Jake here? How was Jake here? And then I felt angry. Really angry. “That son of a bitch!”

     “Avy.” Gaby warned. “Calm down.”

     “What the hell is he doing here?” I hissed. “Why is he here, Gaby? And how dare he come on this day?”

     “He didn’t plan this.” Gaby said quickly. “He didn’t know you were going to be giving birth tonight. He just came and it coincided with this.”

     “What does he want?” I felt my heartbeat start racing and it showed on the monitor. Why was I even connected to that thing? I was just giving birth, for God’s sake! “What does he want with me and Drake?”

     “Like I said,” Gaby sighed. “he says he wants to make things right. It sounds like a load of crap to me too, but I think you should hear him out.”

     “If I see him I’m going to kill him.” I sagged against the pillow. “Oh, why did you have to tell me this now? I was getting better, now I feel worse.”

     “I thought you should know.” Gaby said defensively. “Would you have liked it better if he’d just barged in here unannounced?”

     “Wait,” I tried to sit up and succeeded. “He’s here? By here you meant the hospital? Not just Paris?”

     “He’s in the cafeteria.” She nodded. “He and Drake already met, so. It’s just you left.”

     “Drake knows he’s here?” I groaned. “What happened? Jake didn’t piss him off or anything, did he?”

     “Unintentionally.” Gaby cleared her throat. “I mean, it only took Drake one look at him and then he snapped. He started shouting and cussing him out. It was a sight, really. Since when has Drake become this angry?”

     “He’s always been angry.” What the hell was she talking about? “He just doesn’t show it. Unless he’s really angry, then he sort of snaps and just doesn’t stop.”

     “He doesn’t want Jake to see you.” Gaby said. “Says he won’t let him. He doesn’t even want to hear Jake out. I know you two are angry with Jake, but atleast hear the guy out. He didn’t fly all this way for nothing.”

     “It’s a two-hour flight, Gaby.” I sighed. “It’s nothing. And Jake’s done more for less. And I don’t believe for even a second that he’s here to make things right. Jake doesn’t have good intentions, he doesn’t believe in them.”

     “Well, it looks real this time, Aves.” Gaby ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. “I didn’t believe it at first, but it seems like he means it.”

     “Then he’s probably dying and doesn’t want to go over to the other side without settling things here.” I nodded. “That makes sense to me.”

     Gaby chuckled. “I asked him that. Told me he’s not dying.”

     “Then he’s not for real.” I shook my head. “No way. I know him, Gaby. Better than you or Josh. I know him the most here. Even if you call Cynthia up and ask her, she’ll tell you he’s bullshitting you.”

     “What if he’s telling the truth Avy?” She asked. “I mean, he’s been gone for half a year or something, maybe he’s changed.”

     “Jake doesn’t change.” I replied. “I know him, Gaby. He doesn’t think that way, he doesn’t need to set things right with people so that he could move on or whatever. That’s not like him at all.”

     “Back when you knew him.”

     “I’ve known the guy for almost ten years!” I exclaimed. “He’s always been like that. And a couple of months away from all of us didn’t change him.”

     “You haven’t even seen him!”

     “I don’t need to.” I sighed. “Just make sure he doesn’t say anything to Drake. I don’t want him to stress out because of that dickhead. Keep him away from Drake.”

     “Drake asked me the same thing.” Gaby said. “He asked me to keep him away from you. But I think you’ll agree to see him eventually.”

     “Not now.” I shook my head. “I can’t deal with him now.”

     “He has to leave soon.” Gaby got up and headed to the door. “If that baby isn’t out of you by then, I’ll let him see you before.” She opened the door and looked over her shoulder at me. “I’m not sending him back home like that. Plus, I’m the one who told him to come here in the first place.”

     I glared at her. “What? Gaby, don’t you-“ But she’d already closed the door behind her. I sat there in the bed, being held down by tubes and uncooperative legs, seething with anger and fighting over an extremely strong urge to kill Jake for coming here and ruining this for me more than it was already ruined. And I dreaded what would go down between him and Drake if Jake decided to hit back.

     I didn’t want him to go near Drake. He was under a lot of stress as it was, I didn’t want Jake to add to it. I didn’t want him to be here. I wanted him to leave. But I couldn’t meet him now just to send him off. I wanted to, if it meant that he’d leave and let us be, but I didn’t have the strength, and I wasn’t in a state of mind fit enough to talk to him.

     Oh, why had Gaby done that? Why had she asked him to come? It was alright when I meddled into other people’s business, I knew what I was doing, I was old enough to know, but she was a kid! And why hadn’t Josh stopped her? Was he as stupid as his girlfriend was? Did he support her? I was going to kill them both, and probably Jake too. And Amelie.

     So, my ex-husband was here and my bestfriend/baby-daddy’s girlfriend was around as well? And I was giving birth with no man at my side? Me? Avril Cassidy?

     I sighed and pushed my hair away from my face. How the hell had that happened?