FIFTY SHADES OF THEO JAMES

Chapter 3

The conditions of Ellie and Elijah didn't change at all while I had been gone. Which though not good, also meant that they hadn't gotten any worse. As I moved to settle into the chair beside Ellie's bed my mother pulled me aside to tell me that it was lunch time and wanted me to go with her to get something to eat for us all. I was quick to decline, explaining that I needed to be with Ellie, and that she could go to the café with father, but she insisted that the café food was dastardly to her stomach and so she wanted me to go out and therefore needed me to navigate.

I didn't think anything of it until I realized she could have easily used her gps. It was in that moment that I chalked it up to her trying to get me out  for a little bit.

"Where would you like to eat?" I asked her, hoping she'd pick something somewhere close. But of course she wanted Moussaka - an eggplant-based dish - and so we ended up driving half an hour out of the way to an upscale Greek restaurant called Petros.

When we arrived and went to order our food to go, she insisted that it was such a long drive back that we might as well sit down and eat. I obliged, but under the condition that we take our food and eat it in the truck.

"How's your lamb kleftiko?" My mother asked as I took a bite of my meal and began chewing.

I gave her a double thumbs up with a grin as I continued chewing my food. Lamb never failed to disappoint me. It was one of those meats I could eat every day and never get tired of. That and quail.

"A relaxing shower, a nice meal, all that you need now is some good tea and a nice nap." My mother said, trying to make conversation.

I let slip a laugh before letting my head fall back. "It wasn't one bit relaxing. My mind wouldn't stop racing. And don't get me started on the ordeal afterwards." I said, clearly annoyed.

"What happened afterwards?" She asked, worriedly.

I went into grave detail, starting with catching Grace trying to steal Ellie's things, and finished with the ultimatum I gave her. "Mum, I wanted to pull that trigger, does that make me a bad person?" I asked, seeking reassurance.

She looked me in the eye, unmoving and in complete silence, for a beat before she turned her entire body in the seat to face me. Taking my hands between hers she held them. "No, son, that doesn't make you a bad person. Acting upon bad thoughts is what turns a person bad. It's human to feel what you feel towards her. She harmed the ones you hold most dearest to your heart and feels no remorse what-so-ever.

"And if you ever question whether or not you are a good person, please think back to where that wretched woman is right now. You could've put her out, but you didn't."

I wanted to reply to her and say the only reason I wouldn't put her out was because I wanted the situation contained, the media to remain ignorant, and I didn't trust her leaving anywhere while she was carrying my child, but I didn't want to continue this conversation any longer. After all a mother was suppose to reassure her child that everything was going to be alright, and sometimes that meant lying to your child to make them feel better.

When we returned to the hospital the doctors had just entered the room. I felt the uneasiness the moment I saw them and knew something wasn't right. My eyes moved to the monitors on the bedside table and then allowed myself to cross the room to the bedside. I felt my heart sink as I looked upon the scene. There was a crash cart right beside the bed and now Ellie had a breathing tube down her throat.

"What happened?" I asked them as I carefully picked her hand up and pressed my lips to it.

Her doctor explained that she went into a sudden cardiac arrest so they had to bring in the crash cart to restart her heart, and that once they revived her they discovered her oxygen levels were terribly low so they had to intubate her.