Miki

 

 

“What did you do with my sister?” I shout as I’m dragged through the front door the building.

The last thing I see above me is the looming blackness of dangerous clouds.

“Shut up.” The man grunts, one arm around my neck, the other clenched rough around my arm. At least he’d done away with the gun for now.

“I know you’re Aidan’s father.” I hiss through gritted teeth, “I don’t know what you think you can accomplish with me-”

“My son is going to realize the duties of his lineage, whether he likes it or not.” He drags me into a side room, shoving me into a chair, “Having the woman that he loves will make him realize the span of my… influence.”

“You’re trying to use me to force Aidan to work for you?”

“He only needs a little push in the right direction. He must realize what I do to family that betrays me, what the obligations of our family are.”

“He doesn’t love me!” I cackle manically, staring at him with crazed eyes, “You’ve made a huge fucking mistake. We’re faking our engagement! I mean nothing to Aidan, having me won’t force him to do anything!”

I dissolve into laughter that turns to tears streaking down my face. Dominic gazes down at me, his lips taut over grey teeth, a growl of fury in his throat.

“If I made a huge mistake then I guess I don’t need you anymore, do I?” He snarls bitterly, his hands clenching into fists as he glances up towards one of the men looming in the shadows of the room’s corners.

“Take her to the other one. Lock them up and leave them.”

“Sir, the other woman…”

Dominic doesn’t respond. He doesn’t even twitch an eyebrow. He simply stares at the burly man until he practically quakes in his boots and gives a hasty nod.

“Of course, sir.”

The man grasps my elbow, dragging me from the room.

“You have to get my sister out.” I plead as soon we’re out of the room with Dominic in it, “You have to get her out of here. She’s a mother! She’s pregnant!”

He doesn’t answer, mirroring Dominic Nelson’s stony grimness.

 “Please!” I beg, but he only opens a door and hurls me inside.

I trip over the doorway, sprawling out on the floor with bruised knees and scraped palms.

“Miki…” Poppy moans from the side of the room where she’s crawled towards a barred window. She grasps her stomach, face pale as a fresh sheet of paper. Her lips are blue.

“I’m here.” I whisper, skittering towards her and bending down at her side, “It’s going to be okay. I promise.”

“Of course.” She grins weakly, touching my cheek, “I’ll be fine.”

“Yeah, you will.” I whimper, kissing her cold forehead, “We’ll be out any second. I’ll figure out a way.”

She groans, clutching her stomach again, chest rising and falling in short, tight pants.

“You have to breathe, Poppy.” I urge her, though she barely recognizes my words.

She falls back against the wall, groans turning to a whimper.

I twist around, scouring the room, but it’s nearly empty. The only thing that remains is a piece of poster board in the corner with a little boy holding a big stack of pancakes. His bright grin mocks Poppy’s pain.

“Henry’s not supposed to come yet.” Her face screws up, cheeks going red with pain and tears, “It’s too early. It’s only just past seven months.”

“Henry is going to be fine, just like you and I.” I promise her, running back to the door to slam my hands against it. Over and over I ram my body against the metal of the firm door but it never so much as creaks.

“You have to let us out!” I scream, pounding it with my hands, “Please!”

But no one answers.

I rush back to Poppy as she flops to the side, tiny whimper on her lips.

“Hey, Poppy, stay with me! Can you hear me?”

She nods weakly, eyelashes fluttering.

“Good, good.” My heart feels as though it’s running a marathon, pounding so roughly against my ribs that I can barely breathe.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

I can’t lose Poppy. I can’t lose my only sister.

“Hope and Harper…” She abruptly says, chin lifting up slightly as she glances towards the window. Rain begins to drip steadily against the fogged glass, forming tiny trails of clear water, “Will they be okay?”

“They’re going to be great, because you’re going to be great.” I insist through gritted teeth.

A feral moan parts Poppy’s lips as she clutches her stomach, desperate eyes turning towards me.

“He’s coming now, Miki, I can’t stop him.”

“If he’s ready, he’s ready.” I respond dryly, throat so tight I could barely squeak out the words.

She whimpers, then moans, clutching her knees as I help her draw them to her chest.

I’d never so much as watched an animal giving birth. But I had to be strong for Poppy. I had to give her strength.

Gently, I pull up her loose dress, inhaling sharply at the puddle of blood left beneath her body.

“Is it okay?” She asks hazily, unfocused eyes on me.

“It looks great!” I gush, squeezing her knees tenderly.

She nods, her head bobbing slowly as her entire body abruptly goes tense, a guttural scream parting her lips.

“His head!” I shriek, more shocked than even Poppy, as I see the top of the beautiful boy’s head become visible. His matted dark hair is just the color of Grant’s.

Poppy screams again with pain as I rip off my own t-shirt and wrap it around the baby as his shoulders slowly emerge. Suddenly, just as tiny baby Henry is birthed and lays still and silent on my shirt, Poppy goes similarly silent.

Wrapping the baby tight and warm, I lightly stick a finger in his mouth, trying to clear his passage.

“Poppy! He’s beautiful! Tiny, but beautiful!” I bite back tears, silently urging Henry to make a noise, to twitch, to do anything.

At my knees, sticky red blood oozes slowly around me, staining my pants. I slap the baby’s back, begging him to cry. Poppy slumps over, chest barely raising, blood all around us, lips blue.

A sick, ugly scream rises from my throat as I smack the baby’s back again, grabbing at Poppy.

 “What do I do?!” I shriek, “Help! Please! Someone!”

I scream, again and again, shaking Poppy and begging her to open her eyes.

It’s then, just as the baby in my arms gives sucks in a tiny breath and lets loose a kitten’s mewl, that the doors behind us fling open.

 

~~

 

Aidan clutches me in his arms, my arms still circling the baby as the ambulance rolls frantically up to the front of the building. Immediately, they take the baby into the truck as the others rush in to retrieve a barely conscious Poppy.

 “She’s going to be okay.” He whispers in my ear, clutching me against him.

I cling to his shirt, shivering in his arms.

The police guide the men from inside the home towards the cop cars, though Dominic balks in front of Aidan, his hands cuffed behind him.

“I did all this for you, son.” He growls raspily, “I did all this so that you could claim what was yours.”

“You don’t have any idea what’s mine.” Aidan snaps, catching me to his chest so that I don’t have to look into the eyes of the man who almost killed my sister. I still do, however, lifting my chin to stare piercingly at the old man.

“This is mine, and only mine.” Aidan continues, his chin jerking down towards me, “This woman is the only thing on this entire planet that truly matters to me. Everything else could be lost. But not her, not my Miki.”

“But…” He begins, confused, eyes darting towards me then back towards Aidan. He grits his jaw, shaking his head as the cop shoves him forward towards the car.

“I just wanted you to take over the family name!” Dominic insists loudly, his face pressed against the cop car’s window, lips still moving even as the car pulls from the curb.

Another car, a bright red BMW, takes its place almost instantly, tires squealing. The hint of sun above us glints against the hood as Grant leaps from the car just as Poppy is being wheeled out from the building, an IV in her arm.

“Poppy!” He shouts, rushing forward to grasp her hand.

“We’re taking her to Riverside. She’s going to be okay.” One of the EMTs says gently, loading her into the back of the ambulance.

Grant takes a single moment to rush back towards us where he grabs Aidan by the shoulders.

“I owe you.” He whispers, eyes glistening, “Anything. I owe you.” Then he instantly turns and bounds back to the ambulance and leaps inside to ride with his wife and newborn to the hospital.

Eli gazes out at the cars, his shoulders slack. Ari stands beside him, hand resting on his shoulder.

“Are you doing okay?” She asks softly, though he only shakes his head.

He turns towards me, his eyes flickering over my face and my blood soaked clothes, then numbly down at his shoes.

“What about you, Ari?” Aidan asks quietly, “That was your boss after all.”

“I wasn’t working for him to earn some extra cash to buy a pair of shoes.” She snaps bitterly, arms crossing over her chest, bare foot tapping the ground. Her feet were black and muddy though she didn’t seem to notice, “My cousin is in trouble. Your father offered me help.”

“He’s in trouble?” I ask with a frown, “Is there any way we can help.”

She shakes her head, eyes locking on Aidan again, “We both found vices in college. Hers just landed her in a rougher spot.”

Suddenly they were talking about something entirely different and I was very much out of the loop.

“If you’re going to apologize…” Aidan begins, but she shakes her head. Even with limp and soggy locks hanging into her eyes, she’s still gorgeous.

“I cheated on you and that was wrong, but our relationship was dead way before then and you know it.”

Aidan doesn’t respond, jaw setting slightly.

“You were literally never home. You were always working or in the computer lab or in class. You and I barely had anything at all. Two whole years together and I only know your favorite meal is lobster soufflé because Ruth told me so the other day.”

Her eyes soften she looks at me, tiny smile on her face, “But when I see the way you two look at one another, I see something real. I’m happy for you-”

 “Miki, I don’t even know how to start…” Eli interrupts abruptly, stepping to Ari’s side as she glances up in surprise.

“This isn’t your fault.” I respond quickly, pulling away from Aidan to approach the grim man, “None of this was your fault.”

Eli wipes away a trace of dried blood from my cheek, giving a slight nod as he turns towards his brother.

“I’m sorry.” Eli swallows thickly, not able to meet Aidan’s eyes, “You were right. I just couldn’t believe that my own dad would ever do something so vile.”

Aidan just claps a hand on his older brother’s shoulder, but Eli drags him forward, wrapping him up in the very first hug that the pair has ever shared.

“I’m sorry.” Eli repeats, “I’ll be sorry forever.”

As the pair parts, Aidan outstretches his arm back towards me to return to him. As I do, he takes my hands in his own and lifts them to his lips. He kisses my palm then cups my cheek. It’s only then that I notice his fingers are trembling.

I slide my hand against his own, frown crossing my face.

“All I could think, when I found out he took you… All I could think was that I’d never get the chance to say what I want to, Miki.”

“…what is it?” I ask quietly, the sun breaking through the clouds overhead.

 “I love you. I want to love you forever. I never want to spend a single day without you anymore.”

A yelp claws at my throat in surprise, “Are you serious?” I cry, the only words I can manage before the tears burst in my eyes.

 “I don’t have a ring, Miki.” He whispers in my ear, dragging me close into his hold, “But I’ll give you the whole damn world if you want. I’ll give you anything as long as I can call you mine forever.”

“All I want is you!” I sob into his shoulder, “Aidan, I love you!”