She nodded as Piper said, “Have you gotten any more news?”
Fallon shook her head. “The only thing they have been able to tell us is that the baby is okay, but nothing about the swelling on her brain.”
“Baby?” Piper asked.
“She’s pregnant?” Elli said, shocked.
“Yeah, six weeks,” Fallon said. “We just found out yesterday when she was admitted, after they ran all kinds of tests. The doctor told us.”
“Oh my God, poor Tate, your family must be a mess. How is Aiden?” Elli asked. Out of the corner of her eyes, she watched as Piper braced herself against her knees, looking shocked and sick at the same time.
What was that about?
“He doesn’t know,” Fallon said slowly. “Are you okay, Piper?”
Piper looked up and nodded. “Yeah, excuse me.”
They all watched as she made her way to the bathroom, before turning back to each other as Elli asked, “Who has Aiden? Do you need me to go get him?”
“Elli, you have two little ones and two in your belly and you want to take mine? No way, thank you so much, but my babysitter is fine with him for the week. After that I might have to call you,” Fallon added with a warm, loving smile.
Elli smiled back, taking Fallon’s hand in hers. “I’m a phone call away. We’ll leave everything out here for y’all and tell Tate he’s fine, gamewise. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Thank you so much, Elli—”
“Fallon!”
Fallon and Lucas turned to see William standing outside Audrey’s room. “The doctor is here.”
Fallon didn’t even say good-bye to Elli, she just ran toward the room, hoping for some answers. Not only for her sake and her family’s, but for Tate’s too.
Tate didn’t know why, but he found himself standing in the doorway of Audrey’s condo.
William had hired people to clean up the mess after everything that had happened, and it seemed they had done a nice job. Nothing looked out of place, and no one would be able to tell that Audrey’s lifeless body had laid bloody and beaten right below his feet. Walking past the spot that would haunt him for the rest of his life, he went to the island to see the bags from the grocery store she had gone to the day before. Beside them was her phone. He picked it up and plugged it in to charge it so that when she woke up she could have her phone. She would need it. She always did. With a smile, he went through the motions as if Audrey were upstairs changing instead of in the hospital, fighting for her life. He put away the things that hadn’t spoiled away, then went around picking up the things that Audrey hadn’t gotten to.
Making his way upstairs, he went to her closet and was enveloped in her smell. He had missed the way she smelled of sugar. Moving through the closet, he packed a bag of clothes and heels. She would need them when she came home. He felt like a girl, matching her clothes for her. She would flip if she wasn’t matching. Going to her bathroom, he gathered all her toiletries and anything else she might need. Once he had all of her things packed, he went back into the bathroom and removed his clothes. Turning the water on, he stepped into the shower, leaning his head against the shower wall. The hot water burned his body and he welcomed it, anything to make him feel like he was alive.