Chapter 9
Jude
Jude didn’t know how much time had passed since Bertha left him alone in his basement staring at his blood drying on the floor.
He knew he was back in the hospital thanks to all the noise.
Machines beeped around him and he’d spent the night listening to Ronan read a book.
It was some kind of thriller about a child who’d been kidnapped and his parents’ desperate attempt to find him.
He needed to find out how the book ended.
Would the child come home to parents who loved him or were they the ones who made him disappear in the first place?
“Uncle Jude?” a familiar voice called out. “Can you hear me?”
“Everly?” Jude’s voice sounded rusty. Most likely a result of the damn tube down his throat. Or maybe the fact that he’d barely spoken at all since he’d fallen down the stairs.
“I’m reaching out to you. Grab my hand!” Everly sounded out of breath, as if she’d run up several flights of stairs.
Jude closed his eyes and pictured Everly. He reached out, not imagining he’d encounter his niece. She grabbed his hands and Jude yanked her forward. When he opened his eyes, Everly was standing in front of him. “Hi, honey.”
Everly wrapped her arms around Jude and hugged him tight. “I don’t have a lot of time. I can already feel myself getting weaker. Running Eagle is helping me get through to you.”
“I heard his voice earlier. Please tell him I’m glad he’s here. Same with your parents and Fitz. The kids too.”
“No way, Uncle Jude.” Everly stood with her hands on her hips.
“Tell them yourself. You need to fight harder to come back to us. Woofie was so upset the other day when I couldn’t reach you.
Lizbet is sad all the time. She doesn’t quite understand what’s happening, but she can feel that everyone’s energy is off. ”
“So can you.” Jude smiled at his feisty niece.
“Mostly. I’m gonna tell it to you straight, just like my Daddy would; cut the bull and fight for your life. You know what it’s like to grow up without your parents. Don’t make Wolf and LizzyB go through the same thing again!”
Both of Wolf’s parents had been killed when he was only a few months old.
Lizbet’s mother gave her up for adoption a mere hour after she was born.
If anything happened to Jude, both of his kids would have lost three parents.
Christ, he couldn’t imagine how hard that would be on both of them.
Not to mention Cope. They were so happy together.
Losing Jude would be a heartbreak Cope might never overcome.
Everly rolled her eyes. “Now I know what Daddy means when he talks about you being stuck on yourself.” She reached out and took Jude’s hands. “Woofie cries in his sleep for you. He begs and pleads for you to get better. I had to help stop his nightmares.”
“You can do that?” Jude knew Everly was extremely talented, but had no idea she was a dream master as well.
“There’s a lot I can do, Uncle Jude. But there’s one thing I can’t do, at least not yet, and that’s heal people. Only you can do that.”
“Do you know what the doctors are saying about me?” Jude asked. He’d heard bits and pieces, but not the full story.
“I do. They said your brain swelling is getting better. For now you don’t need an operation. The doctors were going to cut your head open. I don’t know how they do that, maybe with a nutcracker? But you need to keep getting better. Do you understand?”
Jude nodded. He managed a smile at the thought of brain surgeons using a nutcracker on his skull.
“In a day or two, your doctor is going to take you off the breathing machine. Your lungs have gotten used to the machine doing all the work for them, so you’re going to have to start breathing again on your own.
Bad things happen to people who are on those machines for too long.
It’s gonna be hard work, Uncle Jude. I’ve been listening to the nurses thoughts and they all keep saying what a long road ahead you’ve got if you survive.
When I heard that mean, skinny witch say that, I was mad.
I yelled at her and told her how strong you are.
How hard you would fight to come back to us.
Don’t make me look like a liar! I believe in you.
We’ve got so many adventures ahead of us.
I don’t want to do them alone. I need you to dance with me on my wedding day and be there when my babies are born. ”
Jude could picture Everly’s wedding day in his mind’s eye. He could also picture the amount of shit he, Ronan, and Fitz would give her poor groom to make sure the man would do right by Everly and the family they’d build together.
“Fight hard, Uncle Jude. Uncle Cope, Woofie, and Lizbet need you to come home. So does my Daddy. I heard him praying last night. For you. You’re my person, so cut the shit and get better. Got it?”
Jude snorted. “Got it, little miss. I promise, I’ll fight my hardest.”
“I’ve gotta go, but Bertha will be back soon so you’re not all alone.” Everly rushed into Jude’s arms. “I love you more than peanut butter.”
“Yeah, well I love you more than jelly!” Jude hugged his niece until she disappeared.
He watched as Running Eagle scooped her off the bed and brought her out into the hallway where he knew the others were waiting.
He’d seen how hard it was for Everly to make herself visible to him.
If she could fight that hard for him, surely he could fight that hard for himself.
Jude thought back to the day Everly was born in the middle of a blizzard. He’d been in the SUV with Ronan, Ten, Kaye, and Emilyn, Everly’s mother. He’d sat beside the mother-to-be holding her hand and telling her how strong she was.
When they’d finally reached the hospital, Jude had stayed in the maternity ward waiting area along with Kaye.
After what seemed like forever, Ronan poked his head out the door and motioned Jude into the room.
The second he walked into the room, Tennyson handed him Everly.
She was so tiny. He remembered being absolutely awestruck by the infant.
Her dark eyes had been wide open and staring into Jude’s as if she could see all the goodness inside of him.
He’d vowed then and there to always be Everly’s person. He couldn’t let his niece down.
Jude would fight with everything he had to come back to his family. He needed them as much as they needed him.