Chapter 9
LUCY
Dr. Addison Foster is exactly as she looks.
Precise, brisk, and knowledgeable. She’s also efficient and within ten minutes of Massimo leaving has given me the all clear.
“Your heart rate is a bit elevated, as is your blood pressure, but we’ll put that down to the situation,” she states briskly as she pulls away.
“I still would like to examine you vaginally to ensure that you haven’t suffered any issues, especially only being six weeks postpartum.
And while I know the question is a difficult one, I need you to tell me if you were assaulted.
I want to ensure you’re comfortable at all times and don’t want to cause any further trauma by poking around or doing anything you’re not ready for. ”
“No, I wasn’t assaulted,” I say, voice trembling. “The men, they…they talked about it, the ones who brought me there, but the ones that said they were my brothers never touched me. They only punched and kicked me.”
She nods, watching me. “Did they kick or punch you in the stomach?”
I nod. “I fought back when they took me, and I remember when they hit me in the stomach that it really hurt.”
“I’m going to check you to make sure that nothing was damaged. Sofia let me know that when you were originally brought in you were bleeding heavily, and that could be the trauma of the stomach blow and sedation they originally gave you, but I’d like to be sure. Alright?”
I nod stiffly. I've been doing much better since Soren was born, but I’m still sore and tender. Not to mention the stuff coming out of me is like the worst period ever, even if it is getting lighter.
“I’ll take Soren,” Kida offers, gently taking him from me. Dr. Foster had never once told me to let him go and worked around him easily enough, which has put me at ease, but I still feel anxious not having him in my arms.
“We’ll hold up the blanket,” Rori offers, stepping to the other side of the bed and grabbing the sheet, while Sofia grabs the other side and Dr. Foster grabs what she needs from her bag.
Rori smiles at me. “We’re all girls here, but we don’t know each other that well yet, right? ” I give her a weak smile.
I’ll give it to Dr. Foster, she’s gentle, considerate, and constantly looks over the blanket at me to check in.
I really wish they had called her in the first place.
When she’s finished, she announces, “Everything seems to be healing nicely, and I don’t see any signs of tearing from the birth to worry about it. Or have those already healed?”
“I tore a little bit but it healed pretty quickly.”
She gives me a small smile. “You’re fully healed from the birth, and you should stop bleeding any day.
I don’t see any internal damage from the kicks or punches, but if you suddenly start passing large clots, you have them call me immediately.
Alright?” I nod, but when she looks at Sofia and Rori, they both nod as well.
“What about my milk?” I ask when she cleans me up and helps me get redressed and back under the covers. “I breastfeed Soren, but I haven’t yet because I’ve been worried about what they gave me.”
“She was brought here about five hours ago,” Sofia tells Dr. Foster, giving a brief overview of what I was given and what the other doctor said.
Dr. Foster nodded. “I think you’ll be alright if you want to feed him now, but if you want to give it a couple more hours you can.”
“He’s refusing to take a bottle other than a little bit at a time,” Kida jumps in. “He’s not been eating much.”
“Would you like me to examine him while I’m here?” Dr. Foster asks me. “He’s probably alright, but the stress might have him out of sorts.”
“Please.” My heart pounds thinking that he might have made himself sick, and I take him from Kida to hand him to Dr. Foster. Dr. Foster lays him on the bed next to me, listening and smiling slightly when Soren kicks and hits at her in reflex, staring up at her.
“Everything sounds good to me,” she assures me.
“He is a little dehydrated, but I think once he eats he’ll be back to normal in no time.
If you’re nervous to breastfeed him, I have another type of formula that he might enjoy better that you can try.
I wasn’t sure what you had so I brought what I had in storage at the clinic.
It will last you for two feedings I would say, which should be enough for the drugs in your system to be completely gone. ”
“Thank you,” I breathe out in relief.
“If all else fails and you’re not comfortable breastfeeding him and he won’t take anything else, you can try some canned milk, or some store rehydration supplements, though I encourage you to try everything else first. No water,” she adds firmly.
I nod. “I’m hoping I can get him to take the formula and then I’ll hopefully be alright to breastfeed him from there.”
“Good. Otherwise, he’s a healthy baby and he’ll be back to normal soon.
For yourself, I’m going to let them know that I want to come back in a few days to recheck you to make sure you’re still doing well.
At that time, we’ll make plans for next steps, including long term birth control if you require it.
The shot they gave you at the hospital is good for now. ”
Rori snickers, drawing our attention. She waves her hand. “Sorry, it’s a common discussion around here with so many couples and all the sex happening. I told Sofia once that I should double up on mine because I don’t want to get pregnant by just being adjacent to all this love bullshit.”
I smile slightly. “Seeing even just a few of the men around here, I can see why.”
Dr. Foster nods. “Trust me, there’s not many good looking ones out there in this life, but I’ve never had any trouble appreciating the view when I am here, though my time has been limited.”
Jumping in bed with one of the mafia men around here is a hard no. Joey has been gone for almost a year now, but I have no interest in being with any other men. Especially not with Soren. He needs my full attention.
Dr. Foster cleans up her things and heads out, leaving me with Kida, Rori, and Sofia.
I almost expect Massimo to come barging in, but no one opens the door again.
“I’ll make up the bottle,” Kida says, taking the formula Dr. Foster left and one of the bottles into the bathroom after handing me back Soren.
“I’ve already sent out some men to grab you anything you might need,” Sofia says after a moment, a soft smile on her face. “And I’ve asked for a bottle warmer, along with a breast pump in case you want to pump and save anything.”
“Thank you,” I say awkwardly, rocking my son, who is already starting to get fussy again.
“Alright, now that the men aren’t here fucking things up, now’s your chance to ask the questions,” Rori says briskly, crawling to the bottom of the bed and sits cross-legged facing me.
Hades gives a low whine, and she waves her hand, making him jump up on the bed and lay beside her, his head in her lap, looking up at her lovingly.
Sofia chuckles and sits on the other side of her, reaching over to give Hades a quick pat before looking at me.
“Consider this the quiet before the storm, darling,” she tells me.
“When Gia, Sienna, and Amara find out you’re here, they’re going to want to meet you and it’s going to be a whirlwind.
On top of that, you’re going to be meeting all the men around here as well.
It’s a lot, and after everything you’ve been through in the last little while, I imagine you have a lot of questions. So now’s your chance to do it.”
“My mind is still reeling from everything I’ve been told in the last couple hours,” I admit, suddenly feeling bone-deep tired. How the hell am I supposed to think all this through?
The mafia? Good parts versus bad parts? New family members?
War and violence? It’s all too much to comprehend and I feel like I’m in a terrible dream.
Except, my biggest fear is that it’s one I’m never going to wake up from.
Is this really my new reality? Is this my son’s new reality? What will this mean for him?
“She’s going to get in her own head and spiral,” Kida suddenly calls from the other room.
“So I’ll ask and then we’ll see how far we get.
What the fuck is going on? Why is all of this happening after so many years?
I mean, hello, they put her up for adoption, so obviously they didn’t want her around. ”
“That’s not what Massimo said,” I remind her, but she is right, I’m not great at asking questions. I get too involved in the small details to ask the big picture questions. This, though, I can at least speak on. “He said that I was snuck out and that they didn’t know about my existence.”
“You’re telling me that you believe that?” Kida demands incredulously, moving back to stand in the bathroom doorway.
“Why would he lie about that? And based on what those guys all said when they had me, they said I looked like, what’s her name?
Gia?” Sofia and Rori both nod. “Yeah, and they sounded disappointed about it, but why would they if they already knew what I looked like? And if they knew I was alive before now, they would have found me before now.”
“They’re mafia, and they have access to networks that regular people don’t,” Kida reasons.
“How the hell did they get four girls out without someone noticing? I mean, that’s nearly impossible.
Aren’t people like that guarded? And wouldn’t they have checked the doctor and nurses at the hospital before they left?
It’s all too convenient and elaborate a story to be believable.
And, let’s be real Luce, you’re gullible and want to believe everything you hear. ”