Chapter 44
Chapter Forty-Four
Achilles
I’d still die for you – Dominic Donner
Ijump, pretending to do some sort of Irish dance as I throw my feet around in front of Lyra's cot.
Her little hands are holding onto the barrier, and she's moving up and down to the rhythm of the music I'm playing on the violin.
Every time I twirl, she giggles like an angel.
I move my bow dramatically to keep her entertained, but it's the music that has her wide brown eyes shining.
"More Irish folk music?" Nyx groans as she walks through the front door.
"It's not my fault she loves it." I keep playing and dancing as Lyra tries to clap and loses balance, falling on her butt. "Sorry our daughter isn't a Mozart lover like you."
I've only been back for two months, but Nyx and I did not manage to take things slow.
I moved into the lake house right away, and Sophie needs to be close to me the same way I need to be close to her, so she had no issues moving in too.
She's the biggest daddy's girl who's ever walked this earth. It's not like I would complain anyway.
She’s a stubborn little lady, so her adjustment to American life has been a challenge.
She loves Nyx, and she absolutely adores Lyra.
She doesn’t call Nyx her mom, still sometimes confused as to who her real mother is, no matter how many times I explained the truth to her.
But it took no time for her to call Lyra her little sister.
My mom was finally able to move back to Stoneview, and that gives Sophie her safe haven when she’s not in my arms. When she’s at my mom’s, she can speak French, and she has that familiarity she lost among the chaos.
At first, my mom struggled to let go of Sophie and not care for her all the time.
We spent so long being worried about her that she couldn’t stay away.
But slowly, without any judgement, Nyx is showing her she can be trusted.
She’s come up with routines that make my mom and Sophie feel safe because they know it’ll be the same thing every time.
A treat at a coffee place every Sunday afternoon for the three of them.
Picking up Sophie from school on her own once a week.
And Sophie’s favorite: When Nyx takes her to Ella’s dancing studio on Saturdays.
My mom’s newfound freedom has made her so happy. She loves Nyx and is so respectful of her place in the family we’re creating. She explains to Sophie, when needed, that she’s her grandmother, and she doesn’t let her call her mom anymore.
Sometimes, it all feels too good to be true. Most of the time, I lose myself in the happiness without question. That’s the effect Nyx still has on me. That reassuring light she carries everywhere she goes.
"Achilles," Nyx calls out over the music. "I swear you're going to make me turn off the hearing aid. Can you stop for a minute?"
I eye Lyra still giggling in her cot.
"I'm afraid I can't. As long as she's laughing, I'm playing."
"I think my mom is following me again."
I stop right away. "What?"
Lyra pouts, her eyes filling with tears, and the same way I can never resist those big eyes when Nyx wants something, I put my violin down to take her in my arms right away, letting her nestle against my neck as she sucks her thumb.
"Did she talk to you?" I ask Nyx as I turn back to her.
She shakes her head. "No. But I'm pretty sure she doesn't need baby diapers, so she has no business in the same aisle as I was. She ignored me when I tried to talk to her, but she was at the gas station on the South Bank yesterday too. She doesn't even live there."
She takes her phone out and checks the time. "Anyway, I freaked out and drove here, but I have more errands to run before I pick up Sophie from her dance class with Ella."
She puts a hand on Lyra's shoulder and presses a kiss to her cheek. "Mommy's going to be back very soon. And then she can play Bach for you. You love Bach, baby girl, don't you?"
Lyra coos because she loves the sound of her voice, but I can say with certainty that she hates Bach.
"Take her," I say as I try to give her to Nyx. "I'll pick up Sophie. I don't want you out on your own if Catherine is being weird."
"Don't be paranoid. What’s she going to do?"
"I don't care; I'm not taking the risk. She escaped our justice system, but she won't fucking escape me if she steps out of line."
She cocks an eyebrow at me. "Can you not talk about murder when you have an eleven-month-old in your arms, please?"
I smile, but I already know it's the kind she hates. "I never said the word. You did."
She takes the car keys from her pocket. "You're not picking up Sophie. You've got a call with the New York Philharmonic for the opening. We'll talk about it when I get back."
"I'll miss it. I don't care." I follow her, almost tripping on my violin. I'm ready to follow her to the car, but I've got no shoes, and I’m holding a baby who is nowhere near ready to step outside.
"Call me!" I shout, and she shakes her head as she gets in the car.
As usual, Nyx knows best. The call with the New York guys goes smoothly, and I'm glad I didn't miss it.
It's a breath of fresh air, a new hope to know that I'll be playing my new concerto.
The last two years, my lungs have been tight and my hands tingling to play professionally.
Being with Nyx again, taking care of my daughters, that's my life, the reason I'm alive.
But playing the violin? It's my passion.
It runs in my blood and pushes me to keep bettering myself.
I can't wait to tell Nyx that she'll be first chair.
Having her play behind me while I present our masterpiece to the world is a dream come true, and I've never felt more inspired.
I'm feeding Lyra when my phone rings with an unknown number. Nyx still isn't back, but it's not even time to pick up Sophie yet.
"Hello?"
"Hello, Achilles."
It takes me a moment to place the voice. I haven't heard it in so long.
"Catherine. How did you get this number?"
"What, a woman can't use the last connections she has for something useful? Your father never believed me when I told him that you weren't truly dead. He died in prison, did you know?"
"I did. Hung himself, like most former Shadows.
Interesting, isn't it? Listen, if you want money, you'll get none.
If you want to get in contact with the daughter you abandoned, that's a no too.
In fact, if you keep following her, I'm going to stop playing nice and get rid of you the same way I have others who did her wrong. "
"Actually, I just wanted to share information you might find useful. How fast do you think Nyx is currently driving?"
I sit up on the couch, knowing something is wrong.
"What?"
"I can see her now on the highway, and I'd say just shy of eighty miles per hour. Now let's see what happens if someone slams into her car, shall we?"
"Are you seriously expecting me to believe a woman as selfish as you is going to kill herself to take her daughter out with her? Don't make me laugh."
"I have nothing left, Achilles. My only plan is to make you suffer—"
Her sentence is cut short by the sound of two cars hitting each other, metal screaming, tires screeching loudly, and then nothing.
I jump off my seat, starting to run to the door before my brain rings the alarm. Lyra.
"Fuck!" I hiss. I go to Chris's number right away. They live by the lake too.
It only takes a couple of rings for him to pick up, but it feels like an eternity.
"Hello?"
"Nyx is in danger. Come to my house. I have to leave right now. Lyra’s alone."
He doesn't hesitate for one second. "On my way. What's wrong?"
"Nyx—" I cut myself off, unable to finish the sentence as I keep the front door open.
I can see his house from here. It’s only been a few seconds, but why isn’t he out yet? She needs me. She needs me now.
Finally, I can see him running down the shore from a few houses down.
"In her cot." That's all I say as I sprint, my heart ringing in my ears.
I'm in my car in a split second. Catherine said they're on the highway, and at this time, the only way Nyx would take is from Stoneview to Silver Falls to go pick up Sophie at Ella's dance studio.
I’ve never been so fast in my life, but still the world feels like it’s moving in slow motion. I can’t let any thoughts cross my mind, yet I can’t stop pictures of her wrecked car flashing in front of my eyes.
I'm not the first one on the scene, and I speed past an ambulance on my way here, so I know they’re on their way.
I push past people, shouting at them to get out of the way.
Catherine's car is completely wrecked, her dead body hanging through her windshield.
But I don't care, running to Nyx's car instead.
It's upside down in a field, smoke coming out of it.
"Nyx!" I shout as I sprint to her. "Nyx!"
Some guy is knocking on her window, and he turns to me as I approach.
"That's my fiancée!" I push him out of the way.
"The door is stuck."
I tap her driver's window, but she's unconscious, upside down, blood dripping from her head.
"Nyx!" I slam my hand on the window before pulling the door. It is stuck, and I hit harder. The noise of metal groaning must make her come back to consciousness because her eyes blink open.
"Stay awake for me. Grab the door handle. Open so I can get you out of here."
She's completely lost, unaware of the danger she's in as lethal smoke fills up her car.
"Nyx, stay with me. Come on, baby. Pull the handle."
She finally tries, but it's not working. She's stuck in this awful position with her body pressing on her neck, and more black smoke is filling up the car, the engine still running.
"Move as far back as you can."
She tries, but she can't. Fuck it. What's a few cuts for her life? She can survive a few cuts.
I take off my t-shirt, wrap it around my fist, and punch the window.
"No!" she screams. "Your hand! We have to find another way."
"It's okay. Cover your mouth and nose. I'm getting you out."
I hit, and I hit, and I hit. At first, the material around my hand helps, but I keep having to strike harder. I've barely fissured it when she starts to lose consciousness from the smoke.
"Your hand," she coughs desperately. "Not your hand. You have to play."
I keep punching the glass. My skin breaks, my bones are crushed to dust, but I keep hitting. I don't even see my dreams disappearing before my eyes.
Because what are dreams for if I can't share them with the person who makes me believe in them?
All that matters is her voice I hear in my head from the first time she said it to me.
I'm a dreamer. You should try it sometime.
The sentence that changed my life.
The window finally shatters, and I use my foot to break more shards away and make a bigger hole.
"I got you." Panic grips me when I realize she's unconscious again as I pull her out. "I'm getting you out. Hold on."
I land on my back before turning us around and putting her on the ground, protecting her with my body.
"Breathe now," I say as I push her hair out of her face. I didn't fight to come back to her just so she'd leave me behind.
"Breathe!"
Her eyes blink open, and a smile breaks through. "God, so bossy," she croaks.
I burst into a relieved laugh, pressing a kiss to her mouth.
"You scared the hell out of me," I pant, heart pounding in my ears.
"Welcome to the club."
The ambulance is here not long after. We're both driven to the hospital, and it's only when she's in a room, hooked to some oxygen, and that the doctors tell me she'll be fine that I start to feel the pain.
"Your hand," Nyx whimpers. "Oh my God, your hand…"
Her eyes fill with tears, guilt ripping through her voice.
"It's fine," I say through gritted teeth. It hurts like a fucking bitch, but I won’t tell her that. It was worth it, plain and simple, and I know it’ll forever be worth it.
"It's not fine, Achilles. You're the one who always taught me to be careful about my hands. What if—"
"I want you to be the soloist."
"What?" It comes out of her mouth right away, as if she can’t process my request.
I shake my head, no hesitation in my voice. "Trust me, I can tell here and now that I’ll never be able to play again."
When that window exploded from my punch, I could tell how deep the cuts were.
I would be surprised if there’s any part of my hand that hasn't been sliced through. Still, I can’t feel any regret.
All I know is that she’s safe and alive.
I’m relieved, slightly lightheaded from the pain, but nothing can take my happiness away when she’s by my side.
"Don't say that. You don't know."
She turns to the doctor, breathless. "You're going to be able to fix his hand, right? Right?"
I'm sitting on a chair opposite her bed, and a nurse is putting a needle in my arm to hook me up to an IV drip.
"Mon trésor, look at me." There’s a faint smile on my face. Just because I know she’s worth any pain I ever put myself through.
Her glossy eyes come back to mine.
"How could you do this to yourself? Playing the violin is what keeps you alive."
"You keep me alive. Raising our daughters together keeps me alive. Nothing matters if you're not by my side, Nyx. Your life against my hand? Against playing the violin? That's not even a choice. It's you. You, you, you. It'll always be you, okay?"
She nods, sobbing as her gaze keeps going back to my limp hand.
"Now, before those drugs they're pumping me with put me in a fucking coma," I say as I feel the dizziness overtake me. "Tell me you'll be the soloist for the concerto. Promise me."
She bites her tongue, trying to find her focus.
"I promise you."
"Good. I just wanted to make sure I didn't come back from the dead for no reason, you know?"
"I love you," she rasps.
"Oh, I fucking love you." My eyelids grow heavier, and I turn to the doc. "Somebody get her bubblegum before she chews her tongue off."
After that, it's total blackness. All I know is that loving Nyx Mayer was the best decision I ever made.