Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
Luna
Good news arrives around four-thirty in the morning.
Celeste Marianna Gustaffson was born at three twenty-nine and mother and baby are doing well. She weighed in at eight pounds and was twenty inches long. Grim and Chaos plan to stay at the hospital but Eric and Ron are going home to get a few hours’ sleep so they can relieve us.
I’d just gotten my second wind when Rage announced he was ordering breakfast from a twenty-four-hour diner about fifteen minutes away and Mark left to go get it.
Unfortunately, bad news arrives about ten minutes later.
Allora calls me and sounds like she’s crying.
“Metal found Layla,” she sniffles.
“Oh, no.” My heart constricts, bracing myself for what she’s about to tell me.
“She overdosed. He took her to the hospital, but it was too late. They couldn’t revive her. And the baby is gone too.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.” They’ve become close over the last couple of months.
“I’m going to the hospital to be with Metal. He’s a mess.”
“Is there anything I can do?”
“No. I think my dad is going to join me there, see if we can do anything for him.”
“Call if you need me.”
“I will. Thanks.” She disconnects and I stare at my monitors for a few minutes without really seeing anything.
Layla’s death is incredibly sad. I don’t know her that well, we’ve only hung out twice, but she seemed sweet. Excited to start this new phase of her life with Metal. Happy about getting sober and becoming a mom.
I didn’t see this coming at all.
And now it’s going to cast a shadow on the celebration of Daniil and Courtney’s new baby. I can’t imagine what Metal is going through, and plan to talk to Allora to see if there’s anything we can do once the initial shock wears off.
“Food’s here.” I hear Rage’s voice in my earpiece and have just gotten to my feet when he says, “Luna, stay where you are. I’ll bring it to you.”
“Yes, sir,” I reply sarcastically, though it’s lighthearted. I know he means well and is just worried about my ankle. The ice has helped, though, along with Tylenol.
“Hey.” Rage comes in holding a huge bag of food and my eyes widen.
“Is all that for me?”
“For us,” he says, chuckling. He puts it down on the credenza against the wall and starts pulling out containers.
“Metal found Layla,” I say softly.
There must be something in the tone of my voice because he stops moving and turns slowly. “She ok?”
“No.” I shake my head, and to my horror, my eyes fill with tears. Like saying it out loud somehow makes it more real.
“Ah, shit.” He stares, his expression filled with regret.
I wipe away a tear that’s sliding down my cheek, and he walks over to me. Then he just opens his arms. And waits.
Before I can stop myself, I’m up and my face is burrowed into his shoulder. His strength and warmth comfort me, and I bury my face in his strong, hard shoulder. It’s been a long time since I’ve been this close to a man who made me feel delicate. Feminine. Small.
One hand strokes down my back, and he murmurs something against my hair that sounds like, “it’s okay, princess,” but I’m not sure. All I know is that it’s been a long, somewhat depressing day, and he’s giving me a literal shoulder to cry on.
Not only that, he smells good.
Whether it’s his deodorant or some kind aftershave, he smells clean and woodsy. All masculine strength and power. That’s probably a ridiculous metaphor, but that’s what it seems like to me.
I really need to get away from him before I say or do something stupid.
“Thank you,” I whisper, finally pulling away and grabbing a tissue. “It’s been a tough day. And it’s twice as hard knowing Layla overdosed without even thinking about the child she was carrying.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple,” he says, perching on the edge of my desk and crossing his feet. “Obviously, she had issues. Trauma. Addiction. Things we probably have no idea about. I’m sure battling those can feel insurmountable.”
“But she had Metal!” I protest. “Someone who really loved her.”
“I don’t know that love is enough in some circumstances.
Demons like hers undoubtedly haunted her day and night.
I had a buddy in the military who saw some bad shit.
Got captured. Tortured. By the time he went home, he was a shell of his former self.
Eventually, despite a loving wife, four kids, and lots of friends willing to help, he killed himself. ”
“I’m sorry for you and for your friend,” I whisper.
“Thanks.” He reaches out and pushes an errant strand of hair behind my ear. “And I’m sorry about Layla. I didn’t really know her, but Metal must be devastated.”
“Allora’s on her way to be with him. Her dad will be there too.”
“He’s going to need a lot of support.”
“Death is always difficult but when it’s someone so young…and the baby…” I feel like I’m going to cry again, but I shake it off. “I just want to think about Celeste. And happy things.”
“That’s probably a better plan than the alternative.”
I sink into my chair and rub my eyes. “I’m equally exhausted and wound up.”
“Stress, grief, maybe even the pain from your ankle are all adding to that. You’ll feel better after you get some sleep.”
“Well, that’s not happening for another few hours, so let’s eat.”
He goes back to taking containers out of the bag and I realize he’s ordered himself two full breakfasts, along with an order of pancakes and an extra order of biscuits.”
“I hope you like biscuits,” he says. “I can’t eat all these.”
I ordered oatmeal and a muffin.
But the biscuits look really good, and I snatch one out of the basket.
“I’ll never say no to biscuits,” I admit. “I make them from scratch when I have time.”
“Yeah?” He cocks his head. “That sounds like something I have to try.”
“I’ll make them sometime and bring them in for everyone.”
I open my oatmeal and sprinkle brown sugar on it.
I’m suddenly ravenous, and Rage appears to be as well.
He pulls up a chair and we eat in silence for a while.
Well, I nibble on my muffin in between bites of oatmeal while he pretty much inhales eggs, bacon, potatoes and hash browns, four pancakes, and four biscuits.
It’s kind of fascinating to watch, especially for a guy in such good shape.
My phone buzzes on the desk, and I see Roger’s name pop up.
More out of curiosity than anything else, I open the text.
ROGER: I don’t know if you’re still working or asleep, but I’ve been up all night thinking about you. About your proposal. About us. I’m so sorry about the way I handled everything, but I think I’ve changed my mind. I’d like to see you, discuss options. Please give me a call when you see this.
I stare at it, more amused than anything else at this point.
“What’s funny?” Rage asks.
“Roger.”
He grunts. “Please tell me that little prick didn’t just reach out at—” He stops and looks at his watch. “Five ten in the morning.”
“He did.”
“And?”
“Not that it’s any of your business, but he apologized for how he handled things and asked if we could talk. He said he’s changed his mind.”
“Changed his mind?” He puts down his fork and fixes me with an intense glare. “You’re not seriously going to give him another chance.”
I shrug. “I don’t know. Probably not, but I think I’ll at least listen to what he has to say.”
“Why? Not only did he turn you down, he was completely useless in an emergency. He didn’t even help you to your car.”
He has a point but I don’t have many options.
“Like I said earlier, I can’t afford to wait for the perfect guy.”
“Then your standards are too low.”
“A guy like you would never understand.”
“A guy like me?” He folds his arms over his chest. “What does that mean?”
“Look at you!” I wave a hand in his general direction. “All tall and muscley and gorgeous…women probably throw themselves at you. That doesn’t happen to me. With men, I mean. Don’t get me wrong, they’ll fuck the big girl—they just won’t marry her. Or even agree to have a baby with her.”
Rage is quiet for what seems like an inordinately long time.
He stares at me, his gaze growing increasingly intense. Like whatever he’s planning to say is extremely important. Finally, he slowly stands up and walks over to me.
Looming over me since I’m still in my chair, he’s a bit intimidating. He puts his hands on the back of the chair on either side of my shoulders, his voice low as he looks down at me.
“If you need someone to put a baby in you, then the only one doing that is going to be me.”