Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
TECH
“Idon’t understand, Doc. How can her health decline so quickly?” I asked.
We were in the infirmary visiting Jenny. Will and I made sure to bring Miracle to see her anytime she was up. Jenny slept most of the day due to the drugs they had her on to keep her as comfortable as possible.
Angela was also here every other day. She hadn’t said too much to Will and me.
It almost felt like she had a problem with us, but wouldn’t speak up about it.
She was never rude, but she would often give one-word answers when either of us spoke to her.
After a while, we both stopped trying. I wasn’t about to kiss her ass.
I had one thing on my mind—making sure Miracle and Jenny got as much time together before Jenny passed.
“Like I told you before, Tech, sometimes cancer can go undetected because it can grow silently, causing vague symptoms that can be easily missed or overlooked. Some cancers are just more aggressive. Jenny wasn’t diagnosed until the cancer had spread from her lungs to her liver and bones.
There’s nothing more that can be done other than make her comfortable until…
” He stopped, reluctant to say she would die.
This shit was hard. Although I knew I would be the best dad I could be, I also knew Miracle would eventually have questions.
Questions I didn’t know how I would answer.
Especially when it came to girl problems. Just thinking about having a period talk with Miracle made me cringe.
As a woman, there were things Jenny could do for Miracle that I couldn’t.
“I get what you’re saying, but there has to be something we could do,” I said hastily.
Doc opened his mouth to respond, but Jenny raised her hand, cutting him off.
“Tech…no.” She spoke weakly. “I’ve made my peace with this.
I ju-just wanted Miracle safe…and now she will be.
” As soon as she finished, her body rocked violently with coughs.
Like always, the napkin in her hand was filled with blood.
Jenny kept opening and closing her eyes. I knew she was ready to go back to sleep. I stood to my feet, holding Miracle in my arms. “Get some rest, Jenny. We’ll be back when you wake up.” I needed to get out of here. Between this and Sire, I was beyond stressed out.
Jenny nodded, reaching out for Miracle. I leaned down, hovering Miracle over her face so she could kiss her forehead like she always did. Once I saw her eyes closing, Will and I made our way out of the room. Right as I closed the door, it opened again, and Angela stepped out.
“Hey, uhh, Tech, I was wondering if it would be okay if I took Miracle for the night?”
I shook my head immediately. “Absolutely not. Jenny’s mother is still out there, and I’m not putting my daughter in harm's way.” Not to mention Sire. After he popped up at Michael's office, it was clear he had been watching me. I didn’t know whether he knew about Miracle.
Angela rolled her eyes. “I know how to keep her safe, Tech. I was doing it long before you were.”
My brows dipped. She said that as if I knew Miracle existed. Had I known from the beginning, she wouldn’t have needed to do a damn thing. I didn’t know what her problem was, but I was beyond fed up.
“What the hell is your problem?” Will hissed. Leave it to my little firecracker to nip this in the bud.
“I don’t have a problem.” Angela stared at Will blankly.
“Try again because this passive-aggressive crap you’ve been doing hasn’t gone unnoticed. Now be a woman and speak your mind.”
“Okay. It's just… I wanted Miracle. I thought when we came here, Tech would sign over his rights and I would keep her.”
Will scoffed, scratching his forehead with an amused expression. “So, let me get this right. You’re upset because he took responsibility for his daughter?”
Angela’s eyes turned heated as she glared at Will. “I spent months bonding with Miracle and taking care of her. In my eyes, she was already my daughter. Plus, she’s the last piece of Jenny that I have. She’s been my best friend since I was seven years old.”
Although I saw her perspective, I had no intention of saying sorry. Miracle was mine, and I wasn’t giving her up. All the things she did for Miracle were what any best friend would have done under the circumstances. That didn’t entitle her to my child.
“Angela, I understand where you’re coming from, but I’m not giving my daughter up.
Now, I have no problem with you continuing to be a part of Miracle’s life, but that will be more of an Auntie role.
If you’re going to be around, you need to respect the fact that Will and I are her fathers,” I told her firmly.
Will smiled at my words. Every time I acknowledged him as Miracle’s father, he would give me this goofy grin. Certain things we wanted were unfolding sooner than we thought.
“So, you’re basically saying I have to come here to be a part of her life.” Her tone had a bit of snarl in it. At this point, I was ready to snap.
“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I said it's too dangerous right now. But let me be clear. I don’t have to do a damn thing. If you want to be involved in Miracle's life, you’re going to kill this attitude you have going on. I will not apologize for not turning my back on my child!” I growled.
Angela’s eyes widened in shock. Everyone always thought that, because I was quiet and reserved, I was a pushover.
It was the furthest thing from the truth.
I wasn’t short-tempered like most of the guys, but I had my breaking points.
I always showed respect to others, and if someone thought they weren’t going to give it back, then I would match their energy. Simple.
Angela sighed in defeat. “You’re right, and I’m sorry. My emotions are all over the place right now. I promise from here on out, I will not give you any more attitude. Just please don’t cut me out of her life.”
“I have no intention of doing so as long as you are respectful.”
She nodded, grabbing Miracle’s hand, and kissing it. “Well, I’ll let you get out of here. Miracle looks like she’s ready for a nap.”
I looked down and saw her slowly falling asleep in my arms. Will and I said goodbye to Angela as she made her way back into the room.
“I can’t believe she was doing all this because you decided to keep Miracle.” Will scoffed and rolled his eyes as we made our way up the hall.
“I know,” I agreed. “I’ve got enough on my plate right now. I’ll ban her from coming here before I let her add to the list of shit I’m dealing with.”
Will halted and put his hand on my arm. “Babe, I keep telling you to take a second and clear your head. Your eyes are puffy and red. Plus, I can't remember the last time I saw you smile other than when you're around Miracle and me.”
“I know, Dimples, but that’s easier said than—”
Will waved his head, not trying to hear it. “Nope. You can relax. You’re choosing not to.” Gently, he took Miracle out of my arms. “Go find yourself something to do that doesn’t consist of you and your laptop in the same room.” He walked away without giving me a chance to respond.
“Dimples!” I called out.
“Bye, Jacob.”
I stood there for a second, not knowing what to do. After a few minutes, I decided to go to the gym and work out. Before Will, anytime I wanted to clear my head, I would go to the gym for hours. Before I went, I stopped by my room to change into a pair of athletic shorts and a wife-beater.
When I walked through the gym door, I saw it was packed.
Viper, Bear, Big Red, Blade, and Torch were on the bench press, spotting each other.
On the other side, Cara, Sara, Bianca, and Alice were walking on the treadmills.
Well, all of them except for Cara. She was jogging while wearing one of those stomach things women wear.
I didn’t know how she was going this hard, like she didn’t just have a baby.
I made my way over to the bench press right as Torch got up. “You next, Tech?” he asked me.
“Hell yeah. I need to clear my head.” I lay down, grabbed the bar, and lifted. I got about three pumps in before Viper broke the silence.
“How are you holding up? It seems like you can't even blink before some shit happens.”
“That’s a fuckin’ understatement.” I grunted as I continued to lift. “First, Will gets attacked, then Sire comes out of nowhere, and then BAM, I’m a father. I don’t know how much more I can take.”
“Well, you know I can relate to becoming an unexpected father. That shit hit me like a ton of bricks,” Blade said.
Everyone nodded because his story was much like mine. The only difference was that his daughters were three years old when he found out about them.
“How did you deal with it?” I questioned as I put the bar down and sat up.
He folded his arms with a grin. “Honestly, it just came naturally. As soon as I laid eyes on my babies, I knew I would do anything to make sure they were loved and protected.”
I nodded because that’s exactly what I felt when I saw Miracle for the first time. Baby girl became co-owner of my heart, along with Will, without even trying.
“You got this, Tech. I mean, look at me. Hannah may be my sister biologically, but at the end of the day, that's my daughter. In just a few months, I went from resisting my feelings for Sara to having a baby together and adopting Hannah. Everything will work out in the end,” Bear offered.
We all stared at him, barely blinking. I swear that was the most I’d heard him talk, and I’d known him for almost a decade.
“What?” Bear looked around, confused.
“What kind of voodoo is Sara putting on you? All of a sudden, you’re just this Chatty Kathy,” Big Red jested.
Viper and I threw our heads back laughing while Bear, Torch, and Blade threw daggers our way.
“Don’t worry about what my woman does to me,” Bear growled as his eyes darkened. The true Bear was rising to the surface.
“Right,” Blade agreed. “I don’t want to think about him and my sister doing a damn thing.”
“You two need to grow up. Your sisters have sex like any other woman walking this planet. Hell, Cara has five kids. Clearly, Viper is up in them guts,” Big Red continued to fuck with them.
I cackled at the looks on Blade's and Torch's faces.
They looked horrified and pissed at the same time.
Red turned to Viper because he was unusually quiet.
It was then that we noticed he was watching Cara across the room.
She was standing in front of the mirror, a barbell propped on her shoulders, doing squats.
“I’ll be right back.” Viper walked off and made his way to Cara. When he was standing behind her, he placed his hands on her hips. He started squatting with her, leaving no space between them. We watched as he started whispering in Cara’s ear. Whatever he was saying had her blushing like crazy.
“Fuckin’ horndog,” Torch muttered under his breath.
After a few more squats, Cara stepped away from Viper, dropping the barbell to the ground with a loud clank.
She turned around and launched herself into his arms. Viper held her up while holding on to her ass with one hand.
Cara palmed his face and spoke against his lips.
Viper's eyes turned heated, and he threw Cara over his shoulder. He was making a beeline for the door.
Sara paused the treadmill, and her jaw dropped. “Cara! You still have two weeks until you can do that.”
Cara popped her head up with a naughty smirk. “I have two weeks until I can have intercourse,” she corrected.
Viper roared with laughter. “That’s right. Tell ‘em to mind their business, Hellcat!”
“That part.” Cara wagged her tongue at Sara as they made their way out of the room.
Blade and Torch looked visibly sick. My shoulders shook hard because I was trying to hold back my laughter. Bear was failing horribly as he chuckled next to them.
“See what I mean? In them guts,” Big Red teased with a smirk.
Bear and I chortled as they scowled at Big Red. They looked ready to murder him. I didn’t have a sister, but I didn’t think I would be able to handle hearing some of the things that Blade and Torch have.
“Fuck this and fuck you, Red. I’m out of here,” Blade snapped, grabbing his gym bag off the ground and storming out. Torch followed suit. That only caused us to laugh harder.
Bianca hopped off the treadmill, frowning at the three of us. “What did y’all do to them?” She placed her hands on her hips.
Red raised his hands in surrender. “I’m innocent, Bianca.”
“You’re only as innocent as the horns holding up your halo,” Bianca replied sarcastically and followed after Blade.
I lay back down on the bench to lift some more. After all those laughs, I was feeling lighter. Maybe Will was right. I needed to take these moments to wind down.
Things were going to happen the way they were supposed to. No amount of stressing was going to change that. I just hoped in the end, that all my enemies were no more, and I was still standing.