Willow by Erin Osborne
Chapter Twenty-Two
Zander ‘Breaker’ Williams
MINUTES TICK BY before we’re allowed to go in and see Trinity. She’s awake again and they’ve got her hooked up to monitor her and started an IV to give her fluids. The doctor told us she’s been doing too much and not taking care of herself the way she should be. On top of that, the stress and pain of losing grams was too much for her body to handle and she just shut down. They’re going to keep her overnight for observation to make sure the baby and her are okay. Crave is demanding they do another ultrasound to ensure nothing is wrong with the baby so we’re currently waiting on that to happen.
Tonya called Blood to let him know what’s going on and they’re on their way to the hospital. Not everyone, but the members closest to her. It will more than likely be Vanish and Paislie and Blood coming. With all of us riding from sun up to sun down, everyone else will wait to see her tomorrow so they can rest and get their mind off shit. Not to mention we have the three fuckheads in the basement the guys are waiting to have some fun with. After Dante and Emilio getting and easy out, we feel cheated and are going to get our pound of flesh from the men Crave recognized as the one who shot at the strip club.
“Baby girl, how are you feelin’?” I ask her, holding her hand while being careful of the IV in the back of her hand.
“I feel like shit. My throat hurts, my eyes feel as if someone rubbed sandpaper in them, and I’m so tired,” she answers, never opening her eyes as I lean down and press a kiss against her temple.
“We’re so sorry we weren’t there for you,” Crave says, kissing the back of her hand on his side.
“You were busy. Gram went peacefully and I really can’t ask for more than that,” she responds, more tears sliding down her face.
“We should have been there,” I state, knowing it’s the truth. “I know this isn’t the time to share this with you, but you have the right to know. They were gettin’ gram ready to take downstairs before we came in here. I made sure they weren’t goin’ to do anything with her until you told them they could. Not sure what they’ll do, but there’s a lot to be done now.”
“I know. I’ll deal with it,” she says, her breath hitching as sobs consume her.
“No. We’ll deal with it. You’re not in this alone,” Crave assures her. “Your grams didn’t leave you because she wanted to. We’re not leavin’ you. No one in the club is leavin’ your side either. We’ll all be here for you no matter what you need. As long as it’s not space. Breaker and I aren’t givin’ you that because you’ll get lost in your head and push us away. That’s not gonna happen baby.”
The three of us sit in silence with Tonya out in the waiting room. She’s giving us our space even though she wants to be here for us in case we need her. There really is no reason for any of them to be here because she’s not getting released tonight. Still, they’ll be here for a while and then make sure a Prospect is here in case we need something or have to leave her side for any reason.
“Are you guys ready to see your baby?” a young woman asks, making her way in the room pushing a large machine.
“Yes please,” Trinity answers, her voice low and wavering.
“Can I have you on the other side of the bed for now?” she asks Crave as he moves out of her way to stand next to me.
“I can leave so it’s just you two,” I tell them, not sure what to do.
“No. We’re all in this together and you’re gonna be here with us,” Trinity says, opening her eyes and looking straight at me.
Nodding my head, the tech closes the door because at some point, Trinity was changed into a hospital gown, and she has to lower the covers and pull the gown up. That much I do remember from the first time she was in here and had one done. Crave watches everything the technician does with an eagle eye. If he even thinks this woman is going to do something to hurt our Trinity, he’s not going to hesitate to put a stop to it.
Squirting the gel stuff on Trinity’s stomach, she flinches at the coolness of it before the sound of the baby’s heartbeat fills the small room. Crave looks at Trinity with astonishment in his eyes. I listen with a smile on my face. This is a sound I’ll never get tired of hearing. After a minute, she presses some buttons and the screen fills with the image of a baby. He or she looks completely different from the first time I was in a room with Trinity much like this one. It actually looks like a baby this time instead of a blob.
“Holy shit,” Crave whispers from next to me, latching onto Trinity’s hand.
“Are you wanting to learn the gender of the baby today?” the technician asks, as Trinity’s head whips to look at Crave and me.
“I’d like to,” Crave responds, and I know exactly where his head is.
If we’re gonna be having a girl, we need to stock up on our ammo, guns, and everything else. However, if Trinity is having a boy, we’ll be good. We can stock up on condoms, Band-Aids and other medical supplies, and a ton of shit for an active boy who is going to get hurt and cause all kinds of trouble. Much like Crave and I did when we were little. All of the men in the club are ready for when any of our daughters are ready to date. We’re all ready to sit on front porches and make sure the boys know they’re not only not good enough for any little girl of the club but they’re dead if they hurt her.
“I would too,” Trinity says a small smile on her face before a flash of guilt fills her eyes.
She’s guilty to be happy in a moment after just losing her grams. I understand where she’s coming from, but she has a right to be happy and live in this moment. We’re about to find out the gender of the baby. Grams wouldn’t want her to be upset or feel any guilt about feeling excited or any other way in this moment. If grams were here with her, she’d be happy as fuck.
“It’s okay,” I whisper to Trinity as the technician moves the wand over her stomach.
“Alright guys, you are going to have a baby boy,” the technician informs the three of us before she can respond to me.
“Yes!” Crave almost shouts in the room as we all laugh at him. “The baby hasn’t been cooperative so far and we haven’t been able to tell the gender yet.”
“I have to agree with you,” I tell him, causing Trinity to laugh again.
This time the guilt doesn’t flash in her eyes. She’s truly happy and knows gram would be happy for us and sharing in this moment with us if she were still here. We continue to look at the screen as the technician presses buttons and points out various parts of his body. Before leaving the room, she prints us off some pictures. Trinity hands them over to us as I place them in the pocket of my cut.
“Everything looks good. If the doctor sees anything on the ultrasound, she’ll contact you. Get some rest and I’m sure I’ll see you soon,” the technician tells us, heading from the room as I start cleaning the gel from her skin.
Just as Crave pulls the hospital gown back down and I help him pull the blankets back up to cover Trin, Tonya rushes back through the door of the room. She looks around the room for a minute before stepping up to the end of the bed. Looking at Trinity for several minutes, she finally asks the question burning on the tip of her tongue.
“Is everything okay?” she questions, her voice laced with concern.
“Everythin’ is good,” Crave responds, heading back to the side of the bed he was on earlier. “Can I tell her Trinity?”
“Of course.”
“We’re havin’ a boy!” he once again almost shouts in the small exam room.
Tonya laughs as Blood rushes through the door and comes to a fast stop. His gaze flashes from each one of us before landing back on Trinity in the hospital bed.
“What the hell is goin’ on in here?” Blood asks, resting his hand on Trinity’s leg where it lays under the blanket.
“We’re havin’ a boy,” I answer him before Crave can shout it out again.
“Yeah, got that. The entire waitin’ room heard it,” he laughs before turning serious. “How are you doin’ Trin?”
“I’m okay. Just really tired and emotional.”
“Get some sleep. Boys, need to talk to you in the hallway,” Blood says, looking at his wife to stay with our ol’ lady.
Stepping out of the room, he lets us know the guys sung like fucking canaries. They were the last of the assholes working for Dante and Emilio. Surprisingly they had absolutely no clue where their former bosses were. Our guys had no problem letting them know everyone is dead except for them. They tortured them until there was nothing left, and we got all the information they had. No one else will be coming for us. Especially considering the guys made sure to kill the three fuckers who shot at the club and almost hurt Trinity. The men who did hurt my best friend. They’re now in their final resting place in the bunker with the rest of Dante and Emilio’s crew. Even if they’re found, nothing can be pinned on us. It will look like these men were tortured by the others already down there.
The three of us head back in to the exam room Trinity is still waiting in. She’s getting moved up to a regular floor at some point. Blood grabs Tonya and tells her it’s time to head back to the clubhouse. He assures us a Prospect will be left behind, so we have someone else here with us. The threat might be gone, but we never leave anyone in the hospital alone. It doesn’t matter in this instance that there are three of us; the club is family, and we take care of our own.
Trinity is resting in our room at the clubhouse. She was released first thing this morning and we brought her straight back here. Other than attending the funeral, the doctor doesn’t want her to do much else. The stress and everything flowing through her emotion wise isn’t healthy for the baby. Crave and I are going to be taking care of all the funeral arrangements and make sure she has the exact funeral she wants for gram. One that honors her life, shows the love we all feel for grams and Trinity, and then we’ll celebrate the life of an amazing woman. Hopefully we make Trin proud with what we do.
Walking into the common room, Blood, Tonya, and Paislie are already waiting for us at a table. Sitting down, Crave and I try to figure out what the hell we need to do in order to put a funeral together for grams. I’ve never been a part of putting one together before in my life. If we’ve lost anyone in the club before, the ol’ ladies and Blood take care of putting together all the arrangements and making sure we have everything needed at the clubhouse for the after party. Yeah, we always party after attending a funeral. We’re not just burying someone we love or care about. We want to celebrate their life and ensure they have a proper send off. Grams will be no different.
“Where do we start?” Crave asks, his voice filled with sadness as the reality of the situation hits us all.
“Well, I’m going to head to the funeral home to meet with the director. I’ll make sure grams has the clothes she’ll be buried in along with any jewelry she’d want with her. Trinity told me it’s all in her closet at the house and where her jewelry is. Paislie is going to head to the florist to pick out the flowers for the service and get some from the club and Trinity to rest on the casket. Syd and Emersyn are going to make sure the food is here and ready to go for after the service. We’ll be having it a week from now,” Tonya lets us know, her voice breaking several times as she speaks.
“What do you need from us?” I ask, not sure what else is left to do.
“You need to be there for Trinity. Blood, I need you to make sure there’s enough alcohol here for the party afterwards. We’ll have the Prospects set up everything outside. Trinity is gonna need to lean on you both for the next week. It’s the only way she’ll handle the stress and emotions flowing through her,” Tonya says. “You let us worry about everything else and we’ll make sure nothing happens grams and Trinity wouldn’t want. Blood, I also think it would help to call in the clubs closest to us whether it’s a support club or another chapter. We want Trinity to know she’s loved and we’re gonna have her back through this hard time.”
“We can handle all that. I think I’ll go make sure she has somethin’ to eat and water to drink. She hasn’t been eatin’ the way she should. Maybe just pickin’ at the food and pushin’ it around her plate. She needs to eat and drink more. Even the doctor said she needs to start eatin’. He saw her pushin’ her food around on her plates in the hospital. I’m gonna see if I can get her to eat some eggs and toast. Take her a bottle of water too,” I say, looking at Crave as he nods his head in response.
“If you need us, we’ll be in the room with Trin. I don’t want her sleepin’ all day because then she’ll be up all night. We’ll let her nap here and there and hopefully she’ll still sleep tonight. All she’s doin’ when she’s awake is cryin’ though. It’s a toss-up of what I want to do,” Crave adds in, knowing no one will disturb us unless it’s an emergency.
“You guys go take care of your ol’ lady. I’ll have her rag in this afternoon. Do you want a ceremony for it, or to just give it to her in your room? Not sure what she’s gonna be up for,” Blood questions, sitting back as he prepares to start making the calls he needs to.
“We’re not gonna make a big deal of presentin’ it to her with everythin’ else goin’ on,” I tell them, speaking for both of us. “When she was gettin’ the ultrasound done, she was guilty about bein’ happy for a split second. It’s gonna take her some time to deal with this loss and process all of her feelin’.”
“If you guys need us, let us know,” Tonya says, her voice low as we stand from the table and head for the kitchen.
It doesn’t take us long to get something to eat ready for Trinity. The doctor told us to make sure she’s eating, and he doesn’t care what kind of food it is at this point as long as she’s eating. Taking everything from the kitchen, we head to our room. Trinity is sitting up with the TV playing quietly in the background. She looks up at us from a book in her hands. Handing over the food, Crave and I sit on either side of her and don’t let her take only a few bites before pushing the plate away. When all the food is gone, we take the plate from her and sit back to watch whatever movie she has playing in the background. It’s a relaxing day as we share moments with her as she cries and needs our strength. Not a single person bothers us until Paislie brings in dinner for us. It’s soup and grilled cheese. Another easy meal for our girl. After eating, it doesn’t take long for Trin to fall asleep. We let her sleep as long as she wants since she spent most of the day awake and in bed.
