Page 32 of Love is Blind

Chapter twenty-five

WREN

Wakingupinanunfamiliar bed to the sound of loud, obnoxious beeping, the constant beep beep beep, not helping the pounding in my head. My entire body hurts as I take a mental inventory of my injuries. The pounding in my head making it hard to remember why I feel this way.

Think. Think. Think. What’s the last thing I can remember?

I woke up, argued with Xander about going to the doctors. I had breakfast, banana chocolate chip pancakes, then the guys had to leave after getting phone calls, but I finally agreed to go see Doc. Like a flash of lightning going off in my mind, I see the entire day play out after that.

Doc telling me I’m pregnant, hearing the little thump of a heartbeat. I left with Abby, deciding to go home instead of work, but we were ambushed and ran off the road. I made Abby take Ares and run. Two men knocked me out and the next time I woke up, I was in Adrian’s basement of horrors. Then he played that clip of an explosion. He said my men were dead. Oh, god. They’re gone. Then Adrian snapped his hands around my neck. I couldn’t breathe, I can’t breathe.

I’m clawing at my neck. I need to breathe; I need to get his hands off me. I’m thrashing at this point, kicking, screaming, fighting for my life.

“Wren. Wren! Wake up! You’re safe, Little Bird. You’re safe now.” I hear the deep timber of Xander but that’s not possible. Adrian said he saw them die.

“Princess!” I hear Jax voice next.

“Angel!” Maverick voice comes next, sounding panic. “Shit. Doc!”

Everything is happening so fast. So many noises at once. I can feel hands touching me, only causing me to panic more. What is happening?! Where am I?!

A gentle and familiar, trusting voice speaks next to my ear. “Wren, dear. I need you to breathe and calm down, or I’m going to have to give you a sedative. You’re safe dear. You’re in the hospital now.” Doc explains as his words break through the hazy fog.

I’m safe. I’m at the hospital. Slowly, my breathing evens out and I focus on my senses. I can smell Xander’s scent of whiskey mixed with cigars smoke. Jax’s gunpowder and his favorite aftershave. Last, I can smell Maverick’s fresh clean scent with a hint or fallen rain from his body wash. My men, they’re here. They’re alive.

I open my mouth to speak when raw pain shoots up the back of my throat. I’m thrown into a coughing fit before someone gently touches my face and places a straw at my lips. “Small sips, Princess.” Jax says. I take a small sip like he warned, and the cool liquid instantly relieves the pain temporarily.

“Wren, dear, I’m going to need you to refrain from speaking for a few days. Your vocal cords were injured in your attack, so they need some time to heal.” At the word attack, I stiffen. Attack is an understatement. Adrian tried to kill me and my child. My child. Oh god, I’m a horrible mother. How could I forget I was pregnant? My hands fly to my stomach in fear. Doc must understand my question as he rushes to continue. “Your baby is okay, sweetheart. I’ll be monitoring you closely over the next few months, but their heartbeat still sounds healthy and strong.” I sag in relief at that news and give him a small nod of thanks. “Okay then. I’ll let you get some rest. I’ll come check on you soon.” The closing of a door has me on edge again as I wait for someone to speak. I can feel their presence around me and it’s overwhelming.

Mav speaks first. “Angel, we are so glad you are okay. We were so worried for a while but Doc ensures us you’re going to heal up just fine.”

Jax immediately jumps in next, giving me an even bigger sense of relief with his words. “Oh Princess. I’m so sorry you have to go through this, but you don’t have to be afraid of Adrian ever again.” He pauses, his tone changing slightly. “He is getting what he deserves.” I don’t bother attempting to speak. I can feel the damage when I just swallow, but I have so many questions.

What happened to Adrian?

Is he gone forever? As in dead?

What is he getting that he deserves?

These and so many more come to mind, but there will be another time for that. The room goes quiet again. The only sound is the beep of various machines before my last and final man speaks. I don’t know what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this at first.

“The Cozy Nook is being taken care of for the next month or so until you get the clear go ahead. I have made arrangements to get everything you need for recovery sent to and set up at the house. Abby is safe and taking care of Ares, who has seen a vet for an injured leg. It was a minor fracture, but he will be fine. Abby sustained a few bumps and bruises and a mild concussion, but Doc has already cleared her.” Xander sounds so robotic, clinical, unlike the man I fell in love with. I knew he was cold and analytical at times, but this, this isn’t my Xander. A tear escapes my lash faster than I can hold, but a rough thumb wipes it away. The bed dips before hands cup my face. “Fuck. I’m sorry, Little Bird. Please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I- Fuck. I was so fucking worried. We thought we lost you. That we lost our child. We found you lifeless and thought you were gone. I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t know if I could live with you.” More tears escape, but this time it’s from something more. From the relief that I wasn’t alone in that feeling of not being able to live without them.

Xander shifts position before I feel three hands run across my belly. “We’re going to be dads, Wren, and you’re going to be a mother. Since this wasn’t the way any of us planned to find out. I speak for all of us when I say, you have made us the happiest men alive, and there’s only one thing left to do. You’re going to have to marry us.”

It took the guys a couple of weeks to finally let me get back to a semi-normal routine. One of them is still always with me, but I honestly think it’s to make themselves feel better more so than for my protection, like they still claim.

Last night, the guys finally told me something they’ve been keeping from me. At first, I was a little upset, but they gave me something to think about. This morning, I finally made my decision, and the nerves that are flooding my system right now are insane. I’ve been in the car with Mav for the last ten minutes as he takes us to where we need to go, and I absolutely want to puke right now.

“We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to.” He says, but I shake my head. I need to do this.

“No. I can do this. As long as you all stay with me.” I tell him as he reaches over and grips my head, giving it a firm squeeze.

“Always Angel.”

The rest of the drive is quiet as I go over the last couple of months in my mind. From getting kidnapped to sleeping with my kidnappers. Meeting new friends and falling in love with not one but three men. I slide my free hand against my stomach. To fighting for something more than myself. It’s for sure been a wild roller coaster ride, but from where I’m sitting, I think I would do it all again.

The car finally stops after a while and when I step out, I can feel rough, uneven ground. I can smell the wild fresh air, making me think we are in a forested area.

---