Page 37 of Eternal Pieces

I’m halfway through building my desk when Max barges through my office door, his face red and sweaty.

“Did you run all the way here from work?”

“Violet’s in trouble,” he says without taking a breath.

I’m instantly on my feet. “What happened? Is she okay?”

“I don’t know. Her heart rate spiked and then stopped completely.”

Ah, this again. I should never have agreed to him monitoring her health this much. A few days after the first scan, I caught him doing it on his phone. I thought it was a good idea at first. Violet always wears her smart watch as an extra level of safety for us to track her, so why not monitor her health through it as well?

All it does is add to Max’s anxiety. “Max…are you sure you’re not overreacting? She could have just taken it off.”

“Are you fucking serious? Get your keys, we need to go!” He’s already slamming his way out of the room, giving me no choice but to follow.

On my way out, I tell the contractors that I need to leave and will be back by the end of the day.Hopefully.

Fuck. I’m trying not to imagine what the hell’s happened to Vi, but I can feel Max’s anxiety building inside myself.

Within minutes, we’re in the car and speeding home. The cabin’s not too far out, but it’s still a bit of a drive. Enough time for the worst to happen.

“Have you tried calling her?” I ask.

“Of course I have. She’s not picking up.”

“What about an ambulance?”

“Just drive!”

There’s no reasoning with him when he’s like this, and I can’t blame him. If there’s one thing to make us lose our heads, it’s Violet.

The door to the cabin is slightly ajar when we arrive. Max doesn’t wait for us to stop before he rushes inside.

“Violet!” he roars so loud I can hear him clear as day from inside the car. I quickly follow after him.

Down the hall, the shower’s running, steam coming out from the open bathroom door.

Fuck. She could have overheated. Slipped. Cracked her head open.

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” Max shouts.

Turning into the room, I find him in the shower with Violet, the water battering down on him and soaking his clothes. Her naked body is pinned to the tiles. My eyes go straight to her bump. He’s not crushing it. He has some sense left in him, at least. Not much, though, from the way he’s reacting.

“I didn’t hear it, I was?—”

“We thought you were dead!” he shouts, his grip on her arms tightening. She looks over at me, confusion in her eyes.

“Max, back off her. She’s fine.”

He presses closer to her, burying his face in her neck and wrapping his arms around her shoulders. “You have to answer.” He sounds like he’s crying. “You always have to answer.”

Violet strokes his back, soothing him. “I promise I will. I’m sorry I didn’t this time. You don’t need to worry, the babies and I are okay.”

I step forward to help her, but she holds her hand up and softly shakes her head. Giving them some time together, I turn the shower off and grab a towel.

“Why did you think I was hurt? Did my mom say something to you?”

Max unburies his face from her neck, no doubt having the same questions as me.

---