Page 103 of Gideon
The room went black.
CHAPTER25
GIDEON
“Naomi!” I shouted as I watched my wife slide off of her seat and onto the floor in a heap. “Naomi!”
In a flash, I had pushed back my chair, circling the table as quickly as possible and kneeling down next to the prone, limp body of my wife. I felt panic flood through my body, my mind racing, trying to figure out what the hell had happened.
“Oh, my goodness! What happened?” her mother cried out, coming over beside me. I shooed her away as I felt for a pulse.
“She’s breathing,” I answered in a rush. Naomi’s eyes fluttered behind closed lids before she gasped, and her eyes popped open.
“What… What…” she stammered out, her breathing coming in quick, frightened gasps.
“Shh. I’ve got you, Naomi,” I quickly shushed her, pulling her up to sit, and then directly into my arms. My intent was two-fold. On the one hand, I just wanted to be near her, to help her. But just as importantly, I was afraid of what she might say in her confusion.
“What is the meaning of this?” her father sputtered, his anger simmering just below the surface. I knew her parents were not kind parents in Zion. Hell, neither were mine, but his sheer lack of concern for his daughter still surprised me.
“Hush now. I will take you home,” I murmured to her before looking up at her parents. “As you can see, my wife is feeling ill. I must cut our meal short and take her home.”
“I won’t stand for these theatrics,” her father sputtered, banging his hand on the table.
“Elder Cantor, this is good news,” I lied through my teeth.
“Good news? How on Earth is this dramatic display good news?” he scoffed derisively.
“Because she is feeling faint. She has been experiencing nausea, faintness, and fatigue these last few days,” I rambled off.
“Oh, praise the Lord!” her mother squealed, holding her hands to her lips and covering the wide smile that lit up her face.
“Yes, but please do nothing more than pray for such happy tidings. These things can be fickle in the early days, as I’m sure you know, Mrs. Cantor,” I warned them both. I helped Naomi to her feet and led her, on shaky legs, to the door.
“Please keep us informed,” her father grumbled, opening the front door for our abrupt departure. I helped her to the truck, tuning out the farewells uttered by her parents. I fastened her seatbelt, purposely not meeting her eyes. I needed to keep my cool. It was only held by a thin thread at this point. We needed to get out of here and back home as quickly as possible.
I tossed off a smile and a half wave towards her parents as I opened my own door and threw the truck on and into gear. I didn’t even bother with the seatbelt. I didn’t care. Not right now.
With more restraint that I knew I possessed, I slowly backed out of the driveway and headed the hell out of Zion towards our home.
“Gideon,” Naomi voiced next to me, her voice sounding small and vulnerable. The knife of pain and guilt twisted further into my heart. She was in pain. A pain I couldn’t fix. At least not yet.
“Don’t worry, Naomi. I’m taking us home,” I said as calmly as I could.
“Don’t.” Her words were frail but firm, forced through clenched teeth.
“What?”
“Don’t take me home. I don’t want to go there. I need…” she trailed off. I slowed the truck down as we passed the sign for Zion, leaving town.
“Where do you want to go?” I asked quietly. I prayed that she wasn’t about to ask me to leave here for good. We couldn’t. Not now. Not with the information that had just been thrust into our laps.
“Take me to Zeke’s. I want to talk to Talia. She’s the one person who truly understands,” she murmured quietly. I nodded my head. We would head to Zeke’s. And from there, I would call my brothers. This was big news and news that needed to be shared. Immediately. But only after I made sure my wife was okay.
I reached a hand out across the bench seat, and she took it. Her grip was hard, her nails almost digging into my skin as she seemed to hang on for dear life. I passed the turn for our own home, heading further away from Zion, until the turn for Malachi and Zeke’s house appeared.
Sparing a glance at my wife, I saw her bottom lip quivering. She was holding on by a thread as well. I pushed down on the accelerator, speeding up as we made our way down the gravel road. I needed to get her into the house and somewhere she felt safe enough to break down. She needed to break. If she didn’t want to do it with me alone, then so be it. I wasn’t arrogant enough to take issue with such a thing.
We had no sooner pulled into Zeke’s driveway that my brother appeared, opening the front door with a look of concern on his face.
