Total pages in book: 133
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 131888 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 659(@200wpm)___ 528(@250wpm)___ 440(@300wpm)
Since he got no response, he dropped his keys on the kitchen counter and his duty bag on the floor and headed upstairs.
Where he found his wife on their bed.
At first, he thought she was sleeping since it wasn’t uncommon to find her in bed. The pregnancy exhausted her, so she napped a lot.
Only this time, she wasn’t resting. Because when someone slept, they still breathed.
Jackie was no longer doing so, and her skin was a shade of pale that he recognized from working as a cop.
It wasn’t only that, everything about her appeared… off.
With his heart racing and vomit threatening to rise up his throat, he checked for a pulse.
He found none.
He opened her eyelids to see them sightless.
He couldn’t wrap his head around the situation. None of it made any sense.
He had no fucking idea how long Jackie had been like that.
He jerked into action and dialed 911, insisting that they send EMS immediately due to the slim possibility that the baby might still be alive. But if she was, she wouldn’t be for long.
Maybe he could remove the baby himself. He could find a knife sharp enough…
A howl escaped from deep inside him as he placed a trembling hand on the swell of Jackie’s stomach, sliding it around to check for any signs of movement and found none.
None.
He was too late.
Too goddamn late.
Jesus Christ. He had no idea how she even fucking died!
What the fuck happened?
He inspected her from head to toe. He didn’t have to go far to find what he was looking for.
A large knot above her left ear.
It wasn’t open or bleeding, but the area was swollen. However, it couldn’t be the hematoma that killed her, could it? It had to be whatever caused that internal bruise.
She must have struck her head. He had no idea on what. He had no idea what time. He had no idea why she hadn’t reached out to him if she had slipped and fallen.
While waiting for the ambulance, he glanced around for any signs that might explain what happened.
But all he found was a garbage can full of vomit next to the bed and a Ziploc bag full of water next to her pillow. He assumed it had been full of ice that melted.
He sat on the edge of the bed, picked up her cold hand, squeezing it tight and he leaned over to press his forehead to hers.
“What the fuck, Jackie? What the fuck?”
Goddamn it! He would’ve come home immediately if she reached out to him. He would’ve either taken her to the hospital, if warranted, or at least kept an eye on her for any changes.
Instead, they both slipped away while he went through his day like it was any other fucking day.
Unaware that his life was being flipped upside down.
Unaware his life would be changed forever.
Unaware that his wife and baby girl were gone.
Things might have turned out differently if he had been home taking care of his own family instead of staying later than normal to process some motherfucking wife beater.
A simple text was all it would’ve taken.
He would’ve rushed home and had someone else finish processing the arrest.
He might have been able to save them both.
He should’ve fucking been there!
“Goddamn it! I should’ve been there!” burst from him, slamming Nox right back into Liyah’s kitchen.
“Where?”
Liyah’s question barely penetrated his brain. His world was spinning out of control and he couldn’t get it to stop.
“I found her!” He slapped at his chest. “Me. I came home and fucking found her like that.”
“Holy shit,” Liyah whispered, putting her fingers to her gaping mouth. “Nox…”
“And not just her…” He ground the heels of his palms into his eye sockets. An attempt to keep from getting sucked back up into that memory. “Not just her.”
“I don’t understand. Was she with a lover?”
He dropped his hands and his brow furrowed. “What?”
“Did you find her with a lover?”
A lover?
“She wasn’t cheating on me,” he spat out.
“Then, who did you find her with?”
Jesus fucking Christ. She wanted him to say it.
“I didn’t just lose Jackie that day.”
“I don’t understand.”
He didn’t want to say it. “Don’t make me say it.”
“Say what? Who was she with? Who else did you lose?”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Aaliyah had no idea what the hell was going on. Was this a breaking point or a breakthrough?
Either way, Nox was unraveling right before her eyes.
Not in their grief group.
Not in his therapist’s office.
But in her kitchen.
She wasn’t sure what to do. Whether to encourage him to keep talking and make him face the unfaceable, or simply comfort him. She hesitated to push him, but maybe that was what he needed.
While she was thankful he felt comfortable enough around her to finally discuss his wife’s death, she also worried his breakdown—if that was what it was—might spur one of her own.