Chapter 56: Chapter 56
"You all came!" Ivory smiles, sitting up straight against the hospital pillows. She reaches out and holds her hand out towards Ben who takes hold of it. A smile stretches out on his face and he lifts her hand to his lips, placing a gentle kiss on the back.
"How are you feeling?" He asks, standing by her side. Ivory blushes slightly, looking up at him through her dark lashes.
She appears to be well on the road to recovery.
Her skin has re-gained its healthy colour and her blue eyes hold more life inside them. She's still disappear into her own world from time to time, a glazed over look in her eyes. The pain that fills her features saddens my heart and I can't imagine the ordeal she's endured by the hands of Jane.
"I'm feeling better, I can't believe I'm going home today." Ivory lets out a small laugh in disbelief. I smile widely at her, letting go of Jake's hand to walk towards her. Ivory immediately holds out her arms, signalling for me to embrace her.
"I've missed you so much." I tell her quietly, squeezing her gently. She sniffles over my shoulder before pulling back.
"Come on trouble, are you ready to go?" Jake interrupts us, picking up Ivory's bag from the bottom of the hospital bed. He swings it over his shoulder casually, turning to give us a small smile. Memories flash through my mind of the day Jake coming to pick me up from the hospital to take me home after Jones shot me.
I take the chance to study him in this rare moment knowing I probably wouldn't get to reminisce about it again. Jake frowns slightly at me, tilting his head as he studies me staring at him. After a split second, he lets out a small chuckle, glancing around the hospital room. His eyes fill with recognition and he grins, dropping his gaze to the floor.
A smile grow on my face as I realised he's thinking of the same memory.
"I remember," he smiles softly, blue eyes twinkling in my direction. The room remains silent as Jake and I stare at each other, a comfortable smile on our faces.
"He remembers what?" Trish whispers to Tobias, breaking the silence in the room. I finally tear my eyes away from Jake's intense stare and let out a laugh, forgetting about the others in the room.
"Sorry guys," I apologise, glancing at all of their confused faces.
"Do they like, have silent conversations with each other? Is that normal?" Trish mutters, her eyes full of disbelief. Tobias scoffs beside her, rolling his eyes over dramatically.
"Try living with them. It's worse." He adds jokingly. I roll my eyes at his response and notice Jake do the exact same thing at the exact same time. I look around and no-one notices so I decide to keep the little piece of information to myself.
We've already weirded everyone out for the day.
*****
"I never got the chance to say thank you," Ivory says, turning to Trish and I. I remember that night vividly, the way Ivory lay on that rotten bed, shaking from her drug addiction.
"You don't have to thank us," I respond quietly, lifting my mug to my lips and taking a sip. Ivory, Trish and I are sat around the kitchen table, hot chocolates in hand. The boys dropped us off before heading back out to bring food home. I'd given them strict instructions to bring me home jelly babies. I'm seriously craving jelly babies.
"Yeah, Emily is right. You don't have to thank us." Trish adds, reaching forward to take hold of Ivory's spare hand. She gives her a re-assuring smile, squeezing her hand gently. The interaction between them causes a genuine smile to stretch across my face. If one good thing came out of the horror, it's the relationship between Trish and Ivory.
"How is the baby?" Ivory asks me, her eyes dropping to my stomach. My hand rests over the top of it and it's become an automatic position for me to place my hands. I'm eagerly waiting for the baby to move or kick, just so I can feel the movement and remind myself this is all real.
"He or she is lazy. The baby won't move at all. The doctor said because it's my first pregnancy, I may not feel anything until five months in." I explain, shuffling on my seat. I let out a deep sigh, feeling slightly flustered.
"Just be patient Em. Don't forget, that baby is practically a miracle. Enjoy the pregnancy." Ivory smiles at me, her eyes twinkling as she speaks of her unborn niece/nephew. I listen to her words carefully, letting them sink in. Ivory is right, I should be enjoying the pregnancy.
After all, it may be my only one.
An uncomfortable silence falls upon as and I can't help but wonder whether Ivory and Trish are thinking the same thing. The chance that me or my baby may not make it through the pregnancy is terrifying.
"What if I die?" I blurt out, staring straight ahead at the walls. I swallow the thick lump in my throat, unable to believe I've been so forward with my question. A glossy layer of unshed tears covers my eyes and I sniffle, looking away. Ivory and Trish seem taken aback by my question and it was a few moments before Ivory replies -
"You are not going to die Emily."
Her words are quiet, shaky.
"But I could. The further this pregnancy goes, the bigger the chance is of me dying." My voice cracks vulnerably and I reach up to hastily wipe away the tears forming in my eyes. Beside me, Trish silently places her hand on my knee.
"We won't let anything bad happen to you." Trish whispers. I turn to look into her eyes and realise she's struggling to hold her tears back. Her bottom lip wobbles but she quickly composes herself, adamant to comfort me.
"You're going to be okay. You have Jake and us by your side. You're practically invincible." Trish smiles, a single tear escaping her eye. I let out a small laugh despite laughing being the last thing I want to do right now. The constant fear in my heart is over bearing despite how much I try to ignore it.
"Even Jake can't protect me from this one," I sniffle, feeling completely hopeless. I know Jake feel the same way too. I'd find him staring at me often, a distant, fearful look in his eyes. I know he's terrified of the future. Despite accepting my decision to keep the baby, it's breaking him apart not knowing how to protect me.
"Emily, listen to me."Ivory says sternly. Her voice is firm, her words spoken with confidence.
"When Jane locked up in that unit, I thought I would never walk out of there alive. I was so terrified of never having the chance to see my family again. I was alone in the dark for weeks."
I feel my throat tighten and silent tears slide down my cheeks from her torture. I remain silent, giving her the chance to get everything off her chest. She takes a deep breath before continuing -
"Every time she injected me, I thought I was going to die. I lay there awake all night thinking about everything I was going to miss out on. The baby, Ben, getting married, having my own kids. It was the most terrifying thing I have ever been through. I thought I would never see daylight again, look outside that window Emily." Ivory commands me, tears of bravery falling down her cheeks.
I slowly turn and glance in the direction she's pointing at. Outside the kitchen window, the sun is shining brightly, surrounded by clouds. If you listen carefully, you can hear the birds singing their song, sounding beautiful.
"Do you see that?" Ivory asks me, her voice trembling. I turn to look at her, my vision blurred from the sadness in my eyes. My response is a simple nod.
"That's daylight. I made it, I'm alive." Ivory cried, wrapping her arms around her shoulders as she tightly embraces herself. The entire time, her eyes never leave mine.
"I won the fight and so can you." Ivory continues before finishing, her words sparking a new found hope inside of me.