It's One of Us(68)

A quick heartbeat of elation. The procedure is over. Her hands go to her stomach, caress the flat planes.

As of this moment, she is officially pregnant. Of course they must wait for the test results, but she can already tell, can already feel them inside her. Her babies. The doctors were thrilled; they had several excellent, healthy embryos to implant, and two possibles that were still being analyzed as she was put under. Here she is, with them inside her.

Amazing, even with the haze of the leftover medication they gave her to help her relax while they did the transfer, how quickly she is attuned to them. They are her, and they are apart, floating in their safe, happy home.

“Hello,” she whispers. “I hope we get to meet one day soon.”

“Oh, finally. You’re awake.” Park takes her hand. “I’ve been so worried.”

“It went well?” she asks. “The babies are okay? How many did they put in?”

He seems to be struggling for composure, and her heart sinks. Did it not work? But she can feel them.

“Honey, you’re confused. We’re not at the clinic. We’re at St. Thomas. You had a car accident. You’ve just come out of surgery.”

But she can feel them... Nothing makes sense.

She struggles to sit up, is forced back by a searing pain in her shoulder. Her arm is strapped to her side. Park gentles her back down as if she’s a spooked horse.

“No, no, you need to stay lying down until the nurse comes.”

The pain clears her head a bit. “Oh God, that hurts. What’s happened?”

“You hit a deer. The antlers impaled you. It’s a miracle, a few inches lower... Your collarbone was broken, badly. The doctors pinned it together, removed some pieces of shattered antler. Do you remember?”

A flash of white, an eerie screech, the impact. The rolling black eye. The blood.

The searing physical pain is replaced with a deeper, primal soreness. Blood, and cramping. Her heart, broken.

“I lost the baby.”

“That was earlier. Not because of the accident.”

“Oh, Park.” Her voice is thick with tears and leftover anesthesia. She is chilled, and begins to shake, the movement jarring her body. Park pulls up the blankets and clings to her good hand.

“You’re going to be in a sling for a while, but they say you can come home this morning. I called your parents. They want to fly home, but they have to get to the next port first. You scared me, honey. When the police called to say you’d been hurt, I rushed here immediately. They let me see you for a minute before they took you to surgery, but you were out cold. You’ve been asleep since. I’m so glad you’re okay. If something worse had happened, I don’t know what I would have done. Oh God, Olivia. I—”

A fuzzy sense fills her. She should be mad. She is mad. But she’s not sure why.

“Shh. I’m all right. I’m okay, Park. Call my folks again and tell them not to come. I can’t be the reason they leave that cruise. I promise, I’m fine.” There is a vase of white lilies on the tray by her hand. She hates lilies. They smell like death to her. “God, can you get rid of those flowers? I’m sorry, the scent is making me nauseated.”

She catches his frown. “I don’t mean to be harsh. It was sweet of you to bring them—”

“I didn’t. I would never bring you lilies. I know how much you despise them.”

“Thank God. I thought you might be punishing me.” She gives him a wan smile, and he smiles back, just as tremulous. “Who are they from? Is there a card?”

“No, no card. I went for a cup of coffee, and they were brought in while I was gone. Let me go donate them to someone else.”

He disappears for a few minutes, giving her time to gather herself. The scent lingers, rot and loam and perfumed air.

An accident. She’s been in an accident.

But she can still feel them inside her.

You’re confused. You’re just confused.

Park returns, washes his hands with the antibacterial foam at the door. The chemical scent is more welcome than the bitter scent of the flowers, and she relaxes when he sits again.

“Better?”

“Much.” It is starting to come back to her, bits and pieces, flashes of shattered glass and fear. “The Jeep?”

“Other than the windshield and driver’s window, it’s almost unscathed. The police think the deer must have been midair when you impacted. His antlers came through the windshield and pinned you. When they got there, you were unconscious, covered in blood, with a chunk of antler sticking out, and the deer was nowhere to be found.”

The crash. The fear. That disembodied voice. Oh, my darling.

“What about the man who helped me? Did they find out who it was? If not for him, I’d have been hurt worse. The deer was freaking out.”

Park shakes his head. “No one mentioned a Good Samaritan. The police said you were alone.”

“That’s weird. He broke the side window. I know he did. He said I was going to be okay. He called me by my name. I thought it might have been Perry, but the voice was different. I didn’t get a good look at him.”

“Perry?” The chill in his voice is palpable.

“He was at Lindsey’s. We talked.”

“Oh, really? That’s where you were all afternoon? With Perry?”