Lex(100)

A hug jolts me from my thoughts as Tasha wraps her arms around me. I join in and hug her back. “If you want me to, I can text you in the morning to tell you how she’s doing.” I offer, breaking from our embrace.

“I’d like that. Thank you.”

I retrieve my phone from my jeans pocket and she plugs her number in. Just before she leaves, she kisses Emma on the forehead, which awakens her for a moment.

“Auntie’s leaving, Princess. You get to go home in the morning.” Tasha whispers to her niece.

“K...” Emma drowsily whispers and turns her head to see me standing in her room and grins “Lex.” She tiredly says, and waves me over.

Coming to her bedside, opposite her aunt, I crouch down close to Emma so she doesn’t have to strain to hear or speak to me.

“What does my fairy princess need?” I smile, grab her little hand that has an IV in it and kiss the top.

“Are you allowed to cuddle with me? Like we did on the couch?”

I look to Tasha and she’s beaming as bright as the sun. Then she nods, giving me the go ahead.

“Are you sure you want big ol’ me in a tiny bed with you?”

Emma silently answers me with the bob of her head and a sweet smile. I unzip my boots, toss them onto the floor, and climb into the bed beside her. She instantly rests her little head on my chest, and I smile down at her, running my fingers through her hair. Tasha covers us both in a white blanket and I suddenly feel terribly sleepy. It’s been a very long emotional day. Kissing Emma’s head, I wish her a goodnight and slowly my eyes feel like they have bags of sand hanging from them as they begin to close.



Gage





“Gage. Gage.” Tasha is speaking to me. I know she is but I can’t stop pacing. Mustn’t stop. Can’t stop. If I stop, I will meltdown. I will cry, I will lose it and then Emma will think I’m a weak daddy who can’t protect her. And Lex will think I’m a baby that she’ll need to take care of. Mustn’t show weakness. Have to stay strong for my family.

“Gage!” Tasha smacks my arm and I stop and sneer at her. Curling up my lip in aggression.

“What?!”

“Do you even know what time it is? Do you know where you are?”

What kind of ridiculous question is that? Its midnight and my brother just left. I’m in the hospital awaiting Emma’s test results.

“Yes.” I bark, furrowing my brow at her.

Placing her hand on her hips, she sears me with her penetrating gaze. I hate when she does this.

“It’s four thirty in the morning, Gage.” Her attitude slaps me hard in the face.

“What?” It can’t be four in the morning. There’s no way.

“Yeah… While you were out here having your little,” she gestures up and down my body with her hand, “whatever this is. Your woman was talking to doctors, attempting to feed you, and she’s now sleeping in bed with your daughter. I’m going home, I’m tired and you should get some sleep too. And…” She jabs her finger into my chest. “You need to grovel at that woman’s feet. You snapped at her tonight. She took it. I wouldn’t have. She and Lincoln also preoccupied you to keep you from getting kicked out of this place. You yelled at a nurse and that was the last time you were allowed to speak to any medical professional. Get it together. I know this is hard, it brings up shit about mom. We didn’t have a good childhood, you especially, but Lex didn’t either and she stuck through this for you and Emma. If you don’t end up finding a way to keep her. I will. I’ll kick you out of the family and let her move in. Capiche?”

Now I feel like the biggest asshole on the planet. Peering over at the clock on the wall, I see that she’s right. Lincoln is sitting in a chair against the wall, nearly asleep and my woman is in bed with my daughter. What’s wrong with me? I have to be stronger!

Kissing my sister on the cheek and apologizing, I see her down the hall to the front and say goodbye. Coming back, I nudge Linc.

“Hey bud, time to head home.” I rouse him.

“Yeah, but I can’t leave until Lex tells me it’s cool.”

Sitting down beside him, I pat him, man-to-man on the leg. “You do know that Lex is mine, right? She loves you Linc, but I can’t say if you tried to go there with her that I wouldn’t put up a fight. I see the way you look at her. It’s obvious and I respect the hell out of ya for being such a great friend. You’re a good man. I just need you to know that I’m not going to fuck this up with her. I’ve waited too long and tried too hard to mess it up now. It can’t be easy loving a woman you can’t have.” As much as this might make me sound like a jerk, I need him to know. I see it when he looks at her; he loves her. Laying it out there for him to understand is the only way I can see this going in the right direction.