Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 123922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 123922 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 620(@200wpm)___ 496(@250wpm)___ 413(@300wpm)
“There you go,” he murmured and continued to rub his hand up and down my good arm.
I blinked my eyes and lifted my arms, though it was difficult because my body felt so tired. I pressed my hands on my stomach and was relieved to feel it was still huge and hard.
I looked at Kane, my eyes wild.
“He is okay, he is still in there.”
The relief that flooded me almost caused me to throw up.
I began to cry and it upset Kane.
“Babydoll,” he breathed. “You’re both okay, I swear.”
I shook my head.
“The baby is okay. The doctors don’t know if there was any damage because of the smoke inhalation, but as far as they can tell, everything looks okay.”
My tears were fast and furious then.
What if the baby had brain damage because of the smoke cutting off my oxygen?
All sorts of horrors flooded my mind, and terror filled me completely. I couldn’t hear Kane speak. I realised why, it’s because I was wailing.
“Baby!” Kane pleaded. “He is okay, I promise, he is okay.”
“What if... brain... damage?”
“Don’t think like that,” Kane hissed. “You think positive thoughts. He is okay!”
I reached up and gripped my throat when the pain struck it.
I closed my mouth as hot tears spilled from my eyes and onto my cheeks. The pain... God, the pain. I had never felt anything like it in my entire life. It was like someone was slowly running a saw over my throat.
“I’ll get the nurse,” Kane said and jumped up off the bed. He ran out into the hall and called for help. “She’s awake and in pain. Please, hurry.”
I blinked my eyes a couple of times, and when I focused, two nurses were next to me.
“Aideen, can you hear me clearly?” the first nurse asked. “Don’t reply verbally, just nod for yes, and shake your head for no. Do you understand?”
I nodded my head.
“Good. Is your hearing okay? Does it sound like you’re in a tunnel?”
I shook my head. My hearing was fine.
“What about your chest, does it hurt when you breathe?”
I tested it out and took a deep breath, which only resulted in coughing. I quickly pointed to my throat, which was the only pain I could feel.
“Your throat?”
I nodded my head.
“Okay, do you have any chest pain?”
I shook my head.
“Good, that’s really good.”
The nurse looked at Kane then and said, “Just to be safe, we’re going to do a round of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. She will be placed inside a pressurised oxygen chamber here in the hospital. It will speed the replacement of carbon monoxide with oxygen in her blood.”
“Is that safe?” Kane questioned. “She is pregnant.”
The nurse nodded her head. “It’s highly recommended for pregnant women who’re exposed to carbon monoxide poisoning. Unborn babies are more susceptible to damage so this will be good for both mother and baby.”
I wanted to do it. If it would eliminate any damage to the baby, I was completely on board.
I nodded my head.
Kane focused on me. “You want to do it?”
Again, I nodded my head.
“She wants to do it.”
The nurse looked at me. “Okay, Aideen, we’ll get the chamber prepared. We’ll come get you in twenty to thirty minutes if you’re able. Is that okay?”
I nodded my head.
The nurse pressed a button then and it caused the top half of my bed to rise. She raised it enough until I was still lying, but in a more upright position. She leaned into me then and adjusted the oxygen mask on my face.
“Keep this on your face, sweetie,” she said and fluffed the pillow under my head. “It’ll make breathin’ easier.”
I nodded my head then looked at the door when it opened and in piled person after person. I gave a closed mouthed smile to my family when they gathered around the bed. My little brother was the first person who quickly leaned in and hugged me.
“Are you okay?” he whispered into my ear.
I leaned my head against his and nodded my head.
Gavin squeezed me tightly, kissed my cheek, and pulled back. He quickly wiped his eyes, and it only heightened the need for me to console him.
“I’m... fine,” I rasped.
“No talking,” the nurse chastised.
I ignored her and focused on Gavin, giving him a knowing look. He nodded his head to me and moved aside so my other brothers could hug and kiss me.
My father, along with James, stepped outside to ask the nurse some questions. I smiled when Keela shoved her way through Alec and Nico and almost climbed onto the bed to grab hold of me.
“I was so scared,” Keela cried into my neck. “I thought you were gone when Kane called and told us what happened.”
I tiredly lifted my good arm and put it around Keela. “I’m okay,” I rasped.
“If you don’t stop talking, I’ll telling your dad,” Kane warned me.
Keela laughed through her tears and I smiled.
She kissed me a bunch of times on the cheek, and then climbed off the bed. I hugged Kane’s brothers and the girls. Alannah was shaken up pretty bad. She was worried about the baby, but Kane assured her that everything was okay.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she whispered to me when she gave me a cuddle.
I smiled at her when she pulled back. I looked at Nico when he murmured to Kane, “No sign of him.”
Kane’s body tensed. “Keep looking.”
I focused on Kane. “Need... to... talk to... you.”
“We’ll have words, babydoll. Just rest your voice for a bit.” I needed to have a real talk with him about Philip. The man tried to kill me and my baby. I wanted to know what was happening.
Nico nodded his head once to Kane then looked at me and winked. “The kid that helped you is doing good. He is here in the hospital for another twenty-four hours as a precaution.”
Thank God.
The news that Caleb was okay relieved me greatly. He was a little soldier, and without him, I think I would have died in that classroom. Images of Philip’s flashing grin and flames entered my mind.