Broken Cheaters (4 page)

“Trish, do you want to get out of here?” he asked, with a worried look.

“Will I get to be with you?”

“Yes.”

“Then yes. I think we should leave.”

Axel requested that the food we’d ordered to be packed up to go. The waiter brought our containers, and Axel’s cell phone rang.

“Mom, is everything all right?”

He listened for a moment, his face draining of blood with every second. “Take him to the hospital. I’ll meet you there.”

“Is Trevor all right?” I asked. The look on Axel’s face told me that it couldn’t have been anyone else he was talking about.

“I don’t know, but… Trish… do you mind—”

“—I want to come with you,” I said. Axel didn’t argue. He waived to the waiter, who acknowledged him, and we left, our date turning out as adventurous as I’d thought it would be – except not in the same way.

“
I
t’s karma
,” I whispered, as Charlie pulled away from the restaurant. We were sitting in the back of the limo and Axel kept on swearing under his breath about not having brought his own car so he could get there faster. He pressed a button on the intercom.

“As fast as you can, Charlie.”

“Yes, sir.”

He ran his fingers through his hair, shifting in his seat before looking back at me.

“Why karma?”

I shook my head. “I shouldn’t have gone out with you until I officially broke things off with my fiancé. That way, you would have been with Trevor.”

“With all due respect, Trish… according to me, you were officially broken up that night we fucked. And Trevor would have been sick whether we went out or not.” His voice was stern, but I could tell he didn’t mean to be rude. He was worried about his son, as any loving parent would have been. Maybe I should have stayed at the restaurant and taken a cab home instead of tagging along? This was a family thing; but I couldn’t help but worry about the little boy I’d met at the park. There was an odd need inside me to see him and make sure he was all right.

“But you said hospital. If he’s sick… I mean, I don’t have kids, but… what was he admitted for?”

Please don’t pay attention to my ignorance.

“His fever spiked to the point where my mother couldn’t cool it down, and he was having stomach pains.”

“Oh.” I wasn’t a doctor, but I assumed that was serious.

“My mother thinks it could be appendicitis.”

I reached for his hand and squeezed it hard. “He’ll be okay, Axel. He’s strong like his father. He’ll be okay.” He looked at our hands, fingers slowly twining together. His mouth opened like he wanted to say something, but then he closed it as if he were confused about what I’d done. I pulled my hand away, but he took it back.

“I’m glad you’re here, Trish. I’m happy that you’re here with me.” Axel scooted closer and wrapped his arm around me, pulling me into his body. I leaned my head on his shoulder, savoring all the confusing emotions compressing in my chest that this man was responsible for.

The next half hour felt like the longest one in my life as I thought about Trevor, silently praying that he’d be okay. He was Axel’s whole life, and I couldn’t imagine what would happen if… no, I couldn’t let my thoughts run away in that direction. This was not my past. It was Axel’s life, and hopefully he’d have a happier ending than I did.

In his expensive suit and my most expensive dress, we pulled up to the hospital in a limo. Heads turned, but neither of us cared as we ran inside. Axel had loosened his tie and left it in the car. The top two buttons of his shirt were open, but even when disheveled on the inside, he still managed to pull off a somewhat composed look of control.

At the hospital, a nurse guided us to where Trevor was resting. A beautiful woman in her late fifties sat at his bedside and stood as soon as the door to the private room opened. Trevor seemed to be asleep. She hurried over to Axel and took him into her arms for a warm embrace.

Axel turned around and motioned for me to come closer.

“Trish, this is Beth Wagner. My mom.”

I wasn’t expecting to meet his mother that quickly. Actually, I hadn’t thought about meeting any other members of Axel’s family.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Wagner.” I reached out my hand, but instead of shaking it, Mrs. Wagner took me into her arms and embraced me the way only a mother could.

“The pleasure’s all mine. And please call me Beth. Everyone does.”

I nodded. “What did the doctor say?”

“The ultrasound confirmed the beginning of appendicitis. They can either give him antibiotics, which will take down the inflammation, or have him in surgery in a couple of hours.”

“What do I do?” he asked. “I never had mine removed. Mom, what do I do?”

“Talk to the doctor.”

“Axel, I almost died as a teenager because of chronic appendicitis. I never had any symptoms other than the pain, and if someone gave me an option to have it removed, I would have done it in a heartbeat.”

“She’s absolutely right, Mr. Wagner,” the doctor said from the door. “Every case is different, but giving antibiotics doesn’t guarantee that the inflammation won’t return. And given that he’s young, well, it’s your choice what you’d like to do.”

“Are there any disadvantages if we opt for surgery?”

“While it’s a simple procedure, I’m obliged to say that there’s always risk with any surgery. As far as long term, other than the small scars, I can’t foresee any issues.”

“You’d perform the surgery laparoscopically?”

“We’ll try. He’s small, so we may need to make a larger cut. If scars are a concern—”

“They’re not,” Axel interrupted. He paused for a moment, considering the options, before nodding. “Go ahead with the surgery.”

“He’s in good hands, Mr. Wagner.” The doctor left, Axel exhaled, and Trevor woke up.

“Daddy?”

“Hey, buddy.” He sat at the side of his son’s bed.

“How was youw date?”

“She’s here.”

He told Trevor we were going out on a date?

Trevor leaned over to look past his father, saying, “Hi, Twish.”

“Hi, honey. How are you feeling?”

“Sleepy.”

“They gave him something for the pain. And it’s his bedtime too,” Beth explained.

“My tummy huwt.”

“I know. That’s why we’re here,” Axel explained, patting the chair beside him for me to sit down. “Your tummy is sick, and the doctor needs to have a better look at it.”

“How?”

Axel’s face paled as he probably realized that he was about to tell his son that he was going to go into surgery.

“I… well… there’s this tiny thing attached to your intestines that looks like a worm.”

“I have a wowm in my tummy?” The fear in Trevor’s eyes bore down on Axel. He seemed to be in shock, not knowing what to say.

I stepped up closer to the bed. “Trevor, what your daddy is saying is that the doctor needs to remove a tiny appendix to heal your tummy.”

“Will it huwt?”

“No, baby. You’ll be asleep.”

Beth sat on the other side of the bed.

“You know how velociraptors sometimes lost their claws, but they could still hunt? That will be you. You’ll get your appendix removed, and nothing about you will change. And look what I found in my apartment.” I pulled out the claw from my purse and handed it to him.

“Is it weal?”

“It’s real. I had it confirmed by a paleontologist after I found it with my sister in Yellowstone Park. You can keep it.”

“Wow! Daddy, look!”

“I see. That’s a mighty gift.”

“Thank you, Twish.”

“You’re welcome, honey.”

“Can I take it to my suwgewy?”

“If the doctor agrees, yes.”

“I’m gonna sleep now.”

“Okay. We’ll stay here.”

Trevor lay back in his bed, and Beth tucked him in. He squeezed the claw tightly in his hand, closed his eyes, and his mouth curved up. I had a feeling that he would do just fine in surgery.

“I’m going down to get some coffee. Would you two like one?” Beth asked.

“Actually, I’d love one.” I reached for my purse to pay for my coffee when Axel gently grasped my hand, shaking his head. “You’ll offend her,” he whispered.

“Oh, thank you, Beth.”

“You’re welcome.”

When she opened the door, Charlie the chauffeur walked in with what looked like our food order from Olivier’s. He handed it to Axel, who thanked him, smiled, and left.

“I bet you didn’t think you’d end up in a hospital on our date,” Axel whispered, setting up the food on the over-bed table.

“Are you kidding me? You couldn’t have planned it better.”

“Why?”

“I don’t know. This is real, I guess. It’s life.”

“Thanks for taking his mind off the surgery.” He passed me a fork and opened the Styrofoam box with my steamed trout, rice, and baby asparagus. The appetizing aroma made my mouth water.

“You’re welcome. I just didn’t want him to be scared.”

“So, you have a sister?”

“Had.”

“I’m sorry. I guess you do know what it’s like to love someone and lose them after all.”

I nodded, a little bit weary of any further questions he’d ask. I wasn’t ready to talk about her. It was difficult enough when I thought about the past, but talking… yeah, I’d never talked about her.

“It’s still painful for you, isn’t it?” he asked.

“Yes, I don’t think there will ever be a day when it’s not. Sometimes, when my mind is pre-occupied, I’m able to forget.”

Axel looked over at Trevor, who was already asleep. Had his son helped him to forget about the mother’s passing?

“Like when I took you against that wall?”

I almost dropped my fork as my cheeks heated. “Yes, like that.”

“Well, then, we’ll have to make sure I take your mind off things more often.”

“Are you trying to seduce me, Mr. Wagner?”

“I thought that was a given, Ms. Summers.”

“For what it’s worth, you don’t need to. I’m already quite smitten with you. I just can’t seem to figure out why me.”

“Stop trying to figure it out and let it be then.”

“You deserve someone better. Someone who wouldn’t have cheated on their other half.”

“You call it cheating; I call it perfect timing.”

“I still need to officially break it off with him before whatever it is that’s happening here goes any further. So no more dinners or outings until that’s done.” I then frowned. “Except I can’t seem to reach him.”

“Maybe Fate’s giving you a sign.”

“Maybe. I hope so.”

He smiled. “I should help you find him, then.”

“No, please. Trust me. You don’t want to know him or have anything to do with him at all. I’ll deal with it, and maybe the guilt will ease.”

“You’re a good person, Trish, and it’s so easy to talk to you. I feel like I’ve known you for years. Comfortable and at ease. Yet I still don’t know much about you. And despite that, I want to spend more time with you. I haven’t felt this way around a woman in a long time.”

“Don’t make me out to be a saint, because I’m not.”

“Neither am I.”

“Mr. Wagner. Can I talk to you for a moment?” The doctor peeked inside the room.

“Yes, of course.”

When the door shut, Trevor opened his eyes and looked worried.

“Hey, your daddy’s just outside, honey. Why are you so sad?”

He scrunched his brows as if he were looking for an answer before saying, “My dinosaur bwoke. I was dweaming about him and wemembewed and woke up.”

“Which dinosaur?”

“It used to move and now it doesn’t. I changed the battewies and it’s not helping. Do you think the doctow can fix it?”

“I’m not sure. Is it an electric dinosaur?”

He nodded and pointed to his knapsack.

“You brought it with you?”

“I packed it when my tummy stawted to huwt.”

“Can I have a look at it?”

He smiled in approval and lay back, and I removed the brown dinosaur from the knapsack. With the rounded tip of a knife that had been included with our meal, I unscrewed the back. One of the cables had come loose, and I plugged it back in. The dinosaur roared, and Trevor’s eyes flew open.

“You fixed it!”

I closed the back and handed the toy to Trevor. The Rex’s eyes glowed red and its arms moved up and down each time he pressed a button. Axel walked back inside saying, “For a moment there I thought we’d traveled back in time to the Jurassic era.”

“Twish fixed it, Daddy. She’s a good scientist. Twish, wewe you a dinosaur doctow?”

“No, honey.” I laughed.

“They had a cancellation, and they’re ready to take you for your surgery, Trevor.”

“Did you hear that? It means you’ll be out of here way quicker.”

The nurses came in, moved his IV to a portable station, checked his pulse, and gave him a dinosaur sticker on his free hand. Trevor was excited to show everyone his fixed dinosaur as well as the raptor claw. He said he’d carry it with him everywhere he went.

As they wheeled him into surgery, we both kissed him and gave him words of encouragement, but as soon as he disappeared behind the automatic doors, my throat tightened.

Please, God, let him be all right,
I prayed silently.

“He’ll be okay, right?” I asked Axel, my voice breaking.

“Yes, he will.”

After dropping the coffee off, Beth had gone home, but insisted we update her as soon as Trevor was out of surgery. We sat in the waiting room. Ace twirled his fingers before resting his arm over me, bringing me close to his body.

“It’s almost midnight.”

“I can have Charlie drive you home,” he suggested, his body tensing around me.

“No, I want to stay with you.”

“Here, lie down then. Close your eyes for a moment and rest.” He patted his thighs.

I shifted, lowering my head to his lap. I didn’t think I could fall asleep, but when his fingers began to comb through my hair, the pads pressing gently and massaging my scalp, I closed my eyes and found myself in a different time and a different place.

Chloe was sitting on a sofa in our home living room, smoothing her hand over her belly. She was happier and more mature than when she’d left home. My sister’s life had changed. She’d chosen to forget the past and focus on the future. I joined her and put my ear to her belly, listening for the sound of shifting water, waiting patiently for the skin to move underneath my hand. And when it did, I looked up into her glistening eyes. She was happy and glowing.

He can feel me,
I said to her.

And hear you as well,
she replied.
I can’t wait for you to meet him.

I sucked in a quick breath and woke up in Axel’s lap, startled and confused.

“Are you all right?” he whispered.

“Yeah, how long have I been out?”

“A minute. I didn’t think you fell asleep.”

A minute? That was impossible. It felt like I’d slept way longer. And what was with that dream? My sister was never pregnant. Was I seeing my future through her? Would
I
one day have a baby, and she was trying to show me that? I wished she were here. I wished I could tell her about how I’d found a wonderful man and his son, and ask her whether it was stupid of me to want to be a part of their lives.