Restored (19 page)

“Yeah, me too. I have far too many cases still to chart on. Talk to you later then.” Missy sauntered back toward her office.

Anger flashed behind Lexi’s eyes. She hadn’t wished any harm to the child, but she didn’t want the fact that there was a child rubbed in her face either. Missy had meant to provoke her, that much was clear. Missy’s tactics were nasty, but on one level she was right. The budding family of Caleb, Corrine, and their child should all be associated with each other. It wasn’t the child’s fault that it was created. Lexi blankly stared at the computer screen. How could she work with Caleb again all while not being his? What would happen when he brought the baby to the office? It was all just a matter of time.

Lexi minimized her working screen and pulled up Google. She couldn’t stay here, not now and not like this. The worst part of it all would be leaving Ashley, especially after she’d taken her in and treated her like a sister. Ashley had helped to fill a void and was Lexi’s remaining family tie. There wasn’t a choice though. Lexi had to distance herself from Caleb, even if it meant her own pain. She would only feel worse if she had to see Caleb with Corrine. Lexi would be a distraction from their relationship, and maybe they could sort everything out if she wasn’t around. Their child would need stable parents. Lexi hadn’t had that for herself and understood the importance of an intact family unit. Caleb would have stayed with Corrine, and may have married her, if Lexi hadn’t come into the picture. The only variable to the problem was Lexi, and luckily, she was accustomed to being the odd one out. She’d never belonged anywhere. Why would it be any different here?

She searched administrative health care jobs in Tampa, and pages of ads popped up. She refined her search and was amazed to see how many positions she now qualified for with her newly acquired experience. If she could disconnect herself from the situation, from Caleb, then maybe she could pick up the pieces of her fractured life. She was a survivor, and some sacrifices had to be made for her own good.

***

Caleb paced the length of his living room with nervous energy that he couldn’t dispel. The hardwood floor creaked as he repeatedly stepped on loose floor boards. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to shake the off the feeling of being trapped. His guilt was also inescapable, and no matter what he did, someone would get hurt. He longed to talk to Lexi and explain himself, but at the same time he didn’t want to be around her until things were clearer. He couldn’t bring Lexi into this mess. It wasn’t her fight, and he wanted to shield her from all of the turmoil that festered. He would be there for the child, if it was his, of course, but not for Corrine. How could she be pregnant? She’d always been so careful. Touching her had been more like a medical exam, with all of the precautions she took when they were together. How could’ve multiple forms of protection failed her? It was illogical. Corrine hadn’t wanted to be a mother, and Caleb had grown to accept that fact while he was with her. She was always too self-possessed to be a mom, and he hadn’t wanted to bring a child into the world under that condition. Ever since he’d been with Lexi, he’d learned how much he wanted a child of his own someday.

He’d been to the hospital a few times to see Corrine, a duty he had to perform. Somehow he was still listed as Corrine’s emergency contact, which meant he was the one authorized to make Corrine’s medical decisions. He didn’t want to shoulder that responsibility, and if he made a wrong decision, then he would be blamed or even sued. He’d called a lawyer and waited anxiously for his call to be returned. Corrine had originally chosen him because she thought that they would be married someday. Her parents now were the logical choice for that responsibility, but they would still have to be legally appointed.

Caleb hadn’t taken care of himself since he’d learned about the accident. His hair was wild. His clothes were surprisingly clean, but they hung on him. The staple of his current diet was black coffee from the hospital’s vending machine. His appetite had all but disappeared, and his stomach looked gaunt on what was a formerly athletic frame.

When his cell phone finally rang, he jumped. The excessive caffeine was wearing on him, and his fingers trembled with each jittery movement. “Avery speaking.”

“Hello, Caleb, this is Noah Simon. So I’ve looked into the Corrine Wylie case for you. Transferring the decision-making authority to someone other than yourself shouldn’t be a problem. Legally, you two aren’t bound in any way, so those decisions will be delegated to her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wylie. I think originally she had referenced you as her emergency contact, and thus when she was unable to make her own decisions during this current hospital admission, you were assigned to make her medical decisions based on past history. There is no legal reason for you to remain as her emergency contact.”

Caleb let a breath out in relief. This was what he’d wanted to hear. Butterflies fluttered in his stomach as he thought about the baby. “Thank you, Mr. Simon, for helping me with this matter. You have no idea how much stress this situation has caused.” Caleb cleared his throat before continuing. “What about the baby Corrine is carrying?”

“This is where it gets a little tricky. Firstly, you must verify that you are the father. Based on what I was told, the baby was conceived approximately eight weeks ago.”

“Eight weeks ago?” Caleb muttered. He walked to the wall calendar and counted back eight weeks. Predicting conception was sometimes difficult to pinpoint in the early stages of pregnancy, so he had to be certain that there was enough of a break between when he was last intimate with Corrine, or at the very least, when their relationship dissolved.

“Are you still there, Mr. Avery?” Mr. Simon asked.

“Sorry. Yes. I’m still here,” Caleb said, his voice sounding more lighthearted than it had just a moment earlier.

“Do you believe that you are the father of Ms. Wylie’s baby?” Mr. Simon asked.

“I haven’t been intimate with Ms. Wylie for at least ten weeks. It may have even been a few more weeks prior to that in all reality.” The words rushed out of Caleb’s mouth.

“Paternity testing will be the next logical step then. Even though it may be unlikely that you are the father, legally we will still need proof if there is any chance that you may still indeed be the father.”

“How soon could that be arranged?” Caleb asked.

“There is a private-pay option in which you may be able to get testing done prior to ten weeks. The test is called noninvasive prenatal paternity test, or NIPP for short. You would be responsible for the cost of this procedure, of course. I don’t think the Wylies would pay for this service, but you certainly may choose that option. If that doesn’t interest you, then you will have to wait until eleven weeks of gestation,” Mr. Simon said.

Mr. Simon seemed to know more about paternity testing than even Caleb did, though this was not likely Mr. Simon’s first case in which paternity had been uncertain. “I will pay for it myself. I want my name cleared from this as soon as possible,” Caleb said without hesitation.

“Okay, I can arrange to have the specimens drawn as early as this afternoon. You’ll need to come to the hospital for blood work. The lab will need to collect a sample from both the mother and potential father to verify if there is a match with the unborn child,” Mr. Simon said.

“I can head over there now,” Caleb said eagerly. Having this settled was just another step toward Lexi.

“That’s fine. I’ll arrange it all now. Once the blood is drawn on both you and Ms. Wylie, the results will be back in as little as two days,” Mr. Simon said.

“Thank you, Mr. Simon. You have no idea how much better I feel.” There was still uncertainty, but there was also hope.

Caleb grabbed his keys and drove to the hospital. The sooner he had the blood drawn, the sooner he would be free of Corrine. Once it was verified that Caleb wasn’t the father, then he could go to Lexi and beg her forgiveness. He couldn’t go to Lexi with anything less than proof that he hadn’t fathered another woman’s child, especially after what he’d done with her in the cabin.

Caleb went directly to the lab. He thought of Lexi and how being in a lab would make her dizzy. The only thing that mattered was winning her back. After he left the laboratory, he went to visit Corrine. As he entered the hospital room, various sounds and lights flooded his senses. Corrine’s heart monitor emitted a quiet rhythmic beeping, and screens that tracked her cardiac rhythm and vital signs were on both sides of the bed. Corrine lay there silent and still, though the scratches that had been so evident initially now looked lighter, as someone had cleaned the blood off of her face and arms. Caleb hadn’t noticed Mrs. Wylie sitting in a chair across from the bed until he was at the foot of Corrine’s bed. Mrs. Wylie seemed to be a part of the scenery that made up the room, being she had been there without a break since Corrine’s accident. When she spoke, Caleb flinched.

“It’s good to see you, Caleb. I know Corrine would want you to visit more often than you have,” Mrs. Wylie said. Her voice held a hardness to it. She was sly like her daughter, and the implications of her words were delivered in her icy tone.

“I want to visit her, and for her to be well,” Caleb said, unsure of what else to say. He didn’t like being around Corrine like this, but he couldn’t say that now.

“You just missed Anthony. The young man that works with you at the clinic. Sometimes he’s here with Missy.” Mrs. Wylie’s voice warmed the more she talked.

“You mean Tony?” Caleb asked, unsure as to why Tony would be visiting, though Missy was probably the connection there. They partied together, and who knew what else they did together.

“Yes, I think he goes by Tony,” Mrs. Wylie said. Her voice implied that even acquaintances were visiting more than Caleb had.

“That’s nice of him. I’m sure Corrine would appreciate that.” Caleb tried to keep things casual, but Mrs. Wylie was intense, and she seemed to refuse to acknowledge the fact that he and Corrine were no longer together.

“Well, he does seem nice enough. He’s come several times.” Mrs. Wylie paused, but then she took on a more brusque tone. “I understand that you wanted to be removed as the emergency contact for Corrine?”

“Don’t you think it would be more appropriate that you and Mr. Wylie have that responsibility?” Caleb asked.

“For now I guess it is, but I worry about the baby. Do you think it will survive all this?” Her guard seemed to be down for the moment. She was likely genuinely worried about her unborn grandchild.

Caleb willed himself to relax. He tried not to sound harsh or insensitive. “I don’t know. It’s really too soon to even guess, but it has to be strong to have made it this far,” Caleb said in a tone that was as comforting as he could muster.

“You’ll be a good dad for the baby,” Mrs. Wylie said.

Caleb’s stomach knotted at her assumption that he’d fathered the baby. He tried to talk, but he was cut off.

“I know you two were have some minor problems, but you’ll see. It will all work out in the end.”

“Actually, Corrine and I…” Caleb started saying but was interrupted again as Corrine’s doctor walked in, an acquaintance of Caleb’s. Dr. Howard was in his forties but looked older because of his stout appearance and thinning hair.

“Mrs. Wylie and Dr. Avery,” Dr. Howard said with a nod. “I’m glad to run into you both. We’re going to begin to taper Corrine’s sedation down today. Her blood levels are all within a normal range, so it would be best to begin decreasing the sedation medications now. Mrs. Wylie, you may want to call your husband. I’m sure he’ll want to be here when she wakes up,” Dr. Howard said as he rubbed Mrs. Wylie’s arm reassuringly.

“Stay with her, Caleb. I’m just going to step outside the room to call Jon,” Mrs. Wylie said as she made her way to the door.

“Once she gets back, you may want to slip out and get any loose ends tied up. It may be a couple hours before she really wakes up,” Dr. Howard said to Caleb.

“I’m not sure if I should be here at all,” Caleb confessed.

“I thought you two were together? You really should be here, Caleb,” Dr. Howard said.

“That’s just it—we’re not together. Not only that, but there is no way that baby is mine, or at least I really doubt it,” Caleb said in a distressed voice.

“I didn’t know. I guess that does complicate matters. That explains the paternity blood work that was drawn on Ms. Wylie earlier. I thought it was just protocol.” Dr. Howard sighed.

Mrs. Wylie came back into the room. “He’ll be here soon. Jon is leaving work now.”

Dr. Howard seemed unfazed by Caleb’s confession as he proceeded to change the medication pump setting. “First we’ll decrease the amount that she’s getting. We’ll take it gradually and see how she does. I’ll be on the unit the whole time. If you need me, just come and ask for me at the nurses’ station.” Dr. Howard nodded at Mrs. Wylie and looked regrettably at Caleb as he left the room.

“Do you mind if I head out for a little while? There’s a few things I need to take care of at the clinic,” Caleb said to Mrs. Wylie.

“I’ll be fine. Jon will be here soon. You will be coming back though?”

“Yes, I’ll come back later,” Caleb said.

Mrs. Wylie nodded, giving permission for Caleb to leave. Caleb departed, eager to escape the confines of the hospital room.

When Caleb arrived at Hale Health, the parking lot was nearly empty. He glanced at the dashboard clock, which said twenty minutes after five. Being at the hospital had warped his sense of time. The clinic would’ve closed at five. He went inside anyway, as there really were things that he’d neglected and that needed his attention. The light was still on in Dr. Hale’s office, and Caleb knocked on the office door, hoping he didn’t startle Dr. Hale.

“Come in,” Walter Hale said as he looked up from a patient’s chart.

Caleb entered the office, still sporting the wild-man look. His hair wasn’t its normal perfection, and his eyes probably looked feral, with purple discolorations under both of them.

“Sit down, Caleb. Tell me—how are things going?” Walter asked, probably to gain insight on Caleb’s wild presence.