Chapter 34 The Missing Weight

Chapter 34 The Missing Weight
Everything was white.
At first, I thought I was still in the warehouse. I thought the bright light above me was the single yellow bulb in the room. I tried to lift my hands to cover my eyes, but they felt really heavy. My body was heavy as well.

Then, the smells hit me. It wasn't salt water or old wood. It was the smell of medicine and antiseptic soap.

"Serena? Serena, can you hear me? The voice was familiar. It was the sound of safety.

"Ed...ward," I tried to say, but my throat was dry. It felt like I had swallowed broken glass.  

I opened my eyes slowly. The white light stopped being a blur and turned into a ceiling. I saw a curtain, a TV on the wall, and then, I saw him. Edward was leaning over me. He looked awful. His hair was messy, his eyes were red, and he had a beard starting to grow on his face.

"You're back," he whispered. He grabbed my hand and pressed it against his cheek. "You're back. Thank God."  

I tried to smile, but a sharp pain shot through my body. I gasped. My hand moved to my stomach without thinking.  

I stopped.  

My hand reached my belly, but it did not feel right. The round, hard weight that had been there for months was gone. My stomach felt flat and empty. The space where my baby used to kick was just soft skin and thick bandages.  

I panicked.

"The baby!" I screamed, but it came out as a weak sound. I tried to sit up. My heart monitor began to beep loudly. Beep beep beep beep! "Edward! Where is the baby? Where is he?"  

"Serena, stay still!" Edward said. "You have stitches. You’ll hurt yourself!"  

The nurses in the room tried to calm me down because I was panicking.

"Check her heart rate," one said. She leaned over me. "Serena, breathe with me. Slow down. You are in the hospital. You are safe."  

"Where is my son?" I grabbed the nurse’s arm. 

"He is okay, Serena," Edward said. He took my face in his hands. "He is alive. Do you hear me? He is alive."  

I stopped shaking. I looked at Edward, looking for any lie in his eyes. He was crying, but he was smiling too.  

"He's alive?" I whispered.  

"He's in the NICU," the nurse said softly, checking the machines. "He was born a little early because of the accident. But he is a very strong boy. He is fighting, Serena."  

The relief was so big I felt like I was floating. He was alive. Lily had not won.  

"I want to see him," I said. "Take me to him."  

"You can't move yet, honey," the nurse said. "You just came out of a coma. You’ve had major surgery. We need to make sure you are stable first."  

"I don't care about the surgery," I said. I looked at Edward. "Please, Edward. I need to see him. I need to know he's okay with my own eyes."  

Edward looked at the nurse, then back at me. He wanted me to rest, but he knew me. He knew I would not rest until I saw our son.  

"Can we use a wheelchair?" Edward asked the nurse.

We have a camera on his bed. You can see him on the screen."  

I nodded. "Yes. Please."  

The nurse left the room and came back a minute later with a tablet. She tapped the screen and handed it to me.  

There he was.  

He was so tiny. He was inside clear plastic and blue lights. There were little wires on his chest and a tiny tube under his nose. He looked so weak, like a little bird. But then, I saw his tiny hand move. He made a small fist.  

"He looks like you," I whispered, showing the screen to Edward.  

"He has your nose," Edward said, leaning his head against mine.

I watched the screen for a long time. I watched every breath he took. "What is his name?"  

Edward rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't want to name him without you. I've just been calling him 'Little Man.'"  

I looked at the baby, then at Edward. I thought about everything we had been through. 

"Arthur," I said. "After your father.”

Edward’s eyes filled with tears again. He nodded. "Arthur Vance. I like that a lot."  

"Lily," I said. The name felt heavy on my tongue. "Where is she?"  

"She’s gone, Serena. She took the jet and left the country. She took a lot of money with her."  

"She tried to kill me, Edward. She didn't care about the baby. She didn't care about you."  

"I know," Edward said. "But she made a mistake. She left Louise behind. And Louise gave me a USB drive. It has everything, Serena. Every account, every name, every secret. Lily thinks she escaped, but she just ran into a trap. I’m going to freeze every dollar she has. I’m going to make sure she has nothing left."  

"Is it safe?" I asked, reaching for his hand. "If you go after her, will she come back for us?"  

"She can try," Edward said. "But I’m not the same man I was a week ago. I’m not going to play nice anymore. I’ve hired the best security in the country. This hospital floor is guarded. Our home is guarded. She will never get close to you or Arthur again."  

I looked at the tablet again. Little Arthur was sleeping peacefully.  

"What about Louise?" I asked. "She helped me, Edward. In the warehouse, she saw me behind the boxes. She could have told the men, but she didn't. She let me go."  

Edward sighed. "I know. She’s at the police station. I told them to go easy on her, but she still has to answer for the kidnapping.”

"We lost so much," I said.  

"We have the only thing that matters," Edward said. He leaned down and kissed my hand. "We have each other. And we have our son.”

I looked at the flat space where my belly used to be. It was a strange feeling. I missed the kicks. I missed the weight. But then I looked at the screen at the tiny boy fighting for his life, and I knew the weight had not disappeared. It had just moved.  

"I’m going to be a good mother," I whispered.  

"You already are," Edward said.  

I fell asleep shortly after that, holding Edward’s hand. I dreamt of a small boy with dark hair running through a garden, and a man with a beard laughing as he chased him. For the first time in a long time, the world felt like it was beginning again.