176|Haunted Me

176|Haunted Me
After their shower, Liam stopped by the nursery to check on Aiden. As usual, his son had kicked off his blanket, but his plushy was still firmly at his side, his tiny hand wrapped around the toy's arm.

He leaned over the crib and kissed him on the forehead, and Aiden opened his eyes and smiled so briefly.

"Dad?" He sighed sleepily.

"Yes, baby," Liam smiled back as he covered him up with his blanket.

"Nemo sleeping?" Aiden mumbled before he closed his eyes again, and he was out like a light.

"Yes, he is. And you should, too. Sleep tight, Kool-Aid," he murmured as he kissed him again and dimmed the light before he left the nursery, a regretful look in his eyes.

He's barely spent time with his son, and the next few weeks weren't going to be easy either once he got entangled with the Ivanovs. But he didn't want to be that guy, the one who never had time for his kid, and for that not to happen, a lot would have to change, starting with his work hours.

"I was about to call a search party," Eden looked up from the paperback in her hand and smiled when he walked into their bedroom.

"Missed me already?" He smirked as he threw the towel on the floor and slipped under the covers.

"You are not sleeping with me naked!" She placed the book on the bedside table and took off her glasses. "You'd better get dressed!"

"Are you going to stop me, Princess? You know I sleep naked." Liam laughed and drew her in his arms. "Anyway, when are you closing up your house?"

"I'm meeting the estate agent one of the days. But we have to go back soon," she replied.

Liam tensed up, not liking her announcement at all. "Why? I thought you're moving in with me."

"We are, but a lot needs to happen before then," she replied. "I don't even have my work clothes, and I'll have to borrow one of your shirts tomorrow."

"A lot like?" He demanded. It sounded like a whole lot of excuses and delaying tactics to him.

But after Eden ran him through her very detailed checklist, from finishing up the renovations to deciding what to do with her grandmother's furniture, he realised she was right; moving house was not as simple as packing one's bags.

"Then there's the issue of the house itself. Do I sell the place or rent it out? What do you think?"

Liam was too tired to think. But he smiled anyway, "I think you should do what makes the most sense."

"Selling it makes more sense," Eden said. "Then I can help Cassandra with her studio."

"What's wrong with her studio?"

Eden filled him in on her friends' struggling business.

He must have passed out while she was talking because he was awakened by the sounds of her heavy retching some hours later.

He reached for his phone and checked the time.

04:13 AM.

He pushed the covers aside, ready to go and check on Eden. But then the bathroom door squeaked open, and looking like a zombie from one of those TV shows, she crawled out.

"I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" She asked as she dragged herself back onto the bed.

"Nah, I was awake," Liam lied and opened his arms for her, and she snuggled close, resting her head on his chest.

"We're going to the hospital today," he announced.

"No." Eden shook her head, refusing to entertain him. "There's no need. You have too many important meetings today, so we can just stop at the pharmacy on our way to work."

And the argument Liam didn't see coming spun out of control very quickly, and for a tense few minutes, they both lost their cool.

He couldn't understand why Eden didn't want to get help, and she insisted she didn't need to go to the hospital. She was perfectly okay.

"I'm not sure in which world puking your guts out daily is considered okay."

"It's a tummy bug," she insisted. "I don't need a goddamn hospital. I'll be okay."

"What are you afraid of?" Liam asked as he got out of bed, stalked off to the walk-in closet, and threw on his workout clothes and running shoes.

"Why are you so scared of hospitals?" He demanded when he walked back into the room and sat on the edge of the bed.

"I almost died the last time I was there!" She whispered, stunning him into silence.

"What are you talking about? We were at the hospital yesterday," he reminded her after some time.

"The last time I saw a doctor for anything was when I had my implant. Before that, it was—it was—" Her voice trailed off, and she began to scratch herself, the rash on her neck and hands, back and uglier than it's ever been. And that's when the penny dropped for Liam, and he finally understood the cause of her random itching. Every time Eden felt anxious or panicky, she broke out in hives, and she wanted to scratch herself till she bled.

"Come here," he pulled her close and kissed her hands.

"Grammy went to the hospital for a routine check-up. She never came back. A heart attack after the doctor gave her a clean bill of health took her out. How's any of that fair?" She cried on his chest, her tearful voice muffled. "Two years ago, when I went in, I thought I'd never make it out of there alive. I thought Aiden would never make it out of there. My experience with hospitals has been shitty, to say the least, so forgive me if I don't want to go."

"So, what do you do when you're sick?" Liam asked, perplexed by the idea she hadn't seen a doctor in two years. That was a very long time to be self-medicating.

"I wait it out," she admitted.

"What about Aiden? What happens when he's sick, or his allergy acts up?"

"I take him to a GP, and before yesterday, he's only had one other allergy reaction," Eden said as she fluffed up the pillows behind her and sat up.

"Eden," Liam said firmly. "You're sick. I can't sit by and watch you waste away."

"I told you, I'll be okay," she groaned in her hands, her breathing quick and shallow.

"Tell me about that day." Liam tried to change the subject when it became clear he wouldn't win this round.

"What day?"

"The day Aiden was born. What happened that day?" He propped himself on his elbow and brushed her cheek.

"I'm tired," she said as she pulled away from him and rolled onto her side, turning her back to him.

"I need to know what you went through, Eden. Since I found out Aiden's mine, your words in Linda's office have haunted me. For my peace of mind, please tell me what happened?" Liam asked, blowing out a frustrated sigh as he sat up and ran his hand through his hair.

She sat up as well, brought her knees up and pulled the covers to her chin.

"I had a relatively easy pregnancy," she began in a voice barely above a whisper. "Well, until that day, I guess, when out of the blue, I thought my water broke. But it turned I was haemorrhaging badly, so Grammy rushed me to the hospital. The doctor's said it's placental abruption, and they had to do an emergency C-section. But Aiden wasn't breathing—"

From her emotionless voice, almost as if she had mentally removed herself from the situation, Liam knew it wasn't as clinical as she made it seem. Whatever she went through was so profoundly terrifying even her carefully chosen words couldn't mask the horror of that day from her eyes.

"—It took a few tries to bring him back." She carried on when she could speak again. "The doctors said he'll be okay. But sometimes, I can't help but wonder if his slow progress has anything to do with that day and whether I could have done things differently. He's the sweetest, most caring boy, but he should be doing far more, and it's my fault. They say mothers feel these things, but I felt nothing, and I didn't know that my body was killing him. I should have known something was wrong—"

Her voice trailed off, and she broke into loud sobs, and all Liam could do was hold her through her flood of tears, wishing he hadn't pushed her to talk about that day. It was clear to him now, she never fully recovered and bringing it up had done nothing but open old wounds.

"Aiden is perfect," he kissed her temple and held her tighter, blinking his tears away. "And you did nothing wrong. You couldn't have known something's wrong with him."

"But—"

Liam shook his head. "Aiden's just a late bloomer like me. I didn't start talking till I was three, so you have nothing to worry about."

"And now I can't shut you up." Eden laughed at his announcement, but the tears in her eyes didn't go away.

"You don't want to shut me up," he smiled cheekily and kissed her slowly. "I'm heading to the gym, and I'll be back in an hour. Ask Clara to find a gap in my day, and we'll pop into the Medi Clinic."

She tried to argue, but he wasn't having any of it. He was not a fan of hospitals himself. He'd spent too many hours there when his father was sick, and for the longest time, he thought the smell of disinfectant in his nostrils would never go away. But sitting by and watching Eden waste away was out of the question.

Dave was already up, pottering about in the kitchen.

"Mr Anderson, aren't you late for work, Sir?" He asked, making a point of staring at his gym bag.

"I have a family now, Dave," Liam smirked. "I don't need to go into work early."

"Of course!" The butler nodded his approval. "The missus and the baby are doing you wonders!"

"That they are!" He agreed, snatching an apple from the fruit bowl as he hauled his gym bag over his shoulder. "Make sure Eden eats something when she wakes up."

"How's the baby doing, Sir?" James asked when Liam jumped into the car.

"He gave us quite a scare," Steven added.

In between bites of his apple, Liam assured them Aiden was okay, much better than he was after their hospital visit.

"Is the missus okay?"

Liam paused chewing and held James' gaze in the mirror. "Why do you ask?"

"She looked very drained yesterday, that's all. And Dave mentioned she's been throwing up a lot."

"So?" Liam asked absently and scrolled through his phone to school himself on placental abruptions. Had he been paying attention, he would have noticed the knowing look the two men shared in the front.

He spent half the ride to the gym trying to make sense of all the medical jargon, and all thousand links he clicked on told him the same thing.

What Eden had gone through was so traumatic she and Aiden could have easily died, and her chances of getting another such abruption in a future pregnancy were astronomically high.

He sat back and stared outside the window, a pensive look in his eyes. Sure, he was open to the idea of more kids, but not at the expense of Eden's life. He had to be more responsible now.

"Let's stop at the pharmacy," Liam instructed his driver, making a snap decision, one he should have made from the get-go if he wasn't so fuelled by lust.

The two men offered to come in with him, but he firmly refused, insisting he could easily find his way around the store.

He knew exactly what he wanted, and he headed straight to the aisle, grabbing every flavour and colour he could get. He scanned through the OTC counter next and stocked up on an armload of medication for nausea and vomiting. If Eden didn't want to go to the doctor, then he'd bring the pharmacy to her.

"Whoa!" the woman behind the cash register let out a low pitched whistle as she gawked at the tons of boxes in front of her.

"Are you going to use all those?" She pointed at the condoms.

"Are you going to mind your damn business and ring me up, or should I go somewhere else?" He asked, pointing at the till.

"Sorry," she blushed and began to scan his stash. "It's just that—"

"No need to explain, Betty. Just do your job!"

"My name is not Betty," she snapped.

"I know," Liam shrugged and flashed his black card, her eyes blazing with anger when she snatched it from him.

"Thank you," he threw her his megawatt smile and pranced off with his paper bag, very pleased with his productive start to his day.