Chapter 92

I felt utterly beside myself.

For the past few days, I felt as though I’d been running on autopilot. Every morning I would get up and try to be functional in some way, but it was terribly difficult. The nursery was all but completed. What I needed was a distraction, something to occupy my time to get my mind off the horrific incident.

However, my attention and focus were diminished ever since Chris had been brought to the hospital. And with my pregnancy date nearing, James refused to let me come into work to keep myself occupied at the office.

“I’m not having you placed under any more unnecessary stress by having you rush all around the office,” James stated firmly.

So, there I was, mulling around the house, continuously falling into a mindless cycle of worry and heartbreaking sadness. All I could think about was Chris...

‘A coma,’ I thought bitterly.

I may not be as fluent in medical practices or have a full understanding of this sort of trauma as some people, but what I did comprehend was the unpredictable nature that came with dealing with a coma.

It was a tantalizing situation—one that came with no time frame but rather a solid question mark.

When? When would Chris wake up? Why hadn’t he told me that he’d been searching for the cure to my disability?

Perhaps if he had, I would have insisted on traveling with him.

‘Yeah, and the last thing Chris needed was his little sister tramping around Egypt,’ I thought tightly. ‘No doubt I would have gotten in the way.’

I could partly understand why Chris wouldn’t want me tailing along during his excavations. But why couldn’t he have told me about his motives to search for the cure?

The more I harped on these ideas, the more upset and aggravated I became. I knew what I was feeling was doing nothing for the pregnancy. But no matter how hard I tried to ignore the present issue, I constantly found myself slipping.

God, once more I felt as though I was at war with myself.

The blissful days I’d been spending with James were now being matched with the awful occurrence of me almost losing my brother. I knew I needed to stay positive, after all, his vitals were strengthening each day. But he was still out cold.

Every time I went to visit him, I came in hopeful only to leave hopeless and feeling worse. What was even more stressful was that I knew my emotions and behavior were affecting James. The poor man appeared as frustrated and lost as I felt.

I knew he was feeling useless, not knowing what to do to make things better.

I contemplated spending another day in the kitchen baking as a means of distracting myself. However, I simply opted for making some tea to have on the back patio. The weather was perfect to spend outside as a gentle breeze brushed through my hair.

I’d once again fallen so deeply into thought that I didn’t even hear James coming through the door.

“Please, Mia, for the love of God. You need to relax,” he said pleadingly. “You know you shouldn’t put so much pressure on yourself.”

I blinked back at the blurriness in my eyes and tried to offer a smile. “What makes you think I’m stressed out?”

Of course, I was. But I hadn’t exactly said anything that would have indicated that fact.

James scoffed. “Oh, please. There’s a small line that forms between your eyebrows when you get stressed normally. I saw it clear as day when I first came in.”

“You know that I don’t exactly have much to do,” I pointed out. “Someone won’t even permit me to come back to the office.”

James narrowed his eyes and shook his head. “Don’t start. You know damn well why I don’t want you flying around that office.”

I shrugged back in my seat. “Well, I thought about baking but...I didn’t have enough motivation I guess.”

James came up beside me and rubbed my arms. “Why don’t you reach out to Emily and see if she’s available to hang out this afternoon?” he suggested. “I hate to see you so depressed. You know the doctors will call as soon as something happens.”

I nodded my head. “I think that’s a good idea. It’s been a while since she and I caught up.”

Thankfully, Emily wasn’t busy and the two of us spent the afternoon at the mall, window shopping and picking up a few finishing touches for the nursery. I was grateful for a real chance to get out of the house for a little bit. Although, as soon as my feet began to ache, Emily was quick to get me back.

Right as she and I entered the house I was struck with a jaw-dropping sight of the main entrance and living room being completely decorated for some sort of party.

“It’s your baby shower!” Emily cried out with deep enthusiasm. “James had reached out to me a week ago and asked if I could help him put it all together.”

My eyes searched through the small crowd until I found him with a wide smile on his face. I was completely flushed and couldn’t keep the bubbling joy from rushing through me. Oh my God...It was perfect.

The place was covered in colorful streamers and balloons. Lana, Kristen, Diana, and a few female coworkers I was close to at the office were there.

“Did you seriously think we weren’t going to throw you a baby shower for our children?” James asked.

My heart swelled with love as I blinked back tears. I carefully raised myself up on my toes and kissed him deeply. “I love you,” I whispered against his lips.

It’s the first time I felt unbothered by the concept of him referring to the babies as his own. “I love you too,” he said. “Enjoy the day. I’ll be back in a few hours. They’re a few errands I need to run.”

I watched James head out of the house to tend to his business. Part of me was really bummed out that he wasn’t sticking around. I wanted him to take part in such a joyous occasion with me and everyone else. The other part of me had this strange feeling that made me think James was up to something...