Chapter 21

Ricci

Beep.

“... appears to be suffering from an incomplete miscarriage.”

Beep.

“... sign here for surgery, please.”

Beep.

“... know why she wasn’t seen at a hospital?”

Beep.

“... surgery went well. We’re giving her broad-spectrum antibiotics to combat the sepsis.”

Beep.

“... in God’s hands now.”

* * *

“Ricci, sweetie, it’s time for you to wake up. You’re scaring Ivy and Lacie.”

“Mama B? What are you doing here? Where am I?” I ask.

“You’re in a coma, Button,” Papa B replies, coming to stand next to Mama B.

“Why am I here though?” I question. The last thing I remember is taking some Tylenol before crawling into my sleeping bag. “This is a dream, isn’t it?”

“Yes and no, sweetie,” Mama B says. “You were really sick, but a nice young man found you and got you help. They did surgery and have been giving you strong medicine, so now it’s time for you to wake up.”

“Surgery? Why did I have surgery?” I can feel my heart pounding and from far away, hear machines going nuts.

Mama B looks at me with tears in her eyes. “Because when you lost the baby, it was what they call an incomplete miscarriage. Some of the tissue was left behind which caused an infection that went septic.”

“I’m sorry, I know I’ve disappointed y’all,” I murmur as tears start to fall from my eyes.

“You’ve never done that, Button,” Papa B replies, pulling me in for a hug. “We’ll take care of your babies until it’s your time, which isn’t now. It’s time to wake up, Button.”

“I don’t want to,” I whisper. “It’s warm and safe here.”

* * *

“She’s crashing!” a voice yells.

“Clear!” another voice yells.

Searing pain courses through me and I feel my body jump.

“Got a rhythm,” a third voice states.

As hard as I try, I can’t open my eyes, so I slip back into sleep, hoping that the next time I try, I succeed.

* * *

A steady, almost soothing noise slowly awakens me to a room that is somewhat dark, with only a light glowing behind me. Glancing to my left, I can see an IV pole and follow the hose down to where the needle is taped to the inside of my arm near my elbow. It’s the machine beeping that roused me, apparently, but I don’t know when or how I got to the hospital. The last thing I remember is answering a text from Ivy in the group chat.

“H-h-hello?” I rasp out. My throat feels like it’s on fire, and my voice sounds as though I gargled with crushed glass.

A warm hand grips mine and I see brown eyes peering down at me. “You’re awake,” the man says. His voice is husky, as though I woke him up and my immediate response is to apologize. “No, no, it’s okay, we’ve been waiting for you to decide to wake up for several days now.”

“We?” I ask.

“Your sisters and me,” he replies. “Here, let me get you some water then I’m going to get your nurse.”

Scant seconds later, he’s holding a straw to my lips, and I sigh in relief as the cool water soothes my parched, aching throat. “Thank you,” I tell him once he pulls it away.

“You’re welcome. I’ll be right back.”

Several minutes later, a nurse comes bustling into my room, a big smile on her face. “Well, Sleeping Beauty is apparently all caught up on her rest, isn’t she?” she asks, coming to my side. She efficiently takes my vitals then checks the machine that’s been steadily beeping. “Looks like you’re due for another bag of meds, which I’ll grab in a few seconds. How are you feeling? You sure gave your sisters and fiancé quite the scare.”

Fiancé? What the hell? Before I can tell her she’s mistaken, I see the man shake his head, so I keep my mouth quiet instead. “Am I okay?” I question.

“You were a very sick young lady, that’s for sure,” the nurse advises, not actually answering my question. “I’ll put a call in to your doctor who’ll be happy to hear you’re awake. I’m sure your sisters will be thrilled as well.”

“Thank you.”

I’m not sure who the man that’s standing next to me is, but I feel safe for some reason, as though he’d fight the devil himself to protect me. Once the nurse leaves with a promise that she’ll return shortly with my meds as well as some crackers since I’m starving, I realize I don’t know who he is to me.

“What’s your name?” I ask after he’s sitting in the chair that’s pulled right next to my bed.

“Manny. Manny Alvarez. You were sleeping in my workshop,” he replies. “Found you almost a week ago now, I think, although the days are kind of hazy.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to break in or anything, I was just looking for someplace to sleep,” I admit, yawning. “There’s no way if I’ve been out of it for nearly a week that I can be tired,” I grouse, making him chuckle.

“Your body went through a lot, Ricci,” he softly says. “Did you know you had a miscarriage?”

Tears well up in my eyes at the thought of losing yet another baby. Nodding, I sniffle, unable to control the emotion that wells up. “I figured I did.”

“Can you tell me what happened?”

Briefly, I explain the series of events that led to me arriving in Possum Run. “He wouldn’t take me to the hospital, said they didn’t do anything anyhow, so I figured I was just coming down with the flu or something because of the stress of the situation.”

His own eyes are shiny as he clasps my hand between his. “No, sweet girl, you didn’t have the flu. The reason doctors want women to be seen if they’re having a miscarriage is so they can examine you to make sure that all the tissue passes. In your case, you had what they term an incomplete miscarriage, meaning some of the tissue was left behind. An infection set in then you went septic. You nearly died, Ricci.”

Closing my eyes, I think of the strange dream I had about my foster parents. “I dreamt of Mama and Papa B,” I murmur. “They told me I had surgery, and it was time to wake up, but I didn’t know it was real. I just thought I was imagining things.”

“Not sure about your dream, but the rest of it was real. The doctor did surgery, but yeah, it got scary for a little bit. Your heart even stopped.”

“Did… did they shock me?” I ask, causing his brows to raise. “I remember while I was sleeping feeling as though I was electrocuted or something. I can’t explain it right because everything’s so blurry.”

“Yeah, babe, they had to shock your heart. Never been so fucking scared in my entire life.”

* * *

“Ivy, Lacie, y’all need to go back home. I’ll be fine,” I argue, sitting up in my hospital bed.

“Yeah, no, not happening until they release you,” Ivy retorts. “You gave us a damn heart attack, Ricci.”

“I’m sorry, but y’all heard the doctor. He said I’m going to be just fine.”

“Thanks to Manny finding you,” Lacie replies, before tearing up. “If he had been out of town again, or God, not gone into his workshop, you’d have died, Ricci. So, no. We’ll be here until they let you go. Speaking of, we’ve been looking for places around here for you to rent since you said you want to stay in Possum Run.”

“I do. I still can’t believe that Betty is going to let me come back to work once I’m released by the doctor,” I murmur. When I didn’t show up for the morning rush, she called my phone and Manny told her I was in the hospital. Her response? Tell her she’s got a job when she’s better.

“She can stay with me,” Manny says. When all three of us look at him, he shrugs. “It’s a huge house, plenty of room.”

“But we don’t even know each other,” I hiss, causing him to chuckle.

“So? I’m busy all the time, Ricci, between my woodworking and the tattoo shop. Trust me when I say, there’s plenty of room for you in the house. Or, if you’d rather, there’s an apartment above the tattoo parlor that you’re welcome to rent. You’d be within walking distance of the diner on nice days, and can drive when the weather sucks.”

“I… I think I’d like to look at the apartment if that’s okay? I mean, I’ve never lived on my own. I’d like to see if I can make it on my own,” I reply.

“Then that’s what we’ll do once you’re released,” he says. I think I’ve disappointed him with my response, but if so, he doesn’t show it in his mannerisms, which is a far cry from how Erik would react.