Back to Strangers

Chapter 25

Christian

"No...no, no, no!" Leah's voice fills the otherwise quiet room. She's twisting and turning on the couch. Thrusting her head side to side. I jump up from the ground where I placed myself after the doctor left. I sent Logan to get some things for her from the store. I would have gone and gotten it myself since it's not in his job description to run my errands, but since both of us care about her, he didn't mind going. I also didn't want to leave her side. I wanted to be close to her in case she woke up, but I didn't expect something like this to happen. 

She has nightmares?

"Leah." I say her name while caressing her face. She leans into my touch for a moment, but then thrust her head to the other side yelling, "Not my baby!" Baby? What baby?  "Hey, love. I need you to wake up for me. Please." I beg her. I shake her slightly. I don't want to hurt her, but if she doesn't wake up soon, I'm going to shake her so damn hard she'd think there's an earthquake. She doesn't budge, but her talking continues. "Don't say that." She says, her voice trembling, a single tear sliding down her cheek. I wipe it away and decide to try and talk to her in her sleeping state. "Say what? What did I say?" I prompt her to answer. "My baby is fine. You're lying! You're..." she doesn't complete the sentence as her body starts to shake uncontrollably. What the hell is happening? 

At that moment Logan walks in and just as he was about to say something, he witness the same thing I am and he drops the bags from the shops as he runs over. "What happened. What's going on!" He yells at me, like I'm at fault. "If I knew, do you think I'd be sitting here not knowing what the hell to do to help her!" I yell back. "Dial the doctor and tell him he needs to get here now! It's an emergency." I toss my phone at him and he catches it. Barely. The intense shaking has resided, but her delicate body still has one every now and then. I hear Logan talking to the doctor on the phone and I pull Leah into my arms. I don't know if I should be moving her body in her state, but I need to feel her against me. I need to feel she's still with me, because my head and heart is not understanding what the hell is going on. It feels as though we've lost her.

The doctor comes rushing in a half hour later. I've already laid Leah back down, never leaving her side, but as soon as the doctor enters, I'm on my feet as I make my way over to him. I grab him by his collar and yell, "You said she has mild Hyperthermia. You said she will be awake in no time as long as we keep her body temperature down and let her rest!" Logan jumps in, trying to pull me away from the doctor. Key word: Trying. I shove Logan off and continue my assault. The doctor grabs me by the wrists as I hold on to him, almost lifting his feet from the ground. "You called me. I'm here. If you don't put me down, I can't tend to her and see what's going on." He states calmly. "How are you so calm!" I continue to yell at him, not letting go of my hold on his collar.

"Mr. Armani, if you don't let him go, he can't help Leah. Is that what you want? For her to get worse?" Logan's words hit me right in the stomach and it feels as though I'm going to throw up right here, right now. I release the doctor and he immediately rushes over to the now still and lifeless body of Leah. My Leah. "You said she had something that resembled a seizure? Shaking of the body?" The doctor questions. "Yes. That is what we said on the phone." Logan answers. Good, because I don't have any more patience in me. 

"Has this happened before?" The doctor looks between the both of us, waiting for an answer. Logan looks over to me. "I don't know." I say, feeling completely useless right now. The doctor does a few more tests and looks her over again. He stands and says, "As I've said earlier...Due to her body being exhausted, the heat and assuming she hasn't been eating regularly or enough to keep her body fueled, she found herself in a state of mild hyperthermia. This is very uncommon for someone of her age, but not unlikely. Unfortunately, I can't tell you whether what she just experienced was in fact a seizure or just the brain that reacted to whatever nightmare it was she had. To be sure, we'll have to get some tests done at the hospital once she's woken up." I try to take in the doctor's words and nod along to the information he is providing. 

"Wait. There's one more thing..." I say. A knot ties in my stomach and bile rises in my throat at what I'm about to ask. The doctor waits for me to speak. "She mentioned something about a baby. While she was talking in her sleep and I – I don't-" I try to find the words but can't. If she's pregnant, that means she's having another man's child. Possibly, Logan's, because we haven't slept together in years. "She's not pregnant, Mr. Armani." The doctor provides, seeing me struggle to find the words. "How can you be sure?" Logan asks and I instantly turn to look at him. Is he hoping she'd be pregnant with his child? He simply shrugs as if he doesn't know why I'm shooting daggers at him and turns to look at the doctor once more. "I'm positive." The doctor adds and relieve washes over me. I tell Logan to walk the doctor out, because there is no way I'm leaving him here with her, and instruct him to go home as well. I did thank him for his help today, because even if I don't like to admit it, he was of great help. 

Thoughts about the whole "baby" situation runs through my mind. It could be that it was just a random nightmare, but what if it wasn't just as simple as that? The uneasy feeling in my gut tells me it's the latter and I make a mental note to ask her about it as soon as she's awake and in better condition. 

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Hi everyone!

I hope you enjoyed today's updates. Please leave your thoughts in the comments as this helps me see what you guys like or dislike in certain situations with the characters. 

Thank you for reading and giving "Back to Strangers" a go!

All my love, Charne💕