(Finn’s POV) I had been sitting on the floor for more than an hour and wished the teenager beside me would stop blabbering. If not for Jolene, the waiting room would be an eerie place to stay, but with her, as soon as we were left alone, I bet if ghosts were real, they had fled already, not wanting to listen to her stories. Jolene was happy to oblige Sky to accompany me while he left to deal with Chelsea’s family. Perhaps the reason why I let Jolene talk was because it somehow assured me I would stop seeing Chelsea pulling the trigger on herself. My brother kept telling me that the doctors did their best to save her, but the chances of her surviving were less after hours of treating her self-inflicted gunshot wound. Sighing, I thought of what she said before pulling the trigger. “If you will not be mine, Finn, then let’s just all be miserable.” If Lexi would not survive, then Chelsea would be successful in making me miserable for the rest of my life. Jolene began to prattle on
(Finn’s POV)Lexa and I were allowed to enter the ICU first to see Lexi. As we walked near her bed, she anchored her hand on my forearm, only to grip me hard, her fingernails digging into the skin of my arm as we saw her twin sister in bed. If not for the constant beeping and wheezing of the machines, Lexi looked like sleeping peacefully in bed.“Oh, Lexi!” cried Lexa, her hand flying, reaching, and covering her mouth with the hope of stopping herself from sobbing, yet she failed.As I pulled her to my side to let her know she wasn’t alone and had us, their family, Lexa buried her face in my chest, breaking down and crying. The strength Jolene had shared with me melted in her cry, fused at the pang from my weeping heart while guilt ate me, whispering like a demon that Lexi was hurt because of me.We let ourselves cry our eyes out for who knows how long before Lexa pulled away from me, walking to the other side of the bed. Her hand trembled, reaching out and trailing Lexi’s face with h
(Lexa’s POV)Sky, Isaac, and a few of his associates talked for hours in a private room while we all waited in the big family room. Frank and I were seated on the couch, and from where we were sitting, we could almost see everyone except for Elenita, who was on the balcony with Olivia.The triplets, twins, and my sister were on the floor, playing. Lyra Helene and Selene were playing chess. Leyanne patiently guided Aliyah with the braille blocks, teaching her how to spell some words. I wasn’t sure if Cloud and Rain were playing because they were quietly building a ship using Lego blocks.I leaned to my side. “How old are Cloud and Rain again?” I asked, amazed by the skills of the toddlers.Frank smirked. “Probably in their twenties, and those girls are in their thirties.”“Is that normal?” I shook my head. “I mean, they’re only kids.”“The parents never force them to do it. They’re only supporting what they like to do,” Frank briefly explained.“Lucky parents,” I breathed out, glancing
(Frank’s POV)I never thought the long meeting would ever end. The Travis case seemed never-ending, and looking at Finn, like me, he wished to escape and be with the women we loved. Sky had been aware of the case of attempted hacking and had this under investigation. The private investigator reported that the hacking was not just Chelsea’s doing alone, but she was an accomplice to the crime. One thing she somehow did not expect was falling in love deeply with Finn when she had to lure him so her brother could tap into his office without being noticed. Chuck was an old employee of Quick Soft IT whom Sky had terminated three years ago because of grave misconduct, and now he was on the loose after the news of Chelsea’s death leaked on social media.“I’m going back to the hospital,” Finn muttered, looking exhausted.“No,” Sky shook his head, surprising Finn and me.“Sky,” He scowled, his brows knitting in disapproval of his brother’s decision.Sky heaved a sigh and grabbed his brother
(Frank’s POV)Lexa stared at the charming woman in white uniform for a second before scoffing and walking inside the room where the doctor and another medical specialist were. “Grrr! Of all days, you chose to be here,” I sneered at my cousin and watched Lexa talk to her doctor.“Oh, let me pour my name on your day, Frank,” Felicity grinned, holding my hand and tugging me excitedly beside Lexa on the bed.“You look more excited than the parents, Felicity,” the doctor smiled.Lexa looked at the young nurse; her lips pressed like she wanted to ask me but did not bother to raise the question.“She’s Felicity, my cousin,” I answered Lexa in her unuttered question and watched the doctor apply the gel to her belly. “My mom and her mom are sisters… A Mars.” “Oh,” She exclaimed and glanced at Felicity again. “Oh!” she gasped when the doctor pressed the small device against her skin and began to capture images on the screen.Dr. Lee smiled. “There’s your growing bundle of joy,” she exclaimed
(Lexi’s POV)Somebody must have taped my eyelids because I found them difficult to open. At first, I didn’t mind because Morpheus seemed to drag me into a deep sleep at most times, and believe me, I was happy and contented. I felt at peace with my parents, eating and seeing them delighted as they listened to me. But after we ate, my mom opened her arms and asked me to sit on her lap.I excitedly dashed to her, sitting on her lap. “Mom, I’m heavy already, you know,” I giggled.She pressed her lips on my cheeks. “I know, but I will always see you and Lexa as my babies. My beautiful babies.”My father wrapped his arms around us, humming the song Can’t Take My Eyes Off You. I closed my eyes and sniffled as I listened to him.“We’re so proud of you and your sister,” Dad uttered as he stared at me with great love. I giggled again when they sandwiched me as mom kissed me on my right cheek and dad on my left.“Now, baby, go back to your sisters,” Mom said, her fingers trailing my face and s
(Lexi’s POV)The burly man in the black suit was in the corner of the room; his hands and feet were tied, and his mouth was gagged with a cloth, preventing him from screaming. It was his restrained scream that woke me up.I hardly knew him, but when I woke up earlier, I saw him watching the nurse’s every move, only leaving his post when Jocelyn entered my room. He must be one of the Mars’ security details, but his face was unfamiliar to me since Finn never had one. After what Chelsea did, I understood the danger of being alone in the hospital, but I thought it was too much since I was not an important person to guard.Who would want to kill me?He eyed the young man lying on the floor, and his eyes moved like he was pointing at the man standing and facing the light switch. I pressed the call button, hoping the nurse or anyone would see my emergency call immediately.If my wound were totally healed, I would have filled the room with my scream to get help, but as the man with the syring
(Finn’s POV)The sky was gravel-gray, looking somber as it waited for the large pillows of clouds to cover the sky. I never liked it when the sky looked sad because its color reflected the seawater, making the sea body melancholic… lifeless. I sighed, thinking it would rain any moment, but instead of looking for shelter, I stepped forward, going to the shore and stopping when the white foam of waves kissed my feet.My eyebrows knitted as my eyes fixed on the horizon, remembering I had been in this place, but I could not pinpoint when or why I was here. When I lowered my gaze, I saw a starfish washed to the shore, softly hitting my toes. I took a deep breath, thinking this had happened before.I closed my eyes and asked myself when or how.Ah, Freya!Now I realized this place didn’t exist, but I was in a state of unreality, a dream I had a few years ago. Only now, I was alone, but when I had this dream, Freya and I went into the water and swam as we loved swimming. And then we sat on t