Artemis
Blue has officially gone into her third trimester now and I am in awe of her every single day. My wife is a tiny little thing, and the babies are taking up a lot of space. Her doctor says it’s normal for her belly to grow larger than if she were carrying one baby, but Blue isn’t happy. She’s been worried about what her body will look like once the babies are born. I have tried everything I can think of to assure her that I will love her no matter what, but that hasn’t been enough.So, it’s time to take drastic measures and call in the experts. Rhea and Athena are supposed to arrive in an hour and Blue is lying in bed watching A Walk to Remember again and crying. Lilly is laying next to her reading and holding her hand. She’s been sweet and keeping Blue company while I work.Our plans to open more group homes has been going well, but the General called last week to ask me to work on a program. It means I’ll have to travel to their base, but I don’t want to leaveArtemisHave you ever had a moment in your life when you feel like something isn’t right? Like a sense that something is going to happen, but you can’t pinpoint what it is? I first feel it when I walk out of our house and climb into the car. There is a strong urge telling me to stay but I attribute it to the fact that I haven’t left Blue’s side for less than a couple of hours since she got pregnant. So, it’s possible that I’m feeling some separation anxiety, but the feeling follows me all the way to the airport. I feel it when I step onto the plane and the door closes. A feeling eating at me almost like DeJa’Vu. “We’re ready to go sir.” The pilot tells me from the door leading to the cockpit. “Go.” I tell him and he does so with a nod. I take my phone out hoping to see a message from Blue or my sisters but there’s nothing. Since I can’t use my phone once we take off, I send Blue a quick message. Me: I’m taking off now. I miss you already baby! Tell Lilly
BlueRhea breaks a few traffic laws to get us to the hospital and along the way I have the same random pains. “I can’t have the babies yet! It’s too soon.” I say between sobs. “You won’t they are going to stay in there until Artemis gets back and exactly when they need to be born.” She says trying to reassure me, but it isn’t working. Everything feels off and it has me terrified. We park as close to the emergency room as possible and Rhea helps me out of the car because I get hit with another pain when I try to climb out on my own. She holds my arm tightly as I wobble toward the door. As soon as we walk in a concerned nurse comes out of the door leading to the ER exam area and coming straight to us. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” She asks. “I don’t know. I’ve been having this really bad pain in my belly. I’m having triplets, but isn’t it too soon to have them? I don’t want them coming too soon. I can’t lose my babies!” She rubs my back and takes m
BlueArtemis's words echo in my head. He looked at me like he didn’t recognize me. “…this could all be temporary. It’s very rare for someone to complete lose all their memories.” I hear the doctor say to Rhea.“There isn’t anything we can do?” She asks bit I stop listening just as the doctor answers her. My eyes are fixed on Artemis through the window to his room. If he does t remember me will he remember Lilly? I jump when someone rest their hand on my shoulder and I turn to see Rhea behind me.“The doctor suggested something we can try to help Artemis remember.”“What?” I'll do anything.” “He wants to set up an ultrasound machine and show Artemis the babies.” I consider it and know I’ll do anything no matter how strange to help my husband remember me.“Lets do it.” I say confidently. It doesn’t take long for the nurses to get everything set up. Artemis’s room has a recliner seat for guests to sit in so I lay down on that and they lean m
ArtemisAthena and Rhea made it to our house just in time thanks to Blue sending them a text while I grabbed our stuff and helped her change. I’m rushing to the hospital as fast as we can. According to the doctor Blue’s pregnancy is too high risk for her to give birth to the babies naturally, so we have to get to the hospital now. Blue groans and starts to breathe in and out like the lady taught her to do at the pregnancy classes. “You’re doing great baby. Just keep breathing.” She glares at me, and I shiver at the look she’s giving me. “Don’t tell me to breath! I have three babies trying to crawl out of my insides like freaking aliens!” She yells and her words end with a cry of pain. We make it to the hospital, and I rush inside to alert the nurses and grab a wheelchair. The nurse takes the wheelchair instead and follows me out. I open Blue’s door and help her out and into the chair. The nurse wheels her inside and straight through a separate door. I follow her t
BlueI have three babies. It’s a strange thing to accept when for so long the babies had been inside me. I mean I knew they would come out at some point but it was almost like it didn’t feel real until now. Three healthy babies and a lifetime of responsibility to look forward to. Oh gosh, how am I going to do this? Three babies and Lilly? She has needs too! How am I going to be able to be a good mom with so much going on? When will I even sleep? “Blue?” Artemis’s voice forces me to take in a breath. “Yeah?” I give him a quick glance but not long enough for him to see the expression on my face. “Are you okay?” He asks and as much as I want to battle these feelings alone, I don’t want to lie. “I’m scared.” I admit. “What if I can’t do this?” “If anyone could do this it’s you. All the bad things you have been through proves how strong you are, and you won’t be alone. You have me and my sisters. All of us are going to be here.” Artemis wraps his free arm aro
ArtemisI don’t want to leave Blue even for a second, but my phone started ringing and seeing my grandfather’s name appear had me worried. We haven’t spoken in some time, and I haven’t bothered checking in to see what he’s been up to. “Grandfather.” “Hello Artemis. I hear congratulations are in order. Three children, very impressive. Thanks to your brother’s lack of a son your first born will continue on as the head of the family one day. Very good news indeed.” I want to tell him that by the time my son is old enough to take on any sort of business he won’t be alive. No way will I push my children to be under such pressure. “Thank you for your congratulations. Is there anything else you would like to discuss?” He chuckles. “Straight to business is see. Alright. I have found your parents and have sent some men to bring them back home. Iris will come to stay with me-““No!” I say interrupting him. “I’m sorry?” “No. Let her come live with us.
BlueAfter Tet spoke with Artemis and knocked me around a bit he covered my eyes with something and used tape on my wrists, feet and mouth. I’m not sure how long we drive for but the bumps we go over send shocks of pain from my incision throughout my body. Tet’s phone rings several times before he answers and although I can’t hear what the person on the other line is saying, they’re yelling loud enough that I can hear the muffled sound of their voice. They sound pissed. “I did what I had to! It’s not like you were doing anything to fix this mess.” He yells before going silent again. “Please you’re glad I’m taking care of the bitch. I told you I can handle this, so stop questioning my methods. Arty would give me anything I ask for to get this girl back. Now you work on your end of things and stop worrying about me.” I don’t hear him talk anymore for several minutes so I’m guessing his phone call is over. Who was he talking to? If I had to guess it was probably his
BlueIt’s dark now and my feet are starting to feel more like concrete than part of my body. There are lights in the distance, but I can’t tell how far thanks to my vision blurring. I’m not going to be able to get far like this. A heavy weight slams into me forcing me to slam into the ground with a cry. “You thought you could run? I gave you the benefit of the doubt thinking you weren’t dumb enough to try and run.” Tet growls into my ear. He’s completely on top of me and pushing my face into the ground hard enough for me to suck in bits of dirt into my mouth. I try to move but I am starting to feel too weak. Still, I can’t stop fighting yet. “Let’s go back inside, we don’t want to miss the call from Artemis. Hopefully he has my money, or this is the last breath of fresh air you will ever have.” He climbs off me and pulls me up along with him. My head swims but I try to keep my head clear long enough to figure out what to do. His arm is wrapped around my arms
BlueWhat is going on? Here I was expecting some yelling or fighting but got hysterical laughter instead. Are they all high? Well, probably not Iris, but she looks a little confused as well. Same girl, same. “What is so funny?” I yell. They all slowly calm down and it’s Rhea who speaks next. “Blue, I know that this may seem strange, but we’re happy.” Say what now?“What do you mean? You guys would be getting nothing!” I remind them as if it weren’t clear. “We know and that’s the great part. Honestly, it’s a relief. That money is tainted with bad memories for us. It’s a burden, but to someone who’s as kindhearted as you it could be a huge blessing. You’ve come from having so little to having enough money for a hundred lifetimes. You could do anything! We are happy to let that money go and let you decide what to do with it. Once the funeral is over we can finally let that time of our lives die too. It’s the last tie to what our family name used to
ArtemisThis week has been hell. My grandfather and parents did not want to leave this world without one last special, and I’m hating every second of dealing with it. Still for my sisters it means closure even though our relationship with them was strained. Then there’s the whole matter of the will. Honestly, I don’t want to know what my grandfather has left me to deal with. If what’s happened in the last few months are only a piece of what I have to face then I’m going to hate the rest even more. My sisters are happy to let me handle it since they don’t want a thing from my father or grandfather. As much as they feel a sense of loss, they also feel relief. The last die-hard Rhodes are gone and we can all move on. My charity work with blue has been a lot more rewarding than any of the other work I’ve done, and seeing her smile is all the payment I need. Fuck. I haven’t been able to spend much time with her thanks to all this, but as soon as it’s over I am taking the fi
BlueI make it back to the bookstore just as Dane comes in searching for me. “Everything okay?” He asks looking me over for injuries. “Yeah, they didn’t have what I was looking for and I even asked an employee to look, and it took forever just for her to tell me they didn’t have the book. Crazy right?” I laugh weakly and hope he doesn’t notice my discomfort in lying.He doesn’t ask anything, so I guess I did okay, but as we drive home my anxiety hits an all time high. How am I going to look at Artemis and his sisters knowing what I know and not say anything. These people have been rich all their lives and even though they are individually wealthy do they expect more now that their grandfather and parents are dead? I can only imagine the amount of money those three died with and now it’s coming my way. There is so much anxiety and pressure waring inside me that when we get home I rush through the front door and to the nearest bathroom to throw up. No one seems
BlueI need to find a way to get out of here without anyone asking questions. Also, that means leaving the babies and Lilly which I’m not sure anyone will be willing to do with everything else going on, but I need to go to this meeting. There’s no time to debate logistics, so I head back to the living room where I see the Rhodes siblings still discussing something. Artemis’s eyes lift when I walk into the room, and he gives me a confused look. Maybe he sees something in my face that has alarm bells going up, so I try to smile and act like nothing is going on. “I’m sorry but something came up at my office, I need to run in and handle it. Can I leave the kids with you?” I ask him. “Of course. Is everything okay?” He asks standing and stepping around the couch to walk in my direction. I don’t really want him touching me right now. It feels fake now. After what I heard it has me overthinking still and I don’t have time to dig deeper into all those feelings right now.
BlueThe door opens behind me, and Artemis walks inside with Iris next to him. His sisters are on their feet in an instant and rushing over to wrap their little sister in their arms. The three of them start to cry while Artemis stands off to the side watching them. His forehead is creased, and his jaw is tight like he isn’t sure what to do but also like he’s worried. So, I walk over to him and slip my hand in his. “You okay?” I whisper. He sighs. “I’m glad she’s okay.” That’s enough for me. This is all so fresh, so it makes sense that none of them know what to say or do next. “What can I do to help?” I ask him. “We need to wait for the lawyer to the estate contacts us. They will let us know our grandfather’s and parent’s wishes for burial and memorial services. Then we go from there. After the funeral there will be the reading of the will, and we’ll all know where we stand in this family.” He grinds his teeth at that last part. I may not know much a
BlueAfter Artemis leaves, I stand in the hallway and try to figure out the best way to go about this. Rhea is torn up over the news and I want to be there for her, but what can I do? I don’t want to just sit back and have them handle everything while they work through everything emotionally. It’s no secret, things were strained between all of them but that was still Artemis’s parents and that has to be hard for him. Before I can come up with a plan one of the babies starts crying. All of them have a different cry and this one is Eros. I walk into the nursery and pick him up right away. His head turns to my boob as soon as he’s in my arms. Before I take him out to feed, I check on Selene and Damion, but they are still asleep.Those two sleep like the dead when they want to except apparently at night when the smallest sound has them wide awake. In the end all of them end up in bed with me and Artemis to finish off the night. Not that either of us care much, we love cuddling u
ArtemisI hadn’t heard from my grandfather in several weeks and I’m wondering when he will send Iris to us. I’m willing to fly to wherever they are and pick her up myself but any attempts at contacting my grandfather have gone unanswered. That is until Rhea comes stumbling into the house looking as if she’s seen a ghost. “Artemis…” It sounds like saying that much was too much effort. “What?” “Rhea? What’s wrong?” Blue rushes over to my sister and helps her to sit down on the closest chair. “Rhea, what’s going on?” “Just look.” My sister hands her phone to Blue, but I can hear the audio. 'Another tragedy involving the famous Rhodes family. Unfortunately, this accident resulted in the death of three members including the Patriarch of the family, his son and his daughter-in-law. The following information may be upsetting for some. The police and rescue crew discovered the pilot a mile away and the members of the family different distances from the crash. Ou
ArtemisSeeing Blue juggle, the children’s home and motherhood is like watching a bee buzzing around a hive. She has been going non-stop and is trying so hard to make up for the time she lost not being there to help. I know she thinks that she will let someone down if she isn’t giving one hundred percent of herself in everything she does, but I can see her burning out. At night she’s been crashing as soon as her head hits the pillow, but she’s up any time the triplets need to be changed or fed. I try to help as best I can, but she always tells me to sleep, and she will handle things. Only she doesn’t realize that she sleeps through a few of the nightly cries, and I make sure nothing wakes her. Now that she will let the babies in the nursery, I turn off the monitor while I’m in there and switch to getting alerts on my phone. That way she can sleep, and I’ll still be able to hear the babies. She needs the rest. Since the babies came, I’ve been in full dad duty. Not that
BlueThe first few weeks home with the triplets is chaos. Lilly is such a sweet girl and even though she needs a lot of help with things she hasn’t complained once having to share our time. Artemis has made everything so much easier by just being here and helping wherever it’s needed. He was joking about the personal chief either. I mean when does he ever not mean these things? I should know that by now. He also did have a whole medical room set up in the house. There are plans to expand the house even more thanks to all the plans he has. Athena found a house down the street from us and has been so happy with her decision to adopt. She’s an amazing mother and it’s been great having her so close by. Rhea, not wanting to be left out also bought a house on our street and has been stopping by with her kids almost everyday much to Artemis’s displeasure. He’s gotten a lot better with having his sisters around but he’s still his grumpy self with them. Now they just find it fu