Georgia Peach - Book One

Chapter 12 - Unexpected Surprise

Dylan's POV

I'm at a loss for fuckin words... I can't believe this has happened. What a f*****g nightmare! Brie calls Lori to tell her what happened, and Lori takes off towards the hospital.

I pull up in the parking lot to the hospital moments later, and we dart inside. Lori is standing in the waiting room as we enter. She looks up as she notices us, "Mariah?" I asked, attempting to get any updates she may have.

"Bud, I don't know she looks bad. The doctors are running scans right now. She must have lost control of the car and hydroplaned, hitting a tree. Her car is totaled. I can't say as to what damage Ethan did to her. We will have to wait and see what the doctor says," She tearfully responds as she reaches out her arms to me, tightly squeezing my neck.

I match her embrace to console her, "She'll be okay, Lori."

She buries her face into my shoulder, "I hope so, bub."

"Want me to get you something? I'm going to hit the vending machine while we wait," I ask.

She pulls away from me, crossing her arms in front of her while pacing the floor, "No, I'm fine, sweetie, thank you."

Feeling very anxious, I walk over to the vending machine to grab some coffee and take a sip. God, it's disgusting, but I continue drinking it so that I have something to pre-occupy my mind. As I sit in the waiting room, lost in thought, I hear a male voice from the doorway, "Are you the family of Mariah Knox?"

Lori and I both stand up, "Yes!" she replies, approaching the doctor standing in front of us.

"Well, we ran some tests; she has four fractured ribs on the left side, and her face is bruised and swollen on the left side, but nothing that won't heal. There was no evidence of a brain injury, which I have to say based on what I heard about the accident, she's very fortunate. She is dehydrated, so we have her hooked up to some IV fluids right now. Her drug screening came back positive for benzodiazepines, which could be why she was so sedated. We did a thorough examination and determined that Mom and baby are doing well according to the ultrasound. Mom will just need some rest," The doctor explains.

My heart skips a beat. There's a lump the size of Texas in my throat. Lori places her hand on my shoulder, "Baby?" I ask.

The doctor pauses. "Oh, you didn't know about the baby. Well, yes, the baby is fine. She's about six weeks or so along."

I reach up to scratch my chin; Lori places her hand over her forehead, "Oh boy," She says.

Brie taps my shoulder from behind, "Guys, what's going on?"

I spin around, but I'm unable to speak. Lori chimes in, "Mariah is okay; she has a few fractured ribs and bruises, but...the baby... she's pregnant."

Brie covers her mouth with her hand, "What? Pregnant?" she asks.

Lori chuckles, "Yea, six weeks or so."

My girl is pregnant. I'm going to be a daddy. Holy f**k! Seth squeezes my shoulders from behind, "You okay, daddy?"

Grinning ear to ear, I turn to face him, "Yeah, I am. I glad my girl is okay. I need to see her."

The doctor interrupts, "She's getting settled into her room. The nurse will be out shortly to get you. The most important thing is that she rests tonight. She's going to be in a lot of pain for a while. We don't advise giving any prescription painkillers to our pregnant patients, so the best I can do is prescribe Tylenol."

"That's understandable. Thank you, doctor, "Lori replies.

Brie and Lori are whispering amongst each other. Seth playfully nudges me, "Congratulations, daddy!"

"I'm gonna be a daddy!" I reply excitedly.

We take turns embracing each other and sit down, waiting anxiously for the nurse to come out when a middle-aged couple storms through the front entrance. The woman sets her sights on us and stomps over, and Lori immediately stands as they approach, "Don't even!" she warns and puts her fingers up.

"Where's my daughter?!" the woman demands.

My stomach turns as it occurs to me that this is my future Mother in Law. Fantastic!

"She's fine; she has some fractured ribs and bruises, so she's resting. Don't go in there starting any s**t, Reagan!" Lori warns.

"Oh, you have the nerve to tell me not to start s**t when I trusted you with my daughter for the summer, and all that has happened is she gets into a wild whirlwind romance with some schmuck, totals her car, and gets kidn*pped by some lunatic?!" she snaps at Lori.

"Kiss my ass, Reagan! Your daughter is an adult, capable of making her own decisions regarding her love life. The boy she's with is anything but a schmuck. How about that mother fucker she wasted all those years on? He's the schmuck!"

Without realizing it, I snicker. Reagan hears me and turns her attention to me. Her face is fire-engine red; I can tell she's pissed, "Who are you?" she asks while sneering at me.

"The name is Dylan ma'am. Nice to meet you." I offer my hand, but she doesn't take it. Instead, she curls her lips, looking down at me with disdain. The man accompanying her places his hand on her shoulder, attempting to calm her down, "Oh, so you are the one my daughter says she's in love with?"

Holding my hands up in surrender, I respond, "Guilty."

She leans down, her face inches from mine, as she points her finger directly at me, "Let me tell you something, mister. You are not suitable for my daughter. I know what's best for her. There is no way she can love someone she just met. You need to stay away from her! Got it, pal?!"

I begin to grind my teeth as rage takes over. Before I have a chance to respond, Lori pulls her back, "Listen to me, Reagan, you don't come in here threatening anyone. Your daughter and this fine young man are in love. I remember not too long ago; this was you. When you fell in love with a man you just met and had some fiery whirlwind romance and got married after a couple of months of dating. Oh... poor you! Then you went and had an amazing, lovely, and beautiful daughter, which I'll tell you I'm so f*****g proud of. Don't tell me you forget about that? Do you think that anyone could have stopped you from being with Mariah's Dad? I believe you have lost sight of how that feels. Do you even realize how amazing your daughter is? You have always tried to control her and make her into something she didn't want to be. Hell, you never even allowed her to say two words when she was little. You are such a narcissist. It's sickening!" She yells.

Just when I thought she was finished, she sets her sights on the man accompanying Reagan, "And Chuck, all you do is enable her. Because it's easier to allow her to do these things than to try to get her to stop, isn't it?"

I hate to admit it, but I am rather enjoying this, watching Lori stick up for Mariah. I know she loves Mariah like her own daughter. I'm thankful for her because I know Mariah needs her on her side. Both Reagan and Chuck stand frozen in place, shock crosses their faces, but they don't respond, "You know what? She deserves better than both of you. I hope you know that you're are going to be Grandparents! Yep, Mariah is pregnant. So, this man that you fought so desperately to keep her from is not going anywhere. Get used to it, Reagan! Get off your high horse! The world doesn't revolve around you every single minute. You don't get to be the one to decide how Mariah lives her life anymore. She is a grown-ass woman."

Reagan shakes her head, tears welling up in her eyes as Chuck looks down at the floors, "Why don't you both leave and come back another time? All you are going to do is upset her at this point because she doesn't want to see either one of you right now. So that you know, you are the reason that she is in this condition because you sent that foul-mouth piece of s**t up here to get her. You should have heard the way he spoke about her on speakerphone when we called him. I can assure you that no woman deserves to be degraded the way he degraded her. I could not believe my ears, and I'd almost bet that he spoke to her like that regularly. She is way too good for that. You can blame yourself for this, now give her some time and let her come around. If you love her at all, you will just leave and wait for her to reach out," Lori suggests.

Reagan fidgets with the gold chain around her neck while Chuck audibly sighs, "Okay, we are staying at the Holiday Inn. Will you please let her know we will be there for a few days?" Reagan replies.

"I'll be sure to tell her," Lori responds.

Reagan looks down at me, scowling before stomping off out the door, the sound of her heels clicking across the floor with Chuck following close behind her.

I'm relieved she's gone. Man, that woman is a nightmare. How did the woman I love come from that woman? Christ! Suddenly a voice interrupts my thoughts, "I'm looking for the family of Mariah Knox."

The four of us jump up from our seats, approaching the nurse standing in the doorway, "Okay, right this way," She smiles as she leads us through the unit doors.

We walk past several rooms and the nurse's station before turning into her room at the end of the hall. She turns around and blocks us from entering, "Please use sanitizer before entering. Remember, she is exhausted, so we ask that you keep it down and not to overstimulate her," She advises.

We sanitize our hands, and the nurse moves from the doorway, allowing us to enter. Once I enter the room, my heart begins pounding. My poor beautiful angel looks so fragile and beat up. My eyes are drawn to her beautiful face, so bruised and swollen, and her hair is a matted mess, sticking to her cheeks. She's wearing an oversized hospital gown with an IV hooked up to the top of her hand and a monitor wrapped around her arm to measure her vital signs. She looks peaceful as she sleeps, breathing softly. Lori and Brie begin to weep, "Now remember it looks worse than it is. She has no head injury. Fractured ribs will heal on their own. She is going to be okay. Her face will heal eventually," Lori blurts out.

I sit down on the hard sofa with my head in my hands, "I just want to fix her, Lori. How can I fix her?"

She rubs my shoulder, "By being here for her. That's how you fix her," She responds reassuringly.

We talk amongst each other quietly before Lori, Brie, and Seth decide to take off, allowing her some time to rest. I decided that I needed to stay the night after speaking with the nurse and telling her I'm the child's father. She grabs a blanket and pillow for me to lay on the sofa in the room. I sit up for a while, just staring at her. I can't help but notice the outline of her t**s through her gown. Her beautiful perky t**s that I can't keep my hands off of. She begins to squirm while talking in her sleep, "Dylan, no, please don't leave," she mumbles.

I want to reach out to her, but I hesitate and stay put. I'm here, baby. I'm sorry... I'm so sorry I let you down and didn't give you a chance to explain. I will never make that mistake again. I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. After a while, I lie down, and as soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out.

Mariah's POV

Beep...Beep...Beep...That annoying sound in my ears makes my head hurt as I begin to stir. God, I feel like I've been hit by a bus. I attempt to sit up to scan my surroundings, but I'm having trouble focusing my eyes. It's all just a blur, but I can make out an IV pole next to me. I pat my hand and run my fingers across the IV needle. Someone enters to reset the IV, "You are awake, sleeping beauty," She says.

I still can't seem to focus my eyes. I reach my hands up to rub them but wince when I experience a sharp, shooting pain in my rib cage. I reach up to feel the side of my face; it feels swollen, "Wh...wh...where am I?" I ask.

"You are at Legions Hospital, honey," She replies.

"Oh, okay... how did I get here?"

"By ambulance. You got pretty banged up in the accident, but your baby is fine."

I take a moment to try to recap in my head what she said, "Baby? Oh no, I'm not...."

She reaches out to gently pat my shoulder, "Yes, darlin, you are definitely pregnant, about six weeks. We saw it on the ultrasound. You just had a little bit of bleeding, probably from the trauma from the accident, but everything is okay. We will get you some pictures of your little nugget."

The alarm on the machine sounds due to my oxygen saturation dropping as I hold my breath, "Breath sugar," She instructs.

I see a blur of movement in the corner of my eye that startles me. The lady turns to look over that way and then back to me. She is starting to come into focus a little bit. I can read her name tag now... Shannon, RN, "He's not left your side since you came in."

I don't know who in the world would be here. Dylan is too upset with me, so I doubt it's him, but I pray it's not Aaron, or I will flip out. I sit up all the way, hoping it would help me see my surroundings better, but I wince in pain. My side hurts, and my entire body is sore, "Everything is so blurry right now," I choke out.

"It will just take a few minutes for your eyes to adjust to everything. Why don't I dim the lights for you? I'll grab some Tylenol for your pain. Do you need anything else?" she asks.

I clear my throat, "Would you mind getting me something to brush my teeth? My mouth is so dry, and my throat is so sore. Ice chips, too, maybe? Possibly a warm blanket if you have time?"

"Of course, darlin. I'll set everything up to brush your teeth, get you some ice chips, some Tylenol, and a warm blanket."

"Thanks, Shannon," I respond appreciatively.

As she leaves the room, I'm startled when I hear a deep male voice, "Hey baby."

I rub my eyes to try to focus, realizing it's Dylan, "Dylan? Is that you? You are here?" I choke out; my voice is raspy.

"I'm here, baby," He responds.

Tears begin to well in my eyes, "Can you come closer so I can see you? Everything is a little blurry right now."

He gets up from the sofa and pulls a chair next to the bed, "Sure, baby."

He lays his hand over mine, "You are freezing."

As he cups my hands to warm them, I begin to sob. I wince from the shooting pain in my side, but I can't seem to stop the tears from flowing. "Shhhhhh... it's okay... don't cry..." he whispers.

"Dylan, I am so sorry. I promise I did not have anything to do with Aaron coming up here. Please believe me; I love you so much, and I would rather die than hurt you. I tried to come to you so that I could explain, but I guess I ended up here instead. What the hell happened to Ethan? How did I end up here?"

He pulls my hand to his mouth, kissing my knuckles, "I know, baby. I know you had nothing to do with Aaron. Brie explained everything to me. I'm so sorry; this is my fault. We all thought it was very suspicious that you would just vanish from the scene of an accident, so we went to every person that could have had beef with you. Brie, Seth, and I talked to Suzy, and she knew nothing, of course. Next, we went right to Ethan's house, snuck in while he was freaking out, and headed to the pole barn. I know when Ethan acts erratic, he's done something wrong. When we went through the house and down into the basement, I saw you tied up to a filthy old cot laying in a puddle of blood, and I about lost my mind. We tried to get you untied, but Ethan pulled a gun on us. Brie ended up hitting him upside the head with a shovel. That's how you ended up here, darlin."

"Holy s**t! He pulled a gun on you?"

"Yep, thank God for Brie," he says.

"Well, none of this is your fault, Dylan. It's my Mom's fault. I don't talk about her much, but she's a complicated woman and very manipulative. She gave Aaron my address and sent him up here to try to lure me back home. If she hadn't done that, none of this would have happened," I confess.

He snorts, "Oh, trust me, I know. I had the pleasure of meeting her."

"Oh Christ, is she here? I don't want to see her."

"Nah... Lori sent her away."

I wince as I hold my side while chuckling, "Why do I feel like I've been hit by a bus?"

"Because you have been through some s**t, babe," he responds.

I begin to recall all the events that lead to this, "I remember swerving to avoid hitting a dog. Yeah, I do remember the tree. Then I remember waking up in a dark and dirty basement. I remember Ethan trying to spoon-feed me old rotten soup. It tasted terrible! He is very peculiar, the way he spoke to me like it wasn't from this era. He would say things like, soon you will see, we are destined to be together, my darling."

He squeezes my thigh, "That is a fact. He is not right. He probably watched a movie, thought it was cool the way they spoke, and decided he would change how he spoke knowing that crazy fucker."

I gaze into his eyes as he's beginning to come into focus. I notice how his eyes are drawn to the left side of my face. I reach up to touch my cheek, "How bad am I?"

He looks down, shrugging his shoulders, "Well, it looks worse than it is, but they say you were fortunate."

I must look like a hot mess. Poor guy would never tell me, "Dylan, I have something I need to tell you. Please don't be mad at me," I confess.

The longer I look at him, the more he comes into focus. I can make out every inch of his beautiful face, and when he looks up at me with those beautiful blue eyes, my heart races, "The nurse told me this morning that I'm... I'm... Ummm."

He squeezes my hand, "I know, baby, I know you are pregnant," He whispers.

"Oh, you know. Are you furious at me?"

"God, no. I love you. I'm happy."

My sad tears turn to happy tears, "She said I'm about six weeks along. I know when it happened. The night you told me you loved me is the only time we did anything without a condom. Do you remember?"

"Yeah, I remember it well. Second best night of my life."

"Second? What was the first?" I ask curiously.

"The night you said you'd be my wife," He says softly.

My cup runneth over, "So... Ummm... guess you are stuck with me now, Dylan Hudson," I respond playfully.

He reaches up and brushes my chin with his index finger, "Then I'm one lucky mother fucker."

Reaching up to touch my face, I'm panic-stricken, "Oh God, the wedding! I don't even want to see myself right now. I can't get married like this."

"It's alright, baby, we can postpone. You are going to be okay, and that's all that matters now, but you need to move in with me so I can take care of you."

"Okay," I respond without hesitation.

He sits back in the chair, with his fingers laced around his neck, displaying his perfect washboard abs, "I'm so glad you aren't traumatized right now."

"He didn't do anything to me. The only thing is he tied me up and confessed his love for me. He did kiss me once only because I was unable to pull away since he had me bound. It was so bizarre. I think he drugged me up, honestly. I fought him off the best I could."

His face turns red, and his jaw clenches, "Oh, he did. You have some type of drug in your system. That's why he was stealing medication from work. He was trying to keep you drugged up so he could have his way with you, I'm guessing."

"Jesus! That's crazy! I bet he slipped it that foul soup he fed me!"

He chuckles, "God, I love you. You are such a little badass, babe."

The nurse enters a few moments later to help me brush my teeth and walks me to the restroom to clean myself up. I begin to cry as I look in the mirror. I don't even recognize the person staring back at me. She pats my shoulder to comfort me," Honey, you are going to be okay. You are going to heal. It just takes time."

I turn my face from side to side, inspecting the damage up close. I look like I've been beaten to death. The whole left side of my face is swollen and bruised. My hair is tangled and dirty, "How about once your fluids run out, we disconnect you and help you take a shower?" She offers.

"That sounds nice."

She helps me back into bed, gives me some Tylenol, ice chips, and a warm blanket. "Hungry sugar?" she asks.

"Not really, no."

"Okay, well, don't wait too long. You have to feed that baby," She responds as she begins to walk towards the door.

"Okay, maybe after my shower, I will eat something."

"That's fine; y'all let me know if you need anything," She replies before exiting the room.

I lay back, resting my head on the pillow; I turn to face Dylan, "Is my car totaled?"

He sits up and nods his head.

I reach up to rub my temples gently, "Crap! I'm gonna have to find a cheap car to get around in."

"No, you won't, not with my baby. I'm going to get you a car or SUV. Maybe a Jeep. Something safe and reliable."

I shake my head in protest, "No, I need to do this on my own."

He chuckles. "God, woman, you are so maddening and stubborn sometimes. Just let me take care of you and my baby. This is what a man is supposed to do!"

"Okay, daddy," I respond sarcastically, smiling ear to ear.

He smirks, "Damn, right!"

Once my bag of fluids run out, the nurse disconnects my IV and helps me get in the shower and brush my hair. I feel a lot better afterward. I climb back into bed, and she hands me a menu insisting that I order my lunch. I reluctantly agree and order some soup.

I notice Dylan stretch and begin to yawn, "Babe, you don't have to stay here with me. I'll be okay. Go get some rest."

He sighs, nodding his head in agreement, "Lori is on her way with Brie. I'll run home when she gets here and shower. Then I'm coming back. I don't want to leave you for too long."

"Okay, but that sofa looks uncomfortable. You would probably sleep better in your bed."

He snickers, "Well, tonight, if they don't kick me out, I may sleep in bed with you."

"Oh boy, that's a dangerous combination. I'm wearing a hospital gown that opens in the back and no panties while you are sleeping next to me."

He flashes me an evil smirk and raises his brow, "Now you got me thinkin things."

My face flushes, so I reach up to cover my cheeks, looking away from him. He chuckles, "Aww babe, I love you."

I turn back with my hands on my cheeks, "I love you too," I respond.

After a few moments, Aunt Las and Brie stop by to visit with me. Dylan leans in and kisses me on the forehead as I hold his arm, affectionately, "Bye baby, get some rest," I tell him. 

"Bye, Momma, I love you. I'll see you in a little bit," He responds.

"I love you, too."

He called me Momma... So sweet.

Brie and Las walk over to the bed and embrace me, "Colie, I'm so glad you are okay, sister. I was losing my mind with worry," Brie says as she pats my hand.

"I'm okay, Brie. I feel a little sore, but I'm hanging in there," I tell her.

Aunt Las brushes the hair from my eyes, "I'm so glad you are okay, darlin. I love my Coliebell."

"I love you too, Las. Thank you for sending Mom away. I couldn't deal with her attitude right now."

"Oh, I know, she was in one of her moods. I let her have it, boy," She snickers.

Brie nods her head, "She sure did, and I loved every minute of it. Poor Chuck is gonna be the one getting the wrath."

Aunt Las snorts, "Well, he's gonna learn the more he enables her to act that way, the worse she will get."

"You'd think after all these years; he'd learn that already," I respond jokingly.

They spend a couple of hours visiting with me before heading out. Dylan returns with his Mom and Sister in the evening. Nova brought with her some lemon meringue pie. After an hour of visiting, they bid farewell, allowing me to get some rest.

Once everyone is gone, and it's just the two of us, I can't help but notice how incredibly sexy my man is. He looks so irresistible right now that I can hardly contain myself. Unfortunately, I look and feel like an absolute mess.

As night falls, I lay down, patting the mattress beside me, "Come on, baby, come lay with me."

Without hesitation, he climbs in, spooning me, leaving a trail of kisses down my shoulder. His embrace is so warm and comforting that I immediately fall asleep in his arms.

The next afternoon I'm released from the hospital. They wanted to keep me for a day or so for observation, but since there were no significant fractures and all my organs were still working well, and the baby was okay, they felt I'd recover better at home. Dylan, of course, insisted that I move in with him. I didn't argue since there was no place that I'd rather be than to be with him.

Over the next several days during my healing process, I had many visitors at Dylan's house between Las, Brie, Maggie, Nova, Norma, and Seth.

I begin to feel better as August comes and goes, not to mention I have a tiny baby bump, and my face is nearly back to normal at this point. Dylan is so fantastic; he caters to me as if I'm a fragile piece of glass that can shatter anytime. Some people would think this would annoy me, but it doesn't. It just shows me how good of a Father he is going to be.

One night while I'm in bed, he climbs in, wrapping his arm around me while rubbing my tummy; he chuckles, "You are going to be a MILF!"

"Well, I guess that's a good thing, right?"

"Damn right it is. Goodnight, Momma."

"Goodnight, baby," I tell him as I reach over and switch off the light on the nightstand. He snuggles close, spooning me from behind. Before long, we are both out like a light, wrapped up in each other's arms.