Choosing Us: The Pierced Hearts Duet: Book One Read online

  “Why are you in the shower?” I asked when I saw where they were.

  I hit the speaker button on the phone to free up my hands and reassure Eva help was on the way.

  “Eva was trying to clean herself up after her water broke.”

  “So, it was her water?” the operator questioned.

  Eva nodded, breathing in and out. Focusing on Bailey sitting in front of her.

  “Yes,” I told the operator.

  “Okay, the EMS is en route. How far are her contractions?”

  Eva blurted in a heavy tone, “Contractions are a minute apart,” breathing through the agony. “Baby is coming. She’s coming right now!”

  “Okay, I need everyone to stay calm. The EMS might not make it in time with how close those contractions are happening, Ma’am.”

  “What?!” They screamed in unison, while I stayed calm for everyone including myself.

  “You may need to deliver this baby, but don’t worry I will walk you through it.”

  “I need to push!” Eva stated, bearing down.

  “She needs to push, Aiden!”

  “I have ears, Bay!”

  “I need someone to look and see if the baby’s head is crowning.”

  Bailey and I locked eyes, and I nodded over to Eva.

  “Oh man.” Her eyes widened. “I don’t know if I can do this, Aiden. I don’t like blood. I get queasy when I get a papercut.”

  “I know, but you have to.”

  “Aiden, I can’t. I just can’t do it!”

  “Someone has to do it,” the operator spoke up. “Or the baby could go into distress.”

  Before I gave it any thought, I asked, “Eva, is it alright if I look?” Wanting to be respectful.

  It wasn’t like I had much of a choice in the situation. Either I did this, or I’d be risking two lives, Eva’s and the baby. I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to them. Being the one to deliver their baby girl was the ultimate way to show my appreciation for all they did.

  A way to show my gratitude for everything they’d done for me.

  For us.

  “Yes! Please! Get this baby out of me NOW!”

  Bailey scooted out of the way to sit up by Eva’s head, supporting it in her lap, while I sat in between her legs. Mentally preparing myself for I don’t know what.

  “Ahh! I can’t hold her in any longer! I’m pushing! I’m pushing!” she panted, squeezing onto Bailey’s hand as excruciating pain ripped through her body.

  “Holy shit,” I breathed out, looking at baby girl’s head coming out. “Yeah, she’s crowning!”

  “Okay, just a few more pushes, Eva. I need you to bear down as soon as the next wave of contractions hit. Hold it for a count of ten then breathe. Deep breathes in and out after. Just remember to breathe, your baby will be here before you know it,” the woman on the phone instructed. “Aiden, once you see the baby’s shoulders, it will get a lot easier,” she informed. “I need you to grab a towel and get ready to catch the baby.”

  I nodded as if she could see me, amazed at what was happening in front of my eyes. I reached behind me to pull the towel off the rack.

  “Aiden, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, but I’ve… I’ve never held a baby.”

  “It’s not hard. Just make sure you support the head, alright?”

  “Okay.”

  I’d never been so nervous, watching a new life come into this world. My hands shook as I reached for the baby girl, supporting her neck and head, careful not to hurt her.

  “Alright, Eva, only a few more pushes and you will get to meet your baby,” I assured, the panic quickly subsiding.

  “You are doing amazing, Eva. Whenever you are ready, bear down,” the operator chimed in.

  Bailey swept Eva’s soaking wet hair out of her face as she prepared to once again push.

  “EMS is five minutes away. Help is on its way, Eva.”

  Things moved pretty quickly after the baby’s shoulders popped out, exactly the way the woman on the phone said it would.

  “Holy shit,” I repeated in awe of the life being born. “Push, Eva, keep pushing she’s almost out,” I guided, witnessing what I could only describe as a phenomenon.

  “Grrrr…”

  “That’s it, you got this,” Bailey soothed, rubbing her shoulder.

  My thoughts ran rampant, thinking about the day I watched my mother die. Hating, resenting, blaming God. And there I was witnessing the miracle of birth, His creation come to life before my eyes. I was powerless to hold back the unexpected rush of emotions with seeing Eva’s daughter being born into this world, playing a vital part in her birth. It was as though he was showing me his blessing in all forms.

  Proving he didn’t solely end lives, he started them too.

  Just as the thought occurred, I grabbed onto the baby with the towel in my hands. Instantly hearing, “Wah! Wah! Wah!” loud and bold in the air. Immediately making her presence known.

  I futilely tried listening to what the operator was saying, but I was held captive by the baby girl in my arms. Knowing I was the first person to ever hold her was an imprint I’d never forget. Almost like I was in God’s plan all along, and he was making up for taking my mom all those years ago.

  Everything that happened next was in slow motion. The paramedics rushed in, tending to Eva as I held the baby close to my heart. Locking eyes with Bailey who had tears streaming down her face. It was only then I noticed I had tears falling down mine as well.

  That day changed my life in ways I never saw coming, making me a better man.

  I wanted this with Bailey.

  A baby girl.

  A family.

  A life of my own.

  When she really started fussing, I brought her closer to my face, muttering in her ear, “It’s alright, it’s okay, I got you. I got you. You’re safe.”

  One of the paramedics gently grabbed her from my arms and I immediately felt a huge sense of loss. Minutes later, I decided to ride with Eva in the ambulance to the hospital, not wanting to leave her alone, already having an attachment to that baby girl. While Bailey followed in my car.

  Once everything was settled and we were in the hospital room, Mario declared, “You did great, Aiden. They told us they’d never heard anyone stay so calm before. I think you may have found your calling, son.”

  My eyes locked with Eva’s who was beaming from ear to ear, holding baby girl in her arms. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t shocked as shit when she added, “Mario and I would be honored if you would name her.”

  I jerked back, blown away by their request. “Are you sure?”

  “Absolutely. You know we’ve been going back and forth for months on a name. I think it’s because God had other plans,” she vowed what I’d been thinking. “So would you do us the honor, Aiden?”

  “I’d be honored,” I simply stated, walking over to her. Baby girl opened her eyes as I rubbed her little hand, facing that strong connection to her once again.

  I replied, “Faith. Her name is Faith.”

  Not only did she restore my faith in God, but she also gave me an immense sense of purpose. This was what I wanted to do with my life, I wanted to help people.

  Deciding in that moment, Mario was right.

  I wanted to be a doctor.

  Chapter 19

  <>Camila<>

  Now

  __________

  “Two dirty martinis and three cider beers!” a customer called out from the end of the bar.

  “Hey, can we get some service down here?” another hollered from the other end.

  “Where are our drinks? Move your tits, sweetheart!”

  “Come on sweet cheeks, been waiting fifteen minutes!”

  “I ain’t your sweet cheeks, cowboy. Just for that you’ll be waiting ten more.” I moved toward a different customer. “What can I get for you?”

  Later that night after my run in with Dr. Pierce, I walked into Danté’s club. Desperate for the distraction
that bartending and dancing always provided. Needing to clear my head, focus on anything other than the Pierces.

  Specifically, their father.

  The man was never far from my thoughts for the rest of the day.

  The look in his eyes, the sincerity in his words, the dominance and devastation he exuded, it all tore into me. Bit by bit.

  How could I explain things I couldn’t begin to understand?

  I hated this. I hated this so much. The worst part was there was nothing I could do to fix it.

  The way he looked, the way I felt, the instant connection that brought me to him. There was no denying it on my part, I wanted to know him.

  Badly.

  “Camila, Mamita!” Danté shouted, calling me over to his office.

  I stood by the door with my arms crossed over my chest, leaning into the threshold.

  “What’s up with you tonight?”

  “Nothing.”

  “It don’t look like nothing.”

  “Why do you think something’s up with me?”

  “Cuz you ain’t shakin’ your ass. That ain’t the Latina I know.”

  I scoffed out a chuckle.

  “So spill, what’s goin’ on? What did Cheech do now?”

  “It’s not Jackson this time.”

  “Ohhhhh gurl, the tea just got hot,” he exclaimed with a big smile across his face. “You are sizzlin’, let me sip that tea.”

  I rolled my eyes.

  “What did Doctor Daddy do? Put you over his knee and spank you?”

  “Well that escalated quickly.”

  He smacked the air and grinded his hips into his leather chair, rocking back and forth to the beat of the music thumping through the walls. “Did he get all up in there, examinin’ your booty?”

  “Danté!” I scolded, standing upright.

  “Gurl, don’t pretend like you haven’t thought ’bout it. Now that we know his wife is dea—”

  “We don’t know that.”

  He eyed me skeptically, pointing in between us. “Camila, who you playin’? You were in their master bedroom wit’ me. You saw what I saw. That man’s wife is long gone.”

  I sighed.

  “What’s up wit’ you? Did you accidentally see his dick or somethin’? Ugh,” he made a disgruntled face and noise from the back of his throat. “Is it small?”

  “Oh. My. God.” I shook my head. “Why do I even bother trying to talk to you?”

  “Miss Thang, you haven’t said shit.”

  “I saw him today.” I simply replied.

  “Oh…” he sympathized. “So it is small.”

  “Danté, be serious for one minute please.”

  “I am,” he chided, weaving his head. “Havin’ a small dick ain’t a good look for a man that fine. Are his fingers at least long? How ’bout the tongue, how that look?”

  “Oh. My. God!” I repeated, rubbing my forehead. “I didn’t see his dick, okay?”

  “Oh, so you’re upset you didn’t see it?”

  “Danté, this has nothing to do with Dr. Pierce’s dick.”

  “Damn, Mamita, that’s a shame.”

  “Are you going to listen to me now?”

  He beamed in that Danté sort of way, leaning back into his chair, he threw his bedazzled feet up on the desk. Nodding, “Proceed.”

  I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts before sharing, “I think there’s cameras in the house.”

  “Gurl…” He stuck his hand up in the air with nothing but attitude. “Don’t tell me that, cuz I did not look my best that day. Had I known I would have—”

  “Anyway, I lost my shit… I mean like legit lost my shit on a bunny.”

  “Come again?”

  “I ended up leaving Journey with Jackson and drove their car to the hospital.”

  His eyes widened. “I think I need some popcorn.” He pretended to throw one in his mouth. “Go on.”

  “When I got there, I met his RN Renee and she knew me. Like knew things that only cameras could see, so now I know there are cameras.”

  “Oh, gurl, have you been shakin’ dat ass on camera with Paris these last few months?”

  I shut my eyes, throwing my head back against the door frame. “Don’t remind me.”

  “And the plot thickens. Doctor Daddy has probably been whackin’ it off to ya, honey.”

  Ignoring him, I continued on with my story. “So, I stepped off the elevator on the floor where his office was located, and I swear to God, Danté, I felt him.”

  “Say what?”

  “I know. It makes no sense, but I did. I felt him, I smelled him, I-I-I-I don’t know … I just … I knew where he was before I even saw him. Like what the fuck is that?”

  “Camila, that’s some soul mate shit right there. Gurl, you gonna have his babies. What did he smell like? A man, right? A musky, sexy, doctor man.”

  Disregarding him again, I stated, “He’s an asshole.”

  “Oh, baby, they all are. Especially dem doctors, thinkin’ they God’s gift wit’ huge egos and cocks—”

  “But then… I saw him in his office, and he was… he was breaking down…”

  “Like breakin’ it down?”

  “No, like devastated. He was upset and then he threw his wedding photo.”

  “At you?”

  “No, at the wall.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “And then he slammed you up against that same wall and did you next?”

  “Danté! We didn’t do anything. He didn’t even know I was there.”

  “So, he didn’t feel you, but he probably saw you on the cameras?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Then he’s going to know you went to the hospital.”

  “I mean, I guess. I haven’t thought that far ahead yet.”

  “Cuz you’re thinkin’ of his dic—”

  “I have feelings for a man I’ve never met. My married employer. I’m not that woman, Danté. I will never be that woman.”

  “Honey, it don’t matter. His wife is dead.”

  I wanted to argue with him, put up a fight for what he was saying, but I couldn’t get my mouth to release the words. I knew deep down he was probably right, and that was the hardest pill to swallow.

  “What kind of feelins’? Like I want you to be my baby daddy? Or like I’ll let you stick it in my as—?”

  “Intense feelings. Like I want to know everything about him.”

  “Includin’ the size of his dick.”

  “No.”

  “No?” he sassed, calling me out on it.

  “I don’t know.”

  “Well, let me ask you dis. If you knew for a fact his wife was dead, would it be game on for you?”

  “No. Yes… Ugh …this is so confusing. At first it was just about the kids, and now it all shifted in a direction I wasn’t prepared for.”

  “Camila, for you to even be interested in a man outside of Sean is surprisin’. He’s the only guy you’ve ever been wit’, and he did you dirty, honey. In and out of the bedroom.”

  I bit my lip.

  “I guess that means Doctor Daddy has been the one leavin’ your favorite things?”

  I shrugged. “Or his nurse, Renee.”

  “If it was her, why wouldn’t Skyler tell you? Why keep it a secret?”

  He was right, and my heart skipped a beat at the thought of Dr. Pierce taking the time to do all that for me.

  “Oh, Miss Thang, you like him,” Danté hummed. “I can tell by the look on your face, he’s makin’ your heart flutter, honey. Baby, sit on Dr. Pierce’s face and let that man make your puss—”

  “The fuck,” Sean seethed, making my entire body seize up. His tall, controlling demeanor standing behind me. His rage burning a hole in my back. “I know you ain’t talkin’ ’bout another man fuckin’ what’s mine.”

  I abruptly turned, locking eyes with him. “I. Am. Not. Yours.”

  “Says who?”

  “Me.”

>   “Like your opinion fuckin’ matters to me.”

  “No shit, Sean. Hence, why we’re not together.”

  “I’m the only dick that’s ever been inside you. I claimed you a long time ago, and don’t you ever forget that.”

  “See, this is why we always had problems. You treat me like I’m your possession. I’m nothing more than a trophy to you.”

  “Do you have any idea how many women would get on their knees for that title?”

  “Yeah, too many to count, and that’s only based off of the women who did while we were together.”

  “They meant shit to me.”

  “Well, they meant a lot to me. Your queen,” I mocked in a condescending tone. “What I do with my body is none of your business.”

  He stepped into my face, cocking his head to the side. “I’m makin’ it my business.”

  Danté stood up fast, making his chair crash into the adjacent wall. Bringing our attention over to him, where his hand was firmly placed on top of the knife on his desk. Only glaring at the brick house next to me.

  Sean eyed him up and down, scoffing out, “Bitch, please, sit your ass down.” He slid open the front of his leather jacket, showing off the gun tucked in his jeans.

  I didn’t back down, this was Sean to a T. He had to solve everything with violence. I wasn’t scared of him, I knew he wouldn’t hurt me or Danté. Knowing how important he was to me.

  “Sean, I’m warning you. Unless you want my heel up your ass, back the fuck up. Now.”

  He cunningly grinned down at me, grabbing ahold of my chin. “I love it when you’re fuckin’ feisty.”

  Yanking my face out of his grasp, I demanded, “Leave me alone. I don’t belong to you, and I never will again.”

  “Try me, Camila. Just fuckin’ try me and watch what happens to that fuckin’ doctor. It’ll be your fault he ends up in his own fuckin’ hospital.”

  I stood taller, accentuating every word, “Are you threatening me?”

  “No, baby.” He snidely smiled, backing away slowly, never breaking his predatory stare from mine. He had the last word, spewing, “That’s a fuckin’ promise.” Turned and left.

  “I hate that motherfucker. Why did you date him again?”

  “Because I didn’t know any better.”

  It was the truth. I was so young when we first got together. I was blinded by my friendship with him, thinking it was love, when it was nothing more than lust.