Page 32 of Starving Butterfly
“I’m just un-cuffing you so we can talk.”
“Fine,” a moment later he was rubbing his wrists and looking at the bourbon like it would bite him if he stared too long.
“How is she?” I asked after taking another sip from my own glass.
“She’s fighting,” he said, trying to find the right words.
“And yourself? You were close with the kid right?”
“Yeah,” he choked on the word, and then cleared his throat. “Where are you off too?” He asked, redirecting.
“To find my brother…and kill him.” I took the last of the bourbon, tipping the cup to my face.
“No love lost over family.” He chuckled, “Give him hell.”
We sat there in silence as we mulled over the situation. He could kill me; I wouldn’t fight it, but then he would alienate Summer. I didn’t have any beef with the guy, just with what he did. It was a mutual understanding. Both of us said nothing as we drank the rest of the bottle. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to find the words to let me do what I needed to do or if he was sizing me up for another fight. I shrugged, stretching my arms over my head and yawning.
“Find the girl, Summer needs something good in her life.” I said at last.
He stood, holding his hand out. I clasped it, shaking his hand in agreement.
“I’ll find her,” he confirmed, and then turned towards my door to leave.
“Wait,” I said as his hand gripped the handle.
He turned back, and I tossed a set of car keys at him. He looked perplexed, and I shrugged before he walked out the door, leaving me to my thoughts.
24
HEALTH COMES FIRST
December 8th
“Don’t leave yet,” I grabbed her wrist lightly.
Summer turned towards me with confusion and hatred warring in her eyes. Her hand came across my face with enough pressure to turn my head sideways. I didn’tflinch. Maybe I should have she would look more satisfied if I had a pained reaction.Of course.
“I can’t let you leave without an ultrasound, Lucas maybe fine risking your health. I am not.” I urged pulling her back to the room. She reluctantly followed, but didn’t say anything. She pulled up the red shirt she’d been wearing to reveal her stomach; a slight bump had already formed in the weeks since I had seen her. For a second, I almost reached for her. Instead, I grabbed a set of gloves. It was a miracle she was even letting me this close to her.
I squirted gel on the wand and pressed it to her stomach. Immediately, I was taken aback.
“Did Lucas tell you anything besides the gender?” I asked when I had the wand positioned and a photo already taken. She continued to look forward, not giving me a reply. Sighing, I turned the screen towards her and pointed with my finger. “Look,” I paused. “There’s two. You didn’t know.” Confusion crossed her face as she registered the grainy images. “Same sac. Identical. Both girls.”
Her mouth hung open in quiet disbelief. It was taking every muscle in my body to remain in the neutral posture I had begun with, as I watched a smile turn up on her lips.
“Heart rate of this one — 145 bpm,” I paused, pointing at twin A. I shifted to point at the other one. “and this one —151 bpm. Healthy. Both very healthy.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she stared at the screen. I removed the wand a minute later, already printing the photos I took and passing them over. Summer’s hand moved to her stomach before she seemed to realize she’d done it. She clutched the images to her chest as more tears rolled down her cheeks. I let her cry while I stowed away the machine and grabbed a cloth to clean the gel off her. She hadn’t made a sound the entire time,and that was the worst part. Already determined that I wasn’t worth her words.
“I know you don’t like me at this moment, hell hate me if you have too, but because your twins are in the same sac, you are considered high-risk. What you did earlier — ripping your stitches. Don’t do it again. If you are going to keep Lucas as your doctor have him check you bi-weekly and if you care about these two please take prenatal vitamins and eat plenty of food when you can stomach it.”
She didn’t say anything, just nodded once. That was all she had left to give.
Nade greetedme at the door as I dropped the bag of cat treats into the bowl by the door. I reached down, stroking the cat before he marched towards the living room. I hadn’t seen the orange burst of explosive energy in weeks. He was fatter than I last saw him—good.
“You want them to die?” I asked in the open space, not even bothering with small talk as I passed over to the kitchen.
“Doesn’t matter to me whether she lives or dies,” Lucas’s voice came from the sofa. He didn’t sound as if he meant it. My jaw tightened anyway.
