Madison was the only sound one among us. She said, “It’s okay, Ave, calm down. Kylie wouldn’t want this. She’s a fucking fighter. She’ll pull them both through, I promise.”
After what felt like one hundred years, the doctor finally came out. His hair was wet and messy, his jacket was stained with blood, and he looked drained of any of the vitality he’d had earlier when he shouted at the paparazzi.
“We have her stabilized for now. It’s extremely rare, especially given her age, but she suffered a heart attack due to an undiagnosed heart murmur. She’s stable, but not out of the woods just yet.
“And our son?” I didn’t want to ask, but I had to know.
“He was born fifteen minutes ago via C-section.” Given the doctor’s somber look, I had assumed the worst.
I was so grateful Kylie was alive, but I sensed we’d lost our son.
“He’s alive, but he’s in very delicate condition. He’s almost two months premature and weighs just over three pounds. At this moment, we’d like to keep both of them in intensive care. Mr. Blair, you can come back and see them, but only you may come.
This was it, the end of the world.
Chapter 31
Alec
I walked into Kylie’s room, and everything was still. The curtains were drawn, the lights were off, and both Kylie and Elijah were connected to things that cast an eerie glow. She was so pale and lifeless. My heart raced. I’d been here before seven years ago when I walked in on Ava laying in much the same way, only the machines were no longer illuminated. At that moment, I wasn’t thinking of the baby, I was watching my wife, waiting for her eyes to open.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Blair,” a doctor said in a deep dark tone of voice. “There was nothing we could do to save her or the baby.”
I had no reassurance that Kylie was going to get through this. According to the doctor who briefed me before I entered the room, her heart hadn’t stabilized. I gazed at her lying in a bed surrounded by machines that were thankfully pulsating and beeping softly. She was pale, but she was breathing. After a moment, the doctor asked if I would like to see my son.
He took me to the neonatal intensive care unit or NICU. The room had subdued lighting and was filled with incredibly complicated, plastic enclosed cribs in which lay tiny babies nearly hidden by tubes and wires. One of them had a name scrawled on tape – Blair. My son. Our son. He was pink and perfect. But small. Maybe too small. I couldn’t bear it. A nurse escorted me back to Kylie’s room.
I dumped myself in the chair beside Kylie and just watched her breathe in and out for hours. I don’t know how long I sat and stared, but eventually, a notification on my phone brought me out of my reverie. I glanced down, and already we were news, of course.
Kylie Morgan collapses from exhaustion, loses the baby. Alec Blair is blamed for pushing her too hard.
Fuck them. I did everything I could to keep myself from crying or going off the rails. On impulse, I opened my Instagram account and started loading all the pictures I’d taken of Kylie over the last four months. Pictures of her smiling on my boat, of her playing video games, and her funny sweet grimace, the dear picture of her shocked face when she received the necklace, which she was wearing when she was brought into the hospital. There were pictures of her with messy hair and wearing my clothes. There was a photo I snapped of her on our terrace overlooking the city with her hand lovingly on her belly, and one Avery took of us kissing that I’d begged for. I posted every one I had. And then I hit Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook with the same message.
I’m sitting in the hospital with my fiancée and our son as they both fight for their lives. I’m praying my family lives. I’m begging God to let me bring them home. If Kylie doesn’t survive this, I want the world to know we’ve lied to you. She’s never been a playgirl. It’s always been for you … She’s the sweetest woman in the world, and she saved my life. I want to share the beautiful moments you’ve never seen of the woman who I will be honored one day to call my wife. Thank you, my love, for showing me who you really are. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you … #fightthegoodfight #survive #mommyiseverything #nowyouknow
Through a haze of tears, I sent the post to the world and waited … for a miracle.
**************************
Kylie
“You sent this to everyone? The whole world?” Kylie looked at me with a mix of shock and irritation. “All these pictures … this one with the hair? Alec, really? That’s just fucked hair, you know, that right?” Ooh, I was worked up; too bad I was still hooked up to monitors and crazy things that beeped all the time.