Oceans Submerged: Book Two, the Oceans Series (5 page)

Ocean stretched beside me as he mumbled something about Law being an immature and annoying motherfucker, his words not mine. I wondered how on earth they got along so well always being at each other’s throats. I laughed to myself because I missed them both something terrible even if they did get on each other’s nerves.

In this moment, I realized that I was thankful I didn’t succeed in taking my own life. This was my second chance and I was going to make the best out of it.

Again, things in life are easier said than done…but what the hell!

Law came to my bedside that wasn’t crowded by Ocean’s body. He kissed me on the cheek. “Hey beautiful, I brought you a suitcase full of clothes and everything else you might need for today and well… you know.” He trailed off looking away from me for a moment.

I knew he was putting on a brave face to help me make it through the day and I loved him a hell of a lot more for it.

“Morning,” I managed to say.

My voice was still a whisper but it didn’t sound so harsh and creepy.

Law looked at his watch. “It’s 7:30 Sunshine, you have about an hour and a half before the nurses and my mom come barging in here. You have to be at Shiloh’s at one o’clock to check in so that gives us some time to hang out or do whatever you want before we leave.”

I smiled at him as he rambled on. Law always felt the need to have everything planned out and the agenda complete in everything that he did. He definitely left no stone unturned.

He looked at Ocean and frowned before looking back at me. “I’ll let you two get ready, be back in an hour, so no nasty making out while I’m gone cause that’s just gross Sunshine.”

I couldn’t help but laugh at him as he walked backwards out of the room while wiggling his eyebrows at me.

“Your cousin has some serious issues.” I said to Ocean who was staring at my bandaged arm the entire time.

Ocean leaned in kissing the side of my mouth. “Yeah baby, I think we all do.” He hopped off the bed, walking towards the suitcase Law left propped up against the long sleeper couch by the wall.

“Where are you going?” I asked starting to get antsy. My arm was starting to kill me again without having him near me.

“Nowhere, just grabbing your stuff to help you get ready.”

I looked at him with wide eyes. “What? You think I’d let some stranger bathe you and take care of you? Fuck that, not while I’m around.”

He was serious
.

“They are nurses for a reason Ocean.”

He shrugged his shoulders at me. “Whatever Liv, no one’s seeing you naked but me so get over it.”

The old Livie would have argued a stupid point back to him. However, I deserved all the smart comments and attitude he had to dish out so I took it and soaked it up. I deserved to feel the disappointment of letting him down all over again for as long as it took him to really forgive me.

He had to get it out of his system in order for us to have a chance after this and I had to be strong enough to take it.

I cleared my frown and put on a smile. “Okay, so how do we do this? Is there anything I can do to help?” I asked him, looking down at myself.

He stopped rummaging through my clothes, turning to look at me with bewilderment at my change in attitude. I kept my smile in place. I knew this day was killing him inside and I didn’t want to give him any reason to be angry with me
, for now anyway.
God only knows what trouble he’s going to get into while I’m gone.

“Yeah, what do you want to wear? You have your jeans, gym sweats and…and shorts.”

I pulled down the covers exposing my legs as much as I could with my good arm. My left leg had two long scars going diagonal while my right leg had a large bandage wrapping around my thigh. I figured that one still had stitches.

It was a shame what I let myself do to my body, but it was all said and done so no point in making a huge fuss about it now. I thought about it before I answered.

“Urr… I think the shorts might be easier with the bandage on my leg… so shorts I guess.”

He stood still, blinking at me a couple times before turning back around to fish out a pair of shorts. He picked out a pair of black ones and a yellow pin striped top, along with a bra and panties.

There was a separate suitcase that he pulled up and opened. Inside were about a dozen pairs of my shoes neatly lined up. Law was amazing. He should seriously consider being a professional life coach because he is too organized for it to be normal.

Ocean picked out a pair of black ankle socks and the black chucks with the long tongue that I loved so much. He set everything aside going back to the other suitcase pulling out deodorant, lotion, and lip-gloss.

I smiled as he worked to get my things ready for me. When finished, he turned around with a wild grin. “Alright Zena, let’s get you naked.”

Chapter Eight

Lawrence

Today was going to officially be the worst day of my life all over again. Not only was I going to have to turn my Sunshine over to people I don’t freaking know but I had to keep a smile on my face for her sake.

Today I would also be losing my right hand man, Ocean, all over again. I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about the devastating road trip we were all about to embark on. The anger and possessiveness Ocean had when it came to Sunshine was not normal.

I mean, if I loved her in the same way he did maybe I’d completely understand, but even then he was still dealing with Stormie’s death and his mom up and bouncing on him.

Right about now, I was missing Stormie myself. I never really got to say goodbye to her so it sucked.

“Lawrence! Lawrence! What’s with you? I’ve been chasing after you since you came off the elevator.”

When I turned around to face my mom, I don’t know what she saw but her eyes instantly watered and she pulled me into a hug.

“Come on Law.” Grabbing me by the hand, she pulled me down the hall before I could get a word out. Four lefts and two rights later I was standing in front of huge window with a front row seat to a room of a bunch of newborns. My mom still had her armed wrapped around mine, I guess in case I took off running away from her.

The woman knew me too well
.

“Law, what do you see?”

I rolled my eyes and took a deep breath. “I see a bunch of wrinkled little people wearing blue and pink hats.” I said dryly and extremely amused at myself. “What else is there to see, except for a room full of babies?”

My mom shook her head at me. “Lawrence come on, look closer, what do you see?”

I looked at each baby trying to catch her drift but I wasn’t getting it. “Mom, come on. If this is your sick way of telling me you want to be a grandmother, then this is definitely not the way to go. I don’t have a girlfriend and right now I really don’t want one.”

Her hand came up and I got a slap to the back of the head. “You are so sarcastic when you’re hurting; you get that from me you know, so stop being such an ass.”

“So you’re telling me you act like an ass too?” I couldn’t help it; she set that one up for me. I dodged her hand from slapping me this time.

“No Lawrence, I was asking you to look closer because each one of those precious lives are fighting for something.” She pulled me closer to her and the window nearly smashing my face to the glass. “You see the little guy in the front row with the Mickey blanket. He was born with a hole in his heart and technically, he should have died at birth, but he’s still here. Oh, and the cutie pie with the cleft lip, Madison, she was born with undeveloped lungs and a genetic disease. And the chunky monkey in the back, Shedrick, he was born with his intestines and other internal organs in a sac outside of his body.”

I was officially feeling like shit. If her goal for telling me all of this was for me to realize that other people had it worse, then I’d have to buy her a fucking Oscar.

She turned to me, pushing me even closer to the glass. Each breath I let out fogged up the surface in front of me. “Law, each and every parent of these precious angels were expecting an easy delivery, with a healthy baby boy or girl, and the expectations to take them home right away. Instead, the moms gave birth and had their babies torn away from them without even getting the chance to hold them. Now, weeks later, the parents are praying to God for the news they finally get to take their babies home…if they even pull through. I’m not telling you this to bring you down. I’m telling you this because you, Lawrence Hawthorne, are a fighter just like those little ones in there. You live hard, play hard, and fight hard but you love even harder. You can’t give up on yourself, Ocean, or Livie. All three of you need each other and if these little ones teach you anything today, let it be that you can fight through this. You can make it out whole and back to your family. Before you say something sarcastic to piss me off, you do have a family Law. It might not consist of a father but you have me, your uncle, Ocean, and now Livie.”

I couldn’t help the tears that escaped my guarded prison called pride as she spoke to me. I was a grown man that wasn’t afraid to shed a tear when it was due.

Her tiny hands came up to wipe my tears away. “Law, keep fighting! Don’t you dare let this unfortunate event with Livie take away your fight because that’s all we have left at the end of the day. Our fight is our will and our will is what makes us who we are. It’s what makes you such a wonderful man, my friend, and my son.”

I pulled the tiny woman into my arms and hugged her tight. No wonder she was my number one even though she gave me hell on a daily basis. The woman in my arms was my world. Yeah, I’m a mama’s boy, so what!

Resting my chin on top of her head, I laughed as I watched the little wrinkly people kick and jerk awkwardly in their incubators and bassinets. Even though they were isolated and connected to a maze of tubes going in and out of their tiny bodies, they were all beautiful.

“I love you mom. Thank you for reminding me why I’m the luckiest jerk alive to have such a pain in the ass mom. I cannot live without you.”

She squeezed me tighter for a brief second. I kissed her on the forehead, pulling her back to look at her face. Her eyes were red and puffy and the tip of her nose was red too.

“Mom, I have to go but promise me something too. Promise me you’ll never stop fighting for your own happiness. I know you better than I know myself. I know that you burn yourself out in this hospital trying to save and protect everyone you can. I want you to stop and live for yourself. You have me and you always will. I’ll always be here for you. You don’t have to kill yourself working so hard.”

She frowned at me.

“Mom, promise me you’ll go on vacation when Sunshine comes home.”

“Lawrence, I can’t do that. I have too much to do and these babies need me.”

“Mom, I need you! Ocean and Livie need you. She lost both parents; she needs a mother in her life. I would step up to the plate but my tits aren’t big enough.”

“Lawrence!” She couldn’t hold the laugh and it broke through her fake frown.

“Promise me Layla Hawthorne. Don’t make me visit the hospital director.”

She shoved me off. “Okay, okay Lawrence. You’re such a brat.”

“Don’t be a drag mom, just be a queen.”

I plastered a sloppy kiss on her cheek, turning to run down the hall before she could smack me. The laughter I heard from her tired soul as I ran down the hallway made my heart smile. I was thankful I had a woman like her in my life.

Before I hit the elevator, I had one last stop to make.

“Hey, Tamara.” She looked up, smiling at me. I swear she was too cute to be a nurse; she should have been an elementary school teacher.

I pulled out my wallet handing her my black American Express card. “Tamara, here’s my credit card. Can you please have a bouquet of flowers and the biggest teddy bears the gift shop has delivered to every parent that has a newborn on this floor?”

She looked at me like I just confessed to her I was an alien and wanted to have her babies.

I placed my card in front of her on her desk. “Please Tamara.” I gave her my winning smile, licking my lips then giving her a wink.

She rolled her eyes at me. “Brat, just like your mother. Of course I’ll do it.” She snatched up my credit card and dialed the gift shop.

I gave her another wink. “Thanks, have my mom sign for them.” I said laughing as I walked away.

Chapter Nine

Livie

It wasn’t until Ocean planted my feet on the floor that I felt the immediate impact of the damage I had done to my body.

My left arm was useless. I couldn’t even think of moving a muscle or a finger without a dizzy spell clouding my mind. My arm felt like dead weight attached to my body.

My right leg, the one with the huge bandage that hugged my thigh all the way around didn’t feel any better. Though nothing was like the pain I felt in my arm, attempting to put weight on my leg felt like sticking it into a scorching fire and then asking for the heat to be turned up some more.

“Easy Liv, Are you sure you don’t want me to call my Aunt?” He was holding me upright with my good arm draped behind his head along his broad shoulders.