Tainted (24 page)

“I want to thank you guys for coming out tonight. This is our last show on the tour, and you guys have been one of the best crowds we’ve had. As much as I’d like to stay and hang out, I have a wife at home. She’s about to have my kid, and I think I should probably get back to them.”

The lights dimmed, and I walked offstage as the crowd protested. Usually, I’d give in and do an extra song or two, but not tonight. Not when a very pregnant Chloe was waiting for me. I had made it no farther than the end of the stage when I saw the crew manager running toward me.

“Drake! Chloe went into labor early! She’s in the hospital now,” he panted.

“Fuck!” I shouted.

I took off running. I pulled my phone from my pocket and called Brad to tell him to have our plane waiting for me at the airport. He promised that it would be ready by the time I made it there. As soon as I hung up with him, I called Amber. She’d been staying with Chloe while I was away in case she needed anything.

“Oh my God, Drake! Where are you?” Amber shouted as soon as she answered.

I reached the car and told the driver to take me straight to the airport. “On my way to the airport. What’s going on?”

“Her water broke about two hours ago. I wanted to call you earlier, but she wouldn’t let me. She wanted you to finish your show. She’s hurting, I won’t lie. The doctors say she’s not fully dilated yet, but you need to hurry.”

“I’m trying. Are you with her now?”

“No, they kicked me out of the room, so they could check her again. I should be able to go back into the room in just a few. I don’t like leaving her alone.”

“When they let you back in, tell her I’m on my way and that I love her.”

“I will.”

“And tell her to wait for me.”

Amber laughed. “I don’t think she has much say in that. Just hurry.”

I hung up with Amber and then made a call to ensure I would have a car waiting for me when I arrived in Pittsburgh. I didn’t want something as stupid as forgetting to arrange for a car to cause me to miss the birth of our first child.

As soon as the car stopped outside the airport, I was out and running. I knew I was taking a chance of getting mobbed by not having security with me, but I didn’t care. I’d like to see anyone who could keep up with me right now. A few people glared at me as I pushed through the crowd, but no one stopped me. Once I was cleared and on the plane, I waited impatiently for takeoff. I cursed as I continued to wait. I had no idea what the pilot was doing, but he obviously didn’t realize that I was in a hurry.

I was reaching to unbuckle my seat belt, so I could get up and let the pilot know my emergency, and then the plane started to move. I sighed in relief when we were finally in the air. Now, all I could do was wait.

As soon as the seat belt light went off, I was up and pacing. This was going to be the longest flight of my life. I was terrified for Chloe. She was going through this without me. I’d promised that I would be there for her, and I prayed that I would be able to keep that promise. I didn’t want her to go through this without me beside her to hold her hand.

I finally collapsed back into my seat, exhausted from nerves and lack of sleep. This tour had been especially brutal, and I hadn’t had a chance to sleep much. If we had more than a day between performances, I always flew home to be with Chloe. She’d decorated most of the nursery by herself since I was gone so much, but when I was home, I had spent most of the time doing the things she couldn’t do. I was so damn proud when I’d put together the crib. The look on her face had been worth every curse word I’d said as I worked on it.

At some point, I fell asleep, and I woke up when the pilot announced that we were preparing to land. I fastened my seat belt and waited impatiently as the plane slowly descended from the sky. I could have cried in relief when I felt the plane touch the ground. As soon as I was cleared to leave, I ran off the plane and into the airport. I continued to run until I reached the area to pick up the key for my rental. The lady behind the desk seemed to be determined to go as slow as possible until I told her what was happening.

As soon as I located my car, I floored it. The flight from Las Vegas to Pittsburgh took almost four hours and I still had almost two hours to drive. I knew I was running out of time. The miles disappeared quickly as I flew down the interstate. Halfway to Morgantown, I realized that my phone was still shut off. I powered it on as I drove and saw I had a new voice mail. My heart was in my throat as I listened to the message Amber had left over an hour ago. It seemed that things were happening quickly, and if I didn’t hurry, I wasn’t going to make it. It was late, so there were few cars to avoid as I pushed my car harder. I shouted in relief when I saw the signs for my exit.

I pulled into the hospital parking lot and ran for the doors. In her message, Amber had told me what floor they were on. I opted for the stairs instead of the elevator, knowing I could run faster than it would go. When I reached the floor, I could hear Chloe screaming my name. I ran past the nurses’ station and straight for Chloe’s room. A nurse jumped to her feet and started shouting for me to stop, but I ignored her.

I nearly lost it when I made it to the room. Amber was beside Chloe, holding her hand, as she cried out in pain. Her hair was plastered to her forehead with sweat, and she looked exhausted. A doctor at the foot of the bed was telling her to keep pushing.

I ran to Chloe’s side and grabbed her other hand. “Chloe, I’m here. I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, thank God,” Amber said.

Chloe looked up at me with tears in her eyes. “I can’t do this. It hurts too much.”

“Shh…you can do it. I’m right here with you.”

“Chloe, I need you to keep pushing. We’re almost there,” the doctor said.

Chloe grabbed my hand and squeezed as she started pushing. I bit my lip to keep from crying out at just how hard her hand was gripping mine. I couldn’t stand to see her in so much pain. Jesus, this was my worst fucking nightmare.

“That’s it, Chloe. Give one more big push on the count of three. One, two, three! Push!” the doctor yelled.

Chloe screamed as she gave one final push. I couldn’t breathe as I heard the single most beautiful thing I’d ever heard in my life—my baby crying.

“You did it, Chloe,” the doctor said as she cut the cord and handed the baby to the nurses.

It felt like hours were passing by as I held on to Chloe’s hand and waited to see my baby.

Finally, after cleaning my baby off, the nurse walked over to us with a huge smile on her face. “Are you ready to meet your son?”

“Son?” Chloe asked.

The nurse handed the baby over to her. “Yes, it’s a boy.”

I couldn’t speak as I stared down at the little screaming bundle in my wife’s arms. He was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. He stopped crying and snuggled into Chloe’s chest as she spoke softly to him.

“You’re so beautiful. I love you so much already, little guy.” Chloe said as she ran her finger across his cheek.

She was crying as she looked up at me. “Come meet our son, Drake.”

“Son,” I whispered.

She let me take him out of her arms. He was so small. I stared at him in awe as I realized I was a dad. This baby was mine, and I would protect him with my life. I loved him and Chloe more than anything in this world.

“He’s perfect.” I whispered as I stared down at him. And he was. I smiled when I noticed that he had Chloe’s cute little nose. With the exception of my dark hair covering his head, he was Chloe.

“Do you two have a name picked out?” the nurse asked.

Chloe smiled up at me through her tears. “We do. Meet Michael Andrew Allen.”

As I stared down at my wife and son, I knew that my life was now complete. I had everything that I could ever want. Chloe and I had finally found our happily ever after.

The End

Every child puts his or her parents up on a pedestal. Parents could do no wrong, and their opinions were your opinions as well.

At the tender age of six, I felt the same way. My mother, the famous supermodel, Andria Bellokavich, was my idol. I wanted to wear her clothes, make my hair look the same as hers, and share her opinions with the world.

“I can't
believe
they let that kind of riffraff in this park,” my mother said as she wrinkled her nose in distaste.

I followed her gaze to see a boy around my age and his mother playing by the sandbox. “What's wrong with them, Mommy?”

“They're low-class white trash, and I don't see why they feel the need to invade
our
park.”

I stared at the boy. I saw nothing low-class about him, but what did I know? My mommy knew everything, and if she said they were icky, then they must be.

“Can we make them go away?” I asked, eager to please my mommy.

“I wish, but unfortunately, this is a public park, so there's nothing I can do. I will say this-we will not be coming back here anytime soon.”

I loved this park, and it made me sad that we couldn't come back. I instantly hated the boy and his mother for taking away my favorite place in the world.

“Can I go play on the slides?” I asked, not wanting to waste a minute of my time here since it would be my last.

“Of course, honey, but don't go anywhere near
them
.” She sniffed as she pulled out her BlackBerry and started punching buttons.

I hated that thing. Mommy was always on it, and she never paid attention to me when she was. Daddy had one, too, but he always put it down if I wanted his attention. I didn't mind Daddy's so much.

“Thank you, Mommy!” I said as I leaped off the bench we were sitting on and ran for the slides.

I looked back once to see if Mommy was watching, so I could show her just how fast I could climb up the slide, but of course, she wasn't looking. She still had that stupid thing glued to her hand.

I sighed in defeat and slowly climbed the ladder. I was so proud of myself when I made it to the top. Not every six-year-old could climb this high without being afraid, but I could. I'd been doing it forever or at least since I was five and Mommy had started to let me run around the park on my own. She always told me that I was a big girl now and that I could take care of myself while she worked.

I sat down and pushed myself down the slide, giggling when I got to the bottom as I felt the static in my pigtails. I loved the slide. It was my favorite part of the park-after the sandbox, of course. I glanced over at the sandbox to see that the boy and his mommy had moved on to the swings.

Now's my chance!
I jumped off the slide and ran as fast as I could to the sandbox. Once I made it there, I sat on the edge, so I wouldn't make Mommy mad by getting sand all over my dress. I picked up the bucket and started filling it with sand to make my very own fairy princess castle. One day, when I was all grown-up like Mommy, I would find a prince who would build me my very own castle.

“Whatcha making?” an unfamiliar voice asked.

I looked up to see the boy from earlier standing above me. I wasn't supposed to talk to him, but how could I not when he'd asked me a question?

“Making my princess castle,” I replied, hoping he would lose interest after the princess part and leave me alone. If Mommy saw us talking, she would be so mad at me.