Chapter Twenty Three

Trinity

Stephen’s face is a mask of worry, and I know something’s wrong. We can’t hear what Lachie is saying on the other end of the phone. I walk over to Stephen, taking his hand. He grips mine back, his grip tight. He shakes his head, a silent message that things aren’t good.

Stephen - (Phone call) Thanks, Lachie. Let us know as soon as you hear anything.

Stephen - (Phone call) Bye.

Stephen hangs up the phone, and after a moment, he sits down, scratching the back of his neck.

Olivia - Daddy sad.

Nathaniel - What’s wrong, Daddy?

Stephen - Yeah, babies, Daddy’s a little sad, but he’ll be okay.

I watch as he kisses our daughter, holding her a little tighter than usual.

Trinity - Baby, what’s wrong? What happened?

Stephen - Benji’s okay. Not a scratch on him. What we saw was him helping the victim.

Trinity - Oh, thank God.

Stephen - The victim was Maddie.

Mia - NO!

Mia collapses onto the couch, and Clint rushes to comfort his heavily pregnant wife.

Clint - NO! NO! This isn’t supposed to still be happening! She’s okay, isn’t she?

Hearing the commotion, Dave comes in with Belle.

Dave - What’s going on, guys?

We quickly fill Dave in, and when Felicity comes in, we do the same for her.

Dave - Shit! Has anyone talked to Benji? Is he okay?

Stephen - Lachie’s on his way to the hospital to be with him now. Maddie’s in surgery. Her injuries are life-threatening.

I take Livy from Stephen and suggest the guys go outside and relax with a spliff. Today’s going to be a long, stressful day of waiting for updates, and I know they’ll need it. As they head outside, Mia, Felicity, and I make another pot of coffee.

Soon, we join our husbands outside, setting the kids up in their playground. We sit and talk, trying to process the news.

Felicity - Dave, pass me one of those, please.

Dave - You don’t smoke, baby.

Felicity - I think I’m going to need it today.

Dave - Here, sweetheart. Have some of mine.

I share a joint with Stephen as we all sit around, trying to process what we’ve just learned. We leave the TV on inside so we can hear any updates.

Clint - How the fuck did they not catch the shooter? It happened in broad daylight. There aren’t many places for a guy with a gun to hide. Something’s not right.

Dave - I agree, mate.

I look at my husband. He’s quiet, just smoking his spliff.

Trinity - Baby, are you okay?

Stephen - This was them. I know it was.

Mia - How do we know, hun?

Stephen - Think about it. An open shooter in the Court Precinct? No one questioned the gun? They have metal detectors at the court entrance. And he got away, even with all that security and cops around? I don’t buy it.

Felicity - I think I have to agree with you, Stephen. There’s no way a shooter could escape that easily from the courthouse. There’s more to this story than the media is telling us.

After a while, we all head back inside and make lunch for the kids. We put them in their lounge with a movie and the air conditioning on, and close the blinds so they can rest.

Dave and Felicity decide to go for a swim, and Mia lies down to reduce the swelling in her ankles. Clint goes to give her a foot rub.

Stephen and I sit on the couch with the kids, waiting for them to settle. Once they’re asleep, I sit behind Stephen, rubbing his shoulders and neck, my legs wrapped around his waist.

Stephen - Thanks, beautiful. I don’t think I’ll be able to relax until we know she’s okay. She didn’t deserve this.

Trinity - You’re right, baby. But Maddie’s tough. If anyone can pull through this, it’s her. She’s got Benji wrapped around her finger, remember? And that’s no easy task. She can beat this.

Stephen - I hope so, baby.

Once the kids are asleep, Stephen and I lie down on the couch, holding each other tightly, lost in our own thoughts. After about half an hour, I turn to look at Stephen and find him asleep.

I gently kiss his forehead and carefully extricate myself from his arms. I can’t sleep. My mind is spinning with the news that Maddie was the victim of the shooting.

I head into the kitchen and decide to keep myself busy. I start preparing meatballs for dinner, chopping up the ingredients and adding them to the slow cooker with the sauce and meat.

I’m so lost in my own world that I don’t hear Clint and Dave come in. When I turn around and see them sitting at the kitchen counter, I nearly jump out of my skin.

Trinity - Jesus fucking Christ, you two scared me.

Clint - Sorry, babe.

Dave - Sorry, hun.

Trinity - It’s okay. Where are the girls?

Clint - Mia’s asleep.

Dave - Flick’s just having a shower and getting changed out of her wet swimsuit.

Trinity - You guys okay? Can I get you a drink?

Dave - We can get our own, hun. You don’t need to wait on us.

Trinity - I don’t mind, hunny. You know that.

Dave - Needing to keep busy, huh?

Trinity - Yeah, pretty much. If I don’t, it’s all I can think about. And the longer we wait, the more worried I get.

Clint - Yeah, I get that, babe. I’m right there with you. Come outside. Let’s have a spliff.

The three of us head outside and light up, sitting around, trying to process the heartbreaking news we received.

Clint - You know, if anything happens to her, I don’t think I can just sit here and do nothing.

Dave - I get that, bro. I’ve been having the same thoughts.

Trinity - Me too.

Clint - Surely Lachie can’t expect us to just sit back and let that happen.

Trinity - If he doesn’t understand by now that Benji isn’t just our lawyer, he and Maddie are family too, then he’ll never understand.

Dave - I’m just glad Benji isn’t alone right now. He’s got Lachie with him.

Clint - Yeah, me too, mate.

Trinity - I think Stephen was ready to go back the moment he heard the news.

Clint - Yeah, I noticed that too, babe. He was ready to pack up immediately.

Dave - I think the only thing stopping us all right now is wanting to keep our kids safe.

Trinity - You’re right, hun. That’s the only reason.

Clint - If Mia wasn’t about to give birth any second now, I’d be begging Stephen to let me go back. Benj needs us. It kills me that we can’t be there for him, especially when he’s always there for us.

Trinity - I get it, babe. I wish there was something I could say to make it better. But Lachie promised he’d be there for Benj, to pass on our well wishes and prayers. I’m just trying to find some comfort in knowing Benj isn’t alone.

Our conversation was interrupted by the sound of Stephen’s phone ringing. We all rushed inside. As we entered, we saw that my husband had woken up and was answering the call. Mia and Flick came running into the room right after us.

Stephen - (On the phone) Lachie, is that you?

We could only hear Stephen’s side of the conversation. I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He responded by wrapping his arm around my shoulders, pulling me close.

Stephen - (On the phone) No!! No, Lachie, that’s not true.

Stephen - (On the phone) I . . . I need to go. Call me back later.

Stephen ended the call and hung his head. We all watched him, waiting.

Clint - Bro?

We all turned to Stephen as Clint spoke.

Stephen - Maddie passed away during surgery an hour ago.