Chapter 33

JUSTIN

Justin tried calling Avery several times, and on the third attempt he got the message that the number had been blocked.

He threw a glass across the room in frustration and put his head in his hands, not sure what to do.

Justin was worried later that week when Lexi mentioned that something was wrong with Miss Harper. She was walking slowly and she looked like she had too much makeup on.

Justin tried sending her texts, but he was still blocked. He drove by and watched, but she never came out and he couldn’t tell from the windows if anything was going on.

At this point, his only choice was to wait until Friday. The school had a little kindergarten end-of-year program and he was going to try and talk to her after to see if she was okay.

***

Friday morning came and Justin was on edge, desperately wanting to see Avery. He dressed, got Lexi ready for school, went about his morning—completely preoccupied—then went with a few others to the school.

Justin had bought the first row of seats at the school’s silent auction and was sitting, his leg bouncing rapidly while they waited.

He felt a hand on his leg and looked at his sister, who was rubbing his leg.

“Justin, calm down. You are making me nervous with all the leg bouncing. We can’t do anything until after the program, so just chill out!” Kiki whispered urgently.

Justin sighed and knew she was right. He looked at Mitch, Nick, Nick’s parents, and Mikey, and they all nodded in agreement.

A few minutes later, Lily walked her class into the auditorium, then Lexi’s class followed with Avery at the end of the line. All of their group gasped when they saw Avery.

She looked absolutely horrible. She had large, dark circles under her eyes, had lost weight, and her skin ghostly pale, but caked with makeup to give her some color.

She was walking slowly like she was in pain.

“Fuck, Justin,” Mikey hissed. “She looks terrible! What the hell is going on?”

Justin couldn’t take his eyes off her, afraid that if he did she would disappear with a snap of his fingers.

He was thankful that Kiki was recording the program so he could watch it later because he wasn’t paying attention. He was focused on watching Avery and couldn’t look away.

They were on the last song on the program when Justin saw Avery start to sway a little bit, and from the way she was blinking, he could tell she was going to faint.

He readied his legs to jump up and get her if she needed. Mikey could see it too and readied himself, then gave a nod to Justin.

Justin heard the clapping of the other parents and Avery stumbled a little, then her legs gave out. Justin lunged forward, catching her before she hit the ground.

The people around them gasped, and the kids started yelling. Mikey was right next to him on his knees, pulling out his phone to call 911.

Justin repositioned her so she was in his arms, and he held her close, feeling how hot she was.

“Avery, baby, I’ve got you. You are gonna be okay,” he kept repeating as the people around them made a clear path.

He pushed her hair back from her forehead, noticing how clammy her skin was. He was terrified as he felt her lifeless body in his arms and silently prayed that she would just wake up and talk to him.

After what seemed like an eternity, the gym was mostly cleared out. The paramedics arrived and started assessing her.

Justin stood up and watched as they started hooking up IVs and monitors after getting her on the gurney. Justin felt helpless as he, Mikey, and Mitch watched them work.

Kiki had Nick and his parents take Lexi and Ryan home and get them calmed down. They loved their teacher and needed to know she was okay.

“Does anyone know if she has any allergies?” one of the medics asked.

Mikey elbowed Justin to wake him up and answer.

“Um, no, I don’t believe she has any allergies. She does have a congenital kidney defect and had one kidney removed a few years ago.”

“Got it. Are you her husband?” the medic asked.

“Uh, her boyfriend,” Justin replied, trying to shove down the guilt he was feeling.

“Then let’s go. We might have more questions,” he insisted, and Justin followed behind, motioning for Mikey to follow him.

Mikey caught up with the group and Justin whispered to him, “Get ahold of Avery’s aunt. I don’t have her number.

“If Stevo can’t find it quickly, then call all of the Bianchis, see if one will answer. Tell them what’s going on and that I am with Avery at the hospital. Hurry!”

Mikey slapped his back, pulled out his phone, and started on his assignments as the ambulance pulled away.

***

Justin was losing his mind, plain and simple.

It had been three hours since the last time the doctor came out and said that he needed to run more tests. They suspected she had an infection, but they didn’t know where it was coming from.

Justin had his head in his hands, rocking back and forth, trying to ease the ache in his heart and soul.

“Justin!” He heard his name called and looked up to see Gio and Luca Bianchi rushing in along with what he assumed was Avery’s aunt, Tina.

“What do we know?” Tina asked, her voice wavering.

“Not much, they haven’t been out in hours. They are thinking it’s an infection of some sort, but don’t know where it originated.” He sighed. “I don’t know what else to do!”

Just as Gio was going to the nurse’s station, a doctor came out and asked for the family of Avery Harper. The four of them rushed over. He pulled them into an empty office and had them all sit.

“I ran thorough tests and Avery does have a bacterial infection. We are not sure where it started, but it did attack her kidney and she wasn’t seen to start meds.

“This is a severe infection, and we will be closely monitoring her kidney function to minimize the damage as much as possible,” he explained.

He let them absorb that info before he continued, “We have her sedated and heavy doses of antibiotics are being administered.

“Her body is taking a beating and her body chemistry is a total mess, everything is totally haywire.

“As a result, Avery’s body wasn’t able to handle the added stress of the baby and she had a miscarriage. I’m sorry we couldn’t save it.”

They all looked at him in shock.

“What did you say?” Tina asked.

The doctor sighed. “You didn’t know she was pregnant?”

“No... She hadn’t said a word,” Luca replied unsteadily.

“Well, it was still early. Based on her bloodwork, she was only about eight weeks along. She only would have been able to tell by a store test a few weeks ago. But again, I am sorry for your loss.”

He added, “I can take you to her room. She is in the ICU, sedated until we can get everything under control.”

The four of them followed him up to the fifth floor and he showed them how to get through security.

He let them go into the room and they all stopped short when they saw her lying on the bed, looking small and pale. Justin wanted to fix this—fix her and make it all better.

He heard Tina start to cry as she sat in the chair next to the bed and held her niece’s hand.

“What happened, Justin? Did you know Avery was pregnant?” Gio asked.

“No, she never said anything. She came by the clubhouse about a week ago to see me and misunderstood something, got pissed, and left after slapping me.

“I tried calling and texting, and she blocked me. My daughter came home this week saying how she was guessing Avery was sick. She was walking slowly and was wearing a lot of makeup.”

“Today at the program, we were all shocked as to how she looked. At the very end, she just collapsed. We called 911, and I have been here ever since,” Justin explained, never taking his eyes off the bed.

Gio and Luca both noticed how he desperately wanted to go over and be with her, and they felt for him.

Gio pushed him to move in that direction, and he went to the other side of the bed while they stood at the end.

“Did you call Matteo?” Gio asked.

Luca nodded. “Yeah. I finally tracked him down. He was flying into Sicily. He wants updates and can be here in eight hours if he needs to. He is pushing the meetings to happen faster, just in case.”

Gio nodded, then moved to be by Tina and placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. The four stood there and watched her breathing, just to make sure that it continued.

The beeps of the monitors were somehow comforting as they stood in silence.

Justin had no idea how long they all stood there before Gio convinced Tina to go to the hotel rooms he had secured to shower and eat, promising they would be back first thing in the morning.

She finally agreed, and they started out, but noticed that Justin stayed.

“Justin, you should go home and get some rest,” Tina urged.

Justin shook his head. “No. I’m staying here. I’m not leaving her alone again.”

Tina looked at Gio, who nodded in agreement, and they left. Justin moved closer to her bedside and took Avery’s lifeless hand in his and kissed it gently three times.

He didn’t know what to say to her, he had too many emotions swirling in his head and heart.

He laid his head down on the bed, still holding her hand and started crying, praying that he didn’t lose her before he could make it right and they could create a life together.