Jaded Hearts
Chapter 57

Matt

The baby was a few weeks old, and Taylor and I both decided that it would be nice to get out and let her see something other than the packhouse. We figured that a nice quiet picnic at the waterfall would be perfect. She’d be bundled up nicely and get to experience the place that had become so special to both Taylor and me.

I had her in our room, trying to get her tiny little legs in her pants when Taylor’s phone started buzzing on the dresser.

“Tesoro! Your phone is ringing,” I called out through the bathroom door.

“Answer it for me, please. I just started washing my hair, so I’ll be in here for a while.”

“Mommy is going to be in there all day dealing with her hair,” I mumbled.

I adjusted Genesis on my shoulder and picked up the call. “Hello?”

“Hello, may I please speak to Taylor Adams?”

“She’s not available at the moment. Could I take a message and have her call you back?”

“Um, yes. But it’s very important that she call as soon as possible.”

“Okay, is there something wrong?”

“Ms. Adams is listed as an emergency contact for Nancy and Robert Adams. There has been an accident, and we need her to come down to Jade Memorial as soon as she can.”

An accident? My heart began to race, and I had a bad feeling that there was more going on than whoever this was on the phone was telling me.

“Nancy and Robert are my in-laws. Are they alright?”

“I cannot discuss their conditions over the phone, sir. If you could please either have Ms. Adams give me a call back or come to the hospital, we can discuss everything at that time.”

He gave me his contact info before we disconnected the call. Something bad had happened, I just knew it, and I hated the fact that I didn’t have anything to tell Taylor to help her stay calm. I took a moment to take Genesis to her nursery before I went back to talk to Taylor.

“Babe, are you almost done?” I asked as I walked into the bathroom.

“Not even close. What’s up?”

I leaned back against the counter and took a deep breath. I hated this. “Could you rinse off and come out? I need to talk to you.”

She stopped massaging her hair and looked over at me.

“What’s wrong? Is the baby okay?”

“She’s fine. I just put her down for a quick nap. Just finish up, alright?”

“Okay. Give me five minutes, and I’ll be out.”

A few minutes later, she walked into the room wrapped in a towel, pulling her hair up into a messy curly bun.

“What’s up? You’ve got me really nervous.”

I walked over and took her hands and pulled her to the bed.

“The phone call I took was from a doctor at Jade Memorial.”

“Jade Memorial? But why? I don’t have anyone …”

Her eyes went wide, and her hands began to shake. I could see her breathing was becoming erratic as she was thinking of the reasons why the hospital would be calling her.

“Stay calm, okay? He said that your parents have been in an accident, but he didn’t give me any details. I have his contact info, and you can call him, or we can just go down to the hospital. What do you want to do?”

She jumped to her feet and began pulling on her clothes. “We’ve got to go. Now! I’ll ask Morgan or Alaia to watch the baby for us while we’re gone.”

She was trying to stay calm, but the fact that she was fighting just to get her leg into her jeans told me that she was breaking down.

“Sit down, baby, let me help.”

She nodded her head and sat on the bed, allowing me to slide her pants on and up. When I was done, she rushed back to the closet and began fumbling around.

Bean, could you watch Genesis for a few hours for us? Taylor’s parents have been in an accident, so we’re heading to the hospital now.

Of course. Are they alright?

We don’t know yet. The hospital won’t say over the phone.

Take all the time you need; the baby will be fine.

Thanks. I’ll let you know what’s up as soon as we know anything.

When Taylor ran out of the closet, she had her shoes in her hands and her jacket over her shoulder.

“Come on. I’ll text Morgan now about Genesis.”

“Alaia will watch her, I’ve already asked. Let’s get going.”

Taylor was silent the entire trip. She constantly chewed, pulled, and twisted her bottom l*p to the point that I thought it was going to bleed. When she began frantically calling her parents’ phones back-to-back, I gently took the phone and her hand in mine.

“Tesoro, they can’t answer right now. We’ll be there in twenty minutes. Try to relax a little. We don’t know what happened yet.”

“It’s bad, Matt, I know it is. Otherwise, they would answer their phones. And why wouldn’t the hospital tell us what happened? Why do they have to do it face-to-face?! It’s bad. I feel it.”

Tears ran down her face, and as much as I wanted to offer some soothing words, I had none. I had a bad feeling that the next hour would change her life forever, and there would be nothing that I could do about it.

* * *

Taylor

I don’t remember the drive to the hospital. It was all a blur, and my mind ran through hundreds of scenarios that would have led to this moment. Matt held my hand and led me to a small, private room a nurse directed us to.

“Why are we here and not in their rooms? Or maybe they’re in surgery? Maybe that’s why they couldn’t answer the phones.”

I was talking out loud but to no one in particular. I just wanted to know where my parents were. Almost thirty minutes later, a doctor finally came to talk to us.

“Hi, are you Taylor?”

I jumped up and ran to him. “Yes! How are they? Are my parents alright?”

“Why don’t you take a seat for a minute?”

I could feel myself getting weak already. He was stalling, and there was only one reason for that.

“Tesoro? Sit down baby. It’s alright.”

Matt led me to a chair and sat down next to me.

“Are you the husband? I think we spoke over the phone,” the doctor said to Matt.

“Yes, Matthew Stone. So, can you tell us what’s going on?”

“Yes.”

He took a deep breath before he continued. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but Nancy and Robert passed away last night.”

I didn’t hear anything else he said, and I didn’t need to. They were gone, and I’d never see them again. I watched his mouth continue to move, and I felt the telltale signs of myself beginning to pass out. I didn’t even fight it. I let myself go limp and welcomed the darkness that swiftly consumed me.

* * *

Matt

The doctors checked Taylor out and placed her in a small room until she woke up.

After calling back home and filling everyone in on what was going on, I sat next to Taylor’s bed and just hung my head. This was going to completely break her. She could only be strong for so long before she gave up. Hadn’t she gone through enough already?

I would do all that I could to help her through this, but I wondered who she would be when she finally made it to the other side. When she finally began to wake up, I scooted closer and took her hand. As soon as she looked at me, she began bawling her eyes out.

“It’s true, isn’t it. They’re gone? Both of them?”

“Yes, it’s true, angel. I’m so sorry.”

I pulled her into my lap and rocked her while she sobbed. I didn’t have any words to offer her. Sayings like “it will be okay” or “they’re in a better place” we’re just cliché bullshit that didn’t help anyone. And I couldn’t say that I understood how she felt. I had never lost a parent, let alone both of them at the same time.

So, I just held her.

When it seemed like she had cried all that she could, she wiped her face and wrapped her arms around my chest.

“What happened to them?”

I was happy that she would hear it from someone who loved her and would soften the blow for her. She had been through enough already and didn’t need harsh details right now.

“The doctor said it was carbon monoxide poisoning. They were out on a boat for your dad’s company party, and a few of the guests were in the small casino area playing when they started to get sick. They think that because there was alcohol involved, no one thought too much of the dizziness or nausea. By the time anyone realized what was happening, it was too late. Fourteen other people also passed away.”

“The casino? My dad loved poker.”

“He did. He kicked my a*s more than a few times when they were at the house when Genesis was born. He took at least five hundred dollars from me that night.”

She gave a small giggle that made me heave a sigh of relief. She wasn’t broken, at least not completely. And whatever dark place she was in, I could bring her back.

“What do you want to do, baby? Do you want to go see them, or do you want to go home? Whatever you need to do, we will make it happen.”

“Do I have to see them? I don’t think I can right now.”

“No, you don’t have to if you’re not ready. How about I take you home? We have a little bit of time before we have to start making preparations for them.”

“Preparations. I have to make preparations for my mother and father. Wow….”

“I’ll be right here, baby. We all will. You won’t have to do it alone.”

She wiped her face one more time, stood to her feet, took my hand, and began to walk towards the door. “Let’s go home. I need to see and hold our daughter, and then I’ll start the process of getting everything settled here.”

I watched as she held her head high through the halls. The tears slowly began again; it would be a long time before they would completely dry, but she wouldn’t let them stop her. Wherever they were, Robert and Nancy were proud of this woman, whether she knew it or not.

* * *

Drew

“Good afternoon, Andrew. How’s the physical therapy going?” Lawrence asked as he walked into the large open room that had become my new home.

The newest omega, Mario, was stretching my legs for me, trying to get my muscles to awaken after months of inactivity.

“What do you want from me? Just be straight, and stop bullshitting me.”

“I don’t know what is needed from you. It’s not for me to know. Now, how is therapy?”

“It’s fine. Mario is the most capable omega you’ve sent to me since I’ve been rescued. I can actually tolerate him.”

“He may be an omega, but he won’t put up with your childish tantrums. So, you would do well to remember that while you are ‘tolerating’ him.”

I hated Lawrence, and clearly, he hated me. But he was the only one who could possibly tell me what the f**k was happening and why I was here.

“Why are you here today? I’ve only been here a few weeks. Am I being moved somewhere else?”

“No, you’ll be here for quite a while, unless we are forced to make other arrangements. I come bearing gifts.”

He smirked as he passed me a small white envelope. When I opened it, I was confused.

“It’s a baby. Why are you showing me this?”

“It’s not just any baby, that is Genesis Stone. I believe her father and his friends are responsible for your condition, for your wolf being gone, and for the loss of ‘your flower.’”

My head snapped up at the mention of Taylor. “How do you know about her?”

“We know plenty, but I’m guessing you didn’t know that she was pregnant with another man’s child.”

I didn’t know. We weren’t exactly on good terms, so I obviously wasn’t invited to the baby shower. And it pissed me off. This child should have been mine, not the Gamma’s. I wouldn’t tell him how much this affected me, though. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“So what? She was, and still is, a slut. If he wants that to have his pups, why should I care?”

My hands were violently shaking, and I hid it as best as I could.

“There’s no need for false pretenses. She’s your obsession, and its actually disturbing how much your mind is dominated by thoughts of her. Do you love her, or do you hate her? Do you even know?”

“You don’t know s**t. f**k her and him.”

“You would like that, would you not?”

Again, my head snapped up to meet his eyes. What was he getting at?

“I am more than positive that if you would just accept your sexuality, you would be a much more pleasant person. You like c**k, just admit it. Is it Taylor you want, or do you really want Mr. Stone?”

“Who do you think you are? You don’t know anything about me!”

I was livid. How many times would I need to explain myself and defend my s****l choices? And it wasn’t anyone else’s concern who or what I needed to get off. That was my f*****g business.

“I know everything, Andrew. I know you like punishment, and you love to hand it out when you feel people deserve it. Does Taylor deserve punishment for being with her mate? Does he deserve punishment for what he did to you?”

“They deserve to die! f**k punishment—only death would be good enough.”

“That’s what we thought. Take a look at today’s paper. The boss thought you could use a little pick me up. His gift to you.”

He tossed me a folded-up newspaper and left the room. When I opened it, the front-page article was about a bunch of people who died on a boat. Why would I care about this? I was about to just toss the paper aside when I saw a couple of names that jumped out at me.

“Nancy and Robert Adams. Flower’s parents? He killed them?”

I didn’t know how I felt about that. I wanted to be the one in control, the one calling the shots. I wanted to be at the helm of Taylor’s pain and suffering, and that was taken from me. That infuriated me. I was in control, no one else.

Then I looked at the picture of the baby. His baby. He destroyed my life and went on living his. He had a child and continued his bloodline while I can barely take a s**t without screaming in pain. So, I made the decision. Whoever was pulling the strings, I’d listen to what they had to say. And I’d work with them.

As long as all of Blue Moon went down in the process, I no longer cared who called the shots.

I just needed to be there to see it happen.