Fractured (2 page)

Her elder daughter by thirty minutes, Bathsheba had been the first to walk, the first to talk, and was better liked by the other kids. Already at the age of three, it was evident that she was less complicated than reticent little Lily. Bash was such a happy child. Then something like this happened.

I pray Lily is okay.
Her heart ached for her other daughter who was asleep now in a strange house, away from her parents. The poor girl must be terrified of what was happening to Bash. She remembered the horrified look on Lily’s face when she came across the playground. She looked like she had brushed death for the first time in her short life.

For being twins and sharing the same womb, the two girls couldn’t be any more different. It might’ve had something to do with their troublesome births, Cheryl mused. Bash came first, easily enough, but Lily struggled to be brought into this world. It was a half hour between Bash’s birth and Lily’s—the stress of the labor had put stress on the younger twin and they had to do an emergency Cesarean. She didn’t want to come. After that, the poor baby had been rushed to the NICU where doctors made sure that she was breathing fine, especially after Cheryl had such difficulty carrying to term. It was always going to be risky having twins after six miscarriages. It was true that she and Eric truly were blessed with their daughters.

Even from the moment they were born, the girls were different and darling in their own vastly different ways.

Cheryl
chuckled hysterically to herself, numb of all feeling. While Lily’s name had been indulgence on her part because it was her favorite flower, Cheryl had named Bash after her grandmother Bathsheba. The idea was that her nickname would be “Sheba”, but once Lily got to a certain age, all she could call her twin was “Bash” and it stuck.

Bash, baby. Are you okay?

She reached out and grabbed her husband’s cold, sweaty hand. He stared out into empty space, lost in his thoughts. He didn’t even notice her touch.

Cheryl didn’t have the energy to be mad at him for his detached demeanor. After all, they’d been waiting there for hours.

The doors opened and the doctor came out, waking Eric from his stupor. He and Cheryl both awkwardly stood up and met him to see if there had been any progress on Bash.

“Mr. and Mrs. Martin?” the middle aged doctor asked.

“Dr. Young,” Eric said weakly, giving him a handshake with a curt nod. He looked like he was going to faint at any moment.

“Bathsheba is now awake.”

It was amazing how that single sentence changed Cheryl’s whole world.

She started sobbing in relief.
Thank you, God!
her mind cried up to the heavens and she fought the urge to fall to her knees and praise the man upstairs for the safety of her daughter. Relief surged throughout her entire body, and Eric’s relaxed posture confirmed that he felt the same way. She hugged him, unable to keep her jubilation from her face. Her baby was going to be okay.

“We believe that she’s had an epileptic seizure. We’re going to have to monitor her for a few days. But...” the doctor continued, breaking into their reverie.

“But?” she repeated, her voice sounding like it came from far away. There couldn’t be a “but”, could there? Bash was well and their little family was going to be all right.

“Your daughter’s eyes,” the doctor explained, “they’re not responding to any sort of stimuli.” Cheryl and Eric watched him blankly. He swallowed, obviously nervous about giving them the news. “At the moment, she’s effectively blind.”

It took a few seconds for that statement to sink in.

“What do you mean
blind
?” Cheryl demanded, her voice rising as she addressed Dr. Young. She was incredulous. “How does a three year old suddenly become blind?”

Eric looked faint.

“Temporary blindness,” the doctor said hesitantly, “can occur after a traumatic event for the brain. It does appear that she’s in a postictal state. There are some certain...abnormalities,  that we’re trying to figure out. We’re doing everything we can for her at the moment.”

Cheryl closed her eyes and fresh tears fell. Her mind went back to the playground, trying to remember if there had been anything—
anything
—to indicate why her daughter would suddenly have a seizure. There was nothing out of the ordinary. Bash had been playing, and then she suddenly fell from the top of the slide.

What could have done this to her?
Cheryl’s mind screamed. She blanched and felt like she was going to be sick. Bile rose in the back of her throat and she wasn’t sure she’d be able to keep it down. Her baby girl having an epileptic seizure and then she was suddenly...
blind?

Eric finally spoke. “Is it…permanent?”

The doctor swallowed uncomfortably. “Hopefully, it is just temporary. We’re running a series of tests to check for anything that could be causing it. As I said, we are doing everything we can to help her.”

“Can we see her?” Cheryl’s voice felt so far away.

The doctor offered a small smile, his first since they started talking. “Of course. She’s been asking for you.”

Cheryl floated, following the doctor through the hallways of the hospital. She just wanted to be with Bash at that moment. She wanted to hold her and tell her that it was all going to be all right. The poor girl jumped with a shriek at the sound of the door opening and turned her head to the sound of the door. Her eyes, which had been a bright baby blue, were now milky and white.
The color of blindness,
Cheryl thought in panic. Was that a part of her epileptic seizures? Or something else? The doctor hadn’t mentioned that part. If it was brain trauma, that wouldn’t affect her eyes like this so immediately, would it?

“Mommy?” Bash asked, her voice small and weak. “Daddy?” Most of all, she seemed frightened.

With a strangled cry, Cheryl rushed into the room and embraced her baby girl. Tears streamed down her face as she held her daughter. “Shhh...” she whispered, “it’s Mommy.”

“And Daddy, too,” Eric offered, gently placing a hand on Bash’s back.

Bash blinked up at them with her wide, white eyes. Her face fell. “I can’t see you,” she said. Then she started crying.

CHAPTER ONE

2014

Bash always dreamed in color.

Even though she hadn’t seen a single thing in twenty years, deep down, somewhere in her brain, Bash remembered what sight looked like. She cherished those memories, what lines looked like, what colors she could remember. She could remember what the sky looked like, what her parents’ smiles were like—all fleeting pieces of a life she could no longer peer into. Even though she had been three when she lost her sight and she didn’t have clear, distinct memories of what life was like before then, she still
remembered
what it was like to see.

She opened her eyes, feeling peaceful. She’d had such a great dream, and she realized with sadness that she couldn’t recall it. She only had the nice, peaceful feeling that lingered after she woke up.

Lips brushed hers and she held the face of the man that was kissing her.

She smiled at the man she loved. “You’re up really early,” she murmured sleepily. She still remembered what it was like to smile. She made sure to show emotions—it was as important to her as the emotions she heard in others’ voices.

She knew that it was early. While she couldn’t see what time it was or that it was still slightly dark outside, she instinctively knew that they were both up hours before they were meant to be.

“You’re up early too,” he told her softly. He laughed, a deep, throaty baritone voice. “I would have thought our escapades last night would’ve worn you out a bit more.”

Her grin pulled higher. Yes, she should have been exhausted. Seth had driven two and a half hours up from Fort Hood to see her. If that wasn’t enough to make him tired, they had made love for a long time—actually it was several times—that night. Seth told her repeatedly that he loved her and his deep regret for being deployed again so soon.

That set off a deep ache in her chest. What was she going to do once he left? The past six months were the best she’d ever had. From that moment when her sister introduced her to the love of her life, she knew that Seth was going to be a very special person. Since then, she had been with Seth body and soul. Now her boyfriend was being deployed to Afghanistan. On top of that, her period was late. She hadn’t taken a pregnancy test yet because she didn’t want to face the possibility of it. She hadn’t told him, because she didn’t want to freak him out. It must have been late from the stress of seeing him leave. Had to be.

She closed her eyes.

I won’t think about that
. Not when she had moments and nights like this to remember him by. She had this next week to relax with him and their friends in Steamboat Springs. They’d go skiing, they’d relax. It would be a week full of memories she’d cherish. She’d worry about whether or not she was expecting after.

For now, she just wanted to enjoy life.

She felt him stroke her cheek. “What are you thinking?” he asked sleepily.

“I’m thinking how much I’m going to miss you,” she said. A tear slipped back and she rubbed her face into her pillow, hoping he didn’t see it.

He wrapped his strong arms around her and held her tight against his naked chest. She heard his heart beating, a bit too fast for a heart at rest. She blinked, confused. He was nervous about something, she realized.

“I was going to wait until we were in Colorado to give you this,” he said at length. “Since we’re here now and away from everyone, I thought now might be the best time.” Bash blinked again, wondering what he was going to say. “I know we’ve only known each other for six months, but those six months have been the happiest of my life.”

“Mine too,” she replied softly.

He took her hand and she felt the cold metallic surface of a ring slip on...on
that
finger!

“Oh,” she whispered reverently.

“I, Seth Grey, love you Bathsheba Irene Martin, my Queen of Sheba,” he added with a laugh, calling her by her other nickname. “Will you marry me?”

Bash’s mouth dropped open and her voice caught in her throat. She knew with all her heart that she loved this man, however, something held her back from saying “yes” immediately. There was no reason
not
to say yes.

She bit her lip, considering everything from her broken family to the fact that she could very well indeed be expecting his child.

I love him,
she reminded herself.
I love this man
.

“Say something,” he said earnestly, his voice nearly choking.

With that, all of her reservations left as she screeched his name and nearly pounced on her boyfriend. “Yes!” she cried out, laughing through tears of happiness. “Yes, I will!”

“Yes?” he asked, as if in disbelief.

“Yes, Seth.” She stroked his cheek and felt his bit of stubble from not shaving for a few days. She grinned. “Yes, I will marry you.”

With an ecstatic whoop, Seth pulled her astride him and kissed her deeply, passionately. He touched his forehead to hers and she felt his chest rise and fall underneath her fingertips. “You make me the happiest man in the world,” he told her. “I love you so much, Bash.”

For about the billionth time since her strange accident when she was three years old, Bash wished she could see, if only for a moment. She wanted to see what Seth’s face looked like, because she knew that there were very few moments when he was completely at ease. Like he was now.

He pulled a strand of her hair behind her ear and then cupped her cheek. “You’re so beautiful,” he said reverently. Tears sprang afresh from her eyes, this time not of happiness, but of that ache deep down inside her. She had no idea what she looked like anymore and it made her feel like an incomplete person.

He pulled her down to him and held her there, letting her listen to his heartbeat. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I just meant...”

“Shhh...” Bash interrupted him, putting a finger to his lips. She kissed him again, this time, deeper, more ardently. He immediately responded, pulling her to him, and grabbing a fistful of her hair. She moaned softly against his lips and she lost herself to him between the sheets.

After making love, she laid awake, listening to his breathing contentedly, her hand resting above her belly.

Happily ever after started now.

*****

Lily...

Lily woke up with a start at the eerie voice. She immediately regretted opening her eyes, and she groaned, shutting them against the early morning light. She rolled back into the pillow, trying to get rid of her hammering headache, made all the worse by unremembered nightmares from the night before.

What happened last night?

Oh yeah,
she thought with a growing sense of dread. She had gone out to the bar with a couple of work friends after closing time and got absolutely trashed. What started out as innocent drinks celebrating her manager’s last day turned into shots, which then turned into this headache she was now nursing. She always drank too much. She couldn’t understand why, although she suspected it had to do with her general unhappiness.