Page 53 of Legally Yours

Andres comes outside. “Liam, good. You’re here. Grace made an early supper. Come in, and I’ll take your bag to Cassandra’s room. Then, we’ll eat and all go to the hospital.”

Brayton comes out. He’s more subdued than when I first met him. “Liam, how are you?”

“Better now that I’m here. How about you?” I cup his cheek in my hand.

Brayton’s face crumples, and he starts to cry. “Cass is in the hospital! I don’t want her to die!”

I squat down at his level, putting one knee on the ground. I wrap my arms around Brayton. This kid is easy to love. “Brayton, she won’t die. She can’t.” I swallow my own tears.

“But she hasn’t woken up!”

Andres speaks. “Son, she has to have an operation. The doctors want to repair what’s broken. Once that’s done and her body starts to heal, she’ll wake up.”

Brayton looks up at his father. “Are you sure?”

Andres hugs his son. “As sure as I can be, son. Your sister is a strong woman.”

“Everybody, let’s eat before the food gets cold.” Grace motions us in.

I don’t know if I’ll be able to eat. My appetite isn’t very good right now. But, when I sit down and smell the home-cooked meal, my stomach growls.

Grace smiles. “Have you eaten since Andres called you?”

“Honestly, no. I just rushed from my office, went home, packed and took a cab to the airport. I didn't want to lose a minute getting here.”

Grace gives me a shaky smile and pats my arm. “Sit down and we’ll eat.”

As we eat, we talk about Cassandra and the baby. I have a lot of questions, but they don’t have many answers for me.

Grace’s face is sad. “She didn’t want to tell you. She just found out, so I’m not sure she’s had much time to think about it. But we thought you should know, considering.

My heart sinks further, if that’s even possible.

“She’s ready to raise him or her by herself,” Andres adds seriously.

43

CASSANDRA

I’m in the hospital after that car hit me, but I have a huge motivation to stay alive. I want to tell Liam that I’m pregnant with our baby. Also, I don’t want to die without seeing him again.

I can hear the beep and whoosh of the machines that are monitoring my condition and helping me to breathe. I hurt and I just want the pain to go away! I can tell when someone like my parents, Brayton or Liam are in my room. I can sort of tell when one of them is touching my face or shoulders.

I have known all along that I am loved. But this makes it even more clear to me and I feel better when they do. There’s a little less pain.

I hear my family and Liam talking about the baby and me. We’re safe, they say. Does that mean I didn’t lose the baby? I drift off to sleep again, everything hazy.

When I finally open my eyes for the first time, I see Mom sitting next to my bed. She looks so tired. She’s also been crying. “Mom?”

Mom gasps and drops her crochet hook and yarn. “Cassandra? You’re awake! How are you feeling?”

I try to swallow, but my mouth is as dry as the desert. My voice is raspy. “I hurt. My baby?”

Mom smiles as tears roll down her face. She swipes them away impatiently, then grabs a tissue to clean her face. “Your baby is just fine.”

“Why does my leg feel so hard?”

“You’re wearing a cast. Your leg was broken in the accident.”