22 Feelings

Date = 10 April
Place = San Francisco (UCSF Medical center)

POV - Enrique

“And here we are … a.g.a.i.n,” my sister’s gynecologist rolls her eyes before walking into the room. I grunt softly … because she’s actually not wrong.

“I must tell you, this baby is by far the most complicated uncomplicated pregnancy I ever had to cover,” she continues.

“It’s because it’s a fucking Grimm,” I say without thinking, causing Doctor Burden to gasp in a hard deep breath. Ilkay frowns, Jackson agrees and my sister kills me with her eyes. Or rather with the one that’s not swollen shut. Yep, she’s sprouting an impressive black eye already. And her tears make me uncomfortable. It’s not like her to cry so much. Or lose control like that. Or look this scared. Why does everything always happen to her? I pull up my shoulders and bite my lip.

“What? It’s true.” I glance at the other bed in the room where Aria is sleeping, glad that she’s not crying at the moment, ‘cause her tears are the pits. It hits me even more than Mel’s. Ilkay dosed her with some strong painkillers that knocked her out. Fuck, it feels as if someone stabbed me in the heart and is now twisting the blade from side to side to increase the torture. I swear this heartache is the most dreadful thing I ever felt.

“You know, the day this little bean gets born safe and sound, I’m downing a whole bottle of tequila,” gino-doc says. I might just join her. Hell, I feel like downing a bottle right now.

My phone rings. It’s Damion - AGAIN. I wonder if he knows it’s fucking like three in the morning here. And just because my sister’s phone got broken, it doesn’t mean he can call me every five minutes. Ug, I know I’m being unreasonable … he’s just worried.

“Hello,” I answer more harshly than intended, holding the phone up so I can see his face on the screen. It’s not him, it’s me. I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me lately. But that’s a lie. I do know … I just don’t want to acknowledge it. I quickly look at Aria.

“Dude, why are you so cranky… did something happen to Mel? Or the baby? Or is it Aria?” He looks seriously worried … and tired and a small ping of guilt hits me. I try to sound less stiff.

“No, not since the last time you called, about 10 minutes ago. And I’m not cranky!”

“He so is,” doc Burden lays an unnecessary egg, her eyes not leaving the screen of the sonar machine. I give her a death stare and she sticks her tongue out, now looking at me. Mel giggles. At least my grumpiness is good for something - it seems to cheer my sister up.

“The doc is checking out the annoying little brat that you implanted inside my sister’s tummy,” Jackson shouts from where he lays stretched out on the foot end of Mel’s bed.

“You better come and take responsibility for your fucking sexual mishap,” my twin continues. Just then a short chubby nurse walks through the door and rams into a table, probably shocked by my brother’s words. She blushes when everybody looks at her at once.

“Eh … I just … um … your laptop, Dr. Blackburn,” she mumbles and places the computer on the same table she bumped against. Jackson jumps up and takes the computer, “Thanks, baby.” He winks at the girl who gasps and then slams into the door on her way out. She literally runs down the corridor.

“Ug, do you always have to make a scene,” Ilkay laughs, “She’s new and now probably scarred for life.” Jackson pulls up his shoulders and pouts his lips innocently before he sits down on the sofa and opens the computer on his lap.

“What’s going on?” Damion asks and I hand the phone to Mel.

“Men,” Mel says, and her voice gives away exactly how tired she is. I run my fingers through my hair. These new feelings that settled in my intestines are fucking frustrating. And the grimmest aspect of it all is that I can’t seem to get back to my original robotic self.

“Okay, I’m going to move south, so you might want to look away if you don’t want to see the gender,” the doctor says with a sweet smile.

“Ilkay, turn … you too, twinnies,” my sister scolds and we all oblige with a sigh. Just a few more days and we’ll know if we’re getting a niece or a nephew at last. This keeping secrets shit is not my style. I don’t like secrets and I don’t like lies. Keeping the contract business to myself is already bad enough. And the fact that I want to make it real is even worse.

“You know I can always just draw your chart if I wanted to,” Ilkay teases our sister.

“I hope you would not … I want it to be a real surprise for everybody.”

“You can look again. So, what are you hoping for?” the doctor asks while wiping my sister’s tummy clean with a wet wipe.

“I want a healthy baby, but it would be great if it’s a boy first,” Damion suddenly speaks from my phone. I totally forgot that he’s still there.

“First?” Jackson gets that look on his face. I know there’s something going on with him, but I’m too busy with my own shit to figure his out. I truly don’t have the energy to deal with whatever is brewing in his crazy-ass mind … cause Jackson’s stuff is always distressingly complicated as hell.

“Yes, I’m planning on having lots of little Grimms with your sister, bro,” Damion says confidently, but I’m sure if he was here in the room, the disgusted faces of my two brothers would throw him off a little. Like me, Jackson seems more intense and on the edge than usual … and I’m damn sure it has something to do with that tiny roomie of his.

“You’re not even married, and this one is not even popped … " Jackson scuffs, sounding as irritated now as I feel. “And my sister is not a fucking breeding cow.”

“Well, I hope the next one is less problematic,” the doc intervenes.

“Making babies like fucking bunnies,” Jackson mumbles to himself.

“Ug, stop being so overly dramatic … it’s not very difficult to make a baby, now is it? Just think, if conceiving a baby was boring and strenuous like running a marathon, I would be out of a job. And just wait till your sperm hits the spot, Cranky” she looks at me and then at Jackson, “and Grumpy …” The look on Jackson’s face is classic and Mel burst into laughter and then she starts crying again.

I’m worried. This little fetus seemed to have broken my sister. Granted, she was not all that normal before, but it’s way worse now. She blames it on the hormones. I blame Damion.

“Grimm, you broke my sister,” I say again without thinking. What is it with me lately? I’m acting like my twin. Mel’s crying stops and she now stares at me as if I drank the last cup of coffee in the hospital. See, she’s broken … her emotions are definitely not on par. No normal person can swing moods that fast. Jackson comes close but we all know he’s anything but normal.

“I’m hoping for a little girl,” she says; eyes still on me, “But with the way this thing is moving in here, I rather it is a boy, else it’s going to be one wild lady, that’s for sure,” she turns to look at the phone in her hand, all gooey faced, already riding on the next emotion.

“Especially if she’s gonna follow her daddy’s old rules,” Jackson grumps, sounding a little less tense.

“Not a fuck, my daughter will be a virgin until she’s at least 30,” Damion bashes over the phone again, sounding dead serious.

“Not if she’s like you she won’t,” Ilkay inserts his opinion.

“Or like their uncles, for that matter,” my sister throws in a quick one, “I think my kids must rather be like me.”

“Gmf, not one of those uncles is having a baby … LIKE you,” Jackson jabs back.

“That we know of,” Mel counteracts.

I roll my eyes just thinking that combining my sister’s DNA with that of Damion might not be such a good thing … that child is gonna be uncontrollable. So good luck to them.

“Just a few more days and you can start thinking about names,” the doctor is now busy cleaning the machine.

“We already have names … if it’s a boy his name is going to be Xamos, a combination of his grandfathers’ names. If it’s a girl … Miraley, a combination of the grandmothers.”

“That’s so sweet,” Dr. Burden goofs, “Everything is just fine with the little beanie, so I’ll see you at the gender reveal party then. Hoping something doesn’t happen before.”

“Thanks for coming out so late doctor,” Ilkay walks her to the door.

“No props, bye Damion, see you at the party!” she shouts before closing the door behind her. I grab my phone from my sister’s hand.

“Okay, dude, I’m gonna end this call now. Mel is sleepy from the meds, so we’ll talk tomorrow.” I don’t give him time to reply. He’s already boarded his plane, so he will be here soon. My head is a mess, and I’m tired, and in serious need of some sleep.

Aria groans and turns, so I rush to the side of her bed and take her hand in mine. Ilkay walks to the other side and feels her pulse. Then he lifts her shirt up, and I immediately get pissed again when I see the damage the bastards did to her stomach. It looks really fucking awful; already a horrible blackish-purple color.

“How is she?” I look at my big brother. He listens to her heart and then he closes her shirt and pulls the blanket over her.

“She’s gonna be fine, but it’s going to take time to recover. Luckily the sonar shows that none of her organs are damaged, and no broken bones, so that’s a relief. But if this has been Mel … well, the baby would definitely be lost.”

“Fucking bastards,” Jackson is looking at the screen that’s balanced on his knees. “You can’t see their faces … "

Ilkay goes and sits next to him and now also concentrates on the screen.

“They stuck a gun against Mel’s head … fuck fuck fuck … no wonder the girl lost it,” Ilkay sounds angry and sad all at the same time.

“Look, that one is definitely a woman … she’s wearing red heels. Is it Prada?” Jackson points a finger at the screen. Weirdly I’m not surprised that my brother would notice that … and even that he seems to know women’s shoe brands.

I climb onto the bed next to Aria and curl my body carefully to spoon her without hurting her.

“Means she must have money,” Ilkay comments.

“Or she stole them,” Jackson says.

I don’t want to see the footage … not yet. I don’t want to see how they got beaten up. It’s my fault. I told them to go home. What fucknut sends two girls alone out into the streets at one in the morning? I know … me! I could have taken them … or at least sent one of my drivers with them … I close my eyes. My girlfriend’s scent surrounds me, but this time it doesn’t calm me down. I fucking need sleep.

But sleep tortuously evades me. I’m rather used to it by now - not sleeping. The last time I had a good night’s sleep was the night Aria got drunk.

There’s a knock on the door. I don’t even attempt to open my eyes. I’m done for tonight.

“Ah, good day, officer,” Ilkay greets the intruder. Seems like it is the police. “Please sit down. We were just watching the surveillance footage my brother got from the shop, but there’s not much to go on.”

“Yes, we’ve checked it already. My guys found the van. It was abandoned in an alley not far from the shop, but it was stolen a few days ago. There’s no trace of the car as yet. Think they might chop it and sell the parts.” I listen silently.

“We’re going to check all surveillance around the area … if we’re lucky we might find something. But you said on the phone that it was not a robbery, that they intended to kill the baby.”

I listen while my brothers explain the whole ordeal to the cop, about how they mistakenly thought Aria was pregnant because of the newspapers, that they attacked her to make her miscarry, and that they also attacked my sister. They didn’t however tell the officer that Mel is actually pregnant. We decided not to let that out, in case the responsible people might try to finish the job.

“So can you think of anyone with a motive to hurt the girls?” the cop asks. One name keeps popping into my head - Brain Cruise. But would he go this far? Would he hurt Aria? He truly seems to care about her. Or did he just not want her carrying my child?

“I don’t think it’s about the girls at all,” Jackson then says and I wonder where his brain is running to this time. You see, Jackson’s mind is flawed … it doesn’t work the same as other people’s. For one thing, he nearly flunked in school. But it’s not because he’s an idiot … on the contrary … he might be even more of a genius than our older bro. No, Jackson just didn’t do any work in school … no homework, no assignments, no studying. Hell, he skipped most classes as well. He just went and wrote his tests … and passed them without any effort. But what makes his brain so unique is that he is extremely annoyingly observant. You can’t pull the wool over his eyes … or hide anything from him … not for long anyway, if you know what I mean.

“I think it’s someone that wants to harm Enrique. It was his offspring they were trying to get rid of. They really thought Aria was pregnant.” Wait … what? Me? If that’s true, Brain is definitely at the top of my list.

“And I think it’s a jealous girl. Look at the shoes.”

Poof! My Brian-bubble just burst.