Chapter 83

JAY'S POV
'She's going to be okay, Amber. She's going to be okay. Just get here as fast as you can" I didn't know what else to do to console her so I just kept on repeating the same thing over and over and over again.
The doctors had said Stacey was going to be fine but they needed to see her parents before they could release more information about her condition.
'It wasn't serious", they had said, 'She's going to be alright, I just need to speak to her parents. There's something I need to confirm before I discharge her" they had left afterwards and I had spent the next hour waiting for Amber.
'Why are you guys at the hospital?!" Her voice had been louder than usual and it had taken a great deal to calm her down enough to give an answer to the question she had asked. It also seemed like she was driving and I heaved a sigh of relief. Firstly, she was fine and secondly, I was going to see her.
I had no idea if it was possible for someone to age twice in a day but as Amber almost ran towards me with tears running down her cheeks, I wondered what had happened in 24 hours to cause so much damage to both her and the kids. I wasn't unreliable, I was had just been unavailable.
The kids that seemed like every single drop of life had been taken away from them before, appeared to be revived as they raced to meet Amber, all of them except Clarence. As I watched the exchange between them, it occurred to me that I had ended up not dropping Pauline's son at the house.
I decided to place a call through to Noah, the chances of me leaving the hospital were very slim and I had to get Pauline's son to her before we had our talk. Besides, I had to be there for Amber this time around.
'I'll be there in ten minutes. What should I tell Mrs Harley though?" Noah had asked quietly. My personal butler leaving the house meant he was running an errand for me and since my mum was very observant, he had to have a good cover story for when he returns to the house with a kid and without me.
I glanced at Amber holding on to the kids and still crying, 'Tell her I'll be busy and we'd talk tomorrow and about the kid, tell her to just make him comfortable. We'd definitely talk tomorrow" I instructed Noah on what to do and hung up. I knew it wasn't enough to convince mum but at least it was enough to buy me time I needed to spend with Amber.
Melissa had arrived earlier with Daniel in toll and a bandage wrapped around her right foot, I had wanted to make enquiries about it but the look Daniel gave me made me swallow my words. If I had been around earlier, I would have gotten the answers to the questions I wanted to ask at a latter time, I thought to myself. I had really messed up big time.
'What did the doctor say?" Melissa's voice was hoarse as she questioned me. I couldn't tell if it was because she had been crying on the call earlier or because something else had happened. It really sucked to be in the dark.
A doctor walked out of the intensive care unit and asked for Stacey's parents. Melissa got up abruptly and urged Daniel to go with her as she followed the doctor to his office. Before they left, he had confirmed Stacey was fine and she had passed out due to shock and exhaustion. Whatever had happened to her was more mental than physical.
Everyone was more relaxed with the news the doctor had brought and Noah had arrived to take Clarence home with him. The kid had hugged his friend and I even got a hug before he left. I knew Pauline had her reasons for keeping the kid away from all of us but I couldn't hide who I was from him.
The look on his face after I had told him I was his uncle was priceless, he had even gone as far as convincing me to call his mum so he could scold her. Apparently, she had done something horrible by not telling him the Jay Harley was his uncle. I was one of the biggest CEOs in California but over here, I was just the ex basketball captain who was famous with children.
'Mum, I can't believe you forgot to pick us up, what if Mr Harley didn't come to pick his nephew?" Always the detective, Maddie had gone ahead to start the interrogation. It was unlike Amber to forget something as important as her kids but I knew Melissa and her children weren't the only ones who had stuff going on for them.
Trying to convince 10 year olds you had forgotten to pick them up from school cause you were busy and not because you were tired of their shit was a very tasking job but Amber did it so efficiently I wondered if I would have been able to do it if I was their father. I was good with kids but the Swift triplets seemed like they were a different breed entirely.
From the first son who obviously wasn't his mum's big fan to the nerd that actually had quite a lot to say when he's tired of being quiet and last but not the least, the sassy, smart but extremely talkative, last of the triplets and the only girl, who somehow acted like she was older than the boys.
Frankie had said something about their mum not being truthful in regards to their father, it seemed like the triplets wanted to find their dad. I wouldn't hurt to help them, I could also end up helping Amber along the line. A win was a win regardless.