Chapter Twenty Two

CONNOR*

I watched as Wade drove off with our wife and wished that I could be driving off with them right now. A twinge of jealousy rocked through me. Though I got the privilege of walking Taylor down the aisle, I would never get to enjoy the whole experience of getting married. I would never be able to say those vows and put a wedding band on her finger. I would never be able to boast about her being my wife. I was always going to be a secret because no one would ever be able to handle the fact that all three of us were one.

As I was wallowing in self-pity, I heard screams coming from the playground. I looked over to see that Aaron had grabbed Mark and was running with him like a man gone crazy. I ran like my life depended on it; I wasn't sure how to keep Mark from being harmed.

"Aaron, put Mark down now! Aaron stop! You don't want to harm your own son; put him down," I yelled as I caught up to Aaron and ran alongside him. "Aaron, stop and put Mark down NOW!" I commanded, and Aaron stopped with a look of defeat and put Mark down.

"Run, Mark, go to Blaze," I yelled as I looked to see Blaze sprinting our way.

Mark took off running towards Blaze and then pow; I felt the searing pain of Aaron's first against my temple. I was going to be civilized, and at most, I was hoping someone had thought to call the cops, but now I had more than one reason to kill this mother fucker. I turned and started walling on the ass hole. A punch to my ribs had me double over, but I quickly regained my composure and gave Aaron an uppercut to his jaw. Which sent him flying backwards to the ground. I thought the fucker would stay down; I thought it was all over. But to my dismay, he quickly maneuvered himself so that he took my feet out from under me, and I flew back, my head hitting the ground hard. I was thankful we were fighting on the grass where the ground was softer. Aaron got up and kicked me in the ribs that he had jabbed a moment ago, and I bent into a fetal position as he continued to kick me. I reached up, grabbed his leg, and somehow managed to make Aaron fall face-first into the ground. I got up on top of him and started bashing his head in with my fist.

"Stay down, Aaron, don't get back up, or I'll kill you," I grit out; just then, strong arms grabbed hold of me and pulled me off of Aaron's lifeless body.

"Connor, move away from Aaron; I think he's dead, man," Tanner said as he walked over to check Aaron's pulse.

I saw his shoulder blades move, so I knew he was breathing, but other than that, he wasn't moving. I started wigging out at that point; I was for sure going to jail for this. I started hyperventilating and buried my head between my knees. What was I going to do? What if Aaron died? What would happen then?

"Hey man, it was self-defense, and several people caught the whole scene on their cell phones. You have several people here to back you up. Calm down, man," Tanner said as he sat next to me.

The adrenaline I had coursing through my body was starting to wear off, and I began to feel the full extent of the damage Aaron had inflicted upon me. It hurt to breathe. I was sure I had a few broken ribs, my head pounded from the blow to my temple, and by looking at my wrist, I could tell it was most likely broken. I probably looked a bloody mess right now; I figured since blood was dripping from my nose onto the grass underneath me.

I heard sirens in the distance, and Tanner sat beside me, trying to calm me the best he could. I needed Wade, though, I needed my brother and Taylor, but neither one of them was here.

"Mark is going to hate me; he will never forgive me for this,"

"He didn't see anything; Blaze picked him up and carried him off. None of the other kids saw anything either, so you're good. I think he will thank you for saving him someday. There's no telling what Aaron was going to do with him. They should have locked Aaron up instead of sending him to rehab. So stupid," Tanner said. At that time, EMTs were loading Aaron up on a gurney and hauling him off to the hospital.

Kaysen ran up to the cops that were headed our way, talking frantically about something I couldn't hear because they were too far away. She handed one of the police officers her phone, and they both watched the scene playing out before them. I guessed that she was one of those who had recorded the whole scene. Soon others approached, giving them their accounts as to what happened. Another ambulance arrived and began assessing me. They wanted me to leave right then, but I told them I wasn't going anywhere until Taylor and Wade arrived. Thank God for Samantha Taylor's mom, who had called Taylor. It wasn't long before Taylor had her arms around me. I almost passed out when she kissed me, and I looked up to see her parents behind Wade, looking quite surprised.

WADE*

I couldn't imagine what was keeping Connor. We have both been so excited, awaiting this moment. I tried texting him one more time, then turned off the engine to the Corvette we had rented for the occasion. I walked around to the car's passenger side, opened Taylor's door, and scooped her up into my arms. Once I got Taylor into the house, her phone began to ring inside her purse. I set her down on the couch; she retrieved her phone and saw that it was her mother.

"Momma,"

"Oh God, We'll be right there," Taylor said as tears sprang to her eyes.

"What, what is it?" I asked as I feared the worse. I didn't think that Connor was hurt, though, because I would have felt something.

"Aaron showed up after we left. The kids were all at the playground. When he saw that everyone was distracted by us leaving, he had gotten Mark and tried to leave with him. All of the other kids started screaming and hollering. My mom didn't tell me the whole story, just that Mark was ok but that we needed to come back. It's something to do with Connor. We've got to go," Taylor said as she and I quickly rose to our feet and ran back out to the car.

When we got back to the church, there was an ambulance, a fire truck, and police cars surrounding the front of the church. I quickly got out of the car and opened Taylor's door to help her out of the vehicle. Samantha Taylor's mom saw us and ran up to us with tears in her eyes.

"Connor damn near killed Aaron. They have taken him to the hospital. Aaron got in a few blows himself, so Connor is also about to be taken to the hospital. Mark went with Blaze and Lyra and their children, so he is safe. Your dad and I will pick him up after we leave here. Connor wouldn't go anywhere until you got here. I thought he was locked away in a court-ordered rehab facility?" Samantha rambled on.

"Where's my brother Samantha?" I asked her as Taylor and I turned and walked towards the ambulance. She said Mark was safe, so my only concern now was my brother; I had to make sure he was ok. The doors to the ambulance were left open so that I could see Connor inside as Taylor and I approached.

"Connor," Taylor cried as she leaped up into the ambulance and embraced him.

"Careful, babe, I've got some broken ribs and a concussion. I've also most likely broken my hand. They are taking me in for a full-body MRI to assess the damage," Connor said, and Taylor bent down to kiss him. I looked around and, to my horror, saw Samantha and Luke behind me, their eyes wide and mouths hung open. Guess that cats out of the bag.

"Wade, I'm going with Connor; follow us up there in Connors truck, ok," Taylor cried out as the ambulance doors were slammed shut, and moments later, the ambulance took off.

"Do you care to tell me what that was about?" Luke asked.

"I have to get to my brother and wife, sir, I'm sorry, but we will need to have this discussion later; when Taylor can also be here," I said as I turned and ran to my truck.

This was all happening a whole lot sooner than I thought it was going to, and I knew that Taylor would want to be around for that discussion. I didn't believe that Samantha would be able to talk Luke down from this one. Could I have salvaged the situation somehow? I couldn't think about that now I had to get to my brother. I didn't catch which hospital they were headed to, but I figured they would go to Covenant, so I high-tailed it over there first.

When I got to the receptionist desk, the same nurse that was there when I had come in to check on Taylor that one time was behind the desk, she looked at my apparel and my wedding ring, and her once excited to see me smile faltered.

"May I help you?" She asked after clearing her throat.

"My brother Connor Cunningham was brought here, I believe. My wife is in with him; I need to get to them, please," I rushed out.

She turned to her computer, typed up a few things, and turned back to me. "He is due for an MRI, but the machine is occupied. I'll page a nurse to bring you to them. It's all hands on deck, and I can't leave right now, or I would take you,"

"I understand, thank you," I said as I began to walk away.

"Congratulations, sir Cassie should be here to retrieve you any moment now," The nurse said as I walked off. I never got her name before, and I felt terrible for not knowing it now; I'm such a prick.

As I paced back and forth in the waiting room, I thought back to Aaron. Exactly how bad had Connor roughed him up? Could he possibly die? I knew next to nothing pretty much, but I knew if Aaron died, Connor would never get over that. The man, however, deserved every bit of what happened what ever that was after everything he had done to Taylor over the years. I wish I had had a chance to kick Aaron's ass myself. I ran my hand through my hair and huffed in annoyance at how long it was taking the nurse to show up. I needed to see my brother and make sure he was ok. I also wanted him to tell me what happened, and somehow I needed to figure out if Aaron was going to live or not. All I knew was our lives were about to change. Samantha and Like have discovered us, and Aaron could possibly die. Our happiness was short-lived; Luke would most likely get our marriage annulled. "Shit," I yelled out, "sorry," I said to the other people in the waiting room who were all looking at me like I was crazy.