How Did I Get Here?

ALEXIS'S POV

The first thing I heard was the steady beeping of machines. Rhythmic and annoying machines. 

My eyelids felt like they had been glued shut. I forced them open, blinking my eyes slowly to adjust to the harsh white lights above me.

A hospital room.

I turned my head slowly, still feeling fuzzy and disoriented. A tall, handsome stranger leaned against the wall near the window, his arms were folded across his broad chest. 

He looked powerful in an expensive black shirt, he stood there watching me with calm but intense eyes. The same man I vaguely remembered from the roadside before everything went dark.

Then seated right beside my bed, holding my hand tightly, was my mother. The moment her eyes met mine, she broke into a stream of tears.

“Alexis… my baby!” she cried, kissing the back of my hand repeatedly. “Thank the goddess you’re awake. I was so scared.”

I tried to speak but my throat felt dry, everything still felt like a dream to me. I looked around again, trying to piece together what happened. The fall. The blood. Dyson leaving…

Mum noticed my confusion. She turned to the stranger and said softly, “This is Mr. Xavier. He’s the one who saved you.”

Xavier stepped forward, his presence was commanding yet gentle and he had a deep, soothing voice. “I’m glad you’re awake. You gave us quite a scare.”

I swallowed hard. “How… How did I get here?”

Xavier glanced at my mother before explaining. “I was driving down the road when I saw you. At first I didn’t understand what was happening, but when I got closer I saw you lying there in a pool of blood. I rushed out and carried you into the car immediately. You were barely conscious.”

He paused, adjusting his stance slightly. “Your phone had slipped out of your dress pocket while I was carrying you. I checked it for emergency contacts once we reached the hospital. The first number was listed as your husband. I tried calling him multiple times but it kept going to voicemail. So I called the second number—your mother and she came immediately.”

After he finished explaining, Xavier paused for a moment and locked eyes with me.

“I might not know the full details of what went down,” he started, “but for what it’s worth… any man who treats you like this doesn’t love you.”

He stepped back without another word and stayed silent, leaning against the wall once more.

My mother squeezed my hand tighter, while still crying. “Thank you so much, Mr. Xavier. We can never repay you for saving my daughter.”

I managed a weak whisper. “Thank you… for helping me.”

Mum turned back to me. “Alexis, why didn’t you come back home? When things got too much… Why didn’t you just return to us? Even after you ran away to marry him, you’re still our child. We would never have turned you away. Never.”

Her words hit me and I felt tears form in my eyes.

“I was embarrassed, Mum,” I said hoarsely. “I was scared you and Dad would reject me… after I left everything behind for him. I stayed because I loved him. Because of our child. I thought… I thought he would change.”

As I mentioned the child, I instinctively moved my free hand to my stomach, but my eyes widened in shock as my bump was noticeably smaller. There was an empty, hollow feeling where my baby used to be and I immediately started panicking.

“Where… where is my baby?” I asked, touching my belly rapidly. “Mum, where is my baby?!”

My mother turned her face away, fighting back her tears. While Xavier lowered his head, staring at the floor.

I looked between them desperately. “Answer me! Where is my baby?!”

As if on cue, the door opened and the doctor walked in, flipping through a file of papers absentmindedly. He stopped when he saw I was awake.

Before he could speak, I asked with a shaky, terrified voice, “Doctor… where is my baby?”

The doctor exhaled heavily, closed the file, and looked at me with professional sympathy.

“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Lecrae,” he said quietly. “Due to the severe blood loss and impact from the fall… the baby did not make it.”