CHAPTER 506: THE LIGHT WE WAITED FOR (5)

"Are you done?"

Ian asked when Shelby had had her fill of the meal served.

"Mmmm," She nodded.

"Shall we?" Ian asked, getting up and holding up his arm for Shelby.

Shelby placed hers in Ian’s standing up, but it was a little tricky. Because she had gained the baby weight almost suddenly, she was finding it hard to adjust to the new weight that had been added to her body.

She did appreciate Ian, though, for the test they had done to check on the baby, which brought immense joy and calmness to her mind. Even she was not sure of how she had wanted to know this. It was no surprise anymore that Ian already knew what she wanted, even before she knew that herself.

"Where are we going now? To see the kids?"

"Before that, let’s go somewhere else..."

Shelby nodded and allowed herself to be carried by Ian. Previously, Ian carried her with ease whenever he wanted, but now, with the addition of the pregnancy, it was rather, he barely allowed her leg to touch the floor if he could help it.

Soon, that familiar sensation of going through nothingness was welcomed, and Shelby rested her head on Ian’s chest. After a few seconds, Shelby felt them stabilize and she opened her eyes gently.

One blink, they were in the empty restaurant, the next, they stood inside a quiet, sterile room.

Ian set Shelby down gently, as she was going to break, making her smile. Shelby looked around curiously. She instinctively took a step forward, then stopped, her brows furrowing in confusion.

The lighting was soft, but the walls were bare. The hum of machines filled the air—beeping monitors and the slow sigh of a ventilator. A faint antiseptic scent hung around them.

"A hospital?" she murmured, more to herself than to him. She wondered why they had come to a Her eyes swept across the room, taking in the metal equipment, the clean linens, the wires coiled and bunched neatly. She hadn’t expected this. Hadn’t they just left a hospital? What was this place? She contemplated, as it looked to be a hospital setup in a home instead.

Then her gaze caught something ... or rather, someone, and the breath in her chest vanished.

There, lying amidst the tangle of wires and monitors, was her friend! Her only beloved friend- Ava!

"H-ow?"

Shelby croaked while feeling a bit ridiculous at the muttered single statement. Obviously, they were both in that accident. Did she think that the lot had gotten scott-free like she had?

The sight hit Shelby like a physical blow. She took in Ava’s pale skin, lips tinged blue, arms motionless at her sides. Ava looked smaller somehow. Frail. Like the life had already slipped out and left a shell of her behind. It was too much for her to take in, making her take a shaky step back, but her sweet hubby was there to catch her as always.

Shelby’s stomach clenched, her hands flying to rest protectively over the soft swell just beginning to show beneath her dress.

No. No, this wasn’t what she’d expected. She took shaky, long breaths in and out, trying to relax herself, knowing that in her state, stress and extreme emotions were unaffordable. She had to keep calm for her baby’s sake!

"I didn’t know it was this bad," she whispered, voice shaking as the tears came without warning. Shelby did not dare think of where and what had happened to the other occupants of the car from that day. Clearly, Murray had given her an update on what he felt were important, but okay for her to take. He had intentionally left a lot, and Shelby could not find it in her to fault him in any way.

Ian stayed silent, sensing the storm inside her. He gave her the space, standing squarely behind her, should she need it. It took a little while before Shelby moved slowly, drawn to the bed like a moth to fading light.

She needed to confirm for herself that Ava was okay, despite the steady beeps of the machines signifying life. Those soft beeps of machines, though a cruel reminder that her friend was still here, but it was barely.

"I didn’t know it was this bad," she whispered again and again, voice breaking as the tears spilt freely down her cheeks.

Ian just touched her back gently, caressing it softly before letting her go.

Her eyes drifted to the softly blinking monitor beside the bed, where faint lines danced.

Two heartbeats!

One she recognized instantly—the slow, laboured rhythm of Ava’s heart. But the second, fainter one...

Shelby stiffened as the implication sank in.

’No—surely not.’ Her breath caught, her gaze snapping down to Ava’s midsection. The blanket had slipped just enough to reveal what would’ve been easy to miss... if she hadn’t known what to look for.

Ava’s usually flat stomach now held a slight swell. Not much ...but enough. Enough to tell the truth. Ava had always had a ridiculously flat stomach, so the changes were noticeable.

She was pregnant. Ava was!

The same gentle thrum she’d heard from her own body just hours before... was now echoing from her friend’s.

A sob broke loose from her chest. The tears that followed came heavier, harder, streaking down her face in silence. Ian stood quietly, knowing that this outlet was needed.

The guilt crushed Shelby as all the ’if’s’ rushed through her mind,

If Ava hadn’t gone with me... If I hadn’t brought her along that day... If ... If ... If ... and more ifs...

None of this would’ve happened. Her friend would be smiling right now, cracking inappropriate jokes, mocking the discomfort of pregnancy, maybe even pretending to faint just for dramatic effect or some other silly Ava escapade.

Shelby found herself smiling through the tears as she finally arrived at the bedside.

Ava would’ve teased her. Normally, she’d be the first to poke fun. But not now. Not here.

Shelby couldn’t even meet Ava’s closed eyes—because she knew.

Knew exactly who had done this. She did.

’I did this!’

Shelby’s hand trembled as it reached toward the faint curve of Ava’s belly.

Rocky!

That charming, reckless bastard. He had touched what he should not have! Who would’ve thought that Ava and Rocky would move so quickly? He was still in school!

And now... a tiny life stirred beneath machines and silence—born of chaos, surviving in stillness.

Shelby wiped her tears and turned to Ian, using her eyes to point to Ava’s belly. Ian smiled fondly at her, but he did not like his wife to be this distressed. Ian sent a mind link message and continued keeping an eye on Shelby, just as the door pushed open gently.

No one else was in the room, but scattered signs ... an open water bottle, a jacket slung over the only chair by the bedside, a half-eaten sandwich—told her Rocky probably wasn’t far. Shelby knew her brother.

There was no way he would let Ava be there on her own. Not at all. Rocky was also one of the cleanest people she knew, but the little mess around did not surprise her. Who would be in their right to do the usual when their loved ones were in a state like that?

She also recognized some of his personal items, but in all this, what touched Shelby the most were the open medical books on a table not far from Ava.

’How could Rocky have the mind to do both?’ It was both amazing and disheartening!

Shelby’s heart clenched. Because taking all that in and seeing Ava like this was too much... the girl who once laughed too loud, danced without music, lived like she had all the time in the world, cooked like a demon, was now reduced to this fragile, fading shell. Just then,

"Sissy?"

A soft whisper called from the doorway, and Shelby turned a little too quickly, nearly losing her balance, but Ian was there to catch her.

"Rocky?"

For a moment, Shelby didn’t recognize him. Rocky looked like a ghost of himself. He was pale and gaunt. Shoulders hunched under the weight of days without rest. His clothes hung a little looser, his eyes were ringed with shadows, and his face— A full beard covered his jaw. Shelby blinked. She had never seen him like that before. The young man who used to be all charm and smirks now looked like he’d crawled out of a nightmare.

Rocky stopped when he saw her.

His breath caught. Shelby opened her mouth, but no words came. Then, in a heartbeat, they closed the space between them and fell into each other’s arms.

Their hug was desperate. Tight. Wordless. Her tears soaked into the shoulder of his worn shirt as his arms clung to her like he might lose her again.

"I thought you were gone," he rasped, voice thick with disbelief. "I thought I’d lost you, too..... but Currey sai-"

Shelby pulled back slightly, just enough to look him in the face. "You look like hell."

He gave a breathless, cracked laugh. "Yeah... well."

Shelby touched his cheek, and the beard was scratchy under her fingers. "You grew a whole forest on your face."

"And you’re alive," he said hoarsely. "I still can’t believe it."

Ian stood back, looking at the siblings’ conversation. With Shelby’s back to him, he first noticed something was off with Rocky’s startled expression and abrupt hanging statement, as if something had shocked him so much that he forgot what he was saying.

Ian had been about to turn as he sensed Currey, but looking at Rocky, he took one step toward the siblings, and all became clear when he saw Shelby’s face. His slight surprise was matched with Rocky’s to a particular extent.

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