Chapter 20

The weekend went by way too fast. Friday was the grand opening, Saturday Julia and Asha came over for dinner, and Sunday we all went to the beach. I guess the saying, "Time flies when you're having fun," is right on the money. Right now, it could not be any more true. Even the kids were back to sleeping in their bedrooms. Well, for the most part. They would start off in their bedrooms but eventually crawl into bed with Emma and me.

I was excited about Monday because it would be my first time having clients at the new building, but as each day got closer to it, I started to dread it more and more. I honestly didn't know why all of a sudden I started to feel this way. It didn't feel like it had anything to do with work per say, but I just couldn't figure out what was causing it. The feeling in and of itself was bugging me, but not knowing what was causing it drove me completely up the wall.

I looked up and realized I had just pulled into my parking spot at work. I let out an audible sigh. Auto-driving again... I'm going to wind up hurting someone if I don't stop. I am manifesting that that will never happen, but if it does... I could easily heal them. I briefly looked myself over in the mirror before grabbing the doughnuts and casually strolled toward the front doors.

"Here are those doughnuts you love so much." I sat a box of her favorites down on her desk. "This box has all your favorites and is just for you. I got two variety boxes and put them in the breakroom for the others. Which reminds me, I better go and let everyone else know that there are doughnuts." Lori hurriedly snatched the box of doughnuts up like it was some prized possession.

"Thank you. Also, you will definitely be getting brownie points from everyone." I blew on my fingers and acted like I was brushing them off.

"Yeah, I know." I sounded hella cocky. "I even got gluten-free and vegan doughnuts," I said with a smirk.

"Okay, boss lady. You go out there and win over all your employees." We both had a laugh, and I went and made my rounds to each office, letting them know that there were doughnuts. There were even a couple of employees that were happy that there were gluten-free and vegan options. I was giving myself a ton of mental high fives.

I started my day at seven in the morning on the dot, and it didn't stop till one in the afternoon. I had a total of six clients today, one after the other. Each session was an hour-long. I had a lot of fun, but I was exhausted. So I spent the next hour working on editing. I was extremely grateful that my mom was picking up the kids today. I can't stress enough how much of a godsend she is.

"I'm headed out. Do you need anything before I go?" I stuck my head into Lori's office real quick.

"No, I don't. Thank you for asking, though. I'm staying behind for a little bit longer; there are many logistics I want to look over before I head home myself. Say hi to everyone for me, will ya?" I'm glad she's taking this promotion so seriously, but I hope she doesn't start overworking herself.

"I will. And Lori?" She finally looked up at me from her computer screen and the pile of papers on her desk. "I hired the other people for a reason. Don't overwork yourself and do everyone else's job." She just sighed out.

"I know, but it's soooo hard!" I laughed at how childish she sounded.

"Get used to it, Lori. You're second in command now. You delegate and oversee, not do everyone's work. Also, before I forget, we hired those two security guards, right? To lock up and watch the building overnight." She scoffed.

"Of course I did. What do I look like? Some kind of amateur. Now go home to your family. I'll see you tomorrow." She waved me off and got back to her work. I can already tell I'm going to have to force her to take her vacation days. I'm also going to have to make sure she doesn't get out of hand with micro-managing the employees. No one likes to be micro-managed.

The drive home was mundane. It just all seemed to blur together. I wasn't in full-on auto-drive mode, but I was still a little dissociated. I was here, but I wasn't. My thoughts were racing, but at the same time, everything around me felt like it was moving slow. I don't know if that makes any sense at all, but it's the only way I can describe what I'm feeling right now.

As I was getting closer to the house, that feeling of dread that had been lurking in the back of my mind and made its way to the front. It was fully present and was making its presence loud and clear. With each turn I took, with each mile getting closer to home, the more this gut-wrenching feeling grew. My phone started ringing through my car speakers, and I pressed the button on the steering wheel to answer it.

"Mija, you need to get home now." My mom sounded extremely frantic.

"Mom, what's going on?" I could feel my anxiety rise.

"It's Alyx. Just hurry but be careful. I have to get off now. Love you." I heard the dial tone just as I was yelling out, wait.

Every sense in my body immediately became hyper-aware. I felt adrenaline started coursing through my veins. I pushed the gas pedal practically to the floor and started weaving in and out of traffic. So this is what that gut-wrenching feeling was; this is what my dread was stemming from. It wasn't just a gut feeling. No, it was my motherly instincts yelling at me all day.

"Fuck! I should have known." I banged my hand on the steering wheel. I should have known sooner that something was wrong with one of my babies. I would have been home sooner if I had just explored what I was feeling deeper instead of just burying it down deep.

I could hear my tires screeching as I whipped my car into the driveway and stomped on the brakes. I didn't waste any time and zipped up to Alyx's room, where I felt her energy coming from. I saw my mom putting a washcloth on her pale forehead.

"What happened?" I took the position my mom was in, so I was by Alyx now. I brought my hand up to her forehead, and I didn't even have to put my hand on it; I could feel the heat roll off her head in waves.

"When I picked them up from school, I noticed that she was pale. I asked if she was okay, and she just said that she was tired. When we got home and were walking up to the front door, she just randomly passed out. That's when I found out that she was burning up." I muttered some curses under my breath.

"I knew something was wrong, mom. I knew it, and I ignored it. I should have known it was my motherly instincts telling me something was wrong with my babies." I brushed the sweaty hair back off of Alyx's face. I could feel tears well up in my eyes.

"Momma, is Alyx going to be okay?" I snapped my head towards Aleksey's small voice. He was standing in the doorway with a very gloomy look on his face.

"She'll be fine. We are going to take her to mommy. Are you feeling okay?" I held my hand to his head, and his temperature felt normal, and his face wasn't pale.

"I feel wonderful, momma." I kissed his forehead with relief. Then, I zipped over to Alyx and picked her up.

"Mom, you and Aleksey meet me there. I'm going to zip Alyx and me over there, so we get there quicker." She nodded her head.

"Of course. Now, go go go!" She shooed me out the door frantically.

"Please be okay, Alyx." I kissed her head and zipped as fast as I supernaturally could to Emma.

"Ma'am." The receptionist stood up as soon as I bolted inside.

"Where is Emma? Where is Emma Ambrogio?" The receptionist looked like they were at a loss for words. I don't have time for this.

"Ma'am, you can't just go..." I heard their voice die off in the distance as I focused on Emma's energy.

"Oh my god! Mila, what the hell are you doing barging in..." She immediately locked eyes on who I was holding. "What's wrong?" She was over to me in the blink of an eye and took Alyx out of my hands. "She's burning up, and she is extremely pale." I was not in the mood for small talk or people stating the obvious.

"No shit, Sherlock!" I snapped out. "Can we get her downstairs to be checked on now? Or do you want to keep stating other things that are completely obvious?" She stared at me blankly for a moment. A moment way too long. I snatched Alyx out of her hands and started heading for the elevator. I stepped in, and right behind me was Emma.

"I'm sorry for snapping," I said in a timid voice as the elevator was taking us to the lab.

"I understand, my love." She kissed my temple, and the rest of the ride was silent. That's what always happens during situations like this; I become snippy, and she becomes reticent.

"I need you to examine my daughter, please. There's something wrong." The doctor looked over at us and then focused their attention on Alyx. Their facial expression saddened but only for a moment before they went back to being stoic.

"Lay her on the bed, please." The doctor took her temperature, which was in the high one hundreds. For humans, your brain would probably be melted, I'm sure that's not how it works, but seriously her temperature was high.

"How long has she been unconscious?" Fuck. Where is my mom?

"I don't know. She was with my mom when she passed out." The doctor sighed and waved her hand at me.

"Ballpark the time." I looked down at my watch and was trying to calculate the time, but my brain was having a hard time concentrating.

"I don't know, maybe forty-five minutes to an hour." The doctor sighed out.

"She's sick with the virus." The doctor's statement made my heart drop.

"Don't you need to test for that?" I stammered out.

"No." She then lifted Alyx's shirt, and you could see some of her veins were already black. Shen then turned her wrist over, and you could see just a little bit of her veins leading up her arm were black too.

"How? How did I not notice that?" The doctor looked at me.

"It's easy to miss the tiny details when you're this anxious." I looked over to Emma, who was completely still and silent.

"Will she be okay?" The doctor tried to remain stoic, but you could see the grim look in her micro-expressions and the sadness in her eyes.

"I can't promise anything. I'm sorry. I'll be right back. I need to go get supplies to start an IV." I looked at Alyx and observed her. With her shallow breaths, pale, sweaty skin, I could hear how weak her heartbeat was. She looked so frail right now. She looked lifeless.

"You both need to leave now. She has to be quarantined. You both will need to be tested and anyone who has been in contact with her. You can relay that information to" Emma cut her off.

"I know where to relay the information." The lady looked at Emma, and the look of realization took over her facial features.

"I'm so sorry, Mrs. Ambrogio. I didn't realize that was you at first." Emma held up her hand, and the doctor immediately stopped talking.

"I want her bed put right next to that clear wall by the lab." She pointed to Alyx at that moment, and her voice sounded dark and deadly.

"Yes, of course. I'll have her over there right away." Emma hummed and grabbed my hand, and started leading me away from Alyx.

"No, wait. Emma, I don't want to leave her." I was trying to break from her hold, but she had a death grip on my wrist. I pulled back with all the strength till she was facing me. "How can you just walk away from our daughter?" She dropped my wrist and paced a little bit. When she looked at me, her eyes were feral.

"You truly think I want to leave our daughter, in there, alone? Come on, Mila, you can't honestly be that stupid!" She got closer to me now, and her vampire side was completely out. Her eyes pitch black, and the specks of red in her eyes are bright.

"Don't you dare accuse me of wanting to abandon our daughter again? We have to leave, and the sooner we get on tested and on the other side of that fucking bubble, the sooner we can see her again and the sooner I can talk to those fucking doctors about saving our daughter. Is that clear?" This wasn't the Emma I knew in front of me. This version of her was terrifying.

"Cyrstal." I barely spoke out. When she grabbed my wrist and started leading me away from Alyx, I just let her. I haven't seen Emma like this since her ex conspired with others to try and kill me, to kill us. Honestly, though, I think this version might be darker than what I saw back then.