Chapter 29

Tyree wasn't sure how things turned so bad. One moment they were talking about who sent the flowers, then Luca was in tears, running away from him. "Am I jealous?" Tyree asked himself. He had never raised his voice at Luca, but this time he did. Tyree stood there in disbelief as Elena started crying.

"It's alright," he said, picking up the infant. Tyree picked up the card and glanced at it for any contact number. Then he noticed a note stuffed in the bouquet. Tyree picked it up and opened it.

"You're mine," the note said. Only one person popped into his mind. "Patrick," "That bastard is trying to break us up," he muttered.

Tyree put Elena into her crib and headed to his and Luca's room. He noticed Luca's body stiffen when he approached the bed.

"I'm sorry for raising my voice," Tyree said, softly. "I didn't mean to make you cry," he said. Luca turned his head and said, "I don't know who sent them." "Honest,"

"I think I know who," Tyree said, handing Luca the note. "I found it stuffed inside the flowers," he said.

"You think he sent them?" Luca asked after reading the note.

"Who else would say something like that?" Tyree asked.

"What do we do now?" Luca asked. "I'm tired of hiding and running," he said.

There was only one option, and that was to involve the police. This stalking was getting out of hand. Luca's ex-boyfriend needed to be stopped.

"Can't he let me be happy for once?" Luca asked, tears streaming down his cheeks.

"Let me handle this," Tyree said. "All of this stress is not good for you or the twins," he said. Tyree pulled out his phone and dialed the sheriff's department.

"Detective Kellerman speaking," the man said.

"Hello, my name is Tyree Richards, and I'd like to file a complaint on behalf of Luca Hodges," he said.

"What's the nature of this complaint?" the detective asked.

" Well, Mr. Hodges is my boyfriend," "He has an ex-boyfriend named Patrick Brown who has been stalking him lately," Tyree said.

Tyree explained the incidents that had happened. "Can I get a statement from Mr. Hodges?" he asked.

"He's in no condition to be moving around," Tyree said. "He's pregnant with twins and has high blood pressure," he added.

"Is it alright if we question him at home?" he asked.

"That is fine," "But don't stress him more than he already is," Tyree said. Tyree gave the detective their address.

"Okay, we'll be there tomorrow at 10 a.m." he said. Tyree thanked him and hung up. Tyree glanced at the clock and said, "I need to pick up Alicia." "Don't stress over this," he said.

Luca glanced at the baby monitor and found Elena sound asleep. His cravings hit him, so Luca headed into the kitchen. Luca found a container of beets, grabbed a fork and took them over to the table. Luca sat down, opened the container, and dove right in. The front door opened and Tyree entered with Alicia, who was holding his hand.

"We're home," Tyree said from the hallway.

"I'm in the kitchen," Luca said. They walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

"I see that the cravings have begun," Tyree said.

"Yea," Luca said, nodding his head. "I don't usually eat beets, but they looked delicious," he said.

"Mommy, look what I drew," Alicia said, holding up a picture of them.

"That's cute, baby," Luca said with a smile.

Luca rubbed his growing belly, smiled, and put the lid back on the jar. "That did the trick," Luca said, grabbing a wet rag and wiping the purple juice from his lips.

"I guess we'll need to stock them up for the next 6 months," Tyree teased. Luca stuck out his tongue and put the jar back into the fridge. "Ty, do you remember that message I received earlier?" Luca asked.

"The one with an unknown name?" Tyree asked. "Yea, I remember it," he said.

"I think it might have been him," Luca said.

"Have you opened and read it?" Tyree asked.

"No," Luca said, shaking his head. "Should I?" he asked.

Luca sighed heavily as he looked down at his phone on the kitchen table. He took a deep breath before swiping the screen. Luca clicked on the name and held his breath as he waited for the message to appear.

"I want my daughter," was written in big letters. Luca had turned ghostly white. His vision blurred, and the room began to spin. "It was him," Luca said as everything went black. The phone slipped from Luca's grip and landed on the floor. He couldn't just leave his children, so he dialed 9-1-1. The ambulance arrived five minutes later.

Tyree dialed Ken while the paramedics tended to Luca, who lay unconscious on the floor.

"Does he have any allergies?" one of the paramedics asked.

"No," Tyree said as he waited for the line to pick up. "He's 3 months pregnant and has high blood pressure," he said.

"Hello," Ken said after three rings.

"Ken, I need to stay with the children," Tyree said. "Luca passed out and is being taken to the hospital," he said.

"I'm on my way," Ken said. Tyree turned around and faced the paramedics. "I'll be there once my father-in-law arrives to watch the kids," he said.

Tyree was one step away from having a major panic attack. Alicia was crying because she didn't understand what was going on. Elena wanted her mother. Ken had shown up moments before and was trying to calm the scared children. Tyree's mind raced as he headed to the hospital. He parked the car and headed inside as soon as he arrived.

"My name is Tyree Richards," he said. "Luca Hodges was brought in," Tyree said, stepping up to the receptionist desk.

"The doctor is still with him, checking on his condition," the receptionist said. Tyree felt like he had been sucker punched. He sat down and buried his face in his hands.