It took them two months to settle down in Rudolph. Life in Rudolph was nothing like the one they lived in the palace. Leroy had gotten a job as a chauffeur to a retired senior advocate downtown Rudolph in Manhattan.
Fallon couldn't work just yet because of Danika. She wanted to wait until Danika grew a little more. She hoped things would start to fall in place. Chica was a nice woman, Fallon was sure the woman would let them stay in the apartment until Leroy found his feet.
It was past eight and Leroy was not home yet from work. He barely stayed out late unless there was a need to. Fallon stood by the window, anticipating Leroy's arrival. Danika's cot was close by. She was growing into a chubby baby. Her chubby fingers held onto a puff ball that was meant to keep her busy.
The noise from the television startled Fallon who was lost in thoughts by the window side. It was time for the nine pm news, and Leroy was not home yet. Fallon couldn't explain the cause of her worry and anxiety, but she knew something wasn't right. If Leroy would delay at all, he would have called. Typical Leroy would call.
Her eyes went to her phone on the dining table, expecting the dull black screen to come to life, to ring out aloud. She was expecting Leroy to call and say in his excited tone; 'Eat without me, Dr. Lance is out for a meeting outside the state.' Or: 'Watch a movie, I won't be home until ten.'
But it wasn't happening. Why wasn't he calling? His phone might be out, maybe? She pinched her brows together as if that would dissipate her worry. She thought of calling his number but she was too scared to do it. She didn't want to confirm her fears herself.
She went to sit on a sofa. Anything could be the reason. What if his boss had wanted him to drive somewhere far away from Rudolph? But Leroy would call if something like that came up. She bit at her fingernails, sat on her hands even. She would be happy to do anything that wasn't going to involve thinking about Leroy.
She rose from the sofa and went to move Danika's cot away from the window. She dropped the cot gently on the sofa she had been sitting on. Danika's puffball slid out of her grip, out of the cot and onto the soft center rug of the living room. Danika started to cry at the loss of her plaything. Fallon lowered herself to the ground and bent to pick up the puffball.
The newscaster's voice wafted into her ears and her hands froze on the puffball. Fallon forced her eyes to make out the words on the screen. When she couldn't see it, she listened to the newscaster instead.
"..... renowned human rights activist and senior advocate loses his life in a fatal accident. Reports from Hansen's hospital say the retired legal practitioner died in the operation room…."
Fallon needed a pinch to revive her dulling senses back to life. There had been an accident? Had Leroy gone with him? She dropped the puffball absentmindedly inside Danika's cot. Danika stopped wailing as soon as she got a hold of the puffball.
Fallon half ran to the dining area. She grabbed her phone and went straight to her speed dial. Her heart skipped a beat when the call went straight to voicemail.
"C'mon Leroy!" Fallon exclaimed.
She prayed inwardly he was safe. Even if being safe meant he was at a strip club getting a lap dance from some naked bimbo with succulent and perky breasts.
Their conversation the morning before replayed in her head. He was carrying Danika in his lap. She had vomited on him because he shook her so much after Fallon breastfed her.
Fallon was setting up the table for breakfast. Leroy rarely stayed for breakfast because of the nature of his work. He always left before seven in the morning. This morning, he was goofing around and playing with Danika. Fallon wished his job wasn't so demanding. She wanted more time with Leroy.
She remembered her short make out session with Leroy. She had been the one to initiate the kiss that led them to the kitchen island. There was no time to make love. Fallon wanted it hard and fast, and Leroy didn't want to be late. Fallon had given him a blowjob the previous night, but Danika didn't let them go any further. The baby was a serious obstacle to Fallon's long awaited orgasm.
So in the morning, Leroy pounded Fallon's ass until she was screaming out his name. He took her twice. It was as if the urgency unlocked the beast inside of him.
Fallon shivered. She wanted Leroy back home, safe and alive. She wanted him by her side. She called him again and it hit voicemail. Fallon didn't dare turn to look at the television screen. Just as she was about to rise from her chair, her phone vibrated on the table. She picked it up with the speed of light and swiped the pick icon. Her eyes had been quick enough to catch a glimpse of the caller's ID. It was an unknown caller.
Before Fallon could open her mouth to speak -for she was already curious and anxious - a woman's voice filled the air.
"Hello, this is Hansens hospital on the line. Am I speaking with Miss Fallon Grey?"
Fallon's stomach churned, and bile rose to her gut. Nausea crawled from the back of her throat and stayed there. Something terrible had happened. The newscaster had reported the same hospital. Fallon found her voice and answered finally.
"Yes, this is Fallon Grey. Is anything the problem?" Fallon herself knew there was a problem. She suddenly started to feel stupid for asking in the first place. If nothing was the problem, why would anyone be calling her from a hospital?
The woman on the other end paused. Then her breath hitched, as if she had swallowed a meatball and the meatball had suddenly grown spikes inside her throat and refused to slide down.
"We need you down at the hospital," Fallon held her own breath.
"For proper identification. There has been an accident, and we have somebody here in the morgue we want you to identify before we move-" Fallon didn't let her finish. The living room started to spin. Danika's cot was sliding off the sofa, or maybe Fallon was hallucinating. She could no longer feel her feet on the marble tiles. She was floating.
And then she screamed. Leroy was dead. The father of her baby was dead. As if the universe had not been cruel enough. As if the theft of her other baby had not been heartbreaking enough. She screamed again.
As if on cue, Danika began to cry. Fallon didn't mind the crying baby. She slid to the ground and sat there. Unmoving. She wanted the world to remain still for a moment. She wished the universe could freeze, she would rewind and force Leroy to stay at home. Anything at all to prevent the danger looming ahead.
The thought of the prince of the Ardenwoods crossed her mind. Prince Maxwell. Prince Maxwell of the Sinclair's ruling house. He had to be the brain behind the evil mishap that had claimed her boyfriend's life.