A Soul Worth Taking

A Soul Worth Taking

By

Rye James

Maverick Spur Publishing

Smashwords Edition

Copyright © 2011 by Rye James - All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission of the author.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously

Chapter 1

Amy walked up to the counter and made another appointment for the following month. Mike waited behind her as she finished and they said good-bye to all the nurses they had gotten so friendly with. They left the doctor’s office with huge smiles on their faces. They felt so lucky and happy with how everything was going so far. Amy took some pictures out of her purse and showed some of the inquiring nurses that were eager to see what he looked like. She continued to hold the pictures in her hand as they walked out to the car. It was a cold, December afternoon, but they hardly noticed the chill in the air. Nothing would change their positive outlook on life right now. Once they got in the car, Amy once again looked at the pictures as another smile crept across her face. She smiled every time she looked at them. Mike looked over at her and she handed him a couple. He stared at them for a minute, almost in disbelief that it was happening. They looked at each other again as Mike put his hand on Amy’s stomach.

A few more months and he’ll be here, she said.

I know.

I can’t believe it. I’m so excited. I can’t wait for him to get here, she told him, her smile seemingly frozen on her face.

It won’t be too much longer.

Who do you think he’ll wind up looking like?

Hopefully, you.

Do you think we should let everyone know now?

It’s up to you. If you want to, he said.

I think I want to.

Amy took her cell phone out of her purse and sent a text message to everyone she knew telling them the sex of the baby. They both hoped that their first one would be a boy, so they were thrilled when they found out that it would be. They had known for a few weeks, but wanted to keep it to themselves for a little bit, before everyone else knew. Once they got home, they went on the internet and began to look up baby names. They spent an hour or so debating names and throwing different ideas back and forth before finally agreeing on one.

So what about Colton? Amy asked.

Colton Moore, Mike said a few times, trying to see how it sounded. I like it. I think that’s it.

I think that’s the one, she agreed.

I think we should go to the baby store tomorrow and register and pick out some things for whenever my baby shower is.

Baby shower? How do you know you’re getting a baby shower? he kidded.

C’mon, Mike, everyone gets a baby shower!

I dunno. I don’t know anything about it.

Well, I still want to go to the baby store and set up a registry. Someone’s gonna throw me a baby shower.

All right, if you want to.

Amy spent the rest of the night looking up different baby websites, reading parenting articles, just trying to get an idea for what they were in store for. She knew they were ready for a baby, but she also knew there was a lot that they didn’t know. After a few hours, Mike had to pry her away from the computer to try to convince her to go to bed. She was tired but the excitement of the baby was keeping her going. Mike held Amy, his hand settling on her stomach as it often did while they laid down and talked for a few minutes before trying to fall asleep. She kept going on about what the delivery would be like, how long it’d take, who Colton would look like, her mind was going into overdrive.

You really need to give your head a rest, Mike told her.

I can’t help it. I just can’t wait for him to get here.

I know, but you’re gonna drive yourself crazy.

No, I won’t.

Maybe not, but if you don’t, you’re probably gonna drive me crazy.

Well that wouldn’t take much, she joked.

I know it.

Do you think he’ll have hair?

Everyone has hair.

Don’t be silly. I mean do you think he’ll be born with hair?

I don’t know. Go to sleep.

She continued thinking about everything, but didn’t say anything for a few minutes, which was enough silence for Mike to get to sleep.

You know what else I was thinking about? she asked.

She sat up slightly and leaned over to look at Mike’s face, noticing his eyes were closed.

How can you sleep at a time like this?

Since there was nobody to listen to her, she rolled over and closed her eyes, hoping she would finally be able to block everything out and fall asleep. It took a few more hours of tossing and turning before Amy was able to tire herself out enough to sleep. Seven o’clock seemed to come pretty quickly, which was the time Mike woke up every morning. He turned off the alarm and rolled over to look at Amy but she wasn’t there. He smelled something cooking, went out to the kitchen, and found Amy at the stove making breakfast. He came up behind her, putting his arms around her. She smiled, turned around, and gave him a kiss.

Why are you up already? he asked.

I’m just too excited.

About what now?

Do you remember what today is?

Umm, Thursday I think.

No. Baby store registration day! she happily exclaimed.

There’s no helping you, is there?

Hey, you only have a first kid once. You might as well get excited and enjoy it, right?

Right.

They sat down and ate for a few minutes before Mike took a shower and got dressed for work.

Are you gonna be OK? Mike asked.

Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?

Because the last few days you’ve been going crazy with all this baby stuff.

I’ll be fine.

What’re you gonna do today?

I dunno. Maybe watch a little TV, Amy answered.

Or maybe go online and look up baby stuff?

Yeah, maybe that too, she said, smiling.

I kinda figured you might.

You know me too well.

I’ll be home as soon as I can.

I’ll be waiting.

They gave each other a kiss, and then Mike kissed Amy’s stomach before heading out the door. Amy looked out the window as he got in his car and waved as she watched him drive away. As soon as he drove out of sight, she plopped herself down at the computer and went online to look up different parenting and baby websites. She was so eager to soak up as much knowledge as she possibly could. She wanted to be the best mother she could be. She spent hours on the computer, taking up most of the day. It seemed like time just flew by and Mike was home before she even realized how late it was.

After getting home from work, they ate dinner and then went to the baby store to register. Amy felt like a kid looking at all the different items. They went around the store for about two hours analyzing and picking out strollers, bottles, car seats, play yards, toys, and by the time they left, had close to a hundred items on their list. They looked the list over and couldn’t believe they picked so many items.

We really went crazy with this, Mike said.

I know but it’s our first baby. I think we’re allowed to get a little crazy. I’m so excited, she said with a huge smile.

They walked around the store for a few more minutes before Mike had to pull Amy away.

Everything will still be here, he joked.

All right, fine, you party pooper. Think we can check some other stores in the next few days?

You’re gonna drive me crazy.

I thought we already established that?

For the next few weeks, they continued to get things ready for the baby. They painted his room blue, put his name on the wall in block letters above where his crib would go once they got it, and kept reading parenting magazines and books. They’d been married for three years and had been trying to have a baby for the last two. They were hoping it’d be the first of three or four. Having two boys and two girls would be the perfect family for them. Mike and Amy were devoted to each other and had been together since they met in college six years ago. They instantly fell for each other and everyone who knew them knew they were so perfect for each other that they’d wind up getting married.

Amy worked as a human resource manager for a retail company and Mike worked in advertising, helping to devise ad campaigns for both local and national companies. They both enjoyed what they did, but Amy started to think that maybe she’d like to stay home after the baby was born, or maybe just work part-time. She didn’t think she’d be able to tear herself away from the baby once he was actually there. Mike wasn’t sure they’d be able to afford her not working but knew they’d have some time to talk about it. Plus, he knew that once the baby was actually here and Amy saw how much work was involved, that she might enjoy getting out and working, even if it were only part-time.

When do you think my shower is gonna be? Amy asked.

I don’t know. You shouldn’t be thinking about that, Mike replied.

Why not? You know we could go online and check the registry to see what’s been bought so far.

You’re awful. You can’t do that. Then you won’t be surprised if you know what’s coming.

It’ll still be a surprise. I’ll know what’s coming, but I won’t know when it’s coming.

I think you can wait a little bit. And you always say I’m the one with no patience, he told her.

Well, you don’t have any patience. It’s not that I don’t have patience, it’s just that I’m curious.

Oh, is that what it is?

Yes.

Gotcha.

She wouldn’t have too much longer to wait as the baby shower was only three days away. Mike knew when it was, but he was able to keep Amy from finding out, no matter how curious she was and how many questions she asked. Amy’s mother had been planning the shower for months and wanted it to be a huge surprise for her. Mike told Amy that he was going to take her out for lunch, which should have been a red flag for her, since he didn’t like going anywhere on Sunday’s when football was on, but she never made the connection. She was so surprised when they walked into the restaurant and saw all of her friends and family waiting there, smiling and laughing.

I can’t believe you guys got me like this, she excitedly said. I always thought that I’d be able to figure it out and know when it was gonna be, but you guys really got me.

Especially on a Sunday, Mike chimed in.

Oh, I didn’t even think of that. Guess that shows you how much my mind has been going all over the place.

Mike gave her a kiss, told her to have fun, and to call him when they were done, and he’d come back to pick her up. They told him he could stay if he wanted, but there wasn’t a single guy among the group, and he didn’t want to feel out of place. Besides, he figured he wouldn’t have too many more peaceful Sunday’s to watch the games from here on out, so he might as well make the best of it while he could. About four hours passed by before Amy called to have him come back. Not all the gifts would fit in his Toyota Camry, so a bunch of people loaded up their cars and trucks so they wouldn’t have to make any return trips. They had basically gotten everything that they wanted. They got clothes, diapers, wipes, a crib, car seats, toys, blankets; the only thing that they would have to buy would be formula since they were planning to bottle feed. In the couple of days that followed, they put together the crib, assembled some of the toys, and installed the car seats. Everything was just about ready. The only thing they were missing was the baby.

Only eight more weeks to go, Amy said as they put the crib into its spot along the wall.

It’ll be here before you know it, Mike replied.

I know. Hopefully I’ll lose all this weight after he’s born.

You will. Even if you didn’t you would still look beautiful, he said as he gave her a kiss.

So do you think he’ll have hair when he’s born?

I don’t know. I’d say probably not.

Maybe tomorrow night we can go to the store and pick out a few more things, Amy said.

Why? We already have everything we need.

I know, but I wanna pick out a few clothes. Everything we got was really nice but I just want us to pick out some stuff too.

I suppose we could go. I’ll probably work until five or six. If you want, we can go when I get home.

I’ll be waiting.

I’m sure you will.

They stood in Colton’s room just looking at everything, almost not believing that soon there would be a little one occupying it. They tried to imagine him in the room, sleeping in the crib, or sitting on the floor playing with a toy.

As five o’clock came and went the next day, Amy called Mike on his cell phone to ask what time he was coming home. He had gotten swamped with work at the office, and told her that he probably wouldn’t get home until eight or nine, and that she should go shopping without him if she still wanted to go. She was a little disappointed and really wanted him to go with her to pick out some things that he liked too, but she didn’t mind going by herself if she had to. She spent about two hours at the store and spent a hundred dollars on a bunch of outfits. She found quite a number of things on sale, so she was happy with her purchases. Amy was so excited and couldn’t wait until Colton was born. She could just picture him in all of the outfits that she bought. She called Mike on her way home to let him know she was on her way and that she’d have some dinner waiting for him. She let him know about everything she bought, describing every article of clothing to its tiniest detail.

Amy was a pretty cautious driver, never one to run through red lights or speed up when a yellow light popped up. She made sure she always came to a complete stop at stop signs and looked in all directions. This night was no different. She came to a four-way stop sign and stopped completely. No other cars were at the stop signs yet. She started to go through the intersection when she was blindsided by another car that never stopped, wrecking both cars, causing Amy’s car to completely spin around. Neither Amy nor the person in the car that hit her was moving. A minute later, a couple of other cars came upon the scene and stopped to check on both people. As soon as they saw nobody moving, they called 911. The police arrived within three minutes and an ambulance arrived a couple of minutes after that. One of the police officers went through her purse to get her identification. They removed both people from their respective cars and loaded them into an ambulance.

How’s it looking? one of the officers asked.

Not looking good for either one of them, a paramedic answered.

The officer just shook his head in disgust. Seeing a pregnant woman being taken away on a stretcher wasn’t a pleasant thing to look at. The officers on the scene taped everything off and blocked oncoming traffic so they could figure out what happened. They saw no signs of braking by the car that hit Amy. There would have been tire marks left on the road, and concluded that the person in the other car never even touched the brakes. If the person had stopped, and then hit Amy, the impact would not have been anywhere near as significant as it was.

The police officer located her cell phone and went through the list of numbers. He finally found an entry that was her mom. He took out his own cell phone and called the number to let her know what was going on.

Hello, she answered.

Hi, my name is Officer Petrelli of the police department, are you the mother of Amy Moore?

Yes, I am. What’s wrong?

"I’m sorry to tell you