Page 70 of The Best Friend Problem
Pru concurred. Then again, anything with Kate McKinnon could make her laugh. That woman had a direct line to her funny bone.
Grabbing the empty water glasses, she started to rise from the couch, but the second she did, a sharp, stabbing pain hit her right in the side of her lower abdomen.
“Ouch!”
“Sweetie?”
“Pru, honey?”
Immediately her friends were there, one on each side, holding her arms, gently lowering her back to the soft cushions of the couch. Mo grabbed the glasses from her hands, placing them on the coffee table while Lilly crouched in front of her, green eyes filled with concern.
“Pru, what is it? What hurts?”
“My side.” She placed a hand to her right side, fear seizing her lungs as she tried to pull in a deep breath. Why couldn’t she breathe? It wasn’t her chest that hurt, it was her side. What was going on?
“You’re hyperventilating, sweetie. Now look in my eyes and breathe deep with me.” Lilly squeezed her hand. “In and out. That’s good. Again, in and out. Good. One more time, in and out.”
There. There was the oxygen she needed.
Now that she could breathe again, she could focus on the real problem. The sharp, pulling pain just above her hipbone.
“The babies.” The words fell from her lips without thought. She had no idea what was going on, but based on the vicinity of the pain, all she could think of was the twins. She’d just entered her second trimester—the first held the most risk of loss, but she knew that didn’t guarantee anything. A million more things could go wrong.
Her side pinched again. What was happening? Every pregnancy book and health pamphlet she’d read fell right out of her brain. She couldn’t think, couldn’t reason, couldn’t imagine what was going on, only that she was in pain. Her heart seized with fear that something was wrong with her babies. “Lilly…”
“It’s all right, Pru. We’ll call the doctor. I’m sure nothing is wrong with the babies.”
“Yeah.” Mo tried to give her a teasing smile, but it fell flat. “I’m sure it’s just indigestion from that monstrosity of a snack you inhaled.”
She knew her friends were trying to keep her spirits up, but right now nothing would make her feel better. Nothing except the all clear from her doctor. Unfortunately—
“The office is closed,” Pru said.
“Then we’ll go to urgent care,” Lilly replied. “Just a few blocks away. Mo, go pull the car up front.”
Mo hurried out the door, for once readily doing Lilly’s bidding. Pru took a deep breath, grateful Lilly was so good in a crisis and that they lived in the city, where the nearest all-night healthcare facility was less than ten minutes away. Right now, every second she sat there in pain, not knowing what was happening, felt like an eternity.
“Why don’t you call Finn?”
“I can’t. He’s at the station. His shift just started. He can’t leave.”
“Prudence.” Lilly leveled her with a hard stare. “Call him.”
Her hand slid to her phone, thumbprint unlocking the cell and hitting Finn’s number without her brain even being conscious of doing it. The phone rang and rang, each peel of the tone ratcheting her already frazzled nerves higher and higher.
Where was he? Why wasn’t he answering his phone?
She sucked in a deep breath, trying to push down the bile that threatened to rise in her throat due to the fear currently racing through every inch of her.
“Hey, this is Finn. Sorry I can’t take your call, but you know what to do.”
A shrill beep filled her ear, and it took Pru a moment to realize the machine had started to record. She took a deep breath, trying her best to keep the panic and fear out of her voice.
“Finn—” She choked back a sob, gathering herself. She could handle this. There was no reason to fall apart. Not until she knew for certain something was wrong. Right now she had to remain calm. Be strong for the babies.
Her hand rubbed her stomach, willing all the health and love she had in her directly into those two tiny lives inside.
“Finn,” she started again, voice strong this time. “I’m having some slight pain, so Lilly and Mo are taking me to urgent care on Eighth. Just, um…wanted to let you know.”
