Page 59 of Rome
I helped Abby down the stairs, hovering over her as she took each careful step. She had another contraction as soon as she sat down on the couch.
“How long has it been?” She glanced at the cell phone in her hand, and I saw that she had the timer pulled up on her clock app.
“Just under six minutes,” she said, breathing through the contraction like she’d been taught with Ethan.
“I’m going to load the hospital bag and the baby’s car seat in your car and call Sinner, so he knows to pick Ethan up at school. I’ll send Molly a text letting her know, so she’s not surprised when he pulls up.”
I called Sinner, who sounded just as freaked out as I was, then took a few minutes to call Saint to let him know I’d be out the rest of the week. I called King and Jag next, both of whom were going to head to the hospital once we’d arrived there. I left a message for Kim, cancelling our appointments for the week. Lastly, I sent a group text to Lucky, Trick, Cowboy, and Lincoln, to let them know it was go-time, then slid my phone back in my pocket.
I grabbed a bottle of water for each of us, then returned to the living room to pace back and forth until Abby snapped at me to sit my ass down because I was making her nervous.
“OK, Mom and Dad want us to call when we leave for the hospital, and they’ll meet us there.” Lia said, walking back into the living room. She had Abby’s Kindle and a couple of charging cords in her hand.
“I’ll stick these in your purse,” she told Abby, who nodded gratefully.
A little over an hour later, the contractions were close enough and regular enough that we could leave. I helped Abby into the passenger seat, then reached over to buckle the seat belt for her. I got a whiff of the cherry blossoms, and my stomach clenched as I remembered that Abby still hated me right now. Somehow, I’d managed to put that thought out of my mind over the last hour or so.
I carefully pulled into the hospital parking lot about fifteen minutes later, with Amelia following closely behind in her Jeep. Abby had called Dr. Chen once we’d gotten in the car, and she arrived less than ten minutes after we were escorted to the Labor and Delivery Unit.
The next six hours were grueling for Abby as her contractions gained strength. We tried everything to help with the pain until she was dilated enough that she was finally given an epidural. In the meantime, we walked the halls, we changed positions, and we tried warm compresses. We even tried lower back massage, although Abby just tensed up at my touch, so I had to let Amelia take over. We tried every relaxation and breathing technique known to man. I thought I was going to have to physically restrain Abby when the perky young nurse asked her for the third time if she was “visualizing her happy place.”
Finally, Everly decided she’d had enough in the cramped confines of her mother’s womb. Less than an hour after the epidural, Everly Rose made her grand entrance into the world, kicking and screaming. In that moment, Abby and I let go of the awkwardness. We let go of the pain, and the shame, and the hurt of the past nine fucking days. The only thing that mattered was our little girl.
That joy lasted for a few hours, during which Abby breastfed her for the first time, our parents visited, Jagger popped in to hold his niece, and Abby took a nap while I rocked our daughter. When she woke again, Everly was ready to feed again. I carefully handed her over to Abby, then reached up to unsnap her gown for her. Abby tensed and pulled away from me.
“I’ve got it,” she said quietly. I dropped my hand and stepped back, trying to absorb the blow that she’d just inadvertently delivered. It was clear from her tone, and from her body language, that she didn’t want me to touch her. Part of me understood why, but the other part of me was too fucking hurt at that moment to think rationally.
“I’m, uh, gonna go out to the waiting room to make some calls.”
She nodded, studiously avoiding my gaze as she traced her finger over Everly’s cheek.
I was still in the waiting room an hour later when Sinner arrived with Ethan. Abby’s parents were with her, so it was best for me to be anywhere but in the room with them. I was half-convinced that her dad was gonna shoot my ass with his police-issued Glock. He hadn’t said one word to me all day, but his fierce glare spoke fucking volumes. Her mom gave me a sad smile, clearly disappointed with me and angry on her daughter’s behalf. I couldn’t blame either one of them.
Ethan jumped into my arms when he saw me, so excited by the idea of meeting his little sister he couldn’t stand it. I gave him a huge hug, holding him so long that he eventually started wiggling to get down. I set him on his feet, and Sinner immediately clapped me on the shoulder.
“Abby doing OK?” His voice was low, and I knew he wasn’t just asking about her physical well-being.
I shrugged. “She’s doing as well as she can be, I guess. Come on, I’ll take you guys back to see them.”
The room was crowded with all of us in there, and one of the nurses eventually told us that we needed to let Abby get some rest. Ethan, who was completely enthralled with Everly, didn’t want to leave, but we promised him that Mommy and Ev would be home tomorrow.
Abby and I had originally planned for me to stay overnight with her in the hospital, just as I had when Ethan was born. She hadn’t asked to change the plan, and I sure as hell hadn’t mentioned it. Abby didn’t say anything when the nurse brought in bedding for the chair that unfolded into a twin-sized bed. I knew from experience that it would be uncomfortable as hell, but that didn’t matter. I wasn’t the one who had gone through childbirth, so my comfort wasn’t the concern.
I made sure Abby ate a little bit for dinner and held Everly as much as I could. She stayed in the room overnight with us, and I spent most of that time sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room, with Everly sleeping on my bare chest. I’d learned during the pregnancy with Ethan how important skin-to-skin contact was for babies, so that’s what I did with Everly, too.
Around midnight, Everly woke up hungry. After I changed her diaper, I passed her off to Abby. I stepped back to give her some privacy, since she clearly wasn’t comfortable nursing in front of me. I’d noticed her taking care to cover up, something she’d never done with Ethan. I tried to pretend that it wasn’t fucking killing me.
When Everly had her tummy full, and had been burped, Abby handed her back to me so I could lay her down in the bassinet they’d wheeled in for her earlier. I ran my finger along her tiny little nose, and her face twitched as she slept. I smiled, feeling the love for my little girl seeping into the cracks of my broken heart. I could only hope that she was working the same kind of magic on her mommy.
“She’s beautiful, Abs. Thank you for our little girl,” I told her quietly, glancing at her over the top of the bassinet to find her head against her pillow, and her eyes closed.
I laid down on the slab of concrete they tried to pass off as a damned bed and closed my eyes, knowing that the next feed would be coming in just a few hours.
By the time Abby and the baby were discharged the next morning, we were more than ready to get the hell out of there.
We’d agreed that we would keep Ethan home from school today, knowing that he was far too excited to be able to sit still at school. So, when we walked into the house with Everly, it was to find Ethan and Sinner, both still in their pajamas, sitting on the couch watching cartoons. Cereal bowls with a bit of milk and cereal residue were on the coffee table in front of them.
Sinner elbowed Ethan, who was so engrossed in the television screen that he hadn’t heard us come in. “We’re busted kid,” he gestured to the cereal bowls, then to Abby standing in the doorway.
