Page 53 of Run To You
“Hey, Sloane?”
“Yeah?”
“Remember when all I wanted was to live alone painting by the sea?” Eden asks in a whisper.
“I do. Is that still something you want?”
I feel her head shake above mine. “No. I love my life full of people. I suppose I was a little scared, you know?”
“Scared?”
“Yeah. About growing up and dealing with the world. Life as an adult seemed so impossible.”
“Eden, you were a middle-aged adult at seventeen!”
“No, I just had the attitude of one, when really, I was just a scared kid like everyone else at school. When Pia told me she was pregnant, I felt scared again. Not just because of the baby, although my pro versus con list for having kids is still leaning heavily on the con side.” She shifts, so we’re face to face, noses almost touching. “But because Pia was going to be doing something so big, I couldn’t stop from worrying. But then I stepped into the room and saw my best friend pushing like her life depended on it and I wasn’t scared anymore. Even when Pia started screaming like she was auditioning forThe Exorcist.It just felt—“ she searches for the right word, brow creasing. “Good,” she finally says.
“If I’ve learned anything over the last few years, Eden, it’s that we’re always going to be scared. Life is unpredictable, and I would’ve felt exactly the same if Becca had come to me and told me she was having a baby. The important part is that we don’t run away when things get scary. I won’t ever do it again. I’ve already promised you that.”
She makes a satisfied sound and burrows closer, leg thrown over mine in a tangle which neither of us will be able to escape in the morning. I drift off, comfortably snuggled into her body. My head on her chest, listening to the rhythm of Eden’s heartbeat under my ear.
The next morning, I wake when the body I’ve been stuck to all night is no longer where it should be. Blinking the morning into existence, I roll over to find Eden looking down at me. She’s holding a cup of coffee and a plate which, if my nose is correct, is a bacon sandwich.
“Let’s go see them,” she says with excitement laced in her voice. “I bet Todd’s already planning escape routes.” She laughs.
17
Eden
Yesterday was nuts! I’m still trying to process what I witnessed. I’m so fucking happy for Pia and Todd. Meena is the cutest kid I’ve ever seen. I was pretty bloody terrified when I first stepped inside the delivery suite, but then Pia looked at me with such determination, I knew there was no reason to worry.
The hours went by in a blur of screaming, crying, pain, and that was just Todd. Poor bloke nearly had his nuts squeezed off at one point. He got too close to Pia at a particularly bad time. She growled at him and reached forhis crown jewels, screaming that he was never having sex with her ever again. It was intense.
I did what Bella suggested and stayed north of the wall until Pia sobbed at me to check everything was okay, as the baby crowned. I can never unsee any of that! Todd didn’t get the chance because he wiped out hard. The doctors just chuckled and carried on bringing little Meena into the world as he lay sprawled on the floor.
I got the absolute privilege of handing Meena over to Pia. I’ve never seen my best friend with such wonder in her eyes. I knew she’d been scared since the pregnancy test came back positive, but the moment she had that squishy, tiny human in her arms, it was like I could see her physically change. Pia became a mum, there and then. She’ll burn down the world for that little girl.
The drive back to the apartment and going to bed is somewhat of a distant memory now. I think I was running on fumes by the time I crawled into bed with Sloane. I remember talking to her about no longer being scared, which is true. Witnessing something like childbirth kind of has a profound effect. If Pia can get through something as traumatic as having a human pushed out of her minge, then I can face being a proper adult.
I woke up feeling high on the aftershock of yesterday’s events and had to get moving. Making Sloane breakfast in bed seemed like a good start. She’s so fucking gorgeous when she first wakes up. I would’ve made her a Full English, but the fridge reminded me that to eat we needed to buy food. A bacon butty was the best I could do.
Sloane takes the coffee and sandwich, eyeing it appreciatively. She laughs as I ram my veggie bacon sandwich in my mouth like an animal. I’m starving, though, and I really want to get to the hospital. Pia will be discharged this evening, and I need to help arrange her getting home.
“Did anyone call her parents?” I ask, suddenly aware I should have probably done that already.
Sloane swallows her food, looking sad. She doesn’t need to say another fucking word because I already know what’s coming.
“Assholes,” I hiss.
“Your mom and dad are planning on taking Pia and the baby back to their house, if Pia wants.” Tears prick my eyes. My parents are fucking rock stars at times.
“She’ll want that. Pia has been practically velcroed to Mum since she found out about the baby.”
We finish our breakfast and dress. I hand Sloane one of my hoodies and we drive to the hospital.
The corridors are quiet as we walk in. We find the room easily because there is a hand-drawn sign—by Bella, I’d wager—taped to the door: “WELCOME TO THIS PLANE OF EXISTENCE, MEENA! DO NOT WAKE THE BABY!”
Inside, Pia is asleep, the new baby nestled in the curve of one arm. Todd sits beside them, reading a battered paperback, looking as if he’s aged a decade. He glances up and waves us in.
