Chapter 3
Series 1 Chapter 3
“Mom, I'm bleeding. I'm on my way to the hospital.”
“I know.” Marianne cut me off. “But Brielle won't stop crying. Call Grant and tell him to pick us up first. She can't get this worked up right now.”
The cab turned the corner, and I tightened my grip on my purse.
“I'm scared too.”
She paused.
“Just get checked out first. You're surrounded by doctors. What are you scared of?”
I hung up.
A few minutes later, a nurse brought me a wheelchair.
It wasn't until I sat down that I realized I'd been shaking the entire time.
There were exams, monitoring, questions from the doctor about when the pain had started.
I stared at the clock on the wall, trying to remember how long I'd been sitting outside the store.
My phone lay beside my pillow.
It never rang.
Eventually, the doctor came to my bedside and told me I was showing signs of preterm labor. I needed to be admitted for treatment and continuous monitoring.
“If things continue to progress, you may deliver during this hospital stay.”
My hand went instinctively to my belly.
“I'm not ready.”
The doctor pulled up a chair and explained what would happen next.
I tried to take it all in. It wasn't until she asked whether I had any family who could come be with me that the tears finally fell.
“I'll call my husband.”
Grant answered almost immediately.
“Are they done checking you?”
“The doctor says I might go into labor early.”
There was a brief silence on the other end.
“Today?”
“It's possible. They're still treating me, and I don't know...” I wiped away my tears. “Can you bring my hospital bag? It's at the bottom of the closet.”
“Okay. I'll go home and get it.”
“You're coming, right?”
“I am. Don't be scared.”
Still clutching my phone, I finally felt some of the tension leave my shoulders.
A little over ten minutes later, he sent me a photo.
My gray hospital bag was sitting on our bed.
“This one?”
“Yes. There's a folder with my documents inside, and the baby's clothes.”
“Got it.”
I sent him the unit and room number, then added one more message.
“I'll wait for you.”
Forty minutes passed.
Every time the door opened, I looked up.
A nurse adjusted the monitors strapped around my belly, brought me water, then came back again to check on me.
Grant never showed up.
I opened the map on my phone.
It normally took twenty minutes to get from our house to the hospital.
When he answered my call, the first thing I heard was the clicking of a turn signal.
“Where are you?”
“I just picked up Mom and Brielle.”
I stared at the photo of my hospital bag on the screen.
“Aren't you coming to the hospital?”
“They were still at the mall. Mom called me several times. I couldn't just leave them stranded there.”
“Are you coming now?”
He didn't answer right away.
Then I heard Brielle say softly in the background, “Just take me home. I don't need anything to eat.”
Marianne immediately cut in.
“Didn't you just say you wanted apple pie? You've barely eaten anything today.”
“Evan used to take me to get it.”
Her voice broke.
Grant lowered his voice.
“I know a place.”
I sat up a little straighter.
“Grant.”
“Hold on.”
He didn't hang up, so I heard Marianne's next words perfectly.
“Tessa's at the hospital. She has people taking care of her. If you go, you'll just be sitting there. Take Brielle to get something to eat first. It's taken her all day to finally have an appetite.”
“But Tessa said she might go into labor.”
“She hasn't gone into labor yet, has she? If something really happens, the hospital will let you know.”
My fingers tightened around the edge of the blanket.
“I heard that,” I said.
The other end went quiet.
“Grant, I'm telling you right now. I need you here.”
He let out a breath.
“I know. But you've always been better at handling things than she is. She can't even hear Evan's name without falling apart right now. Let me get her settled first.”
“What if our baby is born right now?”
“Just do what the doctors tell you. If you actually go into labor, call me. I'll come right away.”
I stared at the monitoring belts crisscrossing my belly.
“I already called you.”
He seemed about to say something else when Brielle started crying in the background.
“Go to her. Don't fight because of me. I just miss Evan so much.”
“It's okay. This isn't your fault. Don't blame yourself,” Grant said.
He wasn't talking to me.
I waited a few seconds, then ended the call.
A message from him came through soon after.
“Don't assume the worst. I'll come by later. Your hospital bag is already in the car.”
I didn't reply.