Page 51 of Unbroken

Josh grabbed Reed’s arm like he was going to punch him, only for him to kiss him soundly. “It’s a good thing I love you,” he said with a smile.

Reed kissed Josh again and then excused himself to the bathroom.

Thankfully, the heavier topics were in the past, and we continued into more carefree conversation. I challenged James to an air hockey game when Reed came sprinting back from the bathroom. He nearly ran over three separate people who stepped in front of him and almost tripped over a random guy sitting on the ground. For a man who owned a gym and spent a lot of time in said gym, he was breathing heavily by the time he got to us.

“Luke, where the hell is your phone?” he asked.

Luke patted his pockets and pulled out his phone, quickly looking down at the screen.

“This place is a fucking black hole,” James said.

“You get a signal in the bathroom,” Reed explained. “And while I was in there, Amanda called me like three times.”

“What? Why?” Josh jumped in, his concern for his girlfriend obvious.

But Reed didn’t acknowledge Josh’s question. He stared at Luke and said, “You’re having a baby.”

We couldn’t have made it to the hospital any faster if we tried. Although Luke was worked up, and we all told him that it was probably better if he didn’t drive, he wasn’t giving up the driver’s seat. So, I had been chosen to ride with him while Josh, Reed, and James tried to keep up in their car.

Apparently, I was the most likely to keep him calm, which, by the time we got to the hospital and were sprinting inside, had been proven false.

Hazel and Luke had toured the hospital before—which was apparently something people did when they were planning on having a baby—so he knew exactly where he was going. It was up to the rest of us to keep up.

We all piled on the elevator, our panting and Luke’s nervous fidgeting the only sounds as we impatiently waited for it to climb to the third floor.

It was the longest elevator ride of my life.

When the doors opened, Luke hopped out first, looking right, then left, and deciding on that direction. We all followed and saw Amanda and Ivy in a small waiting area right off the elevator bank.

“Am I late? Did I miss it? Where is she?” Luke threw questions at Amanda faster than she could answer.

“You didn’t miss it. She’s right down the hall in room 212,” she said, and Luke was running again. “And let me know if she wants me in there!” she hollered after him.

She took a breath and turned back to the rest of us. Jamestook a seat next to Ivy in one of the blue and brown chairs while Reed and Josh both took turns hugging Amanda.

“She’s early,” Amanda said. “Her sister and mom won’t be here until tomorrow.”

“When did y’all get here?” Josh asked as we all fell into our chairs.

“Only a few minutes ago,” Ivy said.

“Did you drive her?” I asked.

Amanda shook her head and nervously chewed on her thumbnail. “No, Blakely did.”

I wasn’t the only one to look at Amanda like she was insane, but I was the one to ask, “Blakely?”

“Yeah, Hazel invited her over early so they could talk and clear the air. Ivy and I weren’t there yet, and Hazel wasn’t driving herself, so when she went into labor, Blakely drove her here.”

“Where’s Blake now?” James asked.

Amanda shrugged and motioned to the hallway where Luke had disappeared. “I think she’s still in there with her.”

TWENTY-THREE

Blakely

There were already somany nurses and doctors crowded into the room that when Luke’s very large frame came barreling through the door, I didn’t think there would be much space left.

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