Page 103 of Rule Breakers Fall Hardest

I close my eyes and breathe deeply, hating myself for wanting more. Arealkiss.

“Be careful. Text me when you’re home.”

“I will.” I look at Sammy sleeping peacefully in the crib, then I slip out of the room.

I get turned around approximately three times before I find the emergency entrance. When we arrived, I was so focused on helping Daire get to Sammy that I barely registered our surroundings and just how large the hospital is.

I’m dead on my feet by the time I enter the house and stomp snow off my boots in the entry. After hanging up my coat, I bend down to undo the laces, then pull my boots off.

Every cell in my body longs to be with Daire, but we need the car seat and supplies, and getting a few hours of sleep in my own bed before we bring Sammy home is probably a good idea.

My bed calls to me, but after being in the hospital, I want to shower first. I scrub my body practically raw and dive under the covers. I’m out within minutes, and when I wake up and check my phone, there’s a text waiting for me from Daire telling me that the earliest they’ll be discharged is ten.

“Holy shit,” I mutter to myself, collapsing back on my pillows.

There’s going to be a baby living here. Permanently.

The events of last night come rushing over me.

In a blink, everything has changed. Here we were, preparing for court and a fight to establish some sort of shared custody, and now… now poor Sammy doesn’t have his mom. It breaks my heart. I didn’t know the woman, and I might’ve hated her for having Daire’s child, but the fact that she’s gone? Just like that? It’s scary how quickly it can all come to an end.

I hastily make my bed and throw on a sweater and jeans. Then I hurry into the nursery I’ve worked so hard on creating. Thank God all the furniture has finally arrived.

Once I’ve tossed a couple of Sammy’s new outfits, along with a few diapers and wipes, into the diaper bag I ordered, I spin in a circle. “Do I need anything else?” I ask aloud, filling the silence. “Blanket.” I answer my own question.

I zip the bag, then carry it downstairs and set it, along with the car seat, by the door.

Munching on an energy bar, I pace the length of the kitchen. We have bottles, but we don’t have formula, and I don’t know what kind he needs.

“This is too much.” I fan my face with my hands. “Get your shit together, Rosie.”

With a calming breath, I pluck my phone out of my back pocket and text Daire;Ask a nurse or something what kind of formula I need to get.

It doesn’t take long before he sends me a screenshot of one.

Me: I’ll pick that up before I get you guys. Ten still seeming likely?

Daire: Probably closer to 12. The doctor is running behind.

Me: Anything you want me to bring you?

Daire: Nah. I’ll just shower and change when I get home. We can eat lunch then too.

Me: All right. Keep me posted.

I set my phone down and resume my pacing. My brain is having an extra difficult time dealing with this rapid turn of events.

Why didn’t we take more classes?

Read more parenting books?

Watching tutorials?

Wait, are parenting tutorials a thing? Probably not.

I’m a certifiable mess.

I didn’t bother with makeup when I was getting ready, but since I have time to kill, I trudge back upstairs. When I’m finished, it’s still a bit too early to leave, but I can’t be in this house a second longer.

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