Page 47 of Utah

Even though it was late, I doubted my brother was sleeping. He was a bit of a night owl. I reached for my phone on the bedside table and texted him.

Me: Any news about Utah yet?

Knox: Not since the last time you asked

Me: I’m worried

Knox: Don’t be

His telling me not to worry didn’t stop the dread from swirling inside me, mounting until I could….

“Oooooo,” I groaned. “Uhhhhhh, what the hell?” I clutched my belly, breathing through a wave of pain. They weren’t strong, but I didn’t believe I should be experiencing any type of cramps. Suddenly, I had to use the bathroom. Swinging my legsover the edge of the bed, I stood, waiting for more discomfort to hit, but nothing else happened. When I pulled down my underwear to sit on the toilet, there was blood. Not a lot, but enough for me to start to panic. Heat enveloped me, and for a moment, I forgot how to breathe. Between being worried about Utah and now this, whatever this was that was happening, I became borderline hysterical. “Evie!” I shouted. “I need you!” Ten seconds passed. “Evie!”

“I’m right here,” she rushed to say, barging into my bathroom. Her eyes widened a fraction when I pointed to my underwear, but her expression deadpanned seconds later. My sister was always good about being calm when others weren’t—a trait I wished I possessed right now. “It’s okay. We’ll go to the hospital, and they’ll check you out. It’s not uncommon for some women to bleed during the first few months of being pregnant.”

“Really?” Her words soothed me, but only a fraction. “How do you know that?”

“I like to read,” she said, smiling. “I need to know all things baby because you got my niece or nephew in there.”

“Good thing one of us is on her game.” I kicked off my underwear before standing. “Can you grab me a new pair and a pad?”

Evie was back in the bathroom a minute later. “Here you go.”

“Thanks.” After cleaning up, I threw on a pair of sweats and a T-shirt, grabbing my purse on the way out of the room.

“Are you okay?”

“I think so.”

“Any pain?” she asked.

“No,” I answered.

“That’s gotta be a good thing.” We rushed out of the house toward our cars. She held her hand out for my keys. “I don’t have any gas in mine.”

Upon arriving at the emergency room of Lakeland Memorial Hospital and notifying them about my issue, they took me right back. A nurse came in and took my vitals, marked down the results, and left.

“Do you want me to call Mom?”

“Not yet. Let’s wait to see what’s going on first.”

“Good idea.” My sister grasped my hand and squeezed it. “I’m sure everything is okay.”

I nodded, not wanting to jinx my situation.

There was a knock on the outside of the room, but before I could respond, Dr. Sanders walked in.

“I saw Ria Grayson on the chart and thought that might be you,” he said, approaching the bed.

“How did you know my last name? Before tonight, I mean, to know it was me?”

“I assumed it was the same as Knox’s.”

“Oh, yeah.” Thankful for the slight distraction, I then asked, “Do all doctors have their own office and work at a hospital?”

“Not all. But I take on a few shifts a month to help due to staffing.”

“Oh, that’s nice.”

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