Page 92 of A Seed Of Peril

“What’s happening?” I breathed as best I could under the tremendous pain and tenderness.

“You really need to push, Lilith.”

Julie’s voice was unsteady, confirming my suspicion that something was seriously wrong.

Dominic towered above me, kissing my forehead repeatedly. A part of me felt for him. If the roles were reversed, I would’ve been absolutely beside myself, helplessly watching my loved one suffer.

I grunted and squirmed, pushing little by little. “Oh, Jesus,” I groaned with a bigger push.

“You’re doing it, love. Keep going.”

“Tell me what you’re feeling,” Julie ordered.

“I can’t,” I whimpered.

“I need you to try,” she urged.

“Ripping. So much ripping and tearing andpain. So much pain!”

“We need to get this baby out,” Julie said with a newfound urgency. “Now.”

It then hit me. I was about to undergo the absolute worst pain I could ever imagine, and all I wanted was for it to stop or for me to die.

“When I tell you to push,” Julie went on, “I need you to listen to me and push hard. Understand?”

“Tell me what’s happening now!” Dominic demanded.

“I don’t know for sure, Mr. Rosini, but we can’t waste any more time. Your son needs to come out and needs to come outnow. So, Lilith, on three—look at me.”

I looked at Nurse Barton as Dominic held my hand tightly in both of his.

“On three, I want you to push as hard as you can.”

“It hurts to push,” I whined.

“You can do this, Lilith,” Julie coached.

“One,” she began, now in a blue paper gown and shining a brighter light on me.

“Two.”

I inhaled a deep breath, squeezing Dominic’s hand tighter.

“Three.”

With all my might, I bore down, screaming shortly afterward.

Pain seared from my chest to my knees. The harder I tried to push, the more I struggled.

“Amy, get me the vacuum please,” Julie instructed our OBGYN. I looked around in a panic.

“Grab her other leg,” Julie instructed Amy. Julie inserted the vacuum inside of me. “When I pull, you push, okay?”

Sobbing, I nodded.

“Go ahead and push, Lilith.”

Once I found the strength, it was like I was being ripped in half. Unbearable, unimaginable pain, pressure, and burning overtook me as Julie pulled, continuing to instruct me to push.

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