Page 90 of A Seed Of Peril

“Santiago!” Dominic’s voice was tremulous and taut. His eyes and his face were stolid and steel-like, probably in an attempt to keep his composure for my sake.

“He’s calling,” Bianca informed him, also maintaining a sense of calm for me. Us.

“Let’s go, Dominic,” Anthony said out of the blue, and they wasted no time rushing me to the basement.

In a way, the rocking and swaying from Dominic rushing me downstairs brought its own relief, but it also made the pressure that much greater. I didn’t know pressure like this existed.

A female’s voice echoed from somewhere, but I couldn’t register who it was, let alone what she said. The sound of footsteps echoed in the wake of her voice.

“Pleeeaaasseee,” I whined, begging not for Dominic to get me on a bed but for our son to be in my arms already. I sucked in a sharp, messy breath.. The desire to push was extreme and seemingly impossible to fight. I blew small, shallow breaths in and out, trying to shove aside the constant stinging and pressure gradually building between my legs. My hands were balled into tight fists in the air. I closed my eyes and tried to visualize how all this pain and pressure worked Vincenzo down further into the birth canal.

“Mr. Rosini,” the female voice said. Julie.

“Prisco, go upstairs and make sure the rest of those fucking doctors get the fuck down here right away, and unless the house is on fire,nobodyelse is to be down here. Got it?”

“Yes,” Anthony stated and dashed back through the basement.

“Dominic!” I wailed. I wasn’t quite sure where I was at this point as a severe contraction ripped through me. It was like this baby was ripping my insides apart. “SHIT!”

“Hang on, Lilith,” Dominic said, kicking the door shut. He laid me on the bed in the first room he came across in the medical facility. I frantically and feverishly grabbed onto the rails of the bed. I swayed and rocked roughly from side to side like two people were trying to pull me closer in each direction.

I was sweaty, tired, and trying to make it through this. I knew I needed to push, but I was too afraid to. Sensations lingered up around my waist and in my lower back, but as my body worked to birth my son, I tensed my muscles and tried to hold him in. The more my son descended, the warmer and sicker I felt.

“It’s going to be alright, Lilith,” Julie assured me. Her latex gloves snapped as she pulled them on. “It’ll be alright.” A nurse already here on shift with her assisted her.

Something’s wrong…. Everything in the book was a lie. Childbirth wasn’t supposed to be this bad… I’m sorry, Dominic… I’m sorry I‘m not strong. I’m sorry you have to see me like this. I’m sorry I’m caving to the pain. I’m sorry… I’m sorry.

The sound of running water found my ears, and I looked to find Dominic washing his hands in the sink. “Dominic…” I whimpered, flat on my back and fighting to endure this pain. “Dominic, Ineeeedd yooouuuu.” My voice wavered and struggled through the chaos. Within seconds, Dominic rushed up beside me. He brushed his palm up and across my sweat-ridden forehead.

Julie began to release the stirrups built into the foot of the bed.

Tugging on my shirt, I begged for anyone to take it off, still rocking from side to side. “Please take this off.”

With scary ease, Dominic ripped my nightshirt in two right down the middle, slipping my arms out of the sleeves but leaving it underneath me. I didn’t care. I just wanted to push and push hard. “I… I can’t be like this,” I rambled. “I-I-I need it higher—AHHH!!” In that moment, the pain hit so hard and was so bad, I literally arched my back like someone being possessed by a demon.

My focus vanished as fast as I gathered it.

I panted.

I groaned.

Weird noises climbed up my throat, but I didn’t care how funny or embarrassing I sounded.

I wanted to physically run away from this pain.

Dominic and I turned our attention to the door as more nurses rushed into the room. I looked at the ceiling, squeezing my eyes shut shortly thereafter, blowing out rapid breaths.

Someone adjusted the bed, so I was sitting at a better angle. I laid back and grabbed onto the rails.

“I’m sorry,” I thought out loud as I drowned in the pain. “Help me… Dominic, please help me,” I sobbed, shaking. “I can’t take this anymore.” Not realizing he grabbed me a towel in this haze of pain, Dominic patted my forehead with it, taking my hand into his, squeezing. I sensed him staring, but all I could focus on was the ceiling. The burning and stretching in my vagina intensified, and it was only then did I grasp what was now happening. Vincenzo was coming out whether I pushed or not.

“Try to breathe,Bellissima.”

“I can’t.” I sucked in a bunch of rapid, erratic breaths, bawling. I started to open my legs, but I rushed to close them under a new, more severe contraction, arching my back again. Even with Dominic by my side, I went from wanting this baby out to wishing he would stay inside forever. I couldn’t find any courage.

I finally looked at him. He wiped my tears. His eyes were vacant, and it hurt to see him so helpless.

“You can do this, love,” he softly spoke. “You just need to focus.” He leaned over me and kissed my forehead.

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