Page 86 of Luna

I sucked in a breath, and Quinn shifted. I dropped my nose to his arm, huffing the clean eucalyptus smell of him that always made me feel refreshed.. But the reality was that I had been on bed rest for almost four weeks now, and it was starting to wear on me.

Dante had practiced his entire new routine in front of me, as promised. Quinn and I had read a lot of books, Halos and I had planned out enough gardens to last me a lifetime, and Colton had been teaching me how to play videos games.

A sharp pain fluttered through my belly, and I put my hand on the largest part of my belly. Poppy somersaulted inside me, then her foot found the bottom of my ribcage, and she kicked.

The ripple was the oddest sensation. It hurt, of course, like a muscle cramp, but it felt like a wave across my stomach.

I took a slow breath in through my nose and let it out. The squeezing pain persisted. I breathed in again, the rippling sensation getting stronger.

It felt like the Braxton Hicks contractions that had got me on bed rest, but stronger. Warm, soothing waves of comfort came from Halos, Dante, and Colton, and then from Quinn. Halos shifted in his sleep, and I patted his arm.

Stay asleep, I willed them. They would ask me if I was okay, and I didn’t want to have to decide if I was or wasn’t.

I drifted in the darkness, breathing through the rippling pains.

Halos shifted behind me, dropping a sleepy kiss on my shoulder. He moved his hand to the low part of my back and rubbed gently.

It put pressure on my lower back. I squirmed. Before I even had to say it was too tender, he stopped.

“Hurts?”

“Sore.” I shifted, as my lower back got in on the sharp pains. It felt like a massive elephant was sitting on the small space between the bottom of my ribs and the top of my pelvic bone.

I huffed a breath. “Put your hands on my lower back but don’t rub.”

Halos obeyed, the warmth of his hands sinking into my skin. I wanted to shift position, but I also didn’t want to move.

“Honey, you want to pace a bit?”

“We can move,” Colton said, his voice gravely.

“I didn’t mean to wake everyone up.” I tried to roll over, but my muscles cramped too much. Quinn helped me up while Halos made sure I didn’t lose my balance.

I got up and walked around the bedroom. I put my hands on my lower back, but nothing made the pressure go away. I sucked in a breath, my belly contracting again.

“Honey?” Dante said, his voice sharp. “I think you’re in labor.”

“I’m early by almost three weeks.” I puffed, leaning forward. Bending over a little bit took some of the pressure off my lower back. I smirked at Colton. “I know this is a suggestive position for you, but I’m not in the mood.”

Colton chuckled. “That’s alright, darlin’. I’ll hit you up some other time.”

“I bet you will,” I said, the last word coming out in a wheeze. “Okay fine, call Dr. Lim and ask her.”

“We’re supposed to time your contractions.” Quinn rolled out of bed, sounding way too chipper. He pulled his phone off the nightstand and opened his timer app.

“Okay, but just don’t tell me you’re timing it.” I braced myself against the dresser again. “It’s annoying me for some reason.”

“Got it!” Quinn held up his thumb. “You just, you know, try to make yourself comfortable.”

“Right.” I grunted. Dante brought me a warm compress that felt like heaven on my back. I put my face down on my forearms and let myself drift. I help up my thumb each time I felt a contraction.

Colton, Dante, and Halos took turns swapping the heat packs on my back over so that there was always one that was the right temperature, and made sure I had water to sip.

“How long are we waiting?” I mumbled. It felt like no time at all had passed, but also, somehow, an eternity. “Am I actually in labor?”

“Oh, you’re in labor alright,” Quinn chuckled. “But your contractions need to be five to ten minutes apart before we head over to the birthing center.”

I grumbled. I wanted to keep pretending it was false labor. I really did, because this was three weeks too early. But apparently Poppy was on her own schedule.

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