Page 111 of Sweet Twins For My Brother's Best Friend

“False alarm,” I tell him as the pain passes, and I relax against the bench, breathing heavily.

“Are you sure about that?” Scott asks, concern etched onto his face. That didn’t sound like a false anything, Hannah. I think you might need to go to the hospital.”

I shake my head, holding my breath in my cheeks. I release the air slowly as Lucy runs up to me, slobber flying off her face.

She rests her dirty face against my knees, spreading grass and dirt across my jeans, and I pull at her ears gently, rubbing the pink and silky insides of them with my thumbs.

“Hannah?” Scott repeats, trying to look into my eyes.

I stare into the distance, slowing my heartbeat to the rhythm of Lucy’s panting.

“No, no, I don’t. Because I’m eight weeks early, and Chris is still in Maine.”

“Oh, is Chris your…the dad?”

I turn to Scott and see nothing but confusion and concern on his face, like a light in a stormy night. I grab his wrist and nod.

“I think I understand what’s happening. Are you scared to give birth without Chris?”

Tears leak down my cheeks, and I whisper, “I need to call my brother.”

“Okay, sure. Let’s call your brother. What’s your brother’s name? Give me your phone, I’ll find him.” Scott sets his hand over mine as it digs into his wrist bone. He pats it comfortingly.

“Tyler,” I tell him, tossing him my cell.

Now that I’ve started to allow myself to acknowledge that I really am having these babies, the pain is excruciating. It snuck up on me and settled deep in my belly and against my spine, and now it’s all I can feel.

“Tyler. Okay, sure. And hey, did you drive? How about you give me your keys and I’ll take you to the hospital while we call your brother – does that sound good?”

Scott’s hand hooks under my elbow, and I lean against the back of the bench, leaning back dramatically to pick myself up before sinking down into a squat again. “I know, I know, but you don’t have far to go. You can make it, Hannah, let’s go.”

He walks me and Lucy to the car, inputs the nearest hospital into his GPS, and calls Tyler on my phone.

Tyler’s quiet over speakerphone, a stark difference from when I last saw him about five months ago. He accepts all the information Scott gives him and agrees to meet us at the hospital.

I lie down in the back, Lucy on the floorboard licking at my stomach as I breathe through the pain and try not to think about how devastated Chris will be if I give birth without him.

And the fact that I’m the reason he isn’t here.

Then more pain rips through my body, and the thought disappears.

Chapter Fifty

Christopher

I’m walking around Adelaide, a new employee I hired a few days ago to man the front desk and sign up new members. She listens intently as I tell her about safety protocols and nods, her eyes on the machinery.

We’ve been open for only a short time now, and slowly but surely the clientele is building and I’m still hiring employees.

I see people vacationing who realize they’ve enjoyed one too many lobster rolls and people who’ve been around the area for years who’ve decided they want something new to keep them entertained and physically fit, particularly given the approaching winter season.

Every time someone new comes in, I feel a jolt of excitement.

Hannah says my financials are looking good.

I’ve been sleeping in an apartment I rent on a month-to-month basis. I had briefly considered sleeping in the back office, but I decided the serendipity would be too much to bear.

It doesn’t feel any different when I’m in bed missing her and the babies, though.

---