Page 12 of Please Save Me

I Googled what was needed for one and settled on a small list.

One: A soft nightgown and bathrobe because Mason hated how hospital gowns felt.

Two: Soft socks and slippers so her feet didn’t get cold.

Three: Toiletries because Reddit userMamaBear5548said she was in the hospital for weeks when she went into preterm labor, and I wanted Mason to have her stuff.

Four: Chargers, pillows, an extra blanket, and other miscellaneous stuff to make the visit morecomfortable.

Mason’s bag was the difficult one. Lavender’s was easy. I packed a couple of blankets my sister sent Mason and a stuffed duck Mason grabbed for our baby, and I left a note to myself to buy preemie-sized sleepers. This wasn’t exactly a situation we had prepared for. After all, until now, Mason’s pregnancy had been a healthy one.

Somehow, while I did that, Cameron talked Mason down from her ledge, and I assumed he just reminded her she was being a hormonal bitch. I didn’t bring that up, though, just in case.

Once everything was said and done and we loaded everything into the car, it was just Mason and I. I turned on the heater in her seat, hoping the warmth would ease some of the pain in her back. And just like that, we started the forty-five-minute trek to Hartwood General Hospital.

When we got there, we were immediately rushed to the triage area of the maternity ward. Some very nice-looking nurse in pink scrubs immediately wore Mason like a puppet to check and see if she was dilated. Luckily, she wasn’t. From that point on, they started an IV to rehydrate her and gave her Benadryl.

After all, Mason couldn’t be stressed if she was sleeping.

Once that was said and done, the contractions disappeared, and the nurse said it was probably false labor. Still, they needed to keep Mason a little longer to be sure. This left a very sleepy Mason and me to sit together, my hand cemented to hers thanks to our sweaty palms.

When we got here, I offered her my hand so that she could squeeze it when she was in pain, leaving me with crescent-shaped nail marks on the back of my hand. I was pleasantly surprised that she held onto me this long.

“Why don’t you get some rest, Princess?” I cooed, lowering my face to hers.

Her breathing was slow, and the way her lashes fluttered closed, I assumed she’d take the suggestion and sleep. But, after a moment, her gaze trained on mine. She didn’t speak, but her breathing remained slow.

“What’s on your mind?” I asked.

Her throat bobbed as she swallowed. I sat up and looked back just to grab the water a nurse brought her not too long ago. Slowly, I raised the straw to her lips, and she accepted it. Ice rattled against the plastic as she downed what felt like half the container with long gulps. When she let go of the straw, she was out of breath.

She recoiled slightly and rubbed her stomach, causing the monitors to bump together. “Better?” I studied her as I spoke.

“Do youhateme?” There was a small crack in her voice.

My heart flipped, and my brow furrowed. Was she serious? “Princess, why do you think that?”

Her bottom lip quivered, and I wove my fingers into her hair. The short, dark strands were softer than silk.

“Because you’ve been so mad at me for so long.” Sniffles made her words almost unintelligible.

When the fuck was I mad at her? … Never mind.

I pressed a kiss to her forehead and breathed deeply. Right now, Mason smelled like sweat, and I loved it. “I wasn’t the one who was screaming for you to go away.” I reminded her.“I know.” Her tone somehow grew more pathetic. “And you’re being really nice to me even with that.” A smile pulled at the left corner of my lips. Her hormones were driving her absolutely crazy, and I could work with that.“You were just scared and hurting, and I’m sorry that you felt like I couldn’t comfort you.” I softly swiped away her tears. “Please don’t cry. I hate it when you’re sad.”

Mason nodded as her breathing stuttered. “Has Cameron texted you?”

I dug in the pockets of my jeans and produced the device. It hadn’t stopped vibrating since I got here, so I had to turn off notifications. Typing in my passcode was pretty much muscle memory, and once it was done, I went to my messages. I had approximately fifteen texts from Cameron, who I assumed called Lucian and Sophia at some point, as they had each messaged me a considerable amount. Lucian especially. I fought the urge to wrinkle my nose as I deleted the messages before putting the phone back in my pocket.“You shouldn’t be worrying about them. Right now, all you should be focused on is you and our baby girl.” I assured her. Her eyes went wide as they softened with sadness. I assumed she took that as no one messaged, and it wasn’t my job to correct her. After all, Mason had a phone. If they wanted updates, they would have contacted her.

Still, I hated seeing her sad.

“Hey, you missed dinner. Do you want me to go to the cafeteria and see if they have anything?” I offered.

She hesitated before nodding.“What do you want? No matter what it is, I’ll make it happen.” If the hospital cafeteria didn’t have it, I’d go somewhere else.

No price was too high if it meant seeing her smile.

“Promise not to judge me?” Her tears dried as she looked at me.

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