Page 89 of Ruin
“Good job,” he tells her, looking between her legs to see what’s going on. “Next time, I need you to push even harder. We want this baby out.”
“I can’t. I can’t do it!”
“Yes, you can, angel. You got this,” Grizz says. “You’ve been waiting for this.”
“Here we go, Anastacia. Push, push, push,” Lucian coaches. “One, two, three—I see the head. Keep going. Keep going. Five, six, seven. That’s it. Keep pushing, come on.”
Part of me wants to look. Part of me thinks I’ll pass out if I do. So I keep my gaze on Lucian and focus on how hard this tiny girl is squeezing my hand. She may crush my bones.
“You can do this, Anastacia,” I tell her.
“It hurts! It hurts. Please make it stop hurting!” she sobs.
“The pain will go away as soon as the baby is out. Just push a little harder. Here we go. Push, sweetheart. Push hard!”
She bares down and we pull her legs back. She pushes so hard her face is purple, her body shaking.
“That’s it. The head is out, sweetheart. Keep going. Come on, the shoulders are right there. Deep breath and push again.”
She takes a deep breath and pushes harder than she has before, letting out another cry and then a sound of relief.
“What a beauty,” Lucian says, and that’s when I notice the baby in his hands. It’s small and most definitely not a boy. The umbilical cord is still attached to something and he makes quick work of laying the little baby on a towel, suctioning her mouth. I wait and wait for what feels like forever, but the cry doesn’t come.
It doesn’t fucking come…
Grizz and I share a look as Lucian mutters something to himself as he massages the baby’s chest, then picks it up and lays it face down on his arm. He grabs the wet towel, squeezes it out, then massages its back with it for a moment. I don’t think anyone in the room is breathing. Until finally, there it is.
The worst sound I’ve ever heard in my entire life. A newborn screech.
Anastacia gasps, then starts bawling her eyes out.
“Thank you,” Lucian whispers under his breath, shaking his head. “Thank you.”
He lays the baby down on the towel, then cuts the umbilical cord, which I completely ignore because it looks fucking gross. He wraps the baby in the towel and gets to his feet.
“Are you ready to meet your daughter?”
“A girl?” Anastacia cries. “Oh my God, it’s a girl.” She laughs, patting Grizz’s hand before reaching out to take the baby. Sherests her small head on her chest, and Grizz looks down at her in awe. Hell, I’m in awe. She’s so small, and so cute with chubby cheeks and dark hair.
“I have to get the after birth out,” Lucian explains. “It’ll be uncomfortable but shouldn’t be painful.”
Anastacia doesn’t seem to hear him, but moves around uncomfortably a few times as he does what he needs to do. He’s massaging her stomach and pressing on it in places until I hear it plop into the bowl. I gag.
“You can try to feed her, if you like,” Lucian says, wiping his forehead with the back of his hand.
Anastacia nods, pressing a kiss to the tiny baby’s head.
“I need some air,” I comment as I get to my feet.
Lucian steadies me and smiles. “I’ll go with you.”
Grizz and Anastacia are fawning over the baby, not at all paying attention to us. Neither seems to remember the torment we all just went through, either.
When we get outside, Tommy is there, smoking a cigarette.
“May I have one?” I ask.
He chuckles, pulling the pack from his pocket and handing me one.
