Page 58 of The Alpha: Part Three
“Michael?”
“Hmm?”
“I think my water broke.”
Chapter twenty-four
Seth
“What do you mean, you made her water break?” Ben barks, running up the stairs behind me. “No way were you rough enough with her to do that.”
“Don't be an idiot, Ben,” Michael snaps over his shoulder. “Of course I wasn't. I barely did anything.”
“Well, you did something.”
Oh my god. “Stop arguing. She's going to be stressed enough without the arguing. Ben's right though, something caused it to happen and you were with her. What happened, exactly?”
Michael stops at the top of the stairs and turns. “We didn't fuck. I got her off. Everything was fine. She was catching her breath, and then she said her water broke.”
“What are we walking into?” Ben asks. “I just want to know what to expect.”
Michael snorts. “What do you think you're walking into? Her water broke. It's water. She's rearranging things and getting ready to have a baby. We've got a while before it gets intense.”
“Stop whispering in the hall and get in here!” Desie yells. “And someone call Obi!”
I have read articles and books about birth and babies. I have watched online presentations. I have tried to learn and be as prepared as I possibly can for this. But I have never been present or even in the house for a birth. The closest I've ever been is when Talia had Luca, and I was outside.
I am fucking terrified.
I can't be, though. Desir'ee deserves more than that. Better. I cannot allow myself to be overrun by fear or panic. I can do this. We can do this.
“Ready?” Michael asks, his hand on the doorknob.
“Ready,” Ben answers, and I nod. Michael twists the knob and we follow him inside.
She looks the same. Nothing has changed about her since we were curled up together on the couch just a little while ago. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought she'd look different.
“I need this moved over there.” She gestures to the nightstand and points across the room. “And I need the cart moved in from the nursery. We need to keep an eye on the temperature in the rooms. Seth, call Talia and let her know it's time. Then call your mother. Ben, call Mateo. Michael, Obi.”
I grab the other side of the nightstand and help Ben carry it to where she pointed. It's not one of those small nightstands. No, Jasper picked out one of the heavy-duty ones with brass accents and four drawers. “You didn't mention anything about any contractions today. Are you in any pain right now?”
“I haven't had any contractions. Not any that I'm aware of.”
Ben puts his end down on the floor and starts for the door. “Is that normal?”
“Yes, Benjamin. It's normal. I'm going to have plenty of contractions soon, which is why I'm trying to get everything in place and all the phone calls made now.”
Right. Phone calls. Talia first. She picks up on the third ring. “What's wrong?”
“Nothing. Desir'ee's water broke.”
“Just now? Is she alright? I'll be there in just a minute.” I listen as she runs to another room. “Kaleb,” she hisses. “Kaleb, get up. We need to go to Seth's. It's baby time.”
“Wait, Talia. Hang on. It just happened a minute ago. It's not baby time just yet. Let me see when she wants you to come.”
That's one of the things Desir'ee was insistent about. She wanted family here when the baby arrived. She wanted our baby to be welcomed into this world surrounded by the people who will love him or her. But she didn't want our family to suffer through hours and hours of waiting, especially in the middle of the night. So the plan is to alert everyone that it's happening so they can expect the call to come over in the next little while.
“Do you want Talia to come now, Desir'ee, or later?”
