Page 11 of Stay With Me
“Calm down, brother. Let’s go, I’ll drive,” I point him towards the front door and turn to Mary. “Ms. Mary, we’ll be in touch. My buddy here is about to be a daddy, so we need to go.” She smiles warmly and waves us off. Eli’s face shows a mixture of excitement and fear as he mindlessly walks to the side of my truck and climbs inside. I laugh at his goofy expression and hop in the driver’s seat, heading to the hospital.
We rush straight to the reception desk, Elijah regaining his composure during the drive. “My wife was brought in to labor and delivery. Her name is Ember Harding. Can you tell me where to go?” He asks the nurse who types something into the computer. She eyesus both like she wants to eat us for lunch and, for the first time, I find myself put off by her blatant perusal. Eli clears his throat, his impatience permeating the air around us.
“She’s in room 18, down the hall to the left,” he takes off, following her directions without another word. I mumble a thank you and she ignores it, going back to her paperwork.
By the time I catch up, he’s already tracked Ember and Kelsea down. I see my sister laying on her side in a hospital bed. She’s got two monitors wrapped around her belly and tubes already coming from an IV in her hand. She squeezes her eyes closed tightly and lets out another pained moan, grasping for Eli’s hand frantically. Kelsea comes to stand beside me, avoiding eye contact at all costs. Knowing she doesn’t even want to see my face causes an uncomfortable burning sensation in my chest that I don’t really care to acknowledge right now.
“You’re doing so good, sunshine. God, you’re incredible, baby,” I hear Eli whisper into my sister’s hair as he brushes it out of her face. It suddenly feels as though we’re invading this intimate moment between them, and I shuffle uncomfortably.
A doctor pushes her way into the room behind us, her face cheery and alert. “Alright Harding family, are we ready to do this?” She asks, snapping blue latex gloves over her hands.
“Thats my cue to go,” I say, knowing that eventhough I love my sister beyond words, I don’t want to watch this. I give her a quick kiss on her forehead, wish her luck, and duck out of the room. I hear Kelsea telling her we’ll be waiting right outside the door. I’m a little shocked she didn’t stay in the room with them. A flurry of nurses rush past us as they push two tiny incubators into the room. Kelsea barely squeezes out before she gets run over.
“Not gonna stay for the big show?” I ask her, wondering if she’ll even answer me.
Her gaze is still locked on her scuffed converse sneakers. “There has to be two separate teams of nurses, one for each baby. That room was filling up fast and I don’t want to get in the way,” she whispers.
I nod in reply, shoving my hands in my pockets as we stand in uncomfortable silence. I hate this feeling. Being around Kelsea has never made me feel uncomfortable. Hard as a fucking rock? Absolutely. But never like I’m standing next to a complete stranger.
“You guys were looking at the place next door to the shop?” She asks, her beautiful blue eyes finally finding mine. She literally takes my breath away. Her gaze is like staring into an endless sky blue abyss and wishing it would swallow me whole, just so I could be consumed by her. Her brows furrow slightly, and I realize she asked me a question.
“Uh yeah, we we’re meeting with the realtor,” I reply, not breaking the connection.
“I thought I heard Mary in the background. I’m glad you guys are pulling the trigger on that,” she smiles and I’m fucking done for. I don’t know how I could ever deny myself the sheer pleasure of being pulled into Kelsea’s orbit again and again. We stare at each other, neither of us daring to move or even breathe, fearing this moment will be lost forever. I want to be the man she thinks she sees in me. I just don’t know how. When she finally tears her gaze away from mine, I feel the sudden loss seep into my soul. What the fuck is wrong with me?
I make my way across the hall to a small waiting area and find a seat, dropping my head into my hands and trying to scrub the confusion from my mind. I feel her presence in the seat next to me as her sweet almond scent assaults my senses. It’s like I’m fucking drowning in her.
We wait in silence for another hour, both on the edge of our seats with anticipation. Stealing glances at each other here and there, I take comfort in the fact that she doesn’t seem to be actively avoiding me anymore. At least that’s a step in the right direction.
“I’m sorry, Ev,” she says quietly and my eyes snap to her, my brows instantly furrowing in confusion. What could she possibly have to apologize to me for? If anyone deserves an apology, it’s her.
“For what, goddess? You have nothing to be sorry for.” She shivers slightly at my use of the nickname I gave her years ago. It’s still fitting to this day.
“I should never have given you an ultimatum like that. It wasn’t fair to you. I know you don’t handle forced decisions well.” She nervously rubs her palms down her thighs. Thighs I remember wrapping around me tightly as I shoved my tongue down her throat. I can still taste her on my tongue, the recollection causing lust to flare in my veins. I will it away. This isn’t the time or the place for that kind of reaction.
“I’m sorry I haven’t given you an answer,” I surprise myself with that revelation, knowing deep down exactly what I want to tell her.
“Don’t be. You don’t owe me anything, Everett,” she says, looking away.
“Just because I don’t owe you anything doesn’t mean I don’t want to give you everything I have, Kelsea.” I reach over, brushing my hand across her knuckles. She swings her eyes back to mine, a small gasp escaping her lips. I want to swallow it down, to capture those lips in a searing kiss that goes on forever. “Honestly, Kels, I don’t know how to do this. I don’t know how to be the ‘perfect boyfriend’ kind of guy that you deserve. Sometimes, I’m selfish and forgetful. I don’t always think about how the things I say affect other people.” I thread my fingers through hers, and she doesn’t pull away. Instead, she stares down at our joined hands like they’re something foreign to her. “But if I’m going to try for anybody, it’s gonna be you, goddess,” I say with conviction, bringing my free handto her cheek. She closes her eyes, leaning into my touch.
The door across from us swings open, and she drops my hand in surprise. Eli stands in the doorway with the happiest grin on his face, his eyes obviously red and puffy with emotion. He cradles two tiny bundles, one in each arm, as he jerks his head for us to come over. Kelsea moves like lightning, already tearing up at the vision in front of us.
“Oh my gosh, Elijah! They are absolutely perfect!” She squeals, and I smile at her excitement. Something almost painful flashes in her eyes as she reaches out to touch them, but she quickly masks it. We step into the room as medical staff file out, basking in the calm after the storm.
eleven
I hug my best friend,telling her how proud I am of her as we both look over at Eli and Everett fawning over the newborn twins. One boy and one girl, a new representation of sorts for the adult twins in this room. I know they will grow up loving and protecting each other, just like their mother and uncle did. What an amazing life they have ahead of them.
“They are perfect, Em. Seriously, no other babies in the world have ever compared,” I gush, already in love with them. She gives me a small, sleepy smile, and I know she’s barely keeping her eyes open. Exhaustion is evident all over her face.
“Thank you, sister. I’m glad you guys are here,” she says with a yawn.
“Theres nowhere else we would ever be, babe.” I giveher a kiss on the forehead, plopping down into the chair next to her bed. “Well, who do we have here?” I ask. The new parents have been tightlipped about the names they chose for their children for months, and I’m dying to know.
Ember nods to Eli, giving him the go ahead and he beams down at his beautiful baby girl. “This little girl is Scarlett Amelia Harding,” he says, and I gasp. My eyes fill with tears as my hand flies up to cover my mouth. I look over to Ember and see she’s already crying. I squeeze her hand in mine, the love we have for each other flowing over us.
“You named her after me? My middle name?” My voice is teary and jagged, but I don’t care. It’s such an honor that they would even consider me in their decision.
