Page 55 of I Changed for You
“Can you get up?” he asked. “I knew I should’ve taken you to the hospital.”
“I thought I would be okay. And yes, I can get up. It just might take a while.”
“You know I’m here for you every step of the way. If the baby is on the way, we’re going to get through this together.”
I smiled through the pain as Melijah helped me out of the bed. He helped me put some clothes on before we went into the bathroom to brush our teeth. I tried to be as quick as I could, but the pain was slowing me down.
“Should we call someone?” Melijah asked in a panicked tone.
Now wasn’t the time for him to panic when I needed him to be calm. It took everything for me to remain calm, but it was hard to do so.
I opened my mouth to say something, but my water broke. My eyes ballooned as my mouth dropped. That wasn’t a good thing.
“Oh, fuck!” Melijah hollered, scaring the hell out of me. “Damn, baby, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell like that. Are you good?”
With a strained look on my face, I nodded.
With his hand pressed against my lower back, we exited the bathroom. Since we were already dressed, he rushed me out of my bedroom.
“How far apart are your contractions?” he asked.
“Uhh, I think they’re ten minutes apart. Every ten minutes, pain will hit me.”
“C’mon. Let’s head out,” he stated.
Finally, we made our way out of the house and to Melijah’s car when another pain hit me, causing me to double over.
“Hold on, baby. I’m going to get you some help right now.”
I nodded and moaned. “This is too much. Gosh, I’m in so much pain. We should call our parents.”
This was when I’d be calling Jada and Camila to be by my side, but we hadn’t talked in months. When I was at work, if it wasn’t work related, we had nothing to talk about.
“And can you please call Skylar? I need someone by my side with you.”
“I got you, baby. I’ll make all those calls as soon as we get you situated at the hospital. How are you feeling?”
“Like I need to throw up. MJ isn’t playing fair, and he’s coming early,” I protested.
“Maybe he’s as ready to meet us as we were anxious to meet him. Our baby boy will come out healthy.”
I smiled despite the pain that came over me.
On the drive to the hospital, Melijah caressed my stomach.
“We’re almost there, baby. Remember what the nurse told you? You have to breathe through the pain.” Melijah mimicked the breathing exercise, and I did it with him. “Good job, Light Bright. You’re doing good.”
I nodded through the tears that filled my eyes. “Lijah, I’m so scared.”
“You have no reason to be. You’re going to do great.” He grasped my hand in his and lifted it to his mouth to kiss it.
When we arrived at the hospital, he parked the car and stepped out of it, coming around to my side and opening the door for me. He helped me walk along the way until we got to the entrance. He observed the lobby until his eyes landed on a few wheelchairs in the corner. Leaving my side, Melijah headed to get a wheelchair. Once he made it back next to me, I slowly eased down into the chair before he proceeded to roll me to the emergency room. While he talked to the front desk receptionist, I focused on breathing in and out. The nausea came back, causing me to lean my head to the side. I cradled my stomach as MJ balled up more. Gosh, this was too much to bear.
Once I was registered, they took me straight to the labor and delivery floor. They got me connected to the monitors, and MJ’s heartbeat was still strong, which brought a smile to my face and tears to my eyes. The sound of his heartbeat soothed me to sleep.
My eyes fluttered open when the door of my hospital room opened. Melijah came in with Skylar. Tears brimmed my eyes at the sight of my cousin. She had a teddy bear in her hand as she moved toward to me with a smile on her face.
“Girl, you haven’t had the baby yet?”
