Page 14 of Captivated By Danger

I could hear the zips, and the grinds of the machines, so he wasn’t lying about that.

“Kyle, something is wrong. I need to get to the hospital right now!” I stressed.

“Did your water break?” he asked unenthused.

“No, but—”

“The doctor said not to come in until your water actually breaks. Plus, your appointment is Thursday. You can wait two more days.”

“The doctor also said to come in whenever something doesn’t feel right. And something does not feel right. I am past due, so they might just have to break my water. Kyle please, come! Please!”

“Greysen, I have left work five times in the last two weeks. My schedule is jam packed and I don’t have time right now.”

“Kyle!” I cried.

“Alright, I’m coming. Let me finish with these few patients and I’ll call you when I’m on my way,” he said and ended the call.

Two hours went by, and I hadn’t heard from Kyle, so I’d called my friend Elle, who picked up on the second ring and told me that she was on her way. It didn’t even take her long for her to pull up, blowing the horn. After grabbing my baby bag, I was out the door.

“Where Kyle’s ass at!” Elle screamed the moment I sat in the car.

“I called him a couple hours ago, and he said he’d call when he was on his way.”

She shook her head. “That fucking asshole.”

“Not now, Elle!”

“Okay, where are you hurting?”

“My stomach. My side. Everywhere.”

“Well, hopefully today is the day. I don’t like to see you miserable, friend, but I can’t wait to meet my Godbaby.”

Kyle and I opted to wait until they were born to find out what we were having, keeping the element of surprise. My mother said it would be a boy when I really wanted a little mini me. As Elle sped through the streets to the hospital, I kept massaging my stomach, praying over my child. Praying that it was just another overreaction. I’d rather be overreacting than something being wrong. Ever since I’d stopped going to work and school, I felt that I’d lost a small portion of my purpose here on Earth.

“How you feeling, babe? We only two lights away.”

Tears filled my eyes as I continued to massage my stomach. “I don’t know, Elle. Something is wrong. I feel it. Something is wrong.”

“Well, that’s what we about to see now, baby. Just breathe, okay.”

I was practicing the breathing that I’d learned from the Lamaze classes that we’d taken together since Kyle was so busy.

As soon as we got parked, she helped me out and through the emergency room doors. She helped me to the seat while she got me checked in. Before I got comfortable, a nurse called for me, bringing me a wheelchair. Elle stayed in the lobby because she had to take a few calls and the service was terrible behind the doors. She’d come back if I needed her.

“How are you feeling right now, Mrs. Hertz?” the nurse asked me while helping me out of the wheelchair onto the bed.

“Greysen, please,” I sighed, once I was in the bed. “I’m just in a lot of pain around the stomach area. Felt a weird pain a few hours ago, and I just want to see if everything’s okay. Or if I am in labor. I would prefer to be in active labor since I am literally past my due date.

“Yeah? Let’s take a look and see if everything is okay. I’m still going to call your OB because you are so far along, but I want to have a report ready for her when she comes. Raise your shirt for me, this is going to be cold. When was your last appointment?”

“Last week. She promised me that if my water hadn’t broken by my next appointment Thursday, she’ll admit and induce me. So, if I’m not in active labor right now, I’ll have to wait a couple more days to meet my little prince or princess.”

We shared a smile while she rubbed the probe over my stomach. Her smile slowly faded into a stoic expression.

“Is everything okay?”

“I’m going to call your OB,” she said while continuing to rub the probe over my stomach. “Give me a moment.”

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