Page 18 of Always Yours

He cuts me off. “Is that where the blood and bruise came from?”

Ally raises up. “You're hurt? Oh my God, of course you were hurt. Are you okay, Austin? Look at me.”

I ignore her. I know my ear is bleeding, but until I know Ally and the baby are okay, I’m not taking the focus off them. “I’m fine. Can you please focus here? I got into a fight. Two on one, and Ally decided to help. She swung a bat at the one. And then she had to run to get away.”

I lower my head as shame fills me. “And earlier tonight, she had an orgasm.”

“Austin!” Ally hollers at me. Obviously, she hadn’t planned on sharing that tidbit.

I grip on to her hand and finally look at her. “He needs to know it all, baby. He’s a doctor.”

Brandon is holding up what looks like a wand. “Let’s take a look.”

Ally reaches for the waistband of her shorts, and I try to help her. “Do you need them off?”

She shakes her head. “No, just under my belly.”

I pull her shorts and underwear down and then pull her shirt up. Brandon puts some jelly on her belly and then presses the wand to it. He turns a screen toward us, and I can’t make heads or tails of what I’m seeing until he points everything out for me. I know he’s doing it for my benefit. “Here’s her head and body.” He flips a switch, and the room starts to fill with a thudding sound. I look around in surprise when Brandon says, “The heartbeat is strong and steady. She’s being a little active, but after the night she had, who can blame her?”

Ally is visibly relieved, and I let myself relax just a little. I bring her hand up to my mouth for a quick kiss. “Good, so everything is okay?”

Brandon cleans off the wand and hands tissues to Ally. She wipes off her belly, and finally, for the first time in the last few hours, she’s smiling.

She starts to sit up, but Brandon stops her. “The baby is okay, but let me check you out.”

He puts a cuff around her arm, and we wait as it starts to inflate. I’m holding my breath. I’m not sure what a good range is, so even when numbers pop up, I’m not going to know. But as soon as they appear, Brandon is shaking his head. His glare is settled on me. “I told you she had to rest. I told you that she doesn’t need any stress, and what do you do? You get her involved in a street fight.”

Ally comes to my defense even though I don’t deserve it. “It’s not his fault. He told me to stay inside and I…” She stops and looks between Brandon and me. “Wait, what do you mean you told him? How do you two know each other?”

I point at Brandon. “Remember my one year of college? This was my roommate.”

“But…” She shakes her head, not understanding the connection.

Brandon puts his hand out to her, and I try not to let it affect me when he helps her sit up even though I want to punch him for doing it. “Yeah, he was a bad influence then, and it sounds like he hasn’t changed any.”

“He is not,” Ally says angrily.

Brandon shrugs his shoulders. “Look, your blood pressure is too high. I need you to stay at the hospital tonight so we can monitor you and the baby.”

Ally is shaking her head. “No, I’m not staying.”

“Yes, you are,” I tell her.

Her eyes snap to mine angrily. “I’m not staying here. You can’t keep bossing me around.” She holds her hand up when I lean toward her. “And you’re not kissing me to get your way this time.” She turns to Brandon. “I’ll go home and rest this time. I promise.”

But he’s shaking his head. “I don’t want to scare you, but you really need to be monitored overnight. We need to give you some meds to bring your blood pressure down, and in order to keep the baby safe, it would be better if you were here so we can monitor both of you.”

Her eyes widen, and it seems that finally it’s hit her. She doesn’t argue again. She just nods her head in defeat. “Stay here. I’m going to go check on a room for you. You’ll be up on the maternity floor, but we’ll get a wheelchair to get you over there. I’ll be right back.” He gets to the door and turns to give me a look. “And try not to fight anyone while I’m gone.”

Normally, I’d flip him off, but I’m too focused on Ally. Instead of the sassy and headstrong woman I’ve come to love, she looks small, overwhelmed, and unsure. “Ally, baby, you’re going to be okay. You and the baby, I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you.”

She grabs the front of my shirt. “Will you stay with me?”

I hold on to her and put a finger under her chin, bringing her face up to look at me. “Baby, wherever you go, I go. I’m not leaving.”

She leans into me, but her head barely rests against my chest before she’s lifting it up again. “Austin, oh my God, you’re hurt.”

She reaches for my face and turns my head side to side and gasps when she sees the cut along the side of my cheek. “Austin, oh my God, how did I miss this? How…”

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