An Exceptional Twist (59 page)

What else is going to
happen?
And Stefen knew about
this?

Trying to calm herself down, she took a deep
breath. “Thanks for telling me. Can I call you later and make
arrangements to get my stuff?”

What am I going to tell the kids? How could
Stefen keep something like this from me?

“No problem. I can take your stuff to my
house if you like. Today’s my last day and my daughter won’t mess
with any of it.”

“That would be great, Jenna. Thanks.” She
ended the call as Abby walked through the door in all her pregnant
glory.

Leah was still in
slaughter mode as she held up the bubble wrap, yelling at it.
“There is a special place in
hell
for the sadistic bastard that invented this sick
joke!”

Abby stopped, her smile disappearing.
“What’s going on?”

Holding the scissors up,
she scoffed, “I was
just
informed that the studio was sold, I no longer
have a class, and Stefen knew all about it.” Leah couldn’t believe
her shitty luck lately. “That’s on top of the crap that Melissa
left behind. I just don’t know how much more I can
handle.”

Removing the sharp object from Leah’s hands,
Abby pulled her into a hug, stroking the back of her hair. “I can’t
imagine Stefen was trying to keep it from you. Give him a chance to
explain. He’s been calling Caleb a lot lately, getting all kinds of
relationship advice. I get it, though. Guys just don’t think the
way we do.”

Leah pulled back, sniffling. “I didn’t know
Stefen talked to Caleb about us.”

Moving the strands of hair away from Leah
eyes, Abby said, “Of course you didn’t. They have their own male
bonding thing going on. I only know about it because I overhear
Caleb sometimes. Hold on a minute.” She waved to Leah while doing
her breathing exercises. “Braxton Hicks.”

Leah looked at Abby questionably. “Um, do I
need to take you to the hospital?”

Blowing in and out through her puckered
lips, Abby assured her, “No, give me a minute. It’ll go away.” Abby
rubbed her belly, then bent forward a bit, the pain on her face
finally ebbing. “Okay. It's over.”

“Is that normal?” Leah tried not to panic.
She hadn’t been around when Elena went into labor. And Abby still
had another four weeks to go.

“Perfectly,” Abby assured her again. “I've
been having these for a week. But a few more today than normal. I
didn’t tell Caleb because I wanted to come see you. I only need to
be concerned if they start coming close to each—” Her face crumpled
again. “Holy moly, here's another. Oh, mother fucker. This hurts.
Okay, I give,” she gasped, doubling over. “Call Caleb.”

I’ve never heard Abby cuss before. That shit
must really hurt.

Abby squatted down holding
onto the counter next to her, breathing in and out, and Leah
grabbed her cell.
Oh please don’t have the
baby right here on the floor of my store.

Rushing through her contacts, she dialed
Stefen without thinking.

He quickly answered, “Are you at the shop,
sweetie? I was just about to call you. Leaving Caleb’s now. I need
to see you, so we can talk about something.”

“Not now Stefen,” she snapped, all her
earlier anger returning. “I think Abby’s in labor. Tell Caleb I'm
taking her to the hospital.”

Abby’s breaths were quickening and getting
noisier.

There was a brief pause on Stefen’s end,
then he said in a low, quick voice, “We’ll meet you guys
there.”

Leah hung up without saying goodbye, ran to
lock up the front door, then waited for the next contraction to
finish before helping Abby up. They waddled together out the back
of the store into her van.

As soon as Abby was seated, she moaned with
another contraction, grabbing hold of the dashboard.

Okay, Leah was officially panicking now. “Is
this normal?”

“Every pregnancy is different, but this is
too early,” Abby grunted.

Leah zoomed around and got into the driver’s
seat, started the van, then drove like a bat out of hell.

“Oh my gosh Leah!” Abby
grabbed Leah’s shoulder and squeezed. This hurts like a son of a
bitch.” Suddenly, Abby’s eyes went wide as she started to cry.
“Oh
crap!
”

Leah followed her gaze and saw Abby’s seat
was soaked.

“My water just broke in your car!” Abby
wailed.

Trying to remain calm herself, Leah said.
“Abby, it’s okay. Don't worry about it. Let's just get you to the
hospital.”

At a red light, she sent Stefen a quick
text.

Leah:
Water just broke in the van. Definitely in labor.

Stefen:
K. On our way.

Leah was thankful that the hospital was less
than ten minutes away because Abby screamed in pain the whole way.
Pulling up to the emergency entrance, Leah ran in, practically
shouting at the voluptuous, grey haired lady at the desk. “My
friend is in labor. Can I get her a wheelchair?”

The receptionist’s answered, “Yes. I'll have
it brought out to you.”

Energized by pure adrenalin, Leah ran back
to Abby, reached around and rubbed her back. “They’re bringing a
wheelchair right now.”

Tears ran down Abby’s cheeks. “Leah, I'm so
sorry. We'll get your car cleaned.” She was in between
contractions, but still breathing hard.

“Seriously stop!” Leah yelled. “It’s a
freaking car, and we are having a baby right now! I'm so
excited!”

Someone came up behind her with a
wheelchair.

Leah asked them, “Can I leave my van here
for a minute? I have someone coming to move it.”

“Sure.” The dark-hair male orderly
shrugged.

Leah grabbed her phone, shooting Stefen
another text.

Leah:
Please move my van from emergency.

Stefen:
Almost there!

Turning off her phone, Leah ran to catch up
to Abby as they wheeled her into the labor and delivery unit.

“Dude, you need to calm down,” Stefen told
Caleb for the thousandth time. “We’re almost there. She won’t have
the baby without you. I'll drop you off and meet you inside, but
you seriously need to chill out before you see her. She needs you
to be strong right now.”

Caleb’s eyes were unfocussed. “I'm good.
Pull up right there.” He pointed to the curb in front of the
hospital, then jumped out before Stefen came to a complete
stop.

Madison sat in the backseat with a worried
expression.

“Are you okay, squirt?” He looked at her
reflection in the rearview mirror.

Madison’s little bottom lip stuck out. “Is
Mama going to be okay?”

He turned around to look at her. “Of course
she is. She’s having your baby brother or sister right now.”

Cocking her head to the side, she seemed
sure he didn’t get what she was asking. “I know, but is she going
to be alive? My mommy in heaven died after she had me.”

A stabbing pain took ahold of his chest as
he turned to look for a parking space. This sweet little girl was
afraid that her new mom was going to die giving birth because her
biological mother died a year after having to her.

“Oh, squirt,” he murmured. “Your mommy in
heaven was sick, and it had nothing to do with having you. Abby, I
mean your mama, is in perfect health. She’s going to give you a
gorgeous brother or sister and everyone will be fine.”

Now that he was thinking about it, he hoped
he was right. All sorts of things could happen during labor. He
pulled into a parking space after driving by the emergency
entrance, spotting Leah's van.

Madison’s worried eyebrows broke his heart.
“But my daddy looked so scared.”

Stefen turned around in his seat, so he
could look her in the eyes. “Daddy wasn't scared. He was excited.
He can't wait to meet the baby. Come on. Let's go move Auntie
Leah's car.” He got out, opened her door, and held her hand while
walking to Leah's van.

Grimacing at the very wet passenger seat,
Stefen was thankful that he’d already made plans regarding her new
mode of transportation.

When they finally made it into a room, Abby
was quickly hooked up to all of the machinery to monitor the baby.
The nurse discovered that the baby was in distress, and the heart
rate was weak. Abby hadn’t dilated as much as they had hoped by
now, and the contractions were stressing the baby out further.

Leah tried to keep herself together for her
friend’s sake, but her heart was breaking right along with her.
Abby had already lost one baby when she was younger. Leah couldn’t
even imagine how she would handle losing another. Leah decided that
she was going to pray instead of focusing on any possible negative
outcomes.

After examining her, the on-call doctor
decided they needed to get her into the operating room for an
emergency C-section.

Caleb must’ve run into him when he exited
the room because Leah heard his whispered voice.

“What can I do?” Leah asked, feeling
helpless.

Grabbing onto her arm, Abby begged, “Just
hold my hand. I’m so scared. I can’t do this again.” Tears welled
up in Abby’s eyes.

Caleb came from behind the privacy curtain
just as another contraction began, and Abby screamed out in pain.
Rushing to her side, he carefully bent her forward, massaging her
back. “Oh love, I’m sorry you’re in so much pain.” He kissed her
temple. “Everything is going to be fine.”

The contraction ended, and Abby let go of
her death grip on Leah’s hand, then she started to sob into her
husband’s chest. “I can’t lose another baby.” Clutching onto his
shirt, she pulled him even closer. “I can’t.”

Leah had to turn away as the tears escaped
her own eyes. Rather quickly, a crew of nurses came in, transferred
Abby to a rolling bed, and gave Caleb a pair of scrubs.

As Caleb put the scrubs on, he stood next to
Leah, assuring her that everything was going to be fine. He called
out to her as he left the room, “I’ll come out to the waiting room
with good news.” His genuine smile looked confident that this was
going to turn out fine.

Grabbing a few tissues on her way out the
door, Leah trudged to the waiting area. Stefen was sitting on one
of the couches, leaning on his knees, twiddling his thumbs. Madison
was snuggled up between her grandparents.

All eyes were on Leah as she stood at the
entrance. She put on her best brave, smiling face for Madison’s
benefit.

Stefen knew her well enough not to buy it.
Getting up from the couch, he looked back as he led her away from
innocent eyes. “What’s going on?”

She began to sob. “The baby is having
problems, and they had to rush her in for an emergency C-section.
She’s beside herself. She’s already lost one baby.” Leah sniffed,
using the tissue to wipe the tears from under her eyes.

He pulled her into his chest and kissed her
head. “I didn’t know she lost another baby.”

“It’s not something you bring up over
Thanksgiving turkey, but yeah, she had a miscarriage when she was
seventeen.”

Moving her face to look at him, he told her,
“We have to remain positive here. Until something bad happens,
we’ll just think about the good.” Stefen wrapped his arms around
her, and she felt like she was home.

She sunk into his warm arms and sniffled
again. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He kissed her forehead
before pulling at her hand.

They joined the rest of their group. While
they were in the hall, Bri and Dani had arrived. Everyone sat
impatiently waiting for any news.

Madison fell asleep by the time Caleb
stepped into the room. As he grinned from ear to ear, the entire
room seemed to exhale.