Read Exposed (Free Falling) Online
Authors: Raven St. Pierre
Exposed (Free Falling) (44 page)
A sharp pain shot across my stomach and I winced a little, but AJ didn’t notice. “You know what Terrell? Shut it,” I said, managing a smile despite the pain that’d just set in.
“But back to this delivery room situation,” Terrell blurted. “I think you should take some tissue with you just in case, man.”
AJ laughed and waved him off. “Whatever.”
Karl stood from his spot on the couch. “You know what? We can settle this right now. Where’s the DVD of the wedding? I think I saw it when I was unpacking the movies.”
AJ abandoned his po
st beside me to cross our living room, attempting to grab the DVD before Karl found it, but he was too late. Karl let out the most obnoxious laugh ever while Terrell blocked AJ from getting to the TV.
Everyone was laughing and having a good time but me. My stomach tightened to the point th
at it made my back ache. This had been happening all day off and on, so I knew it’d pass, but still - it hurt like hell.
“You good, girl?”
Maisha asked.
I continued to breathe through the pain and nodded. “I’m fine.”
Her question got AJ’s attention and concern filled his expression. He stood behind me and placed his hands beneath my elbows. “Let me help you get to the couch so you can put your feet up,” he offered.
I nodded but wanted to wait for
the discomfort to pass – even the material of my maxi-dress grazing my skin when I moved was uncomfortable. A few more breaths and it was over. Terrell moved his chair out of the way so I could get through more easily, but I had to stop midstride; standing to my feet made the constricting sensation return and I quickly grabbed hold of the table. The quick maneuver scared AJ and he tightened his grip on my arm, thinking I was getting ready to fall.
“I’m fine,” I said through ragged breaths.
“Clearly, you’re not. I’m taking you in,” he asserted. “Maisha, could you grab the two bags I have packed under our bed?”
She nodded
to AJ’s request and headed up to our second floor. She’d barely made it back to us when the strongest pain yet hit me and I whimpered. AJ came around in front of me and I placed both hands on his shoulders. I was just getting ready to agree that I needed to go to the hospital…when my water broke.
“Aww
hell
naw!” Terrell yelled out, followed by an immediate dry heave. Even with my eyes closed, I knew Maisha was trying to inflict bodily harm on him with whatever look she gave.
Deanna rushed over to
help AJ get me to the garage where his car was parked. That short walk felt like the longest I’d ever taken in my life, but I eventually made it and was even able to lean against the car while AJ situated a towel on the seat like I’d asked him to. Once inside the car, I breathed a sigh of relief.
“I’ll have Terrell look up the address to the hospital so you guys can hurry up and get there. We’ll be right behind you,” Maisha said from the doorway. AJ nodded and thanked her.
“Wait! I need my purse,” I called out just before he climbed in beside me.
“Just go!
I’ll grab it and bring it with me,” Maisha offered.
When another contraction rendered me speechless, I rested my head against the seat and didn’t protest.
AJ started the engine, showing clear signs of panic – his face was almost white as a ghost and it looked like he didn’t remember how to shift the car into reverse. I groaned in agony and that made him even more frazzled.
“Okay…I’m
gonna get you there. Hold on,” he said, sounding surprisingly calm as we backed out of our driveway.
While we drove, I half-listened to AJ placing calls to our parents, Angel, Aunt Lisa and Uncle Todd, and to the hospital to give them a heads up that we were on our way. For that reason, there was already someone waiting at the entrance with a wheelchair, ready to escort us up. AJ handed
his keys to the valet, and I sought after his hand as soon as I could reach him. Seeing the fear in my eyes, he worked to wrangle in his own. If ever there was a time that I needed him to be strong for me, it was now.
*****
AJ
She was in so much pain
and there wasn’t anything I could do other than hold her hand. I felt completely useless. The contractions seemed to be getting stronger so the nurses were working to hook her up to the monitor to see what was going on. The last one that entered the room came in with a smile and an ultrasound machine.
“Hello, Samantha! How’re you feeling?”
Sam shook her head and replied, “Bad,” squeezing my hand with the strength that outmatched that of a large man. My fingers turned purple and throbbed in her grasp, but I wasn’t about to let go, though.
The
woman gave a sympathetic nod. “I’m gonna check you to see how far you’ve dilated first, then we’re gonna do an ultrasound to check the baby’s position.”
I nodded, but it didn’t even seem like Sam heard a word the woman said. While the nurse did her thing, I pushed Sam’s hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. She took several deep breaths through her nose and seemed to relax a little.
I glanced down to the nurse at the foot of the bed and noted the look on her face. The smile had faded as she removed the latex glove from her hand, being replaced by a solemn look of concern that medical professionals turn on when something isn’t right.
“What is it? What’s wrong?” I asked in a panic. Trying my best not to alarm Sam, but…
“Calm down, sir,” the woman said, again trying to put on a happy face. “I’m gonna go get the doctor and he’ll explain everything, okay? Just have a seat.”
Quickly, she rushed out of the room with the other two
nurses following closely behind. Within seconds, the doctor on call entered the room – a man I’d never met before a day in my life.
He greeted Sam and I with a warm smile and snapped a pair of gloves on his wrists. “I
hear we’re having a baby soon,” he announced lightheartedly.
I pushed my fingers through my hair. “Yeah, but…” I pointed at the nurse who’d just examined Sam. “Is something wrong?”
The doctor shook his head and took a seat in the stool at the foot of the bed. Before he’d give me an answer, he checked Sam for himself and, while he didn’t look
as
concerned as the nurse, his smile dimmed a little.
“Someone needs to tell me something,” I said as calmly as I could. The monitor spiked beside the bed and Sam gripped my hand again.
“Well…” the doctor began. “There’s good news and bad news,” he announced. “The bad news is, we won’t be able to wait for Dr. Marshall to get here. The good news is…you’re gonna become a father tonight. Your wife’s just about ready to start pushing.” His smile returned, but I was still confused.
“But…
she can’t….the baby…“
The nurse came around and placed a hand on my arm while the doctor and two others readied themselves.
Her tone was even, which set my mind at ease a little. “Your wife will be fine. The only thing is, we won’t be able to administer an epidural at this point because the baby’s already crowning. So she’ll need you to be really strong for her, okay?”
I didn’t understand. The last time
the doctor checked our son was breech. Shocked, I said nothing, just watched as one of the other nurses in the room put gel on Sam’s stomach and placed the wand on top. I’m no doctor, but I’ve gotten pretty good at reading ultrasound pictures after all the times we’d spent at the doctor’s office over the last several months. Sure enough, he was now head down. The nurse looked at me and smiled.
Fro
m there everything was a blur; it all happened so fast. The doctor didn’t even have to tell Sam when to push; she just seemed to know how this was supposed to go. I couldn’t help but to stare at her in amazement, watching how the fear melted away as she became focused on nothing but getting our son here.
“You’re doing so
good, Samantha,” the doctor said. “One more big push should do it.”
My heart race
d and I held my breath as she gave it her all. The entire room was silent.
And then the sweetest sound I’d ever heard in my entire life filled the air and I saw him – my son…
our
son – screaming at the top of his lungs.
Sam rested
her head against the pillow and tried to catch her breath, but just as soon as she had, the site of him stole it right away. Her hand went to her mouth as soft sobs escaped. There he was, a beautiful little boy with a mess of large curls on top of his head, a perfect blend of his mother and me. His cries continued to fill the air as the nurses placed him on Sam’s stomach and let me cut the cord.
Sam placed a kiss on his tiny hand and I touched him for the first time, unable to remember a time in my life when I’d ever been this happy, this proud,
this content. Sam continued to sob when I kissed her on top of her head and then did the same to my namesake. They were both the two most perfect gifts God could’ve ever given me.
It was that day that our family was made complete. On two separate occasions, she managed to
make me the happiest man alive – our wedding day, and right at this very moment. No words existed that could express the gratitude and love that this woman made me feel toward her.
We’d been to hell and back more than once. At times I even believed that the only way we would
ever
be able to be together was with a certain amount of tragedy lurking in the shadows.
I couldn’t
have been more wrong about that.
In the end, r
egardless of where our journey had taken us, we ended up here, living out our lives together in our own little slice of heaven…
*****
Continue on for a sneak peek at the cover, synopsis, and two sample chapters of Victoria H. Smith’s
Found by You
Coming 6 – 26 - 14
Also available from Raven St. Pierre
