Saved (Tempted #2) (18 page)

Rushing through the automatic door of the hospital, I looked for Ethan. On my way he called me and told me he would be waiting on me in the lobby.

Spotting him, I ran to as quickly as I could. He grabbed my hand and pulled me down one of the long poorly lit halls.

“How is she?” I asked, trying my hardest not to freak out.

“She’s been better. She’s in a lot of pain and she is having severe mood swings,” he said, shaking his head, “During one contraction she almost broke Roman’s hand.

“Oh no, is he okay?” I asked, feeling concerned.

He needed both of his hands to hold that precious baby that was on her way.

“Yeah, he’s fine,” he said before he started laughing, “It was hilarious. He almost cried like bitch and Emma told him to suck it up. I really hate you missed it.”

I looked at him and smiled. Ethan was always smiling and laughing no matter the situation. I really respected that because laughing through fear and worry was tough to do.

Tugging on Ethan’s hand, we came to a complete stop. I knew bigger more important things were happening but I had to know if they were there. If she was there I was going to let her know that we were a family and she didn’t belong there. She needed to go back home and once Emma had the baby her doting boyfriend would meet her there when he could.

“Is he here?” I asked, swallowing the knot in my stomach.

“You know he’s here, Mads. You’re Ems best friend and he’s Roman’s.”

He was right I knew he was there without even asking. I had to ask him the question I really didn’t know the answer to.

“Did he bring her with him?”

“Why don’t you look for yourself,” he said, pushing the heavy wooden door open.

The first thing I saw was Emma lying on the hospital bed with her blonde hair stuck to her face and Roman was kneeling down beside her bed. He wasn’t holding her hand though.

Smart man.

Looking over, I saw West and Grace sitting on small couch by the window. But no sign of Marilyn.

“Mads, thank God you’re here. Roman cries when I look at him. West is pissed. Grace can’t quit looking at herself in the mirror and that fool beside you has laughed the whole time we’ve been here. And my parents have walked the whole hospital. I need someone sane by my side,” she said, gripping the handrails of the bed.

Laughing at her, I walked over and knelt on the opposite side of the bed from Roman.

“How ya holding up, Ems?”

“I’m good. The contractions hurt like hell but I know it’s going to be so worth it.”

“I can’t wait to meet her. Have you settled on a name yet?”

It was down to Katelyn or Kadence.

“Katelyn. Kate for short.”

Looking at her face I saw pure happiness. No matter how much pain she was going through you could tell her baby girl was her driving force to push through it. She was going to be an awesome mom.

Roman was beaming and smiling from ear to ear. And it warmed my heart to see it. They were going to have the perfect family and perfect life. I was so happy for them but it also made me sad. That could have been West and me. I had to face the music that was never going to be us. He had moved on and he seemed happy with her.

“Maddie, can I talk to you for a minute?” West’s voice came over my shoulder.

Looking back at him, I silently begged my mouth to say no.

Don’t put yourself through this again, Maddie. It’s just going to break your heart even more. You’re not strong enough for this. And besides Emma needs you. Focus on your best friend. Your sister.

“Sure,” I said, getting up from my knees, “Ems, I’ll be right back.”

My mouth didn’t listen to my brain it listened to my heart. I guess Selena Gomez was right the heart wants what it wants.

We walked into the crowded waiting room and couldn’t find a seat.

“Let’s go outside,” he said, grabbing my hand.

And I didn’t pull away. I let him take it because him holding my hand felt so natural. It was like it was something that was supposed to happen.

We found a vacant bench and sat down. I watched as West rubbed his hands nervously on his jeans.

We sat there and the only sound was the conversations of the people walking by. For a minute I thought he was going to change his mind about talking to me. But then he opened his mouth and it was not the first question I expected him to ask me.

“How long had you known you were pregnant?”

“A week.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked, wiping his eyes.

Was he crying?

“I wanted to tell you the minute I found out but I was scared. I didn’t know how you would react. I finally gathered up the bravery to tell you the night of the party. And the rest is history,” I told him, stopping to take in his expression.

“Do you blame me?”

And with that question my heart shattered.

“Honestly? At the beginning I did but I realized that it wasn’t anyone’s fault. It just wasn’t meant to be. Just like us,” I said, looking away from him.

“Don’t say that ever again. Do you hear me?” he yelled, gritting his teeth.

I wasn’t sure why he was so mad. He proved he didn’t want us when he began a relationship with her.

“You’re dating Marilyn, West! If you thought we were meant to be you wouldn’t be doing that,” I told him, getting up from the bench and running my hands through my already messy hair.

“Because I don’t give a shit about her, Maddie. The whole damn town knows I’m in love with you, I have been since I was fifteen years old. You know it and you better believe Marilyn knows it too. I made it crystal clear for her. I’m sorry for reacting the way I did. But seeing Emma and Roman today and seeing them so happy after what they went through it hit me that I want that to be us. We can do this, Angel. We have to try. I want us to have a family and wake up together every morning. What do you say? Do you want us back?”

I wanted to scream yes a million times but what about Marilyn? I wouldn’t say yes to him until he ended things with her. No matter how serious it was or wasn’t.

“You know I do. But we can’t be us until you break up with her.”

Getting up, he walked over to me and put his hands on my shoulders.

“I’ll call her right now,” he said, removing his hands and starting to retrieve his phone from his pocket.

“No, not over the phone I want you to do it in person.”

“Can I still kiss you? Or do I have to wait until I tell Marilyn?”

That was a good question.

“There’s no harm in one little kiss,” I told him, inching my face closer to his.

His mouth found mine and just like that my whole world felt right again. Maybe now we could finally build our life together without any more road blocks.

“How about we go to my car?” he asked, pulling away from me and making his eyebrows jump up and down.

“West! Emma is having a baby. We can’t go have car sex,” I told him, playfully swatting at his chest.

Just as my hand touched his chest my mind went crazy. Had she seen my tattoos? Had she seen his piercing?

West must have sensed me clamming up because he started rubbing my face.

“Angel, what is it? Please tell me you haven’t changed your mind about us,” he said, begging me.

“Did you sleep with her?” I asked so low I wasn’t sure if he heard me.

“No, I didn’t. I’m not gonna lie, Angel. I tried to but I couldn’t. My body is like my heart it only wants you,” he said, staring at me with enough passion and heat to burn the hospital down.

Accepting his answer, I pulled him by the hand and led him toward the parking lot.

“Angel, where are we going?”

“I’d liked your answer. It turned me on, so take me to your car,” I told him, winking and walking ahead of him.

Hearing his footsteps pick up, I smiled. He couldn’t have answered that question more perfectly.

Seeing his car, I walked over and opened the door. Catching up to me, he slid the seat up to let me get in the back.

“Strip from the waist down,” he said, climbing in and shutting the door.

Laughing, I got rid of my pants and underwear. We had to make it quick.

“I love quickies,” I told him, watching him unbuckle his pants and slip them down exposing my favorite piercing.

“I know.”

Leaning over the seat, he grabbed something from his console. He tore open the package in his hand and slipped it on. After making sure it was in place he didn’t waste any time pushing into me. Letting out a growl, I dug the heels of my feet into his waist.

“I want hard and dirty, babe. Don’t go easy,” I said, feeling him rocking into me.

He picked up the pace and slammed into me with all of his power.

“Is that how you like it?”

“Yes! Oh, right there.”

Lowering his mouth over my breast, he sucked on my nipples. And I felt a chill of pleasure take over my whole body. His hand gripped my ass and pushed me further on his pulsating erection.

Our bodies began to shake together signaling that we had finished at the same time. His body collapsed on mine and our breathing synced up.

“I love you,” he said against my lips just before placing a chaste kiss on them.

“I love you,” I told him, catching his lip between my teeth.

“As much as I’d love to do that again I think we need to get back up to Emma and Roman. By now she’s probably broken all of his fingers,” West said, pulling out of me and discarding of the used condom.

Nodding, I pulled my underwear and pants on. Doing the same, West lifted the seat and opened the door to help me out.

We walked to the hospital hand and hand.

“You couldn’t imagine how much I’ve missed you,” he said, squeezing my hand.

“Right back at ya,” I replied, leaning into him.

Kissing my head, he held open the door for me. I wondered how our friends were going to react. Would they be tired of our up and down? Or would they be just as thrilled as we were? I was hoping for the latter.

Walking down the hallway, we heard Emma screaming profanities. I wasn’t sure if Roman was going to survive this delivery.

“That girls trippin’,” West said just as we stepped in her hospital room.

Laughing, I let him pull me to the chair in the corner and sit me on is lap. Looking around the room at our friends faces, I saw them go from confusion to pure bliss.

“Please stay together this time. Your relationship has given us whiplash. You’re together, you’re not together, you’re together, and you’re not together. It’s exhausting,” Emma said with her head laid back on the pillow.

“Bitch,” West said, trying to disguise it in a fake cough.

“If a small human wasn’t trying to push its way out of my vagina I swear I would get out of this hospital bed and pull that lip ring off of you,” she said, flicking him off.

“Hey, Kate. This is your uncle West. Try to stay in there because mommy is a raging lunatic,” West said in his best attempt at a baby voice.

“Give me something to throw at him,” she said, holding out her hand.

“Yeah, no,” Roman said, kissing her hair and trying his best to hold her down.

Laughing, I rested my head on his shoulder. And just as the vibe of the room calmed down Emma let out a scream.

“I’ll go get the nurse,” Grace said, jumping up and bolting out of the door.

Five minutes later she returned with the young nurse in tow.

“She’s ready. I have to get the doctor and clear the room. She can have one guest. Who’s staying?”

“I am,” Roman said, holding her hand and looking at her with eyes full of love.

I mouthed “I love you.” to Emma and gave her a thumbs up. I was so nervous but I didn’t want her to see it. I wanted her to feel excited because she should be.

The doors shut and my nerves really kicked in. I remembering being in the hospital scared and alone. My memories were full of hurt and loss. But Emma’s were going to be full of love and happiness.

Letting my hand grab on to my necklace, I thought about my baby.

I thought about our baby.