Chapter 23 #2
“If you make me go back there by myself, I’ll have Raiden add so many locks to his front door that it’d be easier to break into Fort Knox.
Good luck trying to sneak in after that,” Andi rushes out, her fingers tightening around my jacket, as if she thinks I’m going to run away and leave her to deal with this on her own. Fat fucking chance.
“Glad we’re on the same page.” I exhale audibly, a ten-tonne weight lifting off my chest at knowing she isn’t going to relegate me to the waiting room.
“Miss Adams?” We turn to see an older woman in bright pink scrubs waiting for us.
Knowing she’s contemplating her chances of escaping, I take Andi’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze before following the nurse down the hallway.
“If you wouldn’t mind stepping up here so I can get your weight, then we can be on our way.
” Andi obliges, placing both feet on the scale without any fanfare.
She doesn’t shy away or tell me not to look, so I blatantly stare at the number as it appears.
134.2 pounds. Someone’s going to be getting fed every few hours from now on.
“Okay, dear. This is you.” She points to an exam room a few feet away.
“The doctor will be in shortly.” She smiles kindly and closes the door, leaving us to ruminate as we wait to be seen.
Almost immediately, Andi begins pacing like a caged animal.
Her hands clench and unclench. Over and over she repeats the process, every breath more ragged than the last.
“Hey,” I cut in, forcing her to look up and meet my eye. “You’re fine. I’m right here with you, and no matter what happens, we’ll get through this together.”
“Why?” Her question catches me off guard, my brain stuttering from the unexpected shift in her demeanor and tone. In a fraction of a second, she went from being anxious and jumpy to firm and demanding.
Hello, whiplash.
“What do you mean, why?” Brows lowered, I search for any indication of what she’s thinking, but she’s carefully wiped every morsel of emotion from her face.
“Why to all of it!” she whisper-yells, her finger prodding my chest for emphasis.
“Why me? Why do you care? Why the hell did you buy a car just to chauffeur me around? Take your pick, because each one is just as ludicrous as the last!” Andi’s chest heaves with every word, but her distrust of my intentions won’t do.
I take a deliberate step in her direction, and then another, and another.
Until she’s retreating with every advance I make, her lips parting as I begin to tick off each of her questions one by one.
“Because I like you. Because you make me feel things I haven’t felt in years.
Possibly ever. And because I fucking can.
” When her ass meets the edge of the exam table, I slide my hands beneath her arms, lifting her slight frame without much effort.
She gawks at my forwardness, but if she still hasn’t figured it out yet, I have no idea how to make her see how absolutely unhinged I am when it comes to her.
It doesn’t make sense, but neither do I.
The world as a whole lost its vibrancy when I managed to live through the most hellish experience I could ever fathom.
But somehow, this woman–a bruised and war-torn angel–is shedding light on my trauma-darkened soul.
Pops of color keep creeping through the shadows, and when you’re as desperate as I am to get back the life you’ve lost, you don’t let someone with that sort of power and pull walk away without begging them to stay.
You plead for a chance to prove the world wrong, to show her you can and will be everything she’ll ever need in this life and the next.
“You like me,” Andi states, not bothering to ask for clarification, as if the manner and way in which I like her is already a foregone conclusion.
About fucking time she got with the program.
But then she goes and shits on my parade with what she says next.
“You can’t, Briggs. I’m not a whole person anymore, and I have no idea if I’ll ever be a complete version of myself ever again.
I might not know your story, but I know enough to gather that you aren’t quite whole yourself.
We’d be catastrophic, and too many things in my life are already on the verge of falling apart.
” A pleased smile stretches across my face, causing her eyes to narrow.
She has no idea how unconvincing that sounded, but I’m elated to know her bullshit excuses aren’t fooling her either.
“Angel,” I coax, wedging myself between her thighs. “We’d be a lot of things, but never that. I was thinking more along the lines of intense and fiery. Passionate.” I tuck a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
“Or…” Andi starts, her gaze bouncing back and forth between my eyes and lips. “Tragic and disastrous.” My deep chuckle fills the room, the sound causing her to fidget.
“You can use as many synonyms as you want, Angel, but it won’t change my mind.
In fact, I think you’re trying to convince yourself more than you are me.
” Our lips are a hairsbreadth apart, so close I can feel the uptick in her breathing.
“And you might be right about our missing pieces, but that doesn’t constitute a lifetime of loneliness.
I haven’t felt worthy of anything in two fucking years, but you make me want to try.
So you need to come to terms with my refusal to walk away without putting up one hell of a fight.
” Andi sucks in a shaky breath, but a knock at the door interrupts the intense moment, granting her a small window of reprieve, though this conversation is far from over.
“So sorry to keep you waiting!” A cheery young woman rushes in, her cheeks flushed from exertion.
“We’ve been rather busy today, but I promise you have my full attention for the next hour.
Andilyn Adams…” she trails off, tapping a pen against her chin.
I watch her eyes flash with recognition when she puts two and two together, recalling the many times she’s heard that name as of late.
“Oh. Oh!” Dr. Baker blanches, looking ashamed that she was unaware of who her patient was until this very moment.
“Andi is fine.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you, Andi. I’m Dr. Baker, but we have several OB’s within our practice that you might see throughout your pregnancy.” Andi shifts uncomfortably, her slight show of unease forcing me to step in.
“There’s no point in us tiptoeing around the obvious, so I just want to reiterate that Andi’s medical records will not be the topic of breakroom gossip.” My words are harsh, insulting even, but I couldn’t care less who I offend when it comes to this woman.
“I’m sorry, you are?” Dr. Baker asks, her lips twisting in annoyance.
“Briggs Sinclair.” When I fail to explain my relation to Andi, she simply huffs, donning her best impersonation of a smile.
“I can assure you, Mr. Sinclair, we take HIPAA violations very seriously. No one outside of Andi’s immediate care team will be discussing her condition when it doesn’t warrant a conversation.
” I really fucking hope so, lady. “Were you able to complete the new patient questionnaire you were given at check-in?” Dr. Baker looks to Andi for a response, but I lean to the side and grab the clipboard, handing over the partially finished paperwork.
“We didn’t get to everything,” I state.
“No problem. Can you tell me the first day of your last period, Andi?”
“I don’t remember the exact date. Mid-March, I think.” Her voice is barely more than a whisper, so I pull the ultrasound picture from my back pocket and give it to Dr. Baker. Andi stares at me in shock, likely wondering how I found it, but her hiding place wasn’t very difficult to figure out.
“That was done at twenty-four weeks, so she should be about thirty-one by now.” Dr. Baker nods in agreement while glancing at the grainy picture, but it’s impossible to miss her shock. Based on Andi’s size, you’d never guess she was that far along.
“And have you ever been pregnant before?”
“No, not to my knowledge,” Andi answers, her uncertainty making my jaw clench painfully.
I’m sure those backwoods motherfuckers didn’t believe in early detection, just waited until a woman was showing as their means of confirmation.
Who knows how many miscarriages were passed off as a painful monthly cycle.
“I’m going to have you lie back so we can begin your physical exam,” Dr. Baker announces, grabbing a pair of latex gloves as I help Andi get situated.
“First, I’ll measure your stomach and press around to make sure everything feels the way it should.
” The second Dr. Baker lifts her shirt, Andi’s hand reaches out for mine, gripping it tightly.
She’s trembling from head to toe, so I stroke my thumb along the soft skin of her unblemished wrist, wishing there was more I could do to soothe her.
Sensing her distress, Dr. Baker begins detailing every step of the process in hopes of easing Andi’s anxiety.
Her astuteness is definitely swaying my judgment of her abilities and bedside manner.
“You’re going to feel my hands on your abdomen, but I’m only checking the baby’s size and position,” she comments, moving quickly but efficiently.
Thankfully, her prodding only lasts a few seconds, though I’m certain it feels like a lifetime to Andi.
“Now on to the fun part!” Dr. Baker winks, having no idea how conflicted Andi is about this pregnancy.
No part of this appointment is going to be enjoyable for her.
She dims the lights and points to the flat screen mounted on the wall.
“I’m going to put some gel on your stomach, and then we’ll begin the ultrasound.
At no point should you feel any discomfort, so please tell me if you experience anything aside from a slight amount of pressure. ”