Chapter 39
Ashia
‘Say Anything’ – Ashley Nite
The ultrasound tech moves the wand around my belly cautiously, and the heartbeat plays strongly over the speaker.
While I normally hate hospitals, I have to give props to the Labor and Delivery ward.
The lighting in the room has a warmer tone, and the walls are a nice beige.
It doesn't instantly reek of disinfectant, and the staff has been incredibly nice.
Zeke and Alex are outside on the phone while they look us over.
It took Alex practically prying my brother away, but I know they have to handle things after the wreck.
Daisy sits by the bed and whines up at me, like she wants to get up here, but there’s not enough room for her while the tech does her job.
I reach down and pet her head, grateful that she’s okay, too.
Now that I've calmed down, everything is a little clearer. How the hell did my car explode? There’s no way that Ezra was hit hard enough to cause an explosion, and it all just isn’t making sense.
I feel terrible for calling Grease. What would've happened if I dropped it off at the garage, and it exploded then?
Alex has already talked to him, and Grease said he knows we didn't plan to attack them. Apparently, even Viking was sympathetic, and that took me by surprise. He seemed friendly enough at the barbeque, but I wasn’t sure that extended past that one event.
I’m grateful for it, though. As soon as I get a second, I'm going to call them myself, but for now, I'm just glad this didn't escalate any issues we've already had. I’m not even sure we still have issues at this point—I certainly hope not, anyway.
“Everything looks good. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of trauma or placental abruption. You're not contracting, and your membranes are intact. It’s a good thing the air bags in that car were higher up and you had your seat belt on.” The ultrasound tech, Amber, says happily.
I want to share the happiness, but right now, I can't stop thinking about Ezra. They haven't come right out and told me, but I know he's dead. I heard Alex whispering to Zeke that he needed to call his mom to tell her the news, and they both had that grieving look in their eyes.
I was supposed to drive.
Guilt bubbles up in my throat, because it should've been me, but I'm so thankful that it wasn't. That's terrible for me to think…but as I continue to hear my baby's heartbeat on that monitor, I become more grateful that we're alive…
Amber giggles as she continues to look at the screen, and it draws my attention back over to it.
“Oh, look at that!” she laughs and points to the screen as the baby continues to show off.
They’re moving all over the place, clearly worked up after all of the commotion, and my chest starts to feel heavy, but in a comforting way—sort of like I’m lying under a weighted blanket.
“Oh yeah, she’s just fine. Look at her wiggling and kicking all over the place! ”
Amber might as well have ripped out my heart. That comforting feeling is torn away, and it’s cold once again. When my mind registers what she said, I snap my eyes back to her.
“Did you just say she?”
Amber looks down at me, and her smile quickly fades, realizing her mistake.
It's a girl? Of course Damien was right. He’s always fucking right.
I wish he knew, and I wish I could hear him or see his reaction.
He’d probably be smiling from ear to ear and jumping around the room.
Nothing in here would be safe from his excitement.
As if Daisy can sense my change in mood, she whines a little louder and paws the side of the bed.
Amber looks down at her before looking back at me, and it’s like she feels even worse because she somehow hurt my dog’s feelings.
“Oh, goodness. I'm so sorry, did you not know? Your file said that you came in two weeks ago for an anatomy scan.” She starts typing on her laptop frantically, I'm guessing to double check.
“I decided to wait until my husband was home to find out…” Tears fill my bottom lids, and as my lips quiver, her face morphs into something just short of horrified.
“I'm so sorry! Oh, my God.” She reaches over and swipes a box of tissues off the counter. It’s clear that she feels horrible, but I can’t help but get upset. It’s both a heartwarming and heartbreaking revelation. I take a couple of the Kleenex, but my hands freeze in mid-air when I hear her voice.
“What room is she in?!” Ser’s voice carries through the hall as she approaches the space, stepping so harshly that I can hear her shoes echo against the tile floors. Alarms blare in the back of my mind, and even Daisy sits up a little straighter.
“I’ll forgive you as long as you don’t say it in front of her,” I practically beg.
Serena has been dying to know, and I know the second she finds out, she's going to insist on a shopping spree and a Lowes run for paint. She means well, and I know that deep down, but if I have to argue with her one more time about purchasing a baby item, I’m going to scream.
Amber agrees and nods just as Serena jogs in the door.
“Okay, tell me what’s going on? Are you okay? What do you see? Is the baby okay?” She immediately interrogates us and sprints over to the bed. Her eyes fly to the screen, like she would be able to see if something was wrong.
“The fetus is fine,” Amber tries to say with a straight face, almost robotically. It's probably the worst attempt at ‘staying cool' I've ever seen, and of course, Serena sees right through it. She puts her hands on her hips and scowls at Amber.
“Amber? What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“You’re not good under pressure, are you?” I ask Amber.
“No. No, I'm not,” she says to me quietly and cowers a little, like Ser is going to lash out at her.
“And you two obviously know each other?” I give Serena an annoyed tone.
“Obviously!” she yells. “Is someone going to tell me what the fuck is going on, or do I have to start screaming? How's the baby?”
I reach out and grab her hand, feeling the small tremors in her fingers. Her concern is sweet, and it only makes me feel even better and worse at the same time. I really shouldn’t get so upset with her.
“The baby is fine, Ser. There's nothing wrong. She accidentally told me the gender.”
Her jaw drops and her face flushes with fury. While I wasn’t sure how she would react to that, this anger is not what I expected.
“Jesus Christ, Amber! That’s an intern mistake!
” she yells, and Amber looks down at the floor like she’s about to cry.
Daisy looks around at us all until she looks at the floor too, giving me ‘not my circus’ vibes.
I go to tell Ser to calm down and leave her alone, but she walks over to Amber and leans in close before I have a chance. “So, what is it? Is it a boy?”
“Serena Marie Anderson!” I yell at her.
“I'm joking! Mostly…” She tries to shrug it off. I roll my eyes at her as Amber turns off the machine and wipes the jelly off of my stomach.
“The doctor should be back in a few minutes to go over what you need to do for the next few days,” she shyly tells me.
“I’m really sorry. My family is nuts.” I try to lighten the mood, but she just nods in a forced response.
“Thanks,” she says quietly and then glares at Ser before walking out. I turn back to my left side, like I was advised, and stare at Serena hatefully.
“You did not have to yell at that girl,” I scold her.
“Oh, she’ll be fine. This line of work will toughen her up some.
” She swats her hand in my direction, brushing off Amber’s feelings, and sits in the chair next to me as she straps the fetal monitor around my stomach.
Daisy lays her chin on the bed, and I scratch behind her ears, so she knows she did a good job of staying out of the way.
“So, what’d she say?” She’s trying to be nonchalant, but I know what she really wants to know.
“That it was moving around a lot,” I say smirking at her.
"Ugh! Bitch.” She rolls her eyes but then smirks back at me.
“Are Zeke and Alex still outside?”
“Yeah. They wanted to give you some privacy, and suggested I do the same, but you know me better than that.” Her smirk only grows, and I giggle a little as I rest my head against the pillows. As I sink into the bed, the little glimpse of humor sinks with me.
“I wonder how long I'll be on bed rest this time.”
“Well, let’s look. Shall we?” She pulls her work tablet from her purse, and the smile on her face turns into a mischievous grin.
“You’re not supposed to have that are you?”
“Nope, and I don’t give a shit.” She taps away, and I just shake my head at her.
“Oh! They’re only putting you on bed rest for two days!
But, you'll be on limited mobility for two weeks.” She grimaces.
My own heart monitor picks up slightly, giving away my anxiety over the answer.
They might as well shoot me in the leg with that time frame.
This was supposed to go so differently. I was supposed to walk out of my appointment today with a green light, and I could’ve convinced Zeke to let me start working again.
I’m doing everything I can to find any lead possible, and I was supposed to be able to check them out myself. Now, they’ll never let me.
“Two weeks?! I can’t walk around like a normal person for two fucking weeks?! I can’t wait that long!” I feel my eyes begin to burn with tears again as Ser grabs my hand.
“Ash, it’s okay. It’s just to make sure the integrity of the pregnancy holds.
Zeke, Alex, and Carter can handle the Attic until you can move around more.
” My lips quiver again as my best friend holds my hand, and now that it's just us, I finally let go.
All of the fear and excitement from today is catching up with me and colliding with the past month.