Chapter 15
Fifteen
Charlie
Two weeks had passed since the kiss with Axel, and we still had yet to talk any further about it.
We’d left things how they were, with both of us knowing that it was something that shouldn’t have happened and could never happen again.
While I knew that I would never see Jason to get a divorce from him, that didn’t make me any less of a married woman.
But it wasn’t just that we had kissed—it was that we had kissed and I had felt something I hadn’t felt in forever.
Being in Nowhere was different, but in the best way possible.
It was like I was making a home here and getting comfortable with the small-town life—more so, with Axel.
He had proved to be more than just some random guy who took me in when I needed help.
He was more like a best friend who listened when I talked, did little things to make life easier for me, and went out of his way to bring me happiness whenever he could.
I was falling hard and fast, even though I knew I shouldn’t.
My body had adjusted the best it could, thanks to the support from the belly bands Jo had given me, but I was still constantly achy and in pain.
Axel refused to let me do much and insisted I stay off my feet.
It was boring, and I was going out of my mind, but the storm had yet to let up, which meant that I wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
The bigger problem was that I had no idea where I was heading next.
Part of me had already gotten comfortable being in Nowhere and didn’t want to leave.
But the other part of me knew it wasn’t safe to stay there because eventually the guys after Jason would find me, and I couldn’t stand the thought of bringing danger to everyone who had gone out of their way to help me.
I sat in the clinic’s waiting room, ready to see Dr. Foster for my weekly follow-up, while Axel stayed at the bar and helped Ashley prepare for the lunch crowd.
The streets in Nowhere had been cleared enough for the small town to be functional again, but the roads in and out of town were still blocked and hard to get through.
“We’re ready for you,” Jo said, startling me as she came in and smiled at me.
I got up and followed her down the hallway to the room we always used.
I climbed onto the bed and took my coat off so she could check my vitals.
My morning had consisted of contractions that had started to take my breath away, but given I was now thirty-six weeks pregnant, it didn’t surprise me.
My skin pulled so tight over my stomach that anything and everything hurt it at this point, though not as badly as the cut I had.
Thankfully, that was healed and hadn’t gotten any worse than it had been when I first came to Dr. Foster for treatment.
Another contraction started, forcing me to bend slightly and hold my breath as my stomach tightened painfully.
“How far apart are your contractions?” Jo asked softly, not missing a single thing as she waited with the blood pressure cuff.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been timing them. They haven’t been consistent, but off and on all morning, and getting pretty painful.”
She studied my face but said nothing as she waited for it to stop before putting the blood pressure cuff on. I tried to relax the best I could as it squeezed my arm, reminding me of the contraction I just went through. If it wasn’t one thing getting squeezed, it was another.
Once it was done, she undid the cuff and set it on the bed beside me as she wrote the information down on the paper attached to a clipboard. I leaned back and rested on my hands as I tried to take some of the pressure off my back.
Right as Dr. Foster opened the door to come in, another contraction hit.
“Good morning,” she said softly, closing the door behind her as she observed me.
I gripped the bed sheets below me as the pain radiated through my body.
“Contractions started this morning and have been coming fifteen to twenty minutes apart, but not consistently. Axel said she was able to talk through them and they didn’t seem to be causing her too much discomfort when they first started,” Jo reported to Dr. Foster as I breathed through the rest of the contraction.
“He’s been reporting my contractions to you?” I asked, the words having a hard time getting out as my body trembled from the pain and exhaustion.
“He was worried about you. I was on standby in case you needed me before your appointment this morning,” Jo said flatly to me before turning to look at Dr. Foster. “That was the first contraction I was able to monitor. It lasted about fifteen seconds.”
Dr. Foster nodded as she took the information in and looked at my vitals on the clipboard Jo handed to her.
“Charlie, I think it would be beneficial to do a pelvic exam to determine if you’re in early labor.
Given that you are thirty-six weeks with frequent contractions this morning, the exam will assist me in assessing dilation, effacement, and determining the baby’s position in your pelvis.
The exam is optional, so you can decline if you’re not comfortable with doing it. ”
“Will it hurt the baby?” I asked, rubbing a hand over my stomach now that it had finally relaxed.
“Not at all. The baby is well protected, and the exam is only to help give us information on whether labor is starting so we can better prepare for it.”
I nodded as I blew out a shaky breath.
“Okay. Let’s do the exam.”
Dr. Foster gave me a reassuring smile before turning to Jo and letting her know what she needed.