Chapter 26 Jules #2
“Jules, angel, please talk to me.”
“My stomach,” she groaned. “It’s rock solid, and it hurts.”
I rested my hand on her belly and found she wasn’t making it up. “You’re only twenty-three weeks pregnant, though. It’s too early to have the baby. This isn’t labor, is it?”
God, I was terrified. Panicking. Someone needed to tell me what to do.
Jules pushed off the bed and began walking, moaning in agony as she did. “It’s not just my stomach. Oh, I’ve never felt pain like this before. It’s in my back, too. And it’s radiating around my side to my front.”
She began walking in circles—pacing and trying to breathe—and I was sure I needed to be prepared to take her to the hospital. I didn’t have the slightest clue what was wrong, but I knew this wasn’t something that was just going to go away on its own.
“Keep breathing, Jules. Just keep breathing. We’re going to go to the hospital. Okay? Just breathe.”
As I yanked on a pair of jeans and tugged a shirt down over my head, I watched as my pregnant wife walked and winced and shook her hands at her sides.
“I can’t get away from it,” she cried.
God, her voice was enough to bring me to my knees.
I pulled on a pair of socks. “Away from what?”
Her voice was barely a whisper. “The pain.”
“I’m sorry, angel. I’m going to get you to the hospital. They’re going to figure out what’s going on.”
“Oh, no.”
She took off toward the bathroom, and just as I made it there, she was bent over the toilet and vomiting. I gathered her hair in my hands and stroked along her back.
When she was upright again, I asked, “How do you feel? Is it any better?”
Jules shook her head. “It won’t subside. It’s just constant, never-ending pain.”
I’d never experienced anyone in childbirth before, but this didn’t seem right. Was it normal?
“Okay, we’re going to the hospital.”
We stepped out of the bathroom, and I raced over to grab a pair of my sneakers.
Having slid them on, I snatched up both of our phones, walked over to Jules, lifted her in my arms, and made my way to the car.
The next thing I knew, we were racing to the hospital. The sounds of her pain filled the air. I felt helpless. Useless.
“We’re almost there.”
“Beau, I’m scared,” she cried.
I reached for her hand. “I know. You’re going to be okay, though. I promise you’re going to be okay.”
“But the baby.”
“What? What about the baby?”
She was sobbing. “I… Beau, I think I’m losing the baby.”
I felt the ground fall out beneath me.
No.
No, that couldn’t be happening.
How I didn’t vomit on the spot or crash the car, I didn’t know. I mashed my foot to the gas pedal, not caring if I wound up in a high-speed chase. I could only hope we’d get a police escort to the hospital.
We couldn’t lose this baby.
We wouldn’t survive it.
It felt like an eternity to get to the hospital. I got out, scooped Jules into my arms, and carried her inside. “I need help! Please!”
Medical staff rushed forward with a gurney. “What’s going on, sir?”
I set her down on the bed and held her hand as they began wheeling it through the emergency department. “This is my wife; she’s twenty-three weeks pregnant, and she thinks she’s having a miscarriage.”
“What’s her name?”
“Jules. Jules Easton.”
“Okay, we’re going to do everything we can to help your wife,” one nurse said.
“Excuse me, sir,” another woman said, reaching for my arm.
I glanced back at her, still holding on to my wife’s hand. “What?”
“Come with me so they can help her. I have some forms I need you to fill out.”
“I can’t. I can’t leave her. I can’t leave them.”
The woman squeezed my arm. “Sir, your wife is in good hands, but you need to let them work on her, so they can take care of her and your baby.”
I gave Jules one last look, kissed her hand, and said, “I’ll be right here, Jules.”
A moment later, she was wheeled away, and I was left standing there alone.
“What’s your name, sir?”
“Beau. Beau Easton.”
I was saying the words, but nothing was registering. All I wanted was her. My sweet, sweet Jules. I wanted us to be back at home, warm in our bed.
“Beau, is there someone we can call to wait with you?”
I swallowed roughly. “I have to call her family.”
“Would you like me to call them?”
Shaking my head, I pulled her phone out of my pocket. “I’ll do it. Where can I go to wait for her?”
“Come with me.”
The second I was inside the private waiting room, I went through the list of contacts on her phone, found the name I was looking for, and tapped on the screen.
It rang three times before Liam’s groggy voice came through the line. “Jules?”
“It’s Beau.”
He was immediately alert. “What happened?”
“I’m at the hospital with her.”
“Is she okay?”
My throat was painfully tight. “She… She woke up in terrible pain. She thinks she’s losing the baby.”
“Fuck,” he hissed. “Does anyone else know?”
He couldn’t see me, but I was shaking my head. “No. You’re the first person I called. I… I can’t do this again. Can you please let the rest of her family know?”
“Yeah, Beau. Sure. I can do that for you. Layla and I are on the way. We’ll be there soon.”
I barely had the strength to respond. “Thanks.”
I didn’t wait for an answer before I disconnected the call, collapsed into the nearest chair, and sobbed.