Chapter 52
The meeting was drawn out.Wolfe is getting closer, and Titus and Xavier are getting jumpy. I know how he treated Amora and I get they want his blood, but I”m not sure if this is the right thing. Is he a threat? Yes. Do I think he will come for Arizona? No, and that”s all I care about.
Arizona and the babies.
They”re my world. All I care about.
Titus is trying to put provisions in place like moving Amora and Twyla into her mom and dad”s home on the upper east side. They can hide her tracks from Wolfe, the hunter. He has some obsession with her, maybe it was because they were due to be married, maybe because she was part of a transaction. Xavier fucked up. Big time. I”m sure you know the story so I won’t bore you with it again.
I find a parking spot a couple of blocks away and put some quarters into the meter. We walk hand in hand towards Dr Kyra”s office and I don”t miss the little spring in Ari”s step.
“You”re in a good mood,” I scoot her over to the inside of the sidewalk, so I’m roadside. Don”t like the thought of her being near the road.
“I am looking forward to seeing the babies,” she admits, a glint of something in her ice blue eyes. I could lose myself in them, drown in them completely. Never wanting to resurface, even if that meant I had to give my last breath. For her, I would. Every single time.
Climbing up the steps to the doctors, we buzz through and check in with the receptionist. We sit and wait in the clean office, and for some reason, nerves float through me and cramp my stomach and she senses it in a heartbeat. Of course she does. My leg is bouncing up and down, but her palm is pressing against my thigh and a calmness crashes over me like a wave against sand.
The door swings open and an impeccably dressed Dr Kyra walks out into the quiet waiting room and calls Arizona”s name. She stands first, then me. Her fingers brush against mine and I link mine through hers. Desperate to feel the rush from her touch, to feel the way my skin tingles from my head to my toes.
“How are you both?” Kyra asks but I keep quiet. I am fine. It”s not about me. It”s about Ari.
“Yeah okay, achy. My stomach feels so heavy.”
“Well, that”s understandable. You”re what, thirty-one weeks now?”
“Thirty, plus five,” I correct her and give Ari a slow wink.
Kyra smiles at me and starts tapping on her computer.
“But apart from what you mentioned, you”re feeling well?”
Ari nods.
“Okay, let’s get your blood pressure checked as-well as your sample.”
I shuffle out the way, not wanting to get in Kyra”s way. I tap my fingers gently on my denim covered thigh to keep my mind busy. No idea why I worry when I”m in here. Always do.
“Your blood pressure is quite high, mind if I do it again?” and my ears prick at Kyra”s words. I turn to face Ari and scan her face for something but I’m not sure what.
“No,” Ari says softly, as Kyra presses the button, and the band begins to inflate.
I watch as Kyra looks at the numbers and pinches her brows.
“Okay, let”s give it a minute.”
“Is everything okay?” I ask, Ari stays mute.
“Arizona”s blood pressure is 145/90, it”s very high. I worry about pre-eclampsia. I would like to see if she has any protein in her sample, then re-do her blood pressure.”
I nod. I am trying to keep calm, I really am. Slipping my phone from my pocket, I look up at Ari and give her a reassuring smile. She smiles back, but it”s forced. She”s worried.
“It”ll be okay,” I say softly as Kyra walks out of the office.
“Will it?” she blinks at me, waiting for me to tell her yes.
“Yes baby,” my hand is on her thigh, and I give her a gentle and reassuring squeeze. Now it was my time to calm her down.
Hate that I have lied to her.
She looks away, and I type a quick google search. Shouldn”t have done that.
Definitely shouldn’t have done that.
Early delivery.
High risk of complication.
Stillbirth.
I lock my phone; fear strikes through my chest like a lightning bolt.
The door clicks and Kyra is back in the room and walking towards her desk.
“Okay, so you have protein in your urine, along with the high blood pressure...” she pauses for a moment, “I would like to do a blood test, just to see if it could be pre-eclampsia.”
Moving my hand over hers, her fingers slip through mine, and I squeeze her hand tightly. She nods, and I can see the glisten of the unshed tears in her eyes.
“It”ll be okay baby,” I say again but I feel awful because I have no idea if it will be okay.
“If it is pre-eclampsia, we will monitor it. If we need to intervene, then your babies will be delivered earlier. It”s a lot safer for us to do that then to let you carry to potentially full term and expose yourself and the twins to risks.”
She says nothing. Just stares ahead.
Kyra buzzes through for the nurse and the same lady toddles out with her trolley, trays and needle.
“Hello Ari, how are you?” the older woman’s voice fills the room. Ari looks up at her and smiles through the unshed tears that are threatening.
“I”m good, are you okay?” she asks as the nurse slips the needle into her skin and draws two tubes of blood.
“I am wonderful, thank you,” she nods, placing the needle down then putting a band aid over the crease of Ari”s elbow.
“Good, that”s good to hear,” she nods, and the nurse says goodbye before walking back out of the room.
“Please try not to worry, we will keep a very close eye on you if it turns out be that. I know it”s easier said than done, but it”s better to catch it now, then to catch it a few weeks down the line.”
My heart aches in my chest.
“We will have to wait a bit for the results so let’s get you scanned so you can see your babies, yeah?” Kyra tries to keep her tone upbeat for Ari”s sake but it”s not helping. I stand, Ari”s hand back in mine as I walk her over to the bed. She looks numb. Completely numb. I can see her trying to process all that Kyra has said, but honestly, I think it is going in one ear and out the other.
Arizona lays down, lifting her oversized tee up and under her chest. Kyra squirts the gel onto her belly and an uncomfortable silence fills the room. Tension brews and I hate it for Ari. This is not what she was expecting today. But within seconds, that silence has gone, and the room is filled with two heartbeats galloping. I lean forward, my hand still linked with hers as I look at the screen and see our babies wriggling and moving which causes Ari”s belly to move and pulse.
“They”ve got so big,” she whispers, eyes glued to the screen, but my eyes are glued to her. The way the worry washes off her face in an instant, her lips parting and forming a beautiful smile and bearing all of her teeth. She has the most picture-perfect smile. I wipe a stray tear that runs down the side of her face away with my thumb pad and my chest tightens.
“All is looking great Ari, the babies are growing nicely. If I was to estimate, they”re probably around two pounds, maybe. Twin B is a little smaller, but that is normal with twins,” she places the probe back into its holder and wipes Ari”s belly.
“How long will you keep them in for if my results come back showing I have pre-eclampsia?”
“Ideally, a few weeks. But it”ll be weekly monitoring, and if things are getting worse then we will deliver the babies,” she smiles sweetly at Arizona and I help her sit up.
“And they”ll be okay? If they had to be born early?” we wait on bated breath for her to answer.
“We can”t promise anything, but we would hope they would be perfectly fine being born early.”
And that”s when she breaks. All I can do is pull her into me and comfort her.
The wait feels like a lifetime. I know it”s probably thirty minutes if that, but still, right now, thirty minutes feels like a lifetime.
I knew it was pre-eclampsia. As soon as she said about my blood pressure, all my symptoms made sense
“You”re being so brave,” Keaton whispers, sitting as close as he can to me, hand wrapped around mine. Normally I would find a comment like that condescending but not now. Not since being with Keaton because I know he generally cares about me.
I turn my face to look at him, a weak smile playing against my lips.
I don”t feel brave. I feel like a scared little girl.
My eyes lift and find Kyra as she walks into the room with my notes folder.
“So?” Keaton asks the question for me and squeezes my hand.
“Arizona, you do have pre-eclampsia,” I see the grimace on her face and my heart drops. “You will need to go onto bedrest until we decide to intervene. I would like to admit you tonight.”
“Can I bring her in tomorrow? Just let her have one last night at home. I promise to keep an eye on her,” he pleads and my heart flutters in my chest.
“If by tomorrow you mean eight a.m. sharp, then yes, for you two... I will allow it,” she looks up through her lashes at Keaton and he glides his finger over his heart in a ‘cross my heart’ gesture.
“You”ve got a promise.”
“Good,” she gives him a nod then turns to face me, eyes soften, and a ghost of a smile on her lips. “And Ari, I know it sounds scary, but I am hoping the twins can stay inside as close to your due date as possible. We will be monitoring you daily, blood work, urine samples, blood pressure tests and of course more scans.” She closes my notes. “And if we get to the point where we need to get the babies out, then we will carry out a caesarean to remove them safely.”
“A caesarean?” my blood pumps loudly in my ears. I start to panic, my chest tightening, eyes widening as they stay pinned to Kyra. I have insurance, but what if they don”t cover it.
“Yes, it”s the safest way, even if you didn”t have pre-eclampsia I would have pushed for an elective c-section for the twins delivery.”
All I can do is nod.
“Think of the babies,” Keaton reminds me and I breath out a shaky breath.
I nod again.
“Do you have any questions?” She asks, turning her attention to her computer.
Millions.
“No,” my voice is quiet.
“Okay, well you have my number,” she looks up at me and smiles before averting her gaze to Keaton, “and we will see you and Arizona at eight a.m. tomorrow morning?”
“We will be there, New York-Presbyterian?”
She shakes her head from side to side.
“No, can you bring her to Ancien St. Clair”s? I would like her monitored there.”
“Of course.”
“Wonderful,” she stands as we do, Keaton”s fingers linked with mine as Kyra shows us out. “Enjoy your evening and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” I say, dipping my head as we walk out of the doctor’s office and onto the sidewalk. I pause for a moment, closing my eyes and inhaling deeply as I fill my lungs with the cold, fresh air. The winter sun on my face and honestly, it”s never felt as good as it does now.
“You okay?” Keaton asks.
“Perfect,” I grumble.
“Let me date you tonight, we have never been on a date. We”re married, well... at least I think we are,” Keaton”s words slice through me, bringing me back down to reality with a thud.
“We are... it”s just been a little...” I pause.
“I know.”
My eyes fall to his chest and my heart aches knowing he is wearing my wedding band around his neck.
“I”m sorry I have never spent the time actually dating you though, we sort of just skipped that part,” he runs his hand round the back of his neck, his lips lifting at one side.
“We did, didn”t we,” I scrunch my nose as I focus on him. Green eyes soft, hair wavy and styled, brown stubble with flecks of grey scattered through like salt and pepper, high cheek bones and devilishly handsome as always.
“Ari,” he pulls me back to him.
“Mmhm,” I hum just as his fingers lace through mine, his body pressed against mine.
“Be mine? In every single fucking way, please,” the last word drips off his tongue like a beg, “Be my girlfriend, my wife, my soulmate, my best friend.”
My eyes dance with his, my heart beating along to the same rhythm as his.
“Always,” I smile through my whisper of an answer.
And right there, on the sidewalk of sixth avenue, Keaton Mills, my dad”s best friend finally asked me to be his. It didn”t matter that we were both already legally bound. This moment right here meant so much more.
I was his. He was mine.
Always. Infinite. Forever.