25. Gigi
CHAPTER 25
Gigi
I’m crouching on the floor, whimpering in pain, when I hear the knock on the front door to the apartment. Slowly lifting myself up, I take slow steps and turn the knob. Zach stands there, his eyes frantic.
“Are you about to fucking give birth right now?”
There are lots of things I want to say to him. Lots of questions I want to ask and lots of accusations I want to throw his way. Now is probably not the time to do any of those, not when I feel like my ass is on fire and a band is snapping on my lower abdomen every time the pain comes.
“I don’t know,” I tell him the truth. “I think it’s just Braxton Hicks, but this feels too painful to be that .”
“Braxton what now?”
If I had any energy left in me, I’d roll my fucking eyes. I forgot people my age don’t go to regular appointments at the OB/GYN to be informed about the various stages of pregnancy.
“They’re kind of like fake contractions. They happen before your real…” Holy mother of cow, this hurts so bad. Another round of ache comes from the inside. Imagine menstrual cramps, but ten times worse. “Please just take me to the hospital, Zach.”
Zach nods and drapes one of my arms over his shoulders. We gun for the elevator, the sound of the door closing bringing relief. I lean on the metal wall and exhale.
Three…Two…One…Think of happy thoughts, Gigi. Picture the ocean. Picture the park. Pic ? —
“You’re not going to give birth in my car, are you?” I open my eyes to find Zach studying me uncomfortably.
To my surprise, I actually start cackling. The look on his face is priceless. This dude looks so awkward; it’s probably his first time dealing with a pregnant woman like this. “I’ll try my best, Zach.”
My best is apparently not good enough. We’re not even five minutes in since we hopped inside Zach’s sedan, and I feel the sensation of warm liquid trickling down my legs. “Zach.”
“What?” Zach looks at me, then back at the road, and then back at me. “Don’t pass out on me, Gigi.”
Lifting my head up and shifting my focus from my crotch to him, I grimace. “Either I just peed my pants or my water broke.”
“Holy shit.” Yeah, holy shit indeed. “What do you need me to do?”
“You need to call Luke. If you can’t reach him, you need to try Kai, Zoey, Jared, Micah, Asher, Michelle, Beckie, Robert, fucking Autumn. Anyone you know who knows Luke. Call them and tell them that they need to tell Luke I’m about to give birth. I’m calling my mom,” I say, sounding amazingly calm.
Every time we reach a red light or the traffic allows, Zach tries everyone on his contact list, clicking furiously on his phone that’s on the holder and calling people on speakerphone. A lot of them aren’t picking up. I anticipated this. It’s almost midnight on the night before Valentine’s Day. But Kai and Zoey do, and they promise to terrorize my husband with calls and messages until he answers.
Thankfully, Mom is not a college student looking to get laid or profess her love. She picks up on the third ring. “Hi, honey.”
“ Mamma .” I haven’t called her this in a while. “My water just broke.”
“Are you going to the hospital? How far apart are your contractions?”
She immediately goes into nurse mode, but I ignore her questions. “I’m still at thirty-two weeks and six days, Mom,” I say. The tears and panic that I’ve been holding are finally flowing. “It’s too early.”
“You’re going to be fine, Gigi.” Her voice soothes me and I can breathe somewhat easy again.
“I can’t reach Luke, Mom.” I take a deep breath as Zach stops at another red light. “Zach is here.”
My mom sighs. “I’m coming, baby. You just hold on tight, okay?”
Once Mom hangs up, awkward silence looms over us. Well, awkward silence and the sound of me whimpering and saying shit twenty times.
“Gigi,” Zach says my name carefully. “I want to explain what happened.”
I knew this was going to happen the moment I chose him to be my knight in shining armor for the night. To say I’m dying to know what he’s going to say is an understatement. But not right now. “Just drive me to the hospital first and then we’ll talk.”
Yep. I’m in active labor. This is not a drill. According to the nurse, my contractions are three minutes apart. If I don’t die from the excruciating pain or during the birthing process, I’m going to send Luke to his grave. And if I don’t succeed in that, I’m going to make it my mission to piss him off for the rest of my life.
“Gigi,” Zach calls out to me. “We’ll find him.”
As he dutifully rubs my back and wipes sweat off my forehead, my surrogate birthing partner is still on his phone, trying to find someone who can locate Luke. He managed to reach Autumn, who was at The Wilted Flower. I thought I couldn’t possibly be more upset, worried, and jealous when I heard Autumn was at the place where Luke worked while I’m here pushing out two of his babies. I was wrong. According to Autumn, Luke left his shift and went to a fucking party. A party that only God knows where.
“Giuliana!” The sound of my mom echoes in the room. Usually it takes around two hours from Kinsdale Springs to reach Ravensfield. My mom managed the drive in one hour and fifteen minutes. I guess the news of your daughter giving birth and being driven to the hospital by the dodgiest person alive will turn any mother into a racecar driver.
“Oh, thank fuck.”
Mom doesn’t even flinch or warn me to watch my language. She gives me a hug before her eyes go to Zach. After a few beats of awkward silence, Zach finally breaks the ice. “Mrs. Palmer, I w?—”
“Thank you,” Mom cuts him off. “Thank you for taking Gigi to the hospital,” she says sincerely.
Zach nods, one of his hands resting on the nape of his neck. “Since your mom is already here, I’m going to take off and look for Luke, okay, Gigi?”
How is this the same guy who made Andrew’s life a living hell? Does he have a split personality? How is Andrew’s tormentor my hero?