Chapter 39
Ashia
Grease
Took a look around for ya, Mama. We didn’t see that Macher fucker, but we’ll keep looking.
“What did Grease say?” Ser asks as she pops a chip into her mouth.
“They didn’t find anything.” I put the phone down and adjust my position on the couch, trying like hell not to tense up as another cramp gears up for battle.
Daisy moves closer to me, and while I love her for it, she’s so damn hot.
She’s like her own little furnace, and I’m too heated to have her right on me.
I scoot away to the edge of the couch, only for her to inch towards me again.
“Damien’s going to be so pissed when he finds out.”
I huff.
“Finds out what? That I’m talking to my friend or that I’m glancing at the Attic’s logs?” I try to play it off, but Ser just stares at me with one hip poking out, flashing me that never-ending attitude.
“Neither. He’s going to be mad when he finds out that Alex told you what was going on, and instead of talking to him about it, you went to Grease.”
“Alex and I have a mutual understanding, okay? Damien still thinks keeping me in the dark is going to protect me, and Alex agrees with me that it’s not right. Damien’s already out looking for Satori. At least Grease and the MC can help them cover more ground.”
“You shouldn’t be worrying about it, Ash.”
“I’m not fragile!” I yell, then immediately feel like shit.
Victoria and Elizabeth are upstairs asleep, and I know Ser is just worried about me, but I just feel so bad.
I might’ve played down these contractions earlier…
but I was so sure they would ease up. They were rough this morning, and by lunch, they had died down some.
So, I thought that would happen again, but it hasn’t yet.
“I may be pregnant as hell, but I’m not glass.
It’s better that I’m prepared for something to possibly happen.
I’ve been able to relax the past couple of weeks, but I’m not stupid. I know what’s going on.”
“No one thinks you’re stupid, Ash. You’ve just had so much to worry about. He just wanted to try and make these last few weeks as smooth as possible for you.”
“But I’m not worried,” I blurt out. “I know Damien is going to protect us, and I’m finally at a place where I feel like I can protect myself if I need to.
I don’t want to be thrown on the sidelines anymore.
” I stand, needing to stretch out as my muscles start to cramp.
The contraction hits harshly, and I gasp, but I force myself to talk through it.
“Our lives are always going to be like this. I’m ready for it.
The world doesn’t change just because we’re becoming parents.
It’s better that we learn to live with it instead of trying to avoid it. ”
I step towards the kitchen, and the painful, tightening cramp radiates from my lower core through my back, stopping me in my tracks.
My hand darts out to grip the couch for support while I rub my belly and try to relieve some of the pain.
Ser’s face twists with concern as she rounds the kitchen island.
“Is that another one?” Serena asks me.
“Yeah,” I say between deep breaths.
“That’s it. I’m calling Carter and I’m taking you to the hospital.” She yanks her phone out of her pocket, and I shake my head in tight movements.
“Nope. No, you’re not. Everything’s fine. She still has five weeks. Well, almost four, really—but it’s not time yet, regardless,” I argue. Ser crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow in disbelief and worry.
“I think you’re in denial, Ash.”
“Okay, maybe I am, but she’s not ready yet!” The pain subsides and I shuffle on my feet, attempting to work out some of the tightness while I have a moment. Ser’s face droops with empathy.
“It’s going to be okay,” she promises in that sweet tone that I’m not really used to.
“If she decides she’s ready, there’s nothing you can do about it, babe.
Especially once those hit hard enough and your water breaks.
The best thing we can do is get you to the hospital so they can monitor you, okay? ”
“Well, we’re in luck, because my water hasn’t broken, and I can still talk through the contractions.
Plus, it almost never breaks like it does in—” A small and quick popping feeling emerges from my core, making me freeze.
Liquid gushes between my thighs and drips down my legs to trickle onto the floor.
My stomach does a nosedive, and Serena’s jaw drops.
“You mean like that?” She points to the floor
“Please tell me I just peed myself. I’d rather be embarrassed right now…” My bottom lip trembles and fear shoots through my veins like adrenaline.
“I don’t mean to burst your bubble…” she says sarcastically and giggles, but then she meets my death glare and immediately regrets it.
“Right, no. Sorry. Bad timing. Come on, girl. Let’s get you in the car, and I’ll call Carter on the way.
” She runs up to me and grabs my hand, and I squeeze it so tightly that I think I hear her hiss.
“Did you ever pack a hospital bag like I told you to?”
I nod lightly and try to gather the courage to speak again. All of my badassery just flew out the door and now I feel cold, like my heart is pumping nothing but fear.
“Yeah… Our bags are in the garage,” I manage to mumble.
“Okay.” She smiles at me, looking much more excited than I am.
“Are your keys on the hook? Damien and Tony installed one of the car seats in your car, right?” I nod again and swallow the lump in my throat.
“Great, then we’re all good to go. We’ll take your car and I’ll just Uber back when you want me to leave—”
“Ser…” My hand shakes in hers, and hot tears hit my eyes.
Leave? Why would she leave? She’s a trauma nurse, for fuck’s sake, and she’s my best friend.
I figured she would stay with me. Why wouldn’t she stay?
“You can’t leave, okay? She’s not due for another four weeks.
What if she’s not okay, and you’re not there? I can’t—"
“Hey,” she coos and holds my shoulders in her hands. “Don’t think like that. It’s only almost four weeks early. She’s going to be just fine. You both are going to be okay. I will stay with you as long as you need me to, okay? You know that.”
I nod frantically. My body starts to tense up again, clearly building towards another contraction, and I hate how my breathing picks up. I’m feeling charged and jittery, like my heart is going to beat out of my chest, and that only makes the burning behind my eyes worse.
“Ser, I’m scared…”
“Oh, honey. I know.” She grips one of my hands, and runs her other one over my head in a soothing caress.
“You worry about you and your little girl, and you leave the rest to me, okay? You and Damien just focus on your family, and you leave the medical shit to me. Alright? You just tell me how you want things to go, and I’ll make sure they do it,” she demands so confidently.
It actually makes me feel a little better.
“Okay…”
“Okay?” She tilts her head and smiles again.
“Okay! Let’s go.” She turns to Daisy and holds her palm out, commanding her to stay as she leads me to the garage.
I lay a towel down on the seat before climbing in, and when I look up to watch Ser, I notice her already on the phone.
She loads our bags into the trunk and rounds back to the driver’s seat with a blanket in hand.
“Okay, thanks. We’ll be there in twenty, but we’re going to drive slow.
It’s snowing pretty heavily… Yeah, got it.
” She hangs up and turns the car on before connecting her phone to the Bluetooth system.
“L&D is expecting you and getting a room ready, and Dad is heading here to sit with Victoria and Elizabeth.”
“Okay,” I reply through gritted teeth as the contraction hits hard—definitely stronger than the last. As Ser starts to back the car up, she reaches out and grabs my hand, letting me squeeze her as tight as I can.
“You’re doing great, Ash. I'm calling Carter now.” She presses the call button on the steering wheel, then the button for the garage door. “Call Carter Leighton,” she commands the car when it beeps at her. I raise an eyebrow, caught off guard by his contact’s name.
“Since when is he back to first and last name?” I ask between breaths.
“Don’t worry about it.” She tries to play it off, but I can hear the sadness in her voice. The line only rings once before he answers.
“Now isn’t a good time, Serena,” he dismisses her, throwing me for a loop. I thought they were working on getting back to good terms, but it certainly doesn’t sound that way.
“Yeah, it’s not a good time, Carter,” she replies angrily, clearly hating the way he used her name. “So, get your head out of your ass and call Damien back in. Ashia’s water broke.”
There’s a brief moment of awkward silence. I just grind my teeth together and take the pain, because I’m not going to be the one to break it.
“Oh, shit. Okay. I'll pull him. Is she okay? Should I tell him to meet you two at the hospital?”
Her eyes narrow in the most dumbfounded look I think I’ve ever seen on her face.
“Where else would we meet? Chuck-E Cheese?” she jabs, and he just scoffs at her before hanging up. Her jaw hangs slack. “Did he just hang up on me?!”
“Are you going to tell me what’s going on with you two?” I try to relax against the seat as the pain starts to slow, watching the front windshield as snowflakes smack against it as we drive.
“I don’t want to bother you with that right now.”
“Well, tell me anyway. It’s a good distraction.” She huffs and then lets go of my hand to do her erratic gestures.
“Honestly? I don’t know… He was so mad at me for ghosting him, and I don’t blame him for that, but now it’s…it’s turning into something that I don’t know if I can handle.”
“What do you mean?”