19. Marley
19
MARLEY
I retch bile into the bag once more as we finally arrive in the parking lot of the emergency room. Beau gags yet again. I can tell he’s trying to be secretive and not bring attention to it, but he’s failing. I feel a little bad for him, but also, he’s screwed once this kid starts spitting up and pooping all over.
He parks, and thankfully, the lack of motion seems to have helped with my nausea. Beau runs to my side of the vehicle, taking deep breaths as he does. When he opens the car door, I can’t help but tease him a bit. “Feeling alright?” I snicker.
Beau narrows his eyes. “I’m fine, worried about you.”
I pat his chest as he helps me from the car. “I’m alright, promise.”
“You don’t sound alright.”
I shrug. “Puking in pregnancy is normal.”
“Yeah, but passing out isn’t,” he retorts.
I say nothing, just let him lead us into the ER, dropping the near empty bag into a nearby trash can. The hospital smells clean, but not in a good way. Like someone just poured bleach all over the floor. It makes my nostrils burn.
“Go sit down. I’ll get you checked in,” Beau says, guiding me over to the waiting room. I want to fight it, say I can do it myself, but I’m too tired. I sit, watching him walk toward the U-shaped desk where various personnel sit. He runs his fingers through his hair a few times, leaning over the desk and resting his head on his palm as he speaks to the employee.
She’s attractive—thin, young, and blonde. All things I am not. Anger and jealousy bubble up in my chest as I watch him talk to her. Is he flirting? Seriously? The girl laughs, waving a hand at him as he steps back.
Beau frowns as he strides toward me, shoving his hands in his pockets. “What’s wrong?” he asks when he’s close.
“Nothing,” I mutter.
“Don’t lie to me, Mar.”
“I’m mad at you,” I say. I know I’m being juvenile, but I can’t help it. I’m pregnant with his child, and he has the audacity to flirt with someone mere hours after he was telling me he was all in? Yeah. I’m irritated.
“Why?” His voice is concerned, and thick with worry. “What did I do?”
“Marley?” A voice calls my name. A nurse in neon pink scrubs waits for me at the double door entrance. I stand, striding over to her. I’ve never gotten in at an ER this fast before, but I couldn’t have asked for better timing.
“You can stay here,” I say to Beau. Am I being petty? Sure. Do I care? Nope. Beau stands, following behind me. I turn, glaring at him. “I don’t need you back there.”
“I’m coming,” he says roughly. His jaw clenches. He’s clearly irritated with me, too.
Ignoring him, I greet the nurse. “Hi, I’m Marley.”
“Great, my name is Lily. I’ll be your nurse today.” She eyes Beau behind me. “Can I ask who you are?”
I start to say, “He’s just a friend,” when Beau speaks over me.
“I’m her husband,” he says confidently.
My jaw drops in shock. What the fuck? I swear, this man is giving me whiplash.
“Great!” Lily says, leading us through the double doors toward an empty room. “I’ll give you a minute to get changed, but can you verify your name and birth date for me?”
I do as she asks, and then she’s spinning on her clogged heel, heading out the door.
“My husband?” I hiss as soon as the door is closed.
Beau has the nerve to look sheepish. “If I said I was your friend or something else, they probably wouldn’t have let me back here.” He has his hands in his pockets, rocking back on his heels. “You didn’t want me back here for some reason, but Marley, I think I have at least a little bit of a right to be here, don’t you think?”
“Why were you flirting with the front desk lady?” I accuse, figuring we might as well get it out in the open now.
His eyes widen at my words, and he stalks toward me with purpose. “I was not flirting. She was being nice. I said hopefully the wait isn’t too long, or you’d throw up in the waiting room, and she laughed. That’s all.” Beau cups my cheek in his hands. “Not only do I have no interest in anyone that isn’t you, I would never flirt with anyone else. I said it yesterday, and I’ll say it again. I’m all in. I’m here for you, for us.”
My eyes sting with tears, and I curse myself for being so emotional. “Okay,” I say, turning out of his grip. “Can you turn around so I can have some privacy?”
Beau nods, but doesn’t move right away. Instead, he leans down, pressing a tender kiss to my forehead. As soon as he’s facing the other direction, I whip my shirt over my head and push down my jeans, leaving me in my sports bra and undies. I tug the scratchy gown up my arms and try to tie the back. When I fight to find the ties for a moment, I give up. “Can you help me?” I unwillingly ask.
Beau spins around immediately, a look of concern marring his beautiful face. I spin, showing him the open back. He inhales sharply and ties the gown for me. With shaky legs I head over to the bed, and slump down onto it.
When my head hits the pillow, a wave of exhaustion hits me like a truck. My eyes fall shut as another bout of dizziness and nausea overtakes me. “Beau?” I ask.
“Yeah, love?”
“I think I need another puke bag.”
“You got it,” he says. His footsteps rush toward the door, opening it and calling for the nurse. She rushes back with a crinkling bag and promises to be back in just a moment.
Beau comes back to my side, setting the bag in my left hand, sitting down in the creaky chair next to my bed and taking my right hand in his. He squeezes it three times, and I squeeze back three times. “Thank you,” I whisper.
“Anything for you.”