16. Chapter 16
Chapter 16
C HAPTER SIXTEEN
RAPHAEL
I sighed heavily, stretching my legs out and throwing my hands behind my neck. Rory and I had come for a routine checkup and I hated that we were in a waiting room. Rory hadn't been feeling good. She was vomiting a lot and she looked really tired. Also, this morning, she got mad because I said I liked the blouse she was wearing. I really did like it though. It was a long-sleeved blouse with a lace trim and she looked pretty in it.
But Rory didn't like it, so she thought I was trying to mock her and I couldn't convince her otherwise.
"Can you stop being so nervous?" she snapped. "It's rubbing off on me and the baby."
She rubbed her belly as she spoke. There was a little bump there but it just looked like she had a lot to eat this morning which was ironic because she puked it all out.
Hence the trip to the hospital.
"You should have let me call a doctor to check up on you at home," I said. "All this waiting is unnecessary."
I wasn't used to being told to wait for things to happen. Things usually happened just because I asked.
"I wanted to come here," Rory said.
Before I could respond, the receptionist looked up. "Mr. and Mrs. Quinn?"
Rory froze. "Why did they just call you Mr. Quinn?"
"I signed us in with your name so no one would know it was me. They must have thought you were my wife," I said, standing quickly. I took her hand. "Come on, it's our turn," I added before she got upset again.
We walked down the corridor to the first door by the end. Inside, a middle-aged woman in a lab coat was sitting, scribbling down something in a notebook. She looked up when we entered.
"Aurora Quinn?" she asked.
"Please call me Rory," Rory replied.
"Sure, Rory. Take a seat."
Rory took the chair in front of the doctor's table and I moved towards the wall, leaning against it and folding my arms. The office was spacious with a few pictures on the wall and a bookcase at the back. The walls were a warm blue, making the place feel comfortable and calm. The doctor was a stern looking woman with a huge pair of glasses resting on her nose.
"You must be the husband," the doctor said, looking at me.
"Uh, no," Rory said, shooting me a look.
The doctor looked between us.
"We're not married," I said.
"I see," she said, pressing her lips together. Her eyes lingered on me for a moment and I realized it was because of how well I was covered up. I had a face cap covering my forehead, a mask and sunglasses on.
"So, what's the issue today?" She asked Rory.
"Well, I've been experiencing nausea, dizziness and fatigue," Rory answered.
The doctor nodded, jotting down something on the notebook. "Anything else?"
"Sometimes I get tired easily. That's new."
"It's completely normal," the doctor replied. "You look like you're in your first trimester. Sometimes, this can come with a lot of discomfort, especially if it's your first pregnancy. I can prescribe some medication to help with the discomfort."
"Thank you," Rory replied, smiling.
"But, I'd like to examine you first," the doctor said. "Please come with me."
The doctor led us into a private room where Rory could undress and change into a gown. I walked in when she was done. She smiled as she climbed onto the examination table, her legs dangling.
"Do you think the baby is okay?" she asked.
"The baby is fine," I said, sitting beside her.
The door opened and the doctor walked in. She placed a bottle of lubricant gel on the table and a small, square-shaped machine.
"Okay, now," she said, smiling at Rory. "I'll have to open up your gown so that I can have a look."
Rory nodded, her face red. I didn't get why she was embarrassed. She had the body of a Greek goddess.
"Relax," I said, squeezing her shoulder.
She smiled at me.
The doctor applied the gel and a weird-looking picture popped up on the machine. I raised a brow, unsure what I was looking at. The doctor was silent for a few seconds and then she said, "There it is. The baby."
Rory and I both stared at the machine. I was trying to figure out what we were looking at.
"That's the head," the doctor said, pointing. "These are the arms and legs."
I had no idea what she was talking about but if that tiny bean shape was our baby, then it was amazing.
"Wow," Rory said, staring at the screen.
"The heartbeat is strong," the doctor said, smiling. "You can listen."
Rory looked up at me. "I've heard it before. Do you want to this time?"
"Okay," I replied, nodding.
The doctor fiddled with the machine. Then a steady sound filled the room.
"Oh," Rory said, her voice small.
It was a strong beat. My chest was warm and a smile broke out across my face. I hadn't even met the baby yet and I already loved it so much.
When the examination was done, the doctor let Rory change. We both stepped out of the room, Rory clutching the sonogram pictures.
"So, is the baby healthy?" I asked the doctor.
"Everything looks great," she replied, nodding. "I'll have a nurse print out the rest of the pictures. Have a seat."
We waited, the excitement bubbling between us.
"I can't wait to show Callie," Rory said, a smile on her face.
"And the guys," I replied. "Mason would flip."
My phone rang. I fished it out of my pocket. Mason's name flashed on the screen. Speak of the devil. I swiped right. "Yo, Mace."
"Raphael, where are you?" he asked. "Millie has been trying to reach you but your number isn't going through."
"Sorry, I had a checkup. What's up?"
"Check the fucking group chat," he said before hanging up. I frowned as I swiped left and opened the group chat.
Rex: Holy shit.
Rex: This is bad.
Xander: Is this real?
Axel: Millie is upset.
I scrolled up. Mason had sent a link to an article. When I clicked it, I nearly dropped my phone.
"Fuck," I muttered.
"What's going on?" Rory asked, trying to peek.
I tilted the phone away from her. The headline read, 'Raphael Barlowe's Going To Be A Father....And The Mystery Woman is None Other Than His Brother's Ex?!"
The article went on to talk about how the mystery girl had been seen coming and going from my house for the past few weeks. In an interview the writer had with my fucking brother, he spoke about who this woman is and how they dated.
"That asshole," I muttered.
"Raphael," Rory said.
I stood, dialing Millie's number quickly. As I stepped out of the room, people stepped out of the way, staring. I ignored them, my chest tight.
"Raphael," Millie said, picking up. "Are you seeing the news?"
"Yes," I said, running a hand through my hair. "I'm so sorry Millie. I didn't think Rylan would do something like this."
I hadn't heard from him since the day he apparently showed up at my house. I had spoken to my parents that night, telling them that it was true that Rory was staying with me. They had always been supportive of whatever I did and this wasn't any different but they also mentioned that Rylan hadn't been to the house at all.
He was avoiding everyone.
"Your brother reached out to a tabloid and talked about your relationship. The most glaring part is that this is not an attack at you, it's an attack at Rory. He's making her out to be the type of woman who leaves a long-term relationship with someone who loved her to get impregnated by a rockstar."
Fuck.
I clenched my fist. That idiot never loved Rory.
"Millie," I said, breathing heavily. "What can I do to fix this?"
"For now, lay low. I'll have the jet ready in half an hour," she said. "Take Rory and leave New York. I'll do damage control and send you updates when I can."
"Okay," I said, nodding. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me. Go pack now."
As I hung up, the door behind me opened. Rory walked out. "Is everything okay?"
I grabbed her arm. "No," I said. "We have to go."
"Where are we going?"
"Just follow me."
It seemed like whispers and stares followed us as we walked out of the hospital, but I may just have been paranoid. The minute we were in the car, it zoomed off.
I could tell Rory was curious. She kept glancing at me. It wouldn't be long before she found out anyway. Callie was most likely going to see that article and send it to her.
Fuck.
"Rylan went to the press and talked about your relationship," I said.
"What?" she gasped. "What did he say?"
I clenched my jaw. "Not nice things," I replied.
Her expression fell.
"Millie's doing damage control. In the meantime, she suggested that we leave New York for a while," I said, taking her hand. "I know you have Callie and Ember's to take care of here but we should leave until everything blows over."
She bit her lower lip. "Okay," she said, nodding. "We should leave."
"I'm sorry," I said, squeezing her hand.
"It's okay," she replied. "This isn't your fault."
It was Rylan's, but she didn't say that.
When we got back to the house, we went into our rooms to pack. The day had begun so normally but now, it felt like there was a heavy cloud looming over us. All I'd wanted to do from the moment I found out about Rory being pregnant was take care of her and the baby and protect them both. Now, that was the last thing I could do.
"Rory," I called, stepping into her room.
She looked up, her eyes wide. Her bag was on the bed, the top unzipped. "Yeah?"
"Are you done?"
"Almost," she said, folding up a few more items and stuffing them in the bag. She picked up the pictures of the sonogram from the dresser and stared at them for a while. Then she placed them on her clothes and zipped the bag shut.
"Okay, I'm ready."
I told Susan we were leaving for a while on a spontaneous, little vacation. I could tell she didn't believe me but she waved us goodbye regardless. As we stepped out of the house, a man ran toward us. My guard, Jack, blocked him from getting too close.
"Raphael! My name is Harrison. I'm a celebrity reporter from New York Weekly," he said. "Could you please answer a few questions for us?"
"Move along please, sir," Jack said, grabbing the man's arm and pulling him away.
"Is this the baby momma?" the man added, his gaze moving to Rory. His eyes roamed down her body, peeling her apart layer by layer and I wanted to rip his eyes out.
My chest tightened. “Get him out of here,” I said to Jack. I grabbed Rory's hand and headed straight for the car. We were in and driving away from the gates within a minute.
Rory took a deep breath, placing her hand on her chest and I wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close to me. I'm not sure why she let me or why she was okay with it but the truth was that I needed her to be close and it looked like she didn't mind.
"Raphael," she whispered.
"Yeah?"
"What's going to happen now?"
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. "I'm going to protect you, that's what."
I was going to keep her far away from whatever mess the world threw at us.
I was going to be the shield.