He nods as he starts to smear cream cheese on our bagels. “You are just being monitored now, so you don’t have a restrictive diet.”
Several hours later, the nurse comes in and takes my blood work again. Roman and I remain quiet the entire time. We were living in a little bubble the last twelve hours, not choosing to face this part.
She tells me it’ll take a couple of hours for the blood work to come back and that my doctor will talk to me about the results afterward.
The rest of the day, worry is in the forefront of my mind. I continue to text and update Walker, Jessie, and my parents. Roman updates his mother, who he told me stopped by yesterday.
“You’re not mad that I told her?” he asks as he sits in the chair with the television on in the background.
“Not at all. You need someone to lean on during all of this too.”
“Eva, good to see you again,” Dr. Bryant says as she walks in the room, abruptly ending the conversation with Roman.
I smile at her. My body begins to sweat as the nerves settle back in. “Good to see you too.”
“I have the blood work back from the lab.”
Roman stands up and sits next to me. I reach for his hand and squeeze it tight, looking for any kind of comfort that I can grasp on to.
“Your hormone levels have increased in the last twenty-four hours. That is a very positive sign. It means the pregnancy appears to be progressing.”
Roman and I both exhale as I watch his shoulders sink with relief.
I cover my mouth with my hands. “Oh, thank God,” I whisper.
“We still would like to keep you here for another night to monitor and make sure you are healing properly. If everything checks out, I’ll sign your release tomorrow.”
“Thank you,” Roman tells the doctor.
She nods her head. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
The moment we’re alone, he grabs my hand and kisses it. “I told you everything was going to be okay.”
My chest shakes with laughter. “You were just as scared as I was. You had no idea if everything was going to be okay.”
“I think I kept it together pretty well. Don’t rain on my parade.”
I pout my lips, loving how honest he’s being. “Hey, I really couldn’t have done it without you.”
And those words are the truth. His presence alone was enough to calm my nerves.
And we’re going to have a baby together. He told me he loved me.
Maybe it was the fear talking. Maybe he meant it. But he said it, and that has to mean something.
I don’t know what tomorrow will look like. We have so many things unsaid, undone, uncertain. But there’s still that glimmer of hope.
Could this be the beginning of something real?
Chapter Thirty-Six
Roman
I’ve been trying to figure out how to tell her that I want her to move in with me, even if just temporarily. Truth be told, I want it to be forever. I know I need to earn her trust and love. But right now, I want to make sure she is taken care of.
She still needs to take it easy for a week or so. If she stays with me, I can take care of her.
The doctor just signed her release form. We are just sitting here in the hospital room as we wait for the wheelchair to come and take her down.