“What’s wrong?” I place a hand on her shoulder. “What’s going on?”
Tears stream down her cheeks. There’s pure panic in her green eyes that cut down to my soul.
“My stomach. It hurts so bad.”
“Have you seen a doctor yet?”
I’m completely out of my element. I don’t know what amount of pain is appropriate before you go to the emergency room, but if she isn’t there, she’s damn close.
“No,” she whimpers. Sweat is pouring down her forehead. I do my best to wipe some of it off. “I need to go to the emergency room, Roman.”
“Okay. Okay. I can get you there faster than an ambulance. Here.” I lift her up to a sitting position. “I’ll carry you to the car.”
“Roman, wait.” She stops me.
“Roman …” Her voice shakes as more tears begin to fall. “I’m … pregnant. This … what if it’s our baby?”
Pregnant?
The word hits me straight in the gut. Mine. Our baby.
And she’s curled up on the couch in more pain than I have ever seen etched on her face.
I don’t even know how to process this—she’s carrying our baby, she kept it from me, and what the hell is happening to her body at this moment?
None of the other things matter right now. A rush of protectiveness hits me, stronger than anything I’ve ever felt. Part of me wants to drop to my knees right here in front of her and beg for her and the baby to be okay.
I want to crumble at the idea of losing both of them.
Please don’t let this be the worst moment of my life. Don’t let me lose them before I even get the chance to deserve them.
“It’s okay, baby.” I kiss her forehead. “We’re going to the hospital. Everything is going to be okay.”
I place an arm under her legs and around her waist and lift her up. I can feel her heart racing against her rib cage. I want to panic right there with her, but I have to hold it together. I’m her man; I’m the father. I have to be strong.
She leans her head on my chest while we ride the elevator down.
Her body starts to tremble as she cries. “It hurts so bad.”
Dammit! This isn’t happening.
I repeat to her a million times along the way that everything is going to be okay. Not because I have the slightest clue what’s going to happen, but because it justhasto be. I cannot picture another alternative that wouldn’t completely destroy every fiber of my being.
I lay her down in my passenger seat, then grab the seat belt and click her in. Then I run around the car and get in as fast as I can.The nearest hospital is fifteen minutes away, as long as traffic behaves.
I send a text to Lincoln, begging him to meet me at the front of the emergency room at the hospital we’re going to. I don’t want to send Eva in by herself while I deal with parking my car.
Driving in the city means times varying anywhere from fifteen to forty-five minutes. If I have to, I’ll ditch my car and carry her the rest of the way.
I pull out of the parking garage, and she leans to her left and rests her head on the center console. She reaches her hand up to my thigh while she whimpers.
I grab her hand in mine and squeeze it tight. “Just squeeze my hand, baby. Take that pain out of me.”
She clutches my hand hard in response.
“Good girl. We’ll be there soon.”
Thankfully, Lincoln responds and tells me he’s on it. He can be there in ten minutes.