Unexpected Chances (Fairshore Series Book 2)

by Christina Butrum

  “I won’t be back, officer,” Courtney stated. “I’ll leave them alone.”

  The officers kept an eye on Courtney as she made her way to her car. They watched as she placed the car seat in the base and slammed the door shut. As she drove off, Amelia felt uneasy. The officers turned toward Zach and Amelia and said, “You shouldn’t have to worry about her anymore.”

  “Let’s hope,” Zach said as he rubbed his hand up and down Amelia’s arm.

  “Take care, now,” the officers said as they walked down the steps. “Be sure to call us if you have any more problems with her. Next time we won’t be so easy on her.”

  “Thank you, officers,” Zach said as he watched them walk to their patrol car.

  “I didn’t know she was that crazy,” Amelia stated. “I have a feeling she’ll be back.”

  “Let’s hope not,” Zach said as he guided her into the house. “I hope she leaves town.”

  Amelia agreed. “You and me both.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Sharp pains crowded Amelia’s stomach. She curled into a ball and moaned. The pains had come and gone for the last couple of weeks. Amelia had ignored them and had not thought twice about them. This morning, she was sure she was going to die, at least that’s how she felt. She rolled onto her back and rubbed her stomach. The pain was bearable when she massaged her stomach in a clockwise fashion. She had experienced bad cramps before with her menstruation and this pain could not be compared to those; it was worse. She reached a hand out to Zach, only to find an empty space next to her in bed. She looked at the clock – 7:38. She wondered if Zach had left early for work or if he was downstairs. She tried to holler for him, but she was in too much pain. The only sound that escaped her was a moan followed with a high pitched cry.

  She attempted to sit up, but with the bout of spasm she felt as it rippled through her abdomen, she laid back down.

  The pain lasted roughly five minutes. Five minutes seemed to be an hour. Once Amelia was sure the pain was gone, she moved slowly and propped herself up with her elbow. She looked around for signs which told her Zach had left for work. She noticed his pajama pants were thrown on the floor next to the bathroom door, a sure sign he had gotten ready for work. She called out his name as loud as she could, but never heard a response back.

  She tip-toed softly to the edge of the stairs. She debated whether to walk down the stairs or to scoot down them on her bottom. She decided to hang tightly to the rail and take one step at a time.

  To her surprise, the pain had not returned. She made her way to the phone and called Bailey.

  “Hello?” Bailey answered on the fourth ring.

  “Bai, it’s me, Amelia,” she said into the phone.

  “Amelia, you don’t sound so good,” Bailey stated. “Are you okay?”

  Amelia sighed. It took too much energy to talk. She was exhausted. “Can you come over?”

  Without hesitation, Bailey replied, “Yes, I’ll be right there.”

  Amelia unlocked the front door and cracked it open. She sat in the chair and propped a pillow behind her back. She ached up and down her back and legs, but she was no longer in pain.

  Bailey rushed up the porch steps and into Amelia’s house. She looked at Amelia who sat uncomfortable in the chair. Amelia felt flush and Bailey confirmed it. “You don’t look so hot, Amelia,” she said as she walked toward her. She reached a hand out and felt her forehead with the back of her hand. “What’s going on?”

  Amelia shrugged. “No idea. I woke up with severe pain in my stomach.”

  Bailey looked at her with wide eyes. “Are you pregnant?”

  Amelia shook her head. “No, I’m on birth control.”

  “That doesn’t mean anything!” Bailey nearly hollered.

  Amelia cringed when another spasm traveled across her stomach. Bailey rushed to her side. “Does Zach know?” she asked as she squatted next to the chair. “I think I should call him.”

  “He’s at work,” Amelia managed to say between the spasms. “He left early.”

  Bailey patted Amelia’s hand and said, “You breathe through the pain, I’m going to call Zach and then I’m going to call Dr. Bohage.”

  “Is Dr. Bohage specialized for this kind of thing?” Amelia asked as Bailey walked away from her.

  Bailey said, “Of course, he’s a good doctor. And he’s a gynecologist. We need to make you an appointment right now.”

  When Amelia protested, Bailey hollered from the kitchen, “Or I will take you to the emergency room myself. It’s your choice.”

  Amelia shook her head. She wasn’t going to the emergency room if she could help it. She hated hospitals. It was bad enough she had to go to the doctor’s office. She grimaced as another spasm squeezed her stomach. She balled her fist and squeezed the arm of the chair. She cried out as the pain ran its course.

  “Are you okay, Amelia?” Bailey peeked around the corner of the kitchen doorway. “I’m on hold with the doctor’s office right now.”

  Amelia nodded. She focused on her breathing. She had never experienced this much pain since her miscarriage. She dismissed the thoughts of her miscarriage as she breathed through the next bout of pain. There was no way she could possibly be pregnant, unless, of course, her birth control failed to do its job. She cried out with a mix of emotion from the pain and the thought of another miscarriage.

  Bailey poked her head around the corner of the doorway again and watched Amelia. Amelia grabbed a magazine off the coffee table and fanned her face. She felt nauseated and she was on fire.

  “I called Zach, he should be on his way,” Bailey said as she stood by the doorway of the kitchen. The phone was pressed against her ear. She pointed to the phone and said, “I’m still on hold with the doctor’s office. I’m about ready to take you to the damn E.R.”

  Amelia shook her head. “No, I’m not going there.”

  Bailey shook a finger at Amelia. “You’ll go if I take you.”

  Amelia attempted to chuckle at Bailey’s dramatic mother hen act, but failed when another sharp pain crossed the lower part of her stomach. “Ouch!” she shouted.

  Bailey slammed the phone down and hollered, “That’s it, I’m taking you in!”

  Amelia shook her head and tried to tell Bailey she was okay. She didn’t want to go to the hospital. She would go to the doctor’s office and see Dr. Bohage, but she didn’t want to go to the emergency room.

  Zach shoved the front door open just as Bailey tried to get Amelia out of the chair. “What’s wrong, babe?”

  Amelia couldn’t explain to him at the moment. She focused her attention on breathing and tried to relax once the pain passed.

  “She’s been having these sharp pains in her stomach all morning. I tried to call Dr. Bohage, but was put on hold. I was just getting ready to take her to the hospital,” Bailey informed him.

  Zach approved with a quick nod. “Where’s your pain, Amelia?”

  Amelia drew a straight line with her hand across the bottom of her stomach and into the lower part of her back.

  Zach’s face twisted in fear. “Are you pregnant?”

  Amelia shook her head. She wasn’t sure she should be so confident with the thought of not being pregnant. She wasn’t sure what was happening.

  Zach wrapped his arm behind her back and his other arm under her knees as he lifted her out of the chair. He hollered at Bailey, “Go unlock my car door and get the seat ready for her.”

  Bailey raced to his car and cleared the front seat. Piles of mail flew onto the floor and onto the driveway. Bailey chased the mail as it cartwheeled down the driveway. After she caught it, she returned it to Zach’s car and shoved it in the visor above the passenger seat.

  He carried Amelia to the car and held her close to him as she winced from the pain in her stomach, her face pale and covered with sweat. Bailey held the car door open as he placed Amelia in the seat and buckled her in. “Amelia, stay with me.”

  Bailey hurried to the driver’s side and cl
imbed into the backseat. She scooted across the seat and held onto Amelia. Zach plopped into the driver’s seat and slammed the car into reverse. He drove as fast as he could to the hospital. Bailey watched his reflection in the mirror. The look of terror twisted his face and his eyes were wide with fear.

  He slammed on the brakes and hollered at the cars in front of them, “Dammit, move!”

  He drove fast, zipping through traffic and stop signs and lights. They arrived at the hospital emergency room entrance in less than five minutes.

  Zach opened his door and ran around the front of the car to the passenger side. He ripped open the door and carefully grabbed Amelia out of the seat. He held her tightly against his chest as he jogged to the entrance.

  “Zach, you can’t run. It hurts to bounce,” Amelia told him. He slowed to a fast-paced walk.

  Bailey followed close behind as she jogged to keep up. They were greeted by receptionists and nurses. Zach clung tightly to Amelia as he demanded she be seen. “She needs to see a doctor, now!” he shouted at the nurses.

  The nurses scuttled out of his way and opened the door to the emergency room. The group of nurses guided them into a bay with a curtain to separate their bay from the others. Zach carefully lowered Amelia onto the hospital bed and reached for her hand. With his free hand, he combed his fingers through her hair. Amelia was able to relax as soon as Zach ran his fingers through her hair. The scent of him close to her and his soft touch soothed her. The pain had diminished for now. She inhaled deeply. She had not been able to take a deep breath since before the pain had started.

  Zach pulled a chair away from the curtain and sat down next to the bed. He caressed Amelia the best he could. “How are you doing, babe?” he whispered.

  Amelia nodded. With a hoarse voice, she replied, “Better.”

  The nurses were in and out of her room as they checked her blood pressure and heart rate. “We will need to draw blood before the doctor comes in, sweetie,” one of the nurses informed Amelia.

  Amelia approved with a nod. Zach waited for the nurse to come back into the room and asked, “When will the doctor be here?”

  The nurse glanced at her watch and said, “Hopefully within the next ten minutes. He had an emergency he responded to a while ago.”

  Amelia asked, “Who’s the doctor?”

  Zach patted her hand and said, “No need to worry about that. They have really good doctors here.”

  Amelia’s nerves were on edge. She hadn’t liked hospitals since she was a little girl. She had gotten pneumonia and had to stay in the hospital in Bellford. She had hated it. The hospital had been creepy and ever since then, she had no desire to go near a hospital, let alone be a patient inside of one.

  “Dr. Bohage,” the nurse answered Amelia’s question.

  Amelia sighed in relief when she heard his name. Bailey stated, “That’s why he wasn’t at his office when I called.” She turned to Zach and Amelia and said, “It’s a good thing we didn’t go to his office.”

  Zach nodded. Amelia felt a rush of nausea come over her. Her stomach twisted in knots. She reached for the puke bucket by her leg. It was just out of reach. Zach quickly grabbed it and held it up to her mouth. Her body convulsed as she vomited into the bucket. She tried to apologize as she wiped her mouth with tissues.

  “Don’t apologize,” Zach told her. “There’s no need to.”

  “What’s wrong with me?” Amelia nervously asked. Her hands shook as she tried to put the bucket down on the table next to her.

  “The doctor will figure it out, babe,” Zach said as he pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “Try to relax.”

  A sharp pain slid into her side which caused her to jump. Zach sat back and asked, “What’s wrong?”

  Through gritted teeth she exclaimed, “Pain.”

  “Nurse!” Zach was half out of his seat as he hollered.

  Bailey pushed the curtain out of her way as she scanned the emergency room for a nurse. She spotted one and waved her hand as she shouted, “Nurse! We need you over here!”

  The nurse waddled quickly to Amelia’s bay. The nurse looked to be eight months pregnant, ready to pop any minute. Amelia held her breath through the pain, even though they coached her to breathe through it. The spasms followed the pain. She preferred the pain over the spasms, but could do without either of them. “It hurts,” she managed to say between the episodes of pain. “Can you give me anything to stop the pain?”

  “Where’s the doctor?” Bailey asked.

  The nurse tried to answer one question at a time, “The doctor’s on his way.” She frowned when she told Amelia, “I’m sorry I can’t give you anything until the lab results come back. We need to find out what’s going on and make sure you’re not pregnant before we administer pain meds. I’m sorry.”

  The curtain drew back and Dr. Bohage walked into the bay. He glanced at everyone in the room and then focused his attention on Amelia. “Hi, Amelia. What’s going on?”

  Amelia tried to sit up in the bed to talk to him, but the spasms kept her in one spot.

  Zach answered for her, “The pain started this morning after I left for work.”

  “What time was that?” Dr. Bohage asked as he palpated her stomach.

  “About 7:15, doc.”

  “Amelia, have you had this kind of pain before?”

  Amelia shook her head. “No, I haven’t,” she stated. “Except when I was having a miscarriage, but that pain was lower in my stomach and was cramping. This isn’t cramps.”

  Dr. Bohage nodded his head. “Okay. Is there a chance you might be pregnant?”

  Amelia shrugged her shoulders. She had come to her senses and realized anything was possible. “I suppose there’s a chance, but not likely. I’m on the pill.”

  The doctor turned to the nurse and asked, “Has blood been drawn? I want a CBC and a pregnancy test done.”

  The nurse stated, “Yes, the labs have been drawn and we’re just waiting for the results.”

  “How have your menstruation cycles been?” Dr. Bohage asked Amelia as he examined her abdomen. “Any missed periods?”

  Amelia shook her head and said, “They’ve been normal.” She winced when Dr. Bohage pushed on the right side of her stomach. “Ouch! That hurts!”

  Dr. Bohage nodded. “Sorry about that.” He turned to the nurse and ordered, “I want an ultrasound of the right upper and lower quadrants, along with the uterus, ASAP.”

  Zach panicked. “What do you think it could be, doc?”

  The doctor removed his gloves and washed his hands. “I’m thinking it’s either her gallbladder or appendix. I can’t rule out an ectopic pregnancy until the lab results come back and the ultrasound is completed.”

  Amelia exchanged a worried look with Zach. “Ectopic pregnancy? What’s that mean?”

  “An ectopic pregnancy happens when a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus,” the doctor explained. “It’s highly rare, but it can happen.”

  “When will we know?” Zach asked. His knuckles turned white as he gripped the rail of the bed.

  “As soon as lab tests come back, I’ll be able to tell if it’s a pregnancy or not,” Dr. Bohage confirmed.

  “How much longer ‘til they come back?” Bailey asked impatiently.

  “Let me go check if they’re back yet,” the doctor said as he walked out of the bay.

  Amelia and Zach looked at each other. “What if I’m…?” Amelia trailed off.

  “Shh…don’t worry, everything’s going to be alright,” Zach assured her. He ran his fingers through her hair and kissed the top of her head. “We’ll get through this.”

  Dr. Bohage opened the curtain and walked in. “Lab tests show you’re not pregnant. But, they do show a high level of liver enzymes, which tell me we’re looking at possible gallstones.”

  “What does that mean?” Amelia asked as she sat up.

  “Well, if the ultrasound of your right upper quadrant confirms stones in your gallbladder, we’ll have to do outpatien
t surgery to remove your gallbladder,” the doctor explained.

  Amelia tossed her head back against her pillow and sighed. Zach cradled her in his arms and calmed her down. Tears filled her eyes. “I hate surgeries.”

  “We’ll get through this,” Zach assured her. “We’re here for you. We’re not going anywhere.”

  A part of her was relieved. She was relieved it was minor surgery and not as serious as an ectopic pregnancy. She could not wait for the surgery. The pain was unbearable.

  The nurse took her to radiology and did the ultrasound. She brought Amelia back into her bay and gave her a cup with two capsules in it. “Take these. They’ll ease your pain and help you rest.”

  Amelia followed orders. She shut her eyes twenty minutes later.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Amelia opened her eyes. She felt groggy and wasn’t sure where she was. She was numb. She realized she had been asleep a while and the pain had not woke her.

  Zach squeezed her hand. “Amelia, how’re you feeling?”

  Amelia squinted her eyes to focus on Zach’s face. Confusion flooded her as she tried to understand him. “What?” she asked with a hoarse voice. Her throat was dry and sore.

  “You had surgery, remember?” Zach asked. He tried harder to clear her confusion. “Your gallbladder needed to be removed so Dr. Bohage operated on you and removed it.”

  Amelia nodded. Her memory seemed a bit foggy, but she remembered bits and pieces. “Where’s Bailey?”

  Bailey approached the side of the bed and said, “I’m right here.”

  She reached for Bailey’s hand and Bailey took a hold of her hand. “Thank you, Bai.”

  She wasn’t sure if she could have died from gallstones, but either way, she knew Bailey had helped her.

  “No need to thank me,” Bailey said.

  “I thank you, though,” Zach told her. “If it hadn’t been for you to be there for her, I wouldn’t have known and who knows if she would’ve came to the hospital.”