“There was a fire.” Is all he says, and those four words have my mind going a million miles an hour.
“Are Claire and the kids alright?” I feel like I’m going to throw up while I wait for his answer. It seems like an hour before he responds, although it’s probably only a few seconds.
“Yeah, they are fine.” He sighs. “It’s Sierra and Miles.”
Oh, God. I can’t breathe.
“Are- are they okay?” I cry, and my vision is immediately blurry from my tears.
Evan turns in his seat and grabs my head.
“Miles didn’t make it,” he whispers. My heart immediately cracks in my chest for one of my best friends.
“No.” I gasp. “Is- is Sierra alright? Auggie?” I search his eyes for any sort of answer.
“Auggie was with Claire, but Sierra is in the hospital. They’re worried she’s going to go into preterm labor.” He squeezes my hand.
“We need to go to the hospital. Now!” I cry in hysterics.
“Av, you need to calm down. You’re getting worked up, and it’s not good for the baby.” He looks at me with worry etched on his face. “We’ll go see her, but it’s not going to do her any good if you’re upset like this.” A part of me wants to scream at him that of course I’m upset because one of my closest friends just lost her husband and now her and her baby are at risk. I decide against it because I have no energy to argue with him.
Instead of responding, I turn in my seat, and I start to practice my breathing techniques that my therapist taught me in high school. I try to think of things that make me happy and calm while my eyes are closed. I then slowly open my eyes and turn to look at him.
“Better?” he asks gently.
I answer with a nod. He seems to be calmer now that he’s told me what happened.
I’m not sure what details Evan has, but frankly, I don’t want to know them anyway. Not now, at least.
We’re about halfway through our drive when I start mindlessly rubbing at my protruding stomach.
“Love you, baby girl,” I whisper and then see Evan slightly turn toward me, out of the corner of my eye. I’m momentarily embarrassed that he just heard me speaking to our unborn child, but then that thought slips away as soon as he places his big hand on my stomach.
“Daddy loves you too, princess, and can’t wait to meet you soon,” he says as he reaches over and rubs my belly. I turn and look at him and see a small smile grace his handsome face.
I give him a forced smile in return, but I know it doesn’t reach my eyes. I’m sure he can tell that it isn’t genuine but that I’m trying.
“Hey,” he grabs my hand off my bump. “I don’t know what’s going to happen today, but we’re going to get through this together, alright?” I don’t know how he does it, but this man always has a way of calming me through any storm or battle I face.
“Okay,” I whisper and then draw small circles on his hand as I rest my head on the window for the rest of the drive.
* * *
The remainder of our drive is quiet. As soon as we make it to the hospital, Evan pulls in front of the building and hands the valet workers the keys to the Jeep and then escorts me inside.
“You okay?” he asks into my hair as he drapes his arm around my waist. He kisses the side of my head, and I try relaxing into him.
“I will be. I just need to see that she’s alright,” I say almost inaudibly.
We stop at the front desk to ask what floor Sierra is on and then head toward the elevators located near the entryway. This hospital is huge, so it takes a few minutes to make it up to the eighth floor. Of course, we have to stop several times to pick up others on our way up. We stand side by side huddled together while he whispers reassuring words into my ear.
Finally, the elevator comes to a stop and dings before the door opens to the floor we need. Evan grabs my hand possessively and pulls me toward the waiting room that sits down the hall.
“Claire!” I cry as my sister-in-law grabs me into a tight, almost suffocating hug. “Have you heard anything?” I pull away from her as I dab at the tears that have started to fall again. I’m sure I look a mess right now, but I just need to know that my friend is alright.
“They haven’t let us see her yet.” She sniffs as she pulls away and then sits back down next to Ryke. He wraps his arms around her shoulder, and I’m glad she has him here with her.
“Where’s Auggie?”
“Ryke’s parents were in town for dinner, so they have all the kids at our house.”
Evan grabs me into a hug and then tells us that he’s going to get us all coffee. I think he just needs a moment to himself. He and Miles weren’t great friends, but we’ve all hung out a lot over the months since he got home. Sierra was always worried that something would happen to him while he was overseas. I’m sure she never imagined something like this happening.
My husband comes back minutes later with four coffees. He hands them out and then grabs my hand as he takes the empty chair next to me.
I sip on the warm, sugared drink, but it’s hard to taste it right now. Until I know what’s going on with Sierra and her baby, I’m not going to have much of an appetite.
6
Avery
It’s been two weeks since the fire, and Sierra had a precious, thankfully healthy, little boy the same day. Today, she finally gets to leave the hospital. She, of course, lost her house, along with her husband, so she is going to stay with us for a bit. We weren’t sure if she’d decide to stay in Phoenix, and we didn’t want to ask her, so we thought this was the best option for them right now. I’ve already told work that I would be out for at least a week more. There’s no way she’ll be able to take care of both boys yet. Thankfully, Claire will be able to help as well.
She has refused to leave the hospital without the baby, so Claire and I have been taking care of Auggie. The little guy is only two, but it’s obvious that he knows something is wrong. He has for sure missed his momma. Against Sierra’s wishes, we also set her up with a therapist that has been visiting her three times a week. She has yet to talk to any of us, so I’m guessing she hasn’t spoke to the therapist either, but hopefully, she’ll start to open up soon. I can’t even begin to imagine what she’s going through.
“Hey, Momma. You ready to go?” I ask as Claire and I walk into her room. She’s already in a wheelchair, holding her sleeping baby.
She doesn’t say anything but turns toward us and gives us a weak smile. It breaks my heart seeing my friend like this, and I know Claire feels the same way.
Claire wheels her out as I carry the few things she had with her.
The walk to my car is silent. I lift the baby and his carrier into the backseat and place it in the base that is already strapped into the seat.
Claire helps her out of the wheelchair and into the backseat. I’m hoping that she’ll get some good rest now that she’ll be at my house. I don’t imagine she slept great in that godawful bed in the hospital the last couple weeks.
As soon as we get to the house, Evan meets us in the garage and lifts the baby out of the car to carry him inside. Claire leaves to get Auggie, and Sierra mindlessly goes to the spare room we have set up for her. I decide that I’ll just let her be for now. I know the little one will want to eat soon, so I’ll have to find his bottles and have one ready for him.
“How’s she doing?” Evan asks as he sets the baby’s car seat on the floor and then starts to unbuckle him. “Should I take him out?”
“Yeah, I’m sure he’ll be hungry soon. He’d probably like to be rocked, too.” I give him a small smile. It melts my heart every time I see him with a baby. I can’t imagine how I’ll feel when I see him with our daughter.
He lifts the little guy up into his arms and then carefully walks him to the rocking chair in the corner of the room, and I sit across from them on the couch.
“Sierra still isn’t talking much. I’m really worried about her. I know that if she was in a better state of mind, she’
d be mad at herself for not taking care of her boys. I honestly don’t know what to do to help her.” I shake my head and feel the tears prick at my eyelids. I hate seeing my friend like this.
“Simon’s dad is a psychologist. Maybe he could help us.” I know I don’t always give him credit for it, but he’s fucking amazing.
“You’re the best, babe. I love you. You know that, Evan Porter?” I look at him and now have tears running down my face. I think I desperately need to get some rest because all of the stress from the last couple weeks is finally starting to catch up to me. But I need to be here to help with the boys.
“Why don’t you go take a bath and lay down for a bit?” I can tell he’s worried about me, but I really need to be up in case they need me.
“I’ll be okay.” I slowly stand from the couch and walk over to kiss him on the top of his head then lean over and kiss the baby on his cheek.
“Okay, well, if you start feeling bad, I want you in bed, alright?” He looks at me, obviously expecting me to argue with him.
“Promise.” I wink at him and then start toward the kitchen to get a bottle ready.
“What’s this little guy’s name?” I turn around, and Evan is holding the baby’s little finger, and my heart nearly explodes in my chest.
“I don’t know what she decided on. I’m not sure he has a name yet.”
It makes me so sad to think about how the first couple weeks of this little boy’s life, his mom hasn’t been able to enjoy him because she’s been so lost in her grief. Her and Miles were so excited about having another boy. Damn it. I wish he were here so things could be perfect again for her. She was so in love with that man. I can’t imagine how I would handle something so horrific happening to Evan.
I push the thought out of my mind, as I don’t need to make myself even more emotional than I already am.
I find the can of formula and quickly read the instructions to make sure I’m adding the correct amount with the water.
I carefully empty the powder into the bottle, and then just as I go to shake it, I hear little wails coming from the other room.
“Shh, shh, little one. It’s coming.” My husband coos into his ear.
Evan has the baby propped up on his shoulder while he pats at his little butt, trying to comfort him.
“Hey,” I whisper, “want me to take him?” I rub his little back and then inhale his sweet little newborn scent. It’s evident that the hospital staff bathed him in lavender before he left.
“I’ll feed him,” he says without looking up. “I need all the practice I can get.” He finally looks up and gives me a small smile. “Why don’t you go lay down? Claire won’t be back with Auggie for a bit. She said she’d feed him dinner first.”
I tell Evan to make sure he burps the baby and then decide that I should stop being stubborn and listen to him.
I leave the room and head toward our bedroom and immediately collapse onto our bed. I’m trying to be strong for my best friend, but the stress of the last couple of weeks has finally caught up to me.
I slowly pull myself off the bed, feeling like I could really use a bath right about now.
After stripping out of my clothes, I spend the next half hour in the tub, being soothed by the sight of my baby girl bouncing around inside of me.
* * *
It’s now been three days since we brought Sierra and her boys to stay with us. After the first night, I finally found out the baby’s name. She named him Jayce Miles. Miles’s middle name was Jayce, so I thought it was perfect.
“Hey sweetie, want to go with me to the store? I thought we could do some baking tonight.” I really want to get her out of the house, but I’ve also desperately been wanting oatmeal raisin cookies.
“Yeah, I’d like that.” She sits up in her bed and gives me a half smile. “I’m sorry I’ve been such a horrible friend, I just feel so numb,” she whispers and then wipes at the lone tear that slips from her eye.
I tell her to scoot over, and then I join her and grab her hand. “Sier, you have been the furthest thing from a horrible friend. You just experienced something that no woman should ever have to go through, and on top of that, your body has gone through a lot with having the baby.” I wrap her in a tight hug. “I know it’s hard to believe right now, but you’re going to get through this. We’re all here for you. You know that, right?” I turn to look at her and then kiss the top of her head.
“Yeah,” she sighs. “I don’t know how I would have made it this far without all of you. Seriously, Av. I had nowhere to go. You guys could have left me out on the street, but you didn’t.” She rests her head on the headboard.
“It was tempting, but we’d never do that.” I wink at her, and I’m thankful for the small giggle that comes from her. I don’t think I’ve heard her laugh since before the accident.
“Love you, girl,” she leans her head on my shoulder, “thanks for everything.”
“I love you, too, my sister from another mister.”
7
Avery
I shoot up in bed, feeling like someone is stabbing me in the side. I’m sweating, and my head is spinning, and I don’t realize right away that Evan is trying to get my attention.
“Av, what’s wrong?” I slowly look toward my husband, surely with panic etched on my face.
I’m breathing heavily, causing me to not be able to answer him right away.
“I- I think I’m in labor.” This cannot be happening. I’m only thirty-three weeks pregnant.
Before I can say anything else, Evan is out of bed, throwing his pants and shirt on from yesterday. The next thing I know, I’m being lifted from the bed, and then he is slipping a shirt over my head.
“We’re going to the hospital.” He brings me my pair of slip-on tennis shoes, and I quickly grab my phone off the bedside table, knowing I’ll need to call Dr. Cooper on the way.
As I’m about to exit our bedroom, the sharp pain hits me again, and I bend over from the intensity of it. What the hell is going on? I’ve heard all about Braxton Hicks contractions, but this is way more painful than anyone ever told me about. There’s no way I can be having this baby already.
“Come on, Av.” The pain hasn’t subsided yet, but Evan lifts me in his arms and, in the next minute, into the car.
He quickly calls the hospital to let them know we’re on our way and demands they have a room waiting for me as soon as we get there. If I weren’t feeling so incredibly shitty, I’d tell him to calm the hell down, but right now, I’m feeling the exact same way.
As soon as we arrive at the hospital, I’m being escorted to a room in a wheelchair. Once I’m on the extremely uncomfortable bed, the staff hooks me up to a heart monitor, and then my arm is being wrapped in a blood pressure cuff. My mind is spinning, the unknown terrifying me. I just need to know that my baby girl is alright.
I start to panic as I realize that Evan is no longer in the room.
“Where’s my husband?” I yell out. If they made him leave, does that mean something is wrong?
“It’s okay, Mrs. Porter. We just had him go to the front desk to fill out your paperwork. He’ll be back shortly.”
It makes me angry that they felt the damn paperwork was more important than me having my husband by my side, but I’m in too much pain to say anything else.
After telling me that the baby’s heart rate is fine but my blood pressure is slightly elevated, I’m left alone and told a doctor will be in soon to see me. I’m still having some contractions but not nearly as bad as when we were at home.
“Hey, Av,” Evan says as he walks in, looking haggard after working so many late nights recently. I just realized that it’s three in the morning. I would tell him to go home to sleep for a few hours before he has to go to work, but I know it would fall on deaf ears. There’s no way he’d leave me here.
“Hey.” I give him a weak smile. “I’m sorry for scaring you.” I lay my head back on the pillow and sigh.
He comes to the side of
the bed and grabs my hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong. Sure, you and this little girl,” he rubs my large bump, “just took five years off of my life, but I’m glad that it looks like she’ll be staying in there a bit longer.”
We’re interrupted when there’s a knock on the door.
“Mrs. Porter, I’m Dr. Johansen. I’m the on-call doctor tonight.” He shakes mine and Evan’s hands, and I give him a weak smile. I need him to stop with the formalities and reassure me that my baby is alright.
“Doctor, is everything alright with my wife and baby?” The concern on my husband’s face breaks my heart, but I can’t worry about that. All I can worry about right now is my child.
“Yes. It appears that the little princess wanted to give you both a scare tonight, but we’ll make sure she finishes cooking first.” He chuckles, and I’m internally rolling my eyes, and I’m pretty sure that Evan wants to reach out and strangle the guy right now. When he sees that we’re not amused, he goes on, “Avery, I would like you to go on bedrest for the remainder of your pregnancy.”
I gasp. “But you just said everything is fine?” I’m freaking out because I’m supposed to be cooking Thanksgiving dinner for everyone at our house in a couple weeks, but that won’t be possible now.
“Everything is fine, but if you don’t take it easy, I’m worried that she’s going to try to come early again. We would like to see you go for another four weeks.”
He gives us a few more instructions, and then we’re told that a nurse will be in to give me something to stop the contractions. I won’t be able to do anything until this child is born. I know that this is what’s best for our baby, but I’m freaking the hell out thinking about everything I was hoping to get done before she arrived.
* * *
It’s the week after Thanksgiving, and I’m starting to really lose my mind from boredom. At first, it was easy for me to relax, even though I felt useless not being able to do anything, but now, I’m starting to go stir crazy. Evan bought me a new Kindle and an Amazon gift card to purchase new books on it, but after a while, I got sick of laying around.
Renewed: The Unexpected Series Page 3