The front door burst open less than ten minutes later.
“Hadley?”
Kei’s voice carried through the hallway, tight with urgency.
“In the kitchen,” I called, though it came out weak.
He rounded the corner fast, hoodie half-zipped, keys still clutched in his hand, hair wind-tossed like he’d run here. His eyes swept over me in one sharp scan, taking in my position on the floor, my pale face, Eli glued to my side.
His jaw flexed.
“Okay,” he said calmly, crouching in front of me. “Can you stand?”
“I think so.”
Another cramp flickered through me as I tried to push myself up. I winced, knees wobbling.
Kei didn’t hesitate. One arm slid behind my back, the other under my knees.
“I’ve got you,” he said quietly as he lifted me like I weighed nothing.
I gasped in surprise, grabbing his hoodie instinctively. “Kei, I can walk....”
“I know,” he replied evenly, already moving toward the door. “But you don’t have to right now.”
Eli scrambled after us, clutching his backpack Kei had somehow grabbed on the way through the living room.
The ocean air hit my face as he carried me down the steps toward the car. His grip stayed steady. Controlled. The complete opposite of the chaos thrashing inside my chest.
He eased me into the backseat carefully, adjusting the seatbelt across my lap so it didn’t press my stomach too tightly.
“Lean back,” he instructed gently.
I nodded, hands trembling as I followed.
Eli climbed in beside me without being told, pressing against my side. Kei shut the door, rounded the car, and slid into the driver’s seat. The engine roared to life immediately.
The drive blurred together in streaks of highway lights and ocean horizon. Kei drove fast, but smooth — no jerking stops, no sharp turns. His eyes flicked to the rearview mirror every few seconds, checking on me without making it obvious.
“Pain level?” he asked quietly at one point.
“Seven… maybe eight when it spikes.”
“Bleeding getting heavier?”
“I… I don’t think so. I haven’t checked again.”
“That’s okay,” he said. “Just breathe. We’re almost there.”
I pressed my palm to my bump, whispering to the baby under my breath the entire drive. Eli held my other hand, squeezing once every few minutes like he thought I might float away if he let go.
.....
The ER staff moved quickly once they heard pregnant and bleeding in the same sentence. Everything became fluorescent lights, paperwork shoved into my shaking hands, nurses guiding me toward an ultrasound room.
Kei stayed behind with Eli in the waiting area.
Through the thin door, I could hear him talking softly.
