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“Are you throwing up? Nauseated?”
“I’ve been nauseous a few times in the last week or so,” I recall, my eyes dropping down to my still-flat stomach.
“Well, I’m going to prescribe prenatal vitamins for you. If you can get that filled tonight still, that would be beneficial. Start taking them tomorrow morning. I’m also going to suggest you make an appointment with an obstetrician. Let them know of your ER visit today. I’m sure they’ll want to schedule you just to check everything over. If you don’t feel like eating much, make sure you’re still drinking plenty of fluids. But at the least, try to eat small meals and snacks. Crackers, breads, things like that. Do you have any questions?”
I shake my head, my eyes still glued to my midsection.
“Well, thank you, Doctor,” Harper says, reaching her hand out for him to shake.
“I’ll get your discharge papers in order and have the nurse bring them in.”
“Thank you,” I whisper before he leaves the room.
The silence in the room is deafening. I can no longer hear the beeping of the machine, no longer hear the busy commotion in the emergency room vestibule. All I can hear is the rapid beat of my heart. The swoosh of blood through my ears. Pregnant? How is that possible? I mean, I know exactly how it’s possible, but…pregnant?
“Freedom?” Harper whispers beside me. She takes me hand, careful not to jar the IV sticking out of my hand. When I look at her face, I see a mixture of shock and excitement, and I’m certain it rivals my own. “Are you okay?”
Am I okay? That’s the million-dollar question. I just found out I passed out because my blood sugar was crazy low, I was dehydrated, and apparently, pregnant to boot. Am I okay?
I realize quickly the answer is yes. Yes, I’m more than okay. I’m ecstatic and scared and worried. Worried I’ll be an absent parent, like my own. Worried I’ll make too many mistakes and mess up an innocent life for the rest of theirs. Worried I’ll have to do this alone.
But as quickly as that thought creeps in, I dismiss it. Samuel won’t let me do this alone. I know it in my bones. He may not have signed up for this, but he’s loyal and committed to a fault. So even though he may not be mine anymore, I know he’ll be there for his child.
Our child.
The tears are falling before I can stop them, and this time, I don’t. I let them slide, unchecked, down my face, as the weight of the day finally sets in. Strong arms wrap around me as Harper practically climbs onto my bed and holds me tight. She doesn’t say a word, just lets me cry and is there for me. Like she always is. The one person I can always count on.
No, that’s not true.
I know Mary Ann, Marissa, Jensen, and the rest of their gang is there for me. They have been since I was a teenager with knobby knees and mismatched clothes.
And Samuel.
He’s always been there too, even if I didn’t really notice it at the time. But now, looking back, I see him, waiting in the corner, always willing to lend a helping hand, even if he grumbled about it first.
“I’m okay,” I whisper, wiping the wetness from my eyes.
Harper grabs a Kleenex from a nearby counter and brings it to me. “I take it this was an unplanned surprise?” she asks softly.
“Yeah,” I tell her, blowing my nose in the tissue and then reaching out my hand for another.
She brings the entire box to me and sets them on the bed beside me. “Apparently Snuggles isn’t the only hussy in town.”
The laughter that bubbles from my chest is freeing, and the next thing I know, we’re both practically rolling on the floor—err, the bed, since I can’t get up at the moment. “Oh my God, I so needed that,” I tell her through my giggle fits.
“Sorry, you know I love you,” she says.
I reach for her hand and place mine around it. “Yeah, I do. Thank you for being here with me.”
Harper grins. “Nowhere else I’d rather be,” she says as she takes her seat beside me again. “And I assume since you didn’t know, Samuel doesn’t know yet.”
“Obviously.”
“Well, he’s going to be so excited,” she says, gazing off at the wall. “He’ll make a great dad.”
“Yeah,” I reply softly.
She picks up on the tone of my word, though. It’s sad and resolved. “Free, what’s going on? You’ve been a little gloomy today, and even though you’ve tried to hide it, I’m certain you’ve been crying. What’s up?”
