AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She smiles and quirks her nose. “You, sir, are delusional. I think you’re mad because LTZ might truly be over and you werereallyexcited about the band’s next chapter. You can lie to yourself, but I know the real truth.”
She’s fucking right.
How annoying.
“LTZ is trulyover. I’m excited for our next chapter. I’ll try not to be so negative.” I flatten my palm against her stomach.
She covers my hand with hers. “Me too.”
“Do you think we’ll ever stop caressing our child?” I wink at her and nod to our hands.
This elicits a smile from my girl. “I hope not. I feel like we’re protecting her.”
I can’t help but smile. I’d love to have another daughter. “Do you think it’s a her?”
She coyly shrugs. Leans in for a kiss.
We sit holding hands for a bit until it’s time to head upstairs for the appointment. We’re waiting for the elevator when Alex gasps and braces herself against the wall. She’s heaving. Gasping for air.
“Poppy?” I crouch down and look up at her. Her face is contorted in agony.
A second later, her body jolts like she was tasered. She slams her palm on her hipbone. “Jace, help me.”
Without thinking, I scoop her up and into the stairwell. Alex clings to my neck. Her guttural moans scare the ever-loving shit out of me. “Talk to me, baby. Tell me what’s happening.”
“Oh God. It hurts so bad. I’m scared.” She starts to become hysterical. Sobbing. Crying out again when a jolt of pain sears through her body.
I manage to get us up the four flights of stairs to reception and scream as loud as I can, “Dr. Madison. We need Dr. Madison.Now. Something’s wrong. Help her!”
We’re at a clinic, not a hospital. I don’t even know if this is a safe place for Alex. People are starting to stare and point. As much as I hate myself for thinking it, I know we need to be somewhere private. I don’t want her medical condition to be part of the public’s fascination with all things LTZ. Not now.
Not ever.
A man emerges with a wheelchair. Alex sits and allows him to take her back to the examining room. I follow, grimacing because her wracking sobs fill the corridor.
I’m so scared. Sohelpless.
Dr. Madison dashes toward us in her white coat. “Jace, Alex. What’s going on?”
“We were at the elevator when she had a sharp pain. I had to carry her here.” My voice is frantic. “What’s happening?”
“I need for the two of you to calm down. Let’s not panic. I’m going to run a few tests and then we’ll fire up the ultrasound to see what’s happening.” Dr. Madison motions to the orderlies and we follow them down the hall into a private room. “Alex, on a scale of one to ten, how bad is it?”
She whisper-rasps, “Eleven.”
Her word pierces my heart. Absolutely devastates me.
All I can do is stroke her hair. Try to keep her settled while the nurse gives her meds and takes her vitals.
Dr. Madison, meanwhile, is taking some samples. She disappears for about twenty minutes and returns with the ultrasound machine. It’s quiet while she adjusts it.
Alex has stopped crying. She just lies there. Almost resolute in doom. I pull my chair closer and cradle her head. Kiss her temple.
All the while my belly fills with acid.
“I reviewed your HCG levels. They’re lower than I’d like,” Dr. Madison says as she prepares the ultrasound. “Let’s see what’s going on.”
We all stare at the screen as the doctor glides it along Alex’s belly. I have no clue what I’m seeing. The look on Dr. Madison’s face is impassive, but her eyebrow quirks not once, but twice. I catch Alex’s eye, The look that passes between us breaks my heart. We know.
