AllFreeNovel
Share Us
We share a quick bro hug. “Thanks, man. Let’s get out of here. We’ll stick around for a bit and watch the place.”
***
Pulling into the parking lot of Brooke’s OB, I don’t miss the way her leg bounces nervously. I place my hand on her leg.
“Baby, what is it?”
She doesn’t say anything at first, and just stares out the passenger window.
“Please tell me?”
“What if something is wrong?” Her voice is soft, and it trembles.
I grab her hand and bring it to my lips. “Brooke, look at me.” She does as I ask after a minute. “Baby, what happened to Gage was tragic, but there is no reason to think there will be anything wrong with this baby. Look at Tripp, he’s perfect.”
“B-But I’m not his m-mom.” Brooke’s face pales, and she opens the door, vomiting onto the asphalt.
Fuck, fuck, fuck. I’m a motherfucking idiot. I quickly climb out and come around to her side, mindful of the vomit on the ground. “Baby, I’m so fucking sorry.” Brushing her hair out of her face. “Come on, let’s go inside.”
She nods and takes my hand. We’re both quiet as we head inside the medical building. Her OB/GYN is the same one she had back in the day. Once she checks in, we take a seat.
I grab her hand and hold it between mine, at least she lets me. The nurse calls her name, and we head toward the back. They go through the normal check-in routine and after she pees in a cup, we head into the exam room.
Dr. Walsh comes in. “Well, hey, you two.” She shakes my hand and hugs Brooke. “Congratulations.”
“Thank you,” Brooke says and gives her a small smile.
They draw labs and then she has my girl take off her bottoms, cover with a paper drape, and put her legs in stirrups. “Let’s just take a look and see how everything is looking.”
I watch the doctor put a condom on a wand and some clear jelly on the end.
“Brooke, this will be a little uncomfortable,” the doctor says before pushing the wand inside her.
I grab her hand and kiss it as we look toward the little screen. It takes a minute before a little spot can be seen. The doctor points to it. “There’s your baby.”
I’m mesmerized as I watch the flutter of the heartbeat. Yanking softly on Brooke’s hand, I kiss the back of it. The doctor turns a knob and the most beautiful sound fills the room.
Tears stream down my girl’s face, and I lean down, kissing her forehead. This brings a sense of déjà vu when we came to our first appointment with Gage. God, we were so young back then, but neither of us was scared. We were ready to be parents. He had been a surprise, but we wanted him from the beginning.
When Tracey was pregnant with Tripp, I came to all the appointments but only because I couldn’t trust her, and I wanted to make sure she was taking care of the baby. I always had a sense of detachment with her. I certainly didn’t love her or even like her. That’s not fair to my boy, but obviously he doesn’t know all of what happened and never will.
It didn’t help knowing that Brooke was grieving our boy alone, especially because it was my fault. At the beginning, Tracey would make snide comments about Brooke, but I squashed that right away.
My girl pulls me down and kisses my lips. “I can’t wait to tell Tripp he’s going to be a big brother,” she whispers as I pull away.
“We’ll tell him tonight.”
The rest of the scan goes well, and she’s almost eight weeks. Dr. Walsh prints us off a picture, hands it to me, and then helps Brooke sit up. “Everything looks good. We’ll see you in a month. Don’t hesitate to call if you have any questions.”
She leaves us alone, and I help Brooke sit up and pull her into my arms. “God, baby. I’m so fucking happy.”
“Me too,” she whispers against my chest.
Chapter Seventeen
Brooke
I’m on cloud nine right now, but I’m scared to death. Hank holds my hand tightly in his as we head to his mom’s to pick up Tripp. Will he be excited about the baby, or will he be jealous?
