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Finn nodded and followed Carrie into the night.
29
She stumbled to the emergency room, the crotch of her pants soaking wet and water dripping down the leg of her jeans. Everyone in the ward stopped and stared at her.
Jewel clutched the counter and shrieked. “HELP!”
Nurses rushed forward, descending like a mob of concerned aunts. A wheelchair was rolled out of a corner. Male orders lifted her up and thrust her into the seat. She rocked with pain.
Screams shattered the air.
Her screams.
She saw people ducking their heads and covering their ears in her periphery. Jewel was in too much pain to care.
Sweat dotted her forehead, ran down her cheeks. She tasted blood and knew she’d bitten down on her lip so hard that she’d pierced through the flesh.
A woman rushed toward her. “How far along are the contractions?”
“I don’t know.”
“Her water broke.” One of the nurses pointed to the stain on her jeans.
The doctor stared with wide eyes and then jumped into action. “Okay, we need to get her into the delivery room. Stat.”
As a flurry of activity ensued, Jewel closed her eyes and focused on breathing like the nurses were telling her to. Even though their movements were chaotic, she was in good hands.
The nurses hauled her into the delivery room and set her on the bed. She screamed from another contraction and listened to the voices reeling around her head.
“Push!”
The instruction came from somewhere past her thighs, which were raised on either side of her. Jewel complied, writhing with pain and exhaustion.
“Go on, Jewel. I can see it. Push!”
She pushed again.
The movement was punctuated by a sudden cry.
Sacred silence crept into the room.
“Jewel, you’ve got yourself a healthy baby—”
“Stop.” Jewel turned her face away. “I don’t want to see it.”
Even though she couldn’t see the doctor’s face, she heard her consternation. “What? But—”
“Take it away.”
“Jewel, you may regret this.”
She drilled a hole into the wall, not stirring a millimeter. The doctor whispered to someone and then she heard the sound of footsteps. A door opened and closed.
“You can look now,” the doctor said.
Jewel allowed herself to turn around and focused on the woman who’d seen her baby before she did.
“Are you okay?”
