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She groans, “I’m not feeling well.”
“It’s okay,” I say.
“Patty.” Coach runs into the room and straight for his daughter. “What happened?”
“She just fainted,” I tell him.
I don’t know how much time passes as Coach tells her she is going to be okay and the paramedics arrive. My head feels fuzzy as I worry for her and the safety of our baby. I also realize a bunch of guys are around us and can see how worried I am. How I’m doting on her.
The paramedics come in and check her vitals then she is transported to a hospital. Her father goes with her, and I take an Uber right behind them, but it should be me with her in that ambulance. This all feels so very wrong.
When we arrive to the hospital, Coach is by her side and so am I.
“You shouldn’t be here,” he says.
“Sir, there is nowhere else I should be right now,” I reply firmly. Then add, “With all due respect.”
We recount to the nurses what happened and notify them she’s pregnant and the doctor comes to assess her. Coach and I are asked to leave the room.
I begin to pace like a caged animal. If anything happens to her or the baby, I will feel responsible. I begin to think of how much I love her. Why haven’t I just come clean about how I feel? Why have I been holding back? I know Patty was dealing with her past and had reservations before, but now we are in a good place. We are fire together and not just in the bedroom. We talk and share. But why haven’t we spoken about the ghost in the room? Why haven’t we gone to the GM like Coach wanted us to? Because Coach said it was the right thing to do and I was buying time, and now who knows what’s going to happen. All I know is I need them to be okay.
“Hey.” Coach’s soft voice pulls me from all the voices screaming in my head. “She’s going to be okay.” His eyes are rimmed red.
“I sure hope so,” I say and burst into tears. Actual fucking tears. I don’t know what is happening other than I love Patty and that baby. They are my world. “I love them. I need them to be okay.”
“I know,” Coach replies, even though I’ve never said those words aloud before. “I love them too and Patty is tough.”
“Mr. Sanders?” a nurse asks as I am hugging my coach and crying in his arms.
“Yes,” he answers, and I pull away and swipe at my eyes. “Come with me, please. Patty is stable and she would like to see both of you.”
We follow the nurse down the hall and into one of the private rooms. Patty is hooked up to all kinds of machines that beep and she has an intravenous line in her hand.
“I’m okay, the baby is okay too,” she assures off the bat, but her skin is pallid and she has dark rims around her eyes.
I walk over to her, wanting to hug her and embrace her, but she suddenly seems so fragile.
I blow out a breath.
“Glad to hear it, sweetie,” Coach says. He looks between me and Patty. “I’m going to give you guys a minute.” He walks up to Patty and kisses her forehead, then he leaves the room.
“What happened?” I ask.
“I got dehydrated and probably didn’t eat enough,” she explains. I feel like I’m crashing after all that adrenaline was pumping through my body.
“This is my fault. I should’ve been more on top of you,” I scold myself.
“Evan, you take really good care of us. It’s nobody’s fault. Being on the road is taxing and I was working a lot of hours. I was eating and drinking, just not enough for the amount of work I was doing. The baby is good. Everything is fine. They just want to keep me overnight for observation.”
“Okay, I’ll stay with you.”
“You really don’t have to,” she replies.
“I want to stay. You and this baby mean the world to me, Patty. I love both of you so much. I’ve been scared to say those words out loud because I thought maybe I’d run you off if I said them, but I can’t keep them inside me anymore. You both own my heart,” I confess.
Tears swell in her eyes.
“Oh no, I didn’t mean to make you cry, but I really don’t want to have to take them back.”
