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Frowning, I pull back slightly.
“Are you okay?”
Her eyes are wide and bewildered, her face paler than before.
“We should get you some food,” I whisper urgently. “Or something to drink. You look—”
She collapses forward, eyes going wider. Her full weight is in my arms now and I hold on to her tightly, quickly moving us to the side of the dance floor.
Across the room, I can feel my father’s eyes watching us.
“Blair.”
We’re too far from the buffet table to make it. Is there someone here, someone discreet, that I could ask for help? Get some sugar into her, maybe. Panicking now, I realize all the things I don’t know about her: Does she have any health problems? She said she hadn’t been feeling well but what exactly were her symptoms?
For a few seconds, I berate myself for being so selfish. I knew she’d been ill but insisted she come to this event with me anyway.
“Nick—” Blair manages to get out in a breath.
And then she collapses.
Chapter 12
Blair
Iopenmyeyesin a blurry haze and several people are staring back at me.
Thank God I recognize one of them. Nick sits on the edge of a chair, knees spread wide, elbows on his knees, a worried look on his face. His thunderous eyes make my stomach flip flop.
“How are you feeling, Blair?”
Without waiting for my reply, a doctor reaches around a nurse and turns a monitor toward himself. “Vitals are all normal, so we’ll keep up with hydration for now and you can fill those nausea med prescriptions if she needs them.”
He doesn’t bother speaking directly to me. Nick sits up, looking pissed off on my behalf, but someone out in the hallway shouts a name that must be the doctor’s. He disappears, the sound of a monitor beeping loudly coming from somewhere down the hall.
“So, Blair,” the nurse chimes in, looking way too chipper for—what time is it? It must be close to midnight.
My dress is draped over another chair. Was Nick here when they undressed me? My face heats. It’s not like he hasn’t seen you naked before,I remind myself.
“This is not unusual during your first trimester. It happens, but you’ll just have to slow yourself down. Make sure you’re eating and drinking enough. Maybe stop attending charity events.” She casts a joking smile in Nick’s direction.
His wide eyes are glued to me as I lay helplessly on the hospital bed.
“Thanks.” My throat is dry. “Is there any chance I can get more blankets? It’s a little chilly in here.”
The nurse nods and heads off down the hall to find a blanket.
“Where are we?”
It’s the first thing I say to Nick. He answers blankly, “Hart Memorial. The emergency room.”
The nurse practically bounces back into the room and makes a big show of tucking a thin blanket around me. Nick stands and helps, almost shouldering her out of the way. I suppress a smile at her annoyed expression.
“Is there anything else she should be careful of?” Nick asks. The words rush out of him, and I give him a quick, nervous glance. I’ve never heard him so… unsure of himself. “Mercury? Soft cheese? Any medications? She shouldn’t be walking much, should she?”
Giving us both a long look, the nurse answers his questions curtly, but thoroughly. She’s just putting it together now. He didn’t know about the pregnancy until tonight.
My face flushes as she explains that I shouldn’t walk up flights of stairs if I’ve been lightheaded for the first few weeks. But walks around the neighborhood occasionally might help. Fresh air and a little exercise are excellent for first-trimester nausea and fatigue. And I should obviously abstain from drinking alcohol.
