Page 86 of My Girlfriend is Not the Father

Lucy

Lucy’s belly bumped up and down as Jade tore through the hotel parking lot, gripping the steering wheel with white knuckles. ‘You doing okay?’ Jade asked her for the hundredth time, her eyes only leaving the road for a split second. ‘Are the contractions bad?’

So far, Lucy wasn’t even sure if she was having contractions, or if the pressure in her belly was from the aftereffects of her water breaking. ‘No … I’m okay.’

Jade stopped at the edge of the parking lot. ‘Which hospital? Stillwater or Minneapolis?’

Oh God. Now what? Lucy didn’t know. Her OBGYN and the dads were in Stillwater. She was currently in Minneapolis. The labour and delivery department told her to choose whichever she was most comfortable with when she asked this same question. Her chin trembled. ‘I don’t know. I don’t know …’ Too many decisions, too much pulling in her belly, too much sticky dress fabric adhering to her skin.

‘I’m going to pull over to a parking spot. Call Drew, get his thoughts, and then we’ll bolt.’

Jade whipped the car to the left and put the blinkers on as Lucy dialled.

‘Luce. We have a strict texting-only friendship. Which must mean … you’re calling to tell me Jade won her award?’

Shit. Jade was missing the biggest night of her life, and it was all Lucy’s fault. The baby wanted out, early, she hadn’t taken those freaking classes, her chest hurt, and basically everything was going completely opposite to their plan. What if she couldn’t do it? Why didn’t she read that damn book that Drew had begged her to read? The trembling in her chin moved to her lips, and she choked out a bumbled word.

‘Lucy? Are you okay? What’s happening here?’

‘My water broke and … it was everywhere, and I don’t know which hospital to go to and we’re in Minneapolis, but I don’t know anyone here, and …’ A sob erupted from Lucy, and Jade gripped her shoulder.

‘Are you serious? Are you okay? Is Jade with you?’

Lucy conjured up more jumbled words until Jade grabbed the phone and put it on speaker. ‘Drew, she’s okay. But I need to know, now, which hospital you want us to go to. We’re thirty-five minutes out from Stillwater, about fifteen from the nearest Minneapolis hospital.’

A deep inhale sounded over the phone. ‘Ah, ah … Stillwater.’

‘Got it. On our way.’ Jade handed back the phone, slammed the car in reverse, and sped out of the parking lot.

This is happening. Drew must be so scared for the baby, and Lucy couldn’t say a single thing to alleviate his fears. ‘I’m so sorry, Drew. She’s so early. I don’t know if I caused my water to break or what. I don’t think I can stop it from happening, but maybe the hospital can add more back in?’ The amniotic fluid was gone, the remnants sticking to her bare legs, but maybe they had new technology or something.

‘This is not your fault.’ He sighed. ‘Everything’s going to be okay.’

They’d been friends for too many years, and even though her thinking was muddled from being in labour, she knew his fake voice. She was immediately thrown back to when her mom had died in the bike accident, and he’d used those same words. Everything’s going to be okay. He was worried. She was worried. Jade’s pale face and parched lips showed she was worried. ‘The birthing classes. We didn’t do them. We should have, and you told me, but I didn’t listen—’

‘Stop it. You can do anything, including having a baby without classes.’ He paused. ‘I have to call Mason. We’ll be up there right after you. Jade’s gonna be there with you and we’ll be two seconds behind, got it?’

Lucy nodded, but her throat felt too tight to verbalise a response.

‘I love you, Luce. We love you so much.’

Car lights, bridges, and orange construction signs zoomed by as Jade weaved through the traffic. ‘I’m so sorry for tonight,’ said Lucy. ‘You’re missing everything because of me.’ Her lip trembled. For everything Jade had sacrificed during their entire relationship, this evening was supposed to be one hundred per cent solely focused on Jade and not on Lucy and the baby. She deserved to have her moment and Lucy was ruining everything. ‘Do you want to go back? Maybe I … we … can get me an Uber or something?’

‘Lucy.’ Jade touched her thigh for a quick moment before white-knuckling the steering wheel again. ‘This award is just an award. For real. This … all this right here … this is life. I would never, ever leave you. Don’t even give it another thought.’

A deep knot tugged at Lucy’s lower abdomen, and she winced.

Jade flicked on her blinker and passed a car. ‘Contraction?’

‘Yeah.’ Lucy clocked the time and shoved an ice cube in her mouth from the cup Amelia handed her earlier. Was it five million degrees? The vents were not blasting enough air, and Lucy was a second away from melting into the Prius’s seat. She rubbed an ice cube against her hair line, closed her eyes, and tried to take calming breaths.

Less than thirty minutes later, they were squealing to a stop in front of the emergency entrance door and Lucy lurched forward.

‘Jesus Christ, I’m sorry. You good?’ Jade whipped off her seatbelt and bolted from the vehicle, not waiting for an answer. ‘Can someone help me, please?’ Panic laced her shouts, and she waved people towards their vehicle. ‘Somebody!’

Another cramp, deeper this time, seized Lucy’s gut. ‘Gahhhh!’ She gripped the door handle. ‘Dammit, that hurts.’

The emergency doors slid open and two people in scrubs burst through, one pushing a wheelchair. Jade reached both arms into the car and lifted Lucy to standing. A moment passed as Lucy attempted to steady her sea legs. Nausea flashed through her, and she grasped Jade’s hand.