Page 20 of Until Waverly

“Have them bring him down here,” he snapped. His guttural tone would replay in my mind for years to come. “Now!”

“I can’t and won’t do that.” Amy ignored his outburst. Either that or she was a natural-born badass, and his demands didn’t deter her. “He’s lucky, but as I explained before, he wasn’t stabilized after delivery and requires some extra help from how he was born. He needs to stay in the NICU. It’s the best place for him right now.”

He rushed toward where Amy stood behind the countertop of the nurse’s station. “You listen to me, you fucking—”

Amy didn’t even flinch. Instead, she slammed her hand down on the countertop, stopping his tirade. “What did I tell you before?” Amy yelled. “You won’t talk to me or the other nurses as if we are your dog. I’m more than willing to have a conversation with you, but I won’t if you continue with that language.”

See! Amy was a total badass!

Turning to me, she said, “Go now, Waverly.”

I’d realized I’d learned a lot more about Amy, who’d been one of my teachers this semester, while under lockdown than I had in the classroom. The first time Amy went through nursing school, she’d flunked out. However, her drive and determination set her on a path to becoming a badass instructor and nurse. Amy’s story made me understand even though it might take me a little longer than I’d initially planned, my goals were attainable. I loved my daughter, but I also want to be fulfilled in my job. Be able to provide Alandria with the type of financial security I had growing up.

I pushed open the door to Lucy’s room. Mom and the baby were getting to know each other and bonding. Quietly. Without outside interference, which included boyfriend and Phone Mom. The way Lucy glanced up, fatigue and happiness coloring her features, I knew she’d be okay. Now to get her off the floor and away from the lockdown.

As it was, we’d turned on all the televisions in the rooms and controlled what our patients could watch. We needed to keep everyone as calm as possible without upsetting them or their labor. One wrong move could send the mothers and mothers-to-be spiraling.

“The other nurse left about a minute ago,” Lucy’s mom said, glancing up from the baby when I knocked to make sure it was okay to enter. “You look tired too.”

“I am,” I replied with a soft laugh. “However, Lucy did all the work. We just assisted her.”

“I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to be here,” Lucy’s mom whispered. “Crazy as it is now, it’s been the best day ever. My girls are with me.”

I would not cry.

I would not cry.

Even as tears burned behind my nose, I grinned, hoping my mouth didn’t wobble. “You’re welcome. Thank you for the information. If you need anything, just hit the call button.” I slipped from the room and continued down the hall.

There weren’t a lot of places Joyce could go, so I checked the most obvious one. Our break room. She was sitting on the couch with a cup of coffee cradled between her hands. She appeared like how I felt.

Depleted.

Empty.

She also seemed deep in thought.

“I’m sorry.” I felt bad for interrupting her quiet time. She waved her hand at me dismissively. “I need to pump again.” All the mothers had delivered except for two other moms on the other wing of L&D, and since we didn’t have new patients coming in, it was kind of slow. Now would be the perfect opportunity to take care of things.

“Come sit,” Joyce offered, patting the cushion next to her.

I grabbed what I needed, then joined her on the couch. Once we were both comfortable and I had everything hooked up, I sighed and rubbed my face. This all had to be the full moon curse. I jinxed us early in our shift, and now we were suffering the consequences.

I just wanted to hug on Alandria and go home.

“He doesn’t have a gun, does he?” Joyce asked, her voice scratchy from lack of sleep and stress.

The question caught me off guard. Did she blame me for the lockdown and being stuck in here for so long?

“He implied it when he had a hold of me—”

Joyce held up her hand, shaking her head. “I’m not mad at you, Wave, I know. I was just curious and thinking maybe if we banded together, we could take the asshole down. Overpower him and call an end to this extremely long shift. For all of us.”

I snorted. I was in no condition to tackle anyone, even though my father didn’t raise any of his children to be weak. Especially his daughters. Wouldn’t even delve into the different things my older brother did to teach us how to fight. Not the clean kind of combat either. Nope, my brother showed us how to brawl dirty. So, if need be, Macey and I could protect ourselves.

“How’s your hip?” Joyce gave me a probing look, changing the subject.

“Sore as hell,” I said. “No doubt I’m going to be stiff when I try to get up.”

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