Page 99 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
She marched to the door and slammed it behind her.
He followed slower; she might take the stairs in a run if she thought he was chasing her.
She ignored him through the breakfast rush. His eyes followed her as she disappeared into the back of the inn after telling Dana she needed to pee.
She was gone longer than usual.
When she returned, her face had gone white as a sheet. Watching her slow progress towards him when before, she couldn't bear to look at him, Crispin immediately knew something was wrong.
"I'm bleeding," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
Everything after that blurred.
Crispin was already at her side, supporting her down the hallway, calling for help. The car ride to the nearest A&E was a fog of panic and taut silence. The ambulance was likely to take too long. When the receptionist asked them to wait, he looked like he was ready to rip the fire alarm off the wall and bludgeon someone to death.
"She's bleeding," he said, voice tightly controlled. "She's twenty-seven weeks pregnant. If she doesn't get seen in the next five minutes, I swear I'll hire a bloody helicopter to take her to where shecanbe seen."
"Crispin," Aria murmured, gripping his hand. "It's okay. Just...wait with me."
He sat, but only physically. His knee bounced. His hand kept brushing the side of her face, her shoulder, her back, like he needed constant confirmation that she was alright.
By some miracle, the doctor was down in no time. When they were finally called in for a scan, the world slowed.
The sonographer, someone different this time, younger and no-nonsense, examined the screen carefully.
"The baby's fine," she said. "Heartbeat is strong."
Crispin let out a breath like he'd been holding it for hours.
"Everything seems fine. The placenta has attached normally. I can see there was a question regarding placenta previa in the last scan, but it doesn't seem to be a problem. And the bleeding has stopped. Properly rest. No lifting, no overworking. You need to take care of yourself, understand?" said the mild-mannered doctor.
Aria nodded, though tears were leaking from her eyes.
Crispin said nothing. He sat beside her with his hands clasped, mouth tight, shoulders stiff.
When they left, she wiped at her eyes. "I just wanted to do one thing right," she whispered.
He exhaled slowly. "You need to take care of yourself," he said, his voice low and rough. "And the baby."
She turned away, ashamed. "I'm sorry."
"Aria."
She stopped.
"Let me take care of you," he begged. "Please. Just this once...let someone else carry the weight. Let me in, even just a little."
For a long moment, all she did was look down at her belly, looking like a chastened child.
Then she nodded.
Chapter 52
Aria
The hours after the hospital were wrapped in a strange stillness intertwined with worry.
Back at the inn, Aria sat on the edge of the bed, one hand resting protectively over her stomach. Her other hand gripped the creased ultrasound printout with the kind of tenderness reserved for something which could have been too easily lost. Crispin, as always, was the picture of restraint, though there was a lot going on just beneath the skin. A lot he wanted to say. He hovered, he fetched water. He made tea, which she was too stressed to drink.
