Page 118 of The Last Thing
Frannie bursts out laughing. “Sorry. It’s all I’ve got.”
“You suck at this.”
Frannie points at me. “That’s why you have him. Besides, I think I’m just as helpful as you were during my first flight. Actually, you made me more scared I was going to crash and die.”
“That was Kennedy,” Hallie grunts. “You’re my big sister. Say something comforting.”
“I may be the big sister, but you’re doing the hard thing first. I’m proud of you. You’re a badass. I know you can handle this. Take deep breaths. Remember why you’re doing this. It’ll all be worth it in the end.” Frannie kisses Hallie’s forehead. “And don’t die.”
“No one’s dying,” I growl.
“Oops, woke the bear. I’m going to give you two a minute. I love you.”
“You’re the worst, but I love you too,” Hallie calls after her.
I stalk over to the bed as the door closes behind Frannie.
“Okay,Deck. What’s wrong?”
Every time I get a little grumpy, she calls me Deck to remind me that grumpy isn’t who I am.
“I don’t like you two joking about you dying. It’s not funny. It’ll never be funny to me.”
“Aw, you kinda like me, huh?” Hallie teases, but I’m not in a teasing mood.
Hearing those words from Frannie’s mouth sent me over the edge, which wasn’t hard since I’ve been worried from the very first contraction.
Looking back, I’m not proud of how emotionally unattached I was when it came to Sophia’s mom. We weren’t the right match, but when she ended up having an emergency C-section, in my heart, I was more worried about Sophia. With Hallie? I’d burn the entire world down to keep her safe. The thought of her being in the same position as my ex? Or something worse happening? I don’t know how I’d survive it.
“It’s not a game, Hallie.”
She blinks a couple of times, all playfulness falling away, then she grabs my hand and pulls me onto the edge of the bed. “Talk to me.”
“I don’t like jokes about you dying. Everyone talks about childbirth like it’s simple, but it’s not. So much can go wrong. Women die. And the thought of losing you…” I shake my head. “You were scared to fall in love because you were afraid of that type of loss. I’m not immune to those fears. Losing you would destroy me, and even though I’m supposed to have all my shit together and be calm, I’m not. Everything seems good now, but I’m scared. Okay? I’m scared.”
She brushes her thumb over my cheek. “That weirdly makes me feel better.”
“It does?”
“I’m scared something bad will happen. I’m scared of losing her or having complications… all that stuff. I know childbirth isn’t always easy. I’ve heard stories from families I nannied for over the years. There are a lot of scary things. And even when everything is okay, it still hurts like a motherfucker,” she grunts, wincing and clutching the edge of the bed.
“Another contraction?” I ask.
She nods, and I wrap my arm around her back, bracing her.
“Fuck,” she groans. “This baby is going to be worth it,” she whispers to herself. “The pain is worth it for the love.”
That’s my girl. The one who learned to open her heart and believe love is worth the risks and potential pain. Or literal pain in this case.
She gasps out a breath as the contraction subsides. “I need to get up and walk around.”
I help her out of bed and trail behind her as she paces the room.
Frannie, my mom, and Sophia are out in the waiting room, and Hallie’s parents are driving up from the city. Besides Kennedy and Devon, everyone else is in the area. They’re just waiting to come to the hospital until the baby is born—and until we’re ready for that chaos. For fights over who gets to be the godfather and all the other nonsense. I remember being low-key intimidated by and not wanting to bother Brian and Hardy the night I met Hallie. Now they’re like two annoying brothers.
Hallie braces her hands on her knees, and I gently rub her back as she groans through her contraction.
When it’s subsided, she stands up and walks over to the window, which only has a view of the parking lot.
