Page 116 of Bully for Sale
But Ned was giving testimony against Braden, and his phone wasn’t allowed in the courtroom.
Carefully, Ezer pointed his feet toward the sofa where he knew the tablet rested, but another wave of nausea hit him, sending him back to the bathroom where he heaved up bile into the sink. Splashing his face, he breathed in and out slowly, and then turned back to the main room.
He had to call for help.
Ezer almost made it to the sofa before another agonizing contraction hit him, leaving him sweating and sobbing in its wake. His knees had given out during it, and he rested on the floor a moment, curled on his side, cradling his belly. The twins were strangely still. He closed his eyes, reaching inward for some sign they were all right, but another contraction forced a shout from him. Spots swam in front of his eyes.
Agony. Pressure. Pain.
He could breathe again. In and out, he sucked breaths through the respite. But then…
Again.
“Yissan,” Ezer called faintly. “Yissan?”
No reply. In his mind, Ezer could imagine his brother, cigarette between his elegant lips, leaning over the railing, looking out to the sea. His back tanned and glistening, the pool shimmering behind him.
Ezer crawled around the sofa, reaching for the tablet and pulling up the call screen. He’d call for an ambulance. He knew he should, but suddenly all he wanted was to hear his da’s voice. What if he never heard it again? What if he didn’t survive this? There was a chance. He knew it. Ned knew it.
Ezer knew he should have called Amos before now. He should have made amends with his da. Ezer pushed in a number he’d memorized as a very small child. The call rang.
“Just a moment, I think it’s Ezer,” his da’s voice said, warm and familiar, and Ezer’s heart melted in relief. Thank God.
Amos’s beloved, handsome face filled the screen, tanned and so much healthier than the last time Ezer had seen him. “Is it really you? I was beginning to think you’d never forgive me. I’ve been longing for your call.” Getting a good look at Ezer, Da’s expression changed from joy to concern in a heartbeat. “It’s time?” A beat. “You’re in labor?”
“Da, I’m scared,” Ezer panted. “It’s bad. It’s so bad.”
“Where’s Ned?”
“Out.” It was too difficult to explain. “I need help.”
“Can you call for an ambulance? No? All right—” He turned his head away from the phone, saying, “Call for an ambulance. Have them go to Lidell Clearwater’s estate. It’s urgent.” Then he was back soothing Ezer. “Darling, it’s going to be all right. Just hold on. I’ll be there. I’ll beright there.” He could see his da’s apartment flashing in blurs over Amos’s shoulder, and he heard a voice that must have belonged to his da’s lover, Ezer’s biological father, Finn, sounding worried.
“You didn’t tell me,” Ezer whispered, tears in his eyes. “You never said it would hurt this bad.”
“It’s sheer hell. But you’ll forget soon enough, and then you’ll want more.”
Ezer shook his head. “Don’t try to manage me.”
“No, no, of course not. It’s just—”
“Stop. I won’t ever want more. These two are enough.”
Da’s movements stopped short. “Two? Twins?” His voice went very soft.
“No one told you?”
“No, my sons don’t contact me.”
Sweating, Ezer groaned, another contraction beginning. Before he knew it, he was screaming, tablet on the floor, and on his hands and knees, blinded with pain.
“Ezer, I’m on my way.”
“I need Ned,” Ezer said. “He should be here. Get Ned. I need him.” He keened in agony, clutching his stomach, and bending over. He was going to die if the pain got worse than this. He was going to die, and Ned would never know that he almost loved him. That he very well might. That he probably did.
When he came back from the most intense pain he’d ever felt, Yissan was there, flushed and wide-eyed. He cradled Ezer in his arms and rocked him.
“There’s no time,” he said. “We have to prepare in case the ambulance doesn’t get here. Where do you want to be, Ezer? Tell me.”
