Page 97 of Lost on Ice
THREE MONTHS LATER
When my phonerings at four in the morning, I’m really tempted to just ignore it. Who the fuck is calling me so early?
The ringing stops but then starts right up again. I glance over at Abbie—she’s sleeping right next to me, and her eyes are already open—then I roll over and grab the phone off the nightstand. When I see Carter’s name flashing across the screen, my heart leaps, and I immediately sit up. There’s only one reason he’d be calling me at a time like this.
“Hello?” I answer.
“Jake!” Carter exclaims. “It’s happening! Sophie’s in labor.”
He’s clearly freaking out, so I keep myself calm and collected. “Okay, we planned for this, man. Bring Chase over and we’ll get him settled for the night.”
“Okay,” Carter murmurs, sounding breathless. “Yeah, yeah, okay. We’ll be there soon.”
I hang up the phone and lay back down, releasing a long breath.
Abbie sleepily asks, “Everything okay?”
I roll over and wrap my arm around her waist, pulling her in to kiss her on her forehead.
“Sophie is going into labor,” I tell her. “They’re bringing Chase over.”
“Oh,” she murmurs. Then, “Oh! We need to get the pull-out ready.”
I grin and love the fact that we’re in a position to help like this so Sophie’s parents and Vivianne can be at the hospital with them. Since our place is on the way to the hospital, it’s convenient and easy for Carter and Sophie to drop Chase off here. Part of me still loves it when I think about this place as home, which it is. Most definitely. The past few months living with Abbie since we were released from the hospital have been some of the most satisfying of my life, and being around for my friends as well has been filling a hole in me that I hadn’t realized was there.
It hasn’t been perfect, or necessarily easy. Abbie still has nightmares about Westbrook, and I think might even have a bit of PTSD from the kidnapping. More than once, she’s woken in the middle of the night sobbing and shaking, and I’ve held her and rocked her back and forth, promising her everything would be okay. She’s done the same for me as well. When I get flashes of Westbrook driving that knife into my shoulder, Abbie is the one I turn to to help me push back the panic attack that tries to take over.
It’s gotten better as time has passed, but I can’t imagine what it would be like overcoming the trauma without each other.
We quietly get out of bed and head out to the living room to get the pull-out ready, careful not to make too much noiseto potentially wake up Lilah. I unfold the bed while Abbie grabs sheets and pillows to cover it with.
We’re just finishing up when a knock sounds on the apartment’s front door.
When we answer it, Carter is there, grinning nervously, a sleeping Chase curled up in his arms. Smiling, Abbie takes Chase from him. “Tell Sophie we’re thinking of her,” she whispers. “And we can’t wait to meet the new little one.”
“Will do,” Carter says, his voice shaking slightly.
Abbie turns and carries Chase over to the pull-out to tuck him in.
“We got this,” I assure Carter, clapping him on the shoulder. “Go take care of Sophie.”
“Thanks, man.” He pulls me into a quick hug, and I chuckle.
“I’m happy for you,” I tell him.
“I’m happy for you too,” he replies, shooting a pointed look toward Abbie before hurrying back out the door and disappearing down the hall.
Shutting the door and locking it, I make my way to the living room to help Abbie with Chase. He hasn’t stirred—little guy is totally out.
Slipping my arm around Abbie’s shoulders, I whisper, “Come on, let’s get back to bed.”
We make our way back to our room and climb into bed together. Abbie immediately curls up into my chest, like it’s the most natural position for her to be in. It makes me smile and my heart hammers. “Mmm, I can’t believe the baby is finally coming,” Abbie mutters, already half asleep. “Sophie is so excited to have a newborn again.”
“Oh yeah?”
She nods and snuggles tighter against me. “I miss having a newborn… they’re so tiny and precious… you should’ve seen Lilah back then…”
Her voice trails off and her breathing grows soft and even. She’s asleep again.
